Chris Hein Strings Professional Review
Chris Hein has taken a unique approach for this sound library, by taking individual instruments and recording them independently and joining them together after the fact – and this was done with a goal in mind, the remove issues that come with an ensemble, tuning issues, little mistakes and this approach has benefited the sound quite heavily, making it sound really pure and nice and it is standing to be one of the best string libraries out there.
In the library, you solo strings and ensemble string, in the ensemble string you get All Mix Full High, Low and Mid and All Mix Small High, Low and Mid. And it does not mess around.
You have a full orchestra that is range accurate, so it will not try to pitch down violin sounds and only play the physical ranges of the instruments. The collection is designed masterfully and everything is sorted out by their specifications and ranges that are packed nicely and neatly.
The user interface when opened will drop you in the main page, which only has a few buttons and indicators: an indicator that shows you which note you are playing, the play tab, which is pretty much your star screen, the control tab, which lets you control the velocity, dynamic mode, select the layers, control the vibrato, the Xfade and select the note head.
You will also find the room tab, where you can control the reverb settings by adjusting volume, delay and type of the reverb.
But that is not where Chris string capabilities end. Not only does Chris Hein deliver the best string samples, if you open up the articulation presets tab. The amount of options alone makes this the best cinematic strings VST out there at the moment.
The compact version of the library is a bit limited, but it still has plenty to offer. The compact version includes the dynamic expression long, sustain vibrato, short 1 and short 3, spiccato 5 and spiccato 6, trill 1 minor, tremolo and pizzicato loose, which is a wonderful and deep collection of articulations even for the compact version and to most, that as much as you will ever need.
And those are just the presets, just you wait to see all of the control you get. In the Articulation tab, once you have chosen your preset, you can control the dynamics, choosing keyboard, x-fade, keyboard and x-fade or auto x-fade.
You get to adjust the note head, by once again choosing between keyboard and x-fade, selecting the dynamic layer and adjusting the velocity. You can control the blending by adjusting the tremolo and the trill 1 minor, adjust the vibrato from LFO to Auto and setting the amount, speed and EQ.
And adjusting the ensemble by choosing the number of players, the spread and detune of the ensemble.
And these settings are just under the dynamic expression long preset alone. For example, you can adjust the key vibrato by setting the volume, tune, EQ intensity, frequency and bandwidth both on vibrato up and vibrato down separately.
And over all the articulations you can set the main volume, panorama, transposition and speed. You can also adjust the transient settings, by changing attack and sustain.
You also get a legato pedal with polyphon, legato short with adjustable speed, legato long with adjustable speed and offset. And boy is this an insanely detailed and amazing list of settings that will help you create the perfect orchestra and create music like never before.
If you are a classical musician this is a wonderful powerhouse that will feel like a toy with the power of a rocket launcher. To put it simply it is a fun and incredibly powerful orchestral tool.
