SYNCHRON ELITE STRINGS

Extraordinary small string ensembles

Especially with small string ensembles, the highest quality of the musicians is important: inside, but also their ability to form a homogeneous overall sound. For Synchron Elite Strings , VSL was able to engage the best strings of the Synchron Stage Orchestra, who in turn are among the best in the music city of Vienna - a city that is world-famous for its string sound. These musicians not only contributed significantly to the sound of many film scores, they also brought in their experiences from countless sampling sessions.

Performances like one piece

As with Synchron Strings Pro , it was a very important approach to let the musicians play intensely inside in order to be able to capture their musicality and their craftsmanship as authentically as possible. The continuous playing time of the ingenious scores was up to half an hour per take, which ensured that the samples from these sessions looked like one piece. The possibilities of expression now available in the Synchron Player, in particular the different gradations of tone approach, development and finish, can therefore be seamlessly combined with one another.

It was just as important for the VSL team to create a library that covers the widest possible range of possible uses. With the help of the numerous mixer presets, Synchron Elite Strings are suitable for a wide variety of genres and applications, from intimate moods to expressive fortissimo, from classic arrangements to modern film music, from chamber music ensembles to expressive combinations with large string ensembles.

Short styles of play

As with the larger Ensembles of Synchron Strings Pro , Synchron Elite Strings has slightly wider and short staccatos as well as Spiccati (played with the thrown bow, therefore very short, but a little quieter) in " bold " and " agile " versions - the latter are shorter and perfect for faster passages. Variants of one-second détachés have been added - on the one hand with a soft approach to an expressive vibrato, on the other hand with an accurate approach and a slight phrasing. Here the full potential of both Détaché variants unfolds through their intelligent combination, following the musical logic. Other short ways of playing arepizzicato , snap (Bartók) pizzicato , col legno and battuto (striking the strings with the back of the bow or the hair of the bow).

Long and interval articulations

For all long notes , legati and portamenti there are three vibrato variants (normal, strong and without), four different attacks (soft, normal, fast, marcato / sfz), as well as normal and softer phrased endings. In Legati and Portamenti, the attack variant only refers to the first note of the phrase played, all other notes are played together.

The performance détachés are a particular innovation in synchronous libraries . As with the Legati, interval connections of up to an octave were recorded, but each target tone was marked separately. As long as the synchronous player is in interval mode, the détaché played tones are linked with each other in a highly authentic manner, which means that phrases played in this way sound different than those played with single détaché tones. Also tremolos , fast repetitions (Measured tremolo) and trills are as legato versions for gentle touch transitions are available.

Due to the lower number of musicians, the “ agile ” versions of Legati and Détachés are particularly precise and agile, without, however, losing their liveliness and authenticity due to the recording method described above.

Multiple microphone positions

In order to best capture the ensembles with the spectacular surround sound of the large hall of the Synchron Stage Vienna, a total of nine separate, phase-coherent microphone arrangements were used. In addition to the medium-spaced microphones, Decca-Tree and surround microphones, a small-diaphragm condenser and a ribbon microphone for the first and second voice leaders were used in each ensemble, which are used separately in the synchronous player as channels "Solo 1" and " Solo 2 ”are available.

The groups of six first violins, five second violins, four violas, four cellos and three double basses were recorded separately in their typical seating position in the orchestra. By mixing individual or all microphone positions, you can design the surround sound according to your ideas and requirements, from intimate to large rooms, from muted to brightly shimmering, from contemporary to the shellac sound of the 50s. With the Divisi presets, the solo channels are in the foreground, enriched with signals from the tube or ribbon microphones.

As with all Synchron Libraries, you can play your string sound in stereo, 5.1 Surround up to 9.1 Auro 3D or any other 3D audio format such as. B. Output Dolby Atmos.

Both Standard Library and Full Library by Synchron Elite Strings contain the same playing styles and only differ in the number of microphone positions available:

1. Solo 1 Mic, Small Condenser (Mono) Standard & Full Library
2. Solo 2 Mic, Ribbon (Mono) Full Library Only
3. Mid Mic - Tube, Front of Ensemble (L / R) Standard & Full Library  
4. Mid Mic - Ribbon, Front of Ensemble (Mono) Full Library Only
5. Main / Room Mic - Decca Tree Stereo (L / R) Standard & Full Library
6. Main / Room Mic - Decca Tree Mono (Center) Standard & Full Library
7 Main Surround - Stereo (L / R) Full Library Only
8. High Stereo (3D) - Stereo (L / R) Full Library Only
9. High Surround (3D) - Stereo (L / R) Full Library Only