Hello Composers, Mike here! =)
And today I will share my thoughts on Venice Modern Strings by Fluffy Audio.
My Overall Impression: These strings have a very nice and warm sound. The library comes in an easy to use interface, with all articulations clearly laid out, as well as the expression controllers for dynamics, vibrato and legato speed. And I especially like that you can load individual articulations per instrument.
The Sound of Venice Modern Strings
First, let’s check out this video where Fluffy Audio demonstrates the different articulations in a real composition:
So what do you get in Venice Modern Strings? Well, you get the individual sections: Double Basses, Cellos, Violas and Violins 1 + 2 in separate patches. You also get ensemble patches per articulation. And if you prefer, the individual articulations also per instrument group.
For example: you might want to load only the pizzicato articulation on violas on a specific track in your DAW project. This of course saves RAM. Furthermore there is also a folder with Low Ram versions of each instrument, and separated in fast legato and smooth legato.
The recordings were made from: 8 first violins, 6 second violins, 5 violas, 5 cellos and 3 double basses. This gives you a more intimate, but still rich sound, compared to a full orchestral string ensemble.
I really like the mic options, 4 in total: Spot, Close, Mid and Far. My favorite was the spot microphones, which really adds that bite and presence, while still capturing the essence of the room. I found it perfect for short articulations to cut through in the mix.
You get 3 forms of legato in this library: portamento, fingered legato and bow change legato. And it is triggered by velocity by default, but you can map it to any CC parameter you want if you open up the advanced view.
Dynamics is pre-mapped to CC1 and Vibrato to CC2. Which is actually exactly like I personally prefer it. There is also another expression option that is very original in this library, which is called A/B morphing. Where you can actually morph with a CC-parameter from one articulation to another. For example, I tried using this feature to morph between sustain and flautando, and really liked it! =)
My Favorite things about Venice Modern Strings
1. The Warm Sound
The smaller sections and the recording environment makes the sound very warm and intimate. My favorite presets are the flautando and sul tasto, which really has that magic quality and shimmer, while still remaining soft and delicate.
2. The Mic Positions
I like that you can mix and blend between 4 microphone positions, with not only common close mics, but actual spot mics for extra definition. As well mid and far microphones.
3. The Expressive Control
3 legato variations, dynamics of course, and also vibrato control. And also the legato speed control, plus the added morphing feature, all makes this library very expressive in the performance if you make sure to use these options in automation. If you choose you can even add CC11 for extra dynamics control.
My Feedback
The main thing I found myself wanting was marcato and spiccato articulations on all the instruments. And I would also have loved to have a master short articulation patch where you can use the MOD-wheel or any CC to morph between shorter and longer “short articulations”. You do get staccato and staccatissimo, but you need to key switch between them.
Learn More about Venice Modern Strings
Do you want to learn more about Venice Modern Strings, and find out if this is an orchestral string library for you?