On April 10, 2010 and later in November 2010, both Sonic Control.TV and Sound On Sound magazine did reviews on Miroslav Vitous’ new library, String Ensembles 1.0: Composer’s Dream. Mid-November 2011, I was sent the update, String Ensembles 2.0, which is set for a December release.

It’s my opinion today, 19 months after I wrote that review on v1.0, that the Miroslav Vitous String Ensembles 2.0: Composer’s Dream now lives up to its name. And in the language of boxing, “is a genuwine contenda.”

In fairness to Mr. Vitous, I’m quoting these lines written by David Ricard in the Nov 2010 SOS review:

I was expecting the sound to be outstanding and I wasn’t disappointed. The detail that was captured to give the ‘performances’ the most natural sound is evident.

Between two different reviewers, the sound was never the issue. It was other issues that have been corrected in a majorly manner. Let’s go through what they are, and then I’ll move forward with what else Miroslav Vitous has done to really turn MV String Ensembles into a Composer’s Dream, and why you might want to consider this library – especially with pre-order pricing now available.

CORRECTED CRITICISMS FROM YESTERYEAR
1. Pricing – Per the SOS review (see link above) Big Fish (the former US distributor) was showing the list price for a single DVD as $1399 with an intro of $999.95US. That has radically changed. The NEW price is for a 3-DVD set at $799 street with pre-order pricing set at $699.00.

2. Looped Sustains – A serious criticism from both reviewers was that the sustains were unlooped. CORRECTED! (Thank you!)

3. Hidden Crescendos – CORRECTED. Those of us having the original MV Library from what, 15 years ago, remember the “crescendos out of nowhere” that drove us wild trying to edit them. Well, they made it into V1.0 and both reviews critiqued them. Again, CORRECTED! Those programs with Vienna-like built-in crescendos are now in the Sustain Swells folder. So now there are pre-programmed sustains with crescendos (that are looped) in their own folders and sustains with NO crescendos that are looped.

4. Lack of Trills – CORRECTED. Trills have been added.

5. Lack of Solo Strings – Mr. Vitous added a set of programs with Concertmaster added on the Mod Wheel (the actual programs are titled First Chair Supports). Using the Mod Wheel, you bring in solo violin. However, there is not a separate solo strings library.

6. Weak Documentation – CORRECTED at multiple levels. One point with the Engine 2.0 player that affects documentation is understanding that there are two types of programs located in two different places. There are Projects located in the Project folder that you access in the upper left of Independence Pro. Then there are the programs (called Layers in Engine/Independence language) which you access in the Layer area. Regular programs are in Layers while multi-timbral programs are in Projects. See the screenshot below.

The organization and names for the Layers (programs) and Projects (banks) have been simplified. So now it’s really much more, “read and go.” Pictured below is the Layer organization and naming for the violins.

Then, a new web site is going live shortly. It will have tutorials, both print and video in the Support section.

AND NOW, THE NEW

Since this is a Professional Orchestration review, let’s start with orchestration issues.

4-in-1
It could be said that this library is 4-in-1. There’s the Standard String Orchestra, the Studio (Chamber) String Orchestra, the Blended Standard String Orchestra, and programmed Muted Strings.

The Standard and Studio. These are beautiful sounding for their natural expressiveness. You can approach them as separate ensembles, or you can approach them as a tool kit of individual sections with which you build your MV ensemble, OR, integrate it with other libraries.

For example, the Smaller Ensemble sizes can easily be mixed in with either Albion or LASS. Since Albion has no independent string sections (only blended sections), MV String Ensembles 2.0 could be used as soli strings with Albion as the combined strings.

Because the sizes are similar, you can integrate MV 2.0 with LASS C sections with excellent results.

The Blended Strings. These came about through Mr. Vitous‘ experimenting with Independence 2.5x. How he achieved this, Mr. Vitous didn’t go into details on. What I can tell you is that the Blended Strings are a separate, totally different sounding Standard String Ensemble library. So in this regard, you actually have two totally different sounding large string ensemble libraries in one package. The sound quality of these new strings is really excellent.

Programmed Muted Strings. For brevity, these are labeled muted strings in the menus. I haven’t had time to benchmark these with The Lark Ascending yet. What I played sounded quite promising, though.

24 Unison Violins. Similar to the large LASS individual section ensembles, Miroslav “assembled” (for lack of a better technical term!) Violins 1 and 2 to create the very useful 24 Unison violins sound.

Recorded Violins 2. The screen capture below tells the story. There are 14 Vlns 1, 10 Vlns 2 (recorded, not programmed out of Violins 1), and the 24 Violins (Violins 1 + 2 in unison) as mentioned above.

Time Saving String Combinations. The unison and octave combinations found in Layers and Projects were listed in Professional Orchestration 2A: Orchestrating the Melody Within the String Section. Simply put, Mr. Vitous has setup the most common unison/octave combinations via MIDI, many of which can be found in John Williams’ scores. Per Mr. Vitous, these unison/octave combinations took nearly five weeks to perfect and to tune properly so that the combinations worked as close to live as possible.

Time Saving All-String Programs. These are found in Projects. There are two combinations: Violins – Cellos – Basses (used in West Side Story’s orchestration) and Violas – Cellos – Basses. The VS-CE-BS have five variations while the VL-CE-BS has two. There are two different performance types for each combination found in two separate folders. One version is managed by velocity while the other is managed by Mod Wheel.

Time Saving String Templates. Again, these are found in Projects. You have pre-set templates for the Violins, Violas, Cellos and Basses. I didn’t count all the programs in each section, but this looks like a 40-track string section template ready to go.

String Pads. Miroslav created a really great set of programs that I tested out with the five pieces for MIDI mock-up I wrote for the Writing For Strings Course. These programs are clearly labeled as Pads (sustains). I tested on a Jerry Goldsmith inspired voicing of Root (basses), Fifth (cellos) and Third (Violas), and it was very easy to pull off. The blend was just great. Depending on what you’re writing you’ll find these to be a very useful set of programs.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE BOW
As with all the newer libraries, you are the virtual concertmaster. MV SE 2.0 gives you a goodly amount of bowings to choose from. The chart below shows the bowings (aka articulations) available with MV String Ensembles 2.0.

EDITING
The MV String Ensembles 2.0 Composer’s Dream comes with the Engine 2.0 player. Writing about Engine, David Ricard said, “Engine, while not being as ubiquitous as some sample-player plug-ins, is a robust piece of software that contains very powerful editing features in its Pro Edit section, as well as flexible mixing and routing options. Its basic interface bears a resemblance to NI’s Kontakt, which made it seem familiar enough to make using Engine comfortable straight away.”

Thus, the composer who wants to edit, has the tools available to do so. And if more tools are desired, registered users can upgrade to Independence Pro. FYI, MV String Ensembles 2.0 was entirely programmed in Independence Pro 2.5x.

COMPUTER STUFF
MV String Ensembles 2.0 Engine 2.0 player is backwards compatible to Windows XP on the PC, and the G5 (10.4, 10.5 and above) on the Mac. I originally installed the earlier version of Engine on my G5 (pre-Intel) with no problems. I installed the newer Engine 2.0 on a Mac Pro 12-Core with no problems.

Tech support on Best Service Engine is handled by Best Service, NOT Yellow Tools.

For those like myself on 64bit systems, you can use any Engine 2.0 in your sequencer, but really, for best all around computer performance, better to get the Vienna Ensemble PRO and run all your 32bit apps there. This way, depending on what you’re using, the sequencer is free to read all the RAM in your system, Mac or PC.

FIRST LISTENING
When you first listen to most string libraries, many sound loud and in your face. That’s because in the psychology of sales, loud = big and big = better.

That’s NOT what you get when you first load MV String Ensembles 2.0.

When you first play the library, you’re a little shocked because it’s not so in your face. Checking it on a level meter, it comes into Logic at -10dB. Per Miroslav, this was done intentionally to give you more headroom to start. You can change this directly inside Engine 2.0 or if your sequencing software gives you a gain knob. Either way, once you bring up the levels a bit, it’s right there comparable to the others.

Anyone who has ears that have struggled with the trend in detuning libraries would benefit from MV SE 2.0 which, while detuned somewhat, is not hard on sensitive ears.

Legato. One of the great advantages of a world class string player like Miroslav Vitous creating a string library, is that he knows the kind of connectivity required in live performance that makes legato, legato, whether it’s under a single bow or performing in a legato manner with back and forth bowing (connected detache if you will). Drawing from his own performance experience, Miroslav has created separate multi-sample legato longs (for lack of a better expression) and legato detache bowings. To use a street term, these legatos are wicked fast.

Panning. MV String Ensembles 2.0 is designed for you to pan it yourself. Those now taking my Writing For Strings Course know that there are five standard seating arrangements for the strings and you can recreate all of them with this library. Using the Vienna Power Pan, everything was done in a few seconds. Additionally, the decision to let you set your own panning positions means that you can more effectively use MV SE 2.0 with other libraries and matching how they’re panned.

MIDI EDITING
As a broad summary, there’s (of course) CC7 volume, CC11 Expression, and newly added is CC2, for those wanting to use MIDI wind controllers. There’s velocity zones (which is Miro-speak for Velocity Switching) and Mod Wheel controlling. So depending on how you like to work, you have a lot of leeway.

NEW DEMOS
A new demo team has been assembled and demos will begin appearing after duplication. Besides Mr. Vitous, award winning game composer Jesper Kyd, and prize winning Japanese composer Kentaro Sato (Ken-p) will be among the demo makers.

CONCLUSIONS
I feel confident in saying that the MV String Ensembles 2.0: Composer’s Dream, is a great library to not only start with, but also to add to your existing libraries.

First, it sounds beautiful on its own (also mentioned in the SOS review). And you know, it’s so difficult to describe in words how something sounds. So a little about my experience with them. As I worked through several of the Velocity Zone programs, I found them to be very emotive and expressive, so that you’re able to play passionately. You dig into the keys, and MV SE 2.0 responds back. I tested these and two other libraries with two pieces I wrote for the Writing For Strings course. Of the three for the pieces I was testing, I found that it was really easy to get the mock-up happening quickly and sounding good with MV SE 2.0. Because of design simplicity, I found it easy to work with, enabling me to just focus on the music and enjoying the process.

Second, it’s a first rate team player when used in combination with other libs (also mentioned in the SOS review). I tried MV SE 2.0 with a multi-part divisi test using LASS where I simply switched an appropriately sized MV ensemble for one in LASS. Keeping “flaming adjectives” to a minimum, I’ll just say that I was very pleased with the results.

Third, with all the unison and octave combinations, templates, and all-strings programs, MV String Ensembles 2.0 is a complete product and time-saving to use.

Fourth, it plays well on a keyboard and is very emotive (also noted by SOS).

Fifth, for those who like editing, you have many options within the Engine 2.0 player, and as a registered MV user, you have the option to upgrade to Independence Pro.

Sixth, MV String Ensembles 2.0 is easy to learn, and once the new Miroslav site is up, there will be written and video tutorials posted. So the user will be well supported.

In short, Miroslav Vitous has taken the steps necessary to insure that String Ensembles 2.0 is a Composer’s Dream. Granted, Composer’s Dream for some might come across as egotistical and grandiose at minimum. But for others, it’s recognizing that Mr. Vitous set a standard for himself to hit. And it’s a high standard. What’s evident is that with String Ensembles 2.0, Mr. Vitous has taken stock of earlier criticism and has thoughtfully planned and produced a beautiful sounding, useful, practical, Swiss-army-knife of a string library for professionals and everyone else at a value price. If nothing else, this puts Mr. Vitous himself in the category of the Composer’s Dream because he listened, weighed the opinions, and acted constructively like the professional he is. May his tribe increase.

I should also point out, per Mr. Vitous’ post in the VI-Control.net forum, that following String Ensembles 2.0 are brass and woodwind libraries, of which I have no release information at this time.

So MV String Ensembles 2.0 isn’t just an independent string library, it’s the first step in having a complete electronic orchestra.

PRE-ORDER PRICING
For what you get, I think that the pre-order pricing of $699US is very fair. In Euros, the price is about 518 and in British pounds, the price is 447.

If you can only afford one library, I suggest you start here.

Disclaimer: Alexander Publishing will be one of the new dealers for this library.