Vienna Dimension Strings II

This Collection is the sequel to Vienna Dimension Strings I. It contains nearly the same playing techniques, but these string instruments were exclusively recorded "con sordino" (with mutes), offering all-new sonic subtleties. Playing with mutes dampens the transmission of energy from the strings to the body of the instrument and softens or darkens the sound. The effect of these silky smooth timbres perfectly suits intimate arrangements and emotional ballads, or envelops a sensitive cue with unobtrusive intensity. An insider tip of Hollywood film composers is to blend the normal string sound with muted strings for achieving a very special broad, soft, and warm string environment.

 

As with Vienna Dimension Strings I, all of the human interactions and slight imperfections of a live performance have been captured. The players were recorded in four homogeneous groups (8 violins, 6 violas, 6 cellos and 4 double basses), but with dedicated microphones for each player, allowing for automatic or manual access to each individual voice and resulting in unlimited performance flexibility and authenticity.

 

The Vienna Dimension series of ensemble instrument collections opens a new chapter in the history of sampling technology. With a recording time of four years, Vienna Dimension Strings are by far the most ambitious and intensive production in the history of the Vienna Symphonic Library.

 

The Vienna team has even recorded each string of each instrument in its full range (approximately one octave plus a fifth), and with the included presets you may easily decide whether to have the musicians play on all strings (with a change to the next string in fifth intervals), or forced playing on a certain string. You can also choose to play with no open strings. Getting a darker or brighter string sound has never been easier and more flexible. What's more, the technique of individual miking is perfectly suited for divisi writing as well! For the violins, preset setups for two groups of four players and four desks of two players are provided.

 

Over the last decade, sample libraries have become more and more "perfect", sometimes at the expense of human feel. In reality, even the best musicians never play in perfect unison; one makes a change a little slower, another faster, but maybe with more dynamics, and so on. When playing as a group, musicians continually adapt, matching timbre, intensity, vibrato, intonation, bow speed and more. All these interactions happen automatically in a good ensemble, led by a good conductor, and reveal the "magic" of a live performance. With Vienna Dimension Strings, individual changes in dynamic levels of the players within a group can be achieved easily with velocity crossfades. You may even designate one or two "weak" musicians to play sloppy notes, with hesitant or delayed starts, for instance. Both Vienna Dimension Strings I & II include the free Vienna Instruments player. With the optional Vienna Instruments PRO and its Auto Humanization feature, all kinds of nuances and variations are possible while simply playing on the keyboard, making the final result sound absolutely striking.