Synth Strings

Ezzo · Post by **Ezzo** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 3:18 am

Hey guys, I'm currently looking for synth to do string sounds. Anybody have any faves? I've been looking into the OPUS 3 but so far I have read very mixed reviews and I still haven't any good soundfiles of it. So I am expanding my search any info you guys have on Synth String machines would be great.

OysterRock · Post by **OysterRock** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 3:34 am

Mellotron.

Try the GMedia M-Tron if thats out of your budget (as it is most peoples

).
Not a synth but its my favorite string sound.

If you really want a string synth, try the Solina String Ensemble. Cheezy good.

Ezzo · Post by **Ezzo** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:25 am

I've actually considered the Solina, I really love that early 80's post-punk string sound (the cure, Joy Division). But as Far as ARP goes I'm actually really digging the
OMNI 2 thanks in part to the great Demo at Virtual sound sheets. I've also been trying to get info on the ARP Quartet/Siel Orchestra but I'm having trouble finding decent info.

Boeing 737-400 · Post by **Boeing 737-400** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:11 am

My Polymoog Keyboard, if it worked.

jester69 · Post by **jester69** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:42 am

I like my opus3 for strings, the chorus sweeps can really fatten it up. It can be a one trick pony in that it doesn't do a whole lot, but what it does it does well and a lot of it you can't get in anything else.

Name another transistor organ with a moog vcf & chorus? heh.

take care,

Jester

Ezzo · Post by **Ezzo** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 12:55 pm

I bet if I actually got to try an OPUS I'd be sold but for some reason I don't think I'll ever have the pleasure

The Unknown · Post by **The Unknown** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:15 pm

Boeing 737-400 wrote:My Polymoog Keyboard, if it worked.

Nothing too serious, I hope?

Boeing 737-400 · Post by **Boeing 737-400** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 5:23 pm

Nah, not serious. Just the minor problem of getting it to a tech.

museslave · Post by **museslave** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:50 pm

I have had a Solina, Opus 3, Korg Delta and a Korg Lambda... and my favorite string synth of all of them was the Lambda.

I'm a horrible purist... I don't think any string synth actually sounds like strings, really.. (unless you're just doing octave melodies and burying it in the mix) but the best sound I ever got out of a string synth was the Lambda. It has 3 oscillators per key, AND individual envelopes per key, unlike all of the others... which cannot be beat... there is nothing more irritating than that godawful envelope retrigger with every chord or note. ::::shudders::::

museslave · Post by **museslave** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:52 pm

And i know this opinion may not be popular... but I would not pay even a LITTLE for an Opus 3. It might be my personal preference, but my GOD the thing had to be worked with precision to get a useable sound. I may not even accept one GIVEN to me. (unlike any other Moog I have ever had or played)

OysterRock · Post by **OysterRock** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:26 pm

Oh yeah, the Roland RS-09 has an interesting string sound. They go for pretty cheap, too.

Also includes a super cheezy organ!

www.vintagesynth.com/roland/rs09.shtml

Ezzo · Post by **Ezzo** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 7:11 am

museslave wrote:there is nothing more irritating than that godawful envelope retrigger with every chord or note. ::::shudders::::

Did the Omni 2 incorperate a multiple triggering system? I know version one and two have different systems but which won't retrigger with every note?

MC · Post by MC » Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:44 am

Ezzo wrote:Did the Omni 2 incorperate a multiple triggering system? I know version one and two have different systems but which won't retrigger with every note?

Yes, Omni 2 added multiple triggering. Omni 1 is single triggering.

Also some other differences, especially the chorus ensemble effect. Both units sound distinctly different. Omni 1 sounded a bit more "electronic" (Greg Hawkes of The Cars loved this attribute) and has been described as closest to the original Mellotron strings. Omni 2 sounded more wooden, I played one years ago and liked it. But if you want that high sweet sound, the old ARP/SOlina String Ensemble is the weapon of choice.

nicholas d. kent · Post by **nicholas d. kent** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:56 pm

It really depends on the kind of sounds you want and the musical material being played. For instance using the sound as a pad or trying to carry a melody line too.

I'd think you have your Mellotron sounds, which of course aren't synthesized, they're played back tape "samples". Then there's the string synthesizers, which you initially brought up albeit the Moog you mention is a combination. And then something no one has mentioned,Polysynths.

IMHO the make or break aspect of string synths is how good the ensemble effect sounds. That's what makes it come to life. To me I guess the upside is given a demo on a string synth you more or less know it's character. So I can feel your dilemma in there's a lot of gear you might want though don't have access to check out. The downside with string synths to me is you have a keyboard that often isn't articulate enough for more than pads and has a fairly narrow sound pallete. Though again on that moog you get a simple monosynth too, right? So for me it comes down to a question of a few nice sounds (if they are indeed nice) being worth the cost and room the instrument takes up.

till · Post by **till** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 2:40 pm

Those different string machines all have their own sound. Depending of the mood you are looking for, you may have to vary the string amchine to be used.
I got a ELKA Rhapsody, a Logan String Melody, a Farfisa Syntorchestra and a Hohner String Performer here. They are so differend.