Beautifully recorded and sampled, Nashville Scoring Strings features some excellent articulations and some innovative scripting. With lively performance-based samples and some wonderful mic positions, Nashville Scoring Strings offers a sense of humanity and richness that has significantly enhanced my orchestral palette.
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The long-anticipated Nashville Scoring Strings has just landed, and I’ve been itching to check it out. Promising to be a new benchmark in core string libraries, Nashville Scoring Strings is looking for an immediate place in your template. Is it worthy to be the “king of strings?” Let’s check it out together.
Nashville Scoring Strings sells for $499.00 from Audio Ollie
Thoughts
As many of us out there, I have been awaiting Nashville Scoring Strings with great anticipation. I really enjoyed Audio Ollie’s LA Modern Percussion, so the promise of performance-based samples within a core string library had me from the word “go.” Nashville Scoring Strings has a lot to offer; from beautiful samples in a great space to great scripting, there is a lot to like here. Nashville Scoring Strings was recorded at the famed Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, TN and features some excellent samples.
One thing to note is that the samples are very dry – something users will likely either love or greatly dislike about the library. I personally find it to be helpful, as it allows me to easily blend Nashville Scoring Strings with other string or orchestral libraries using my reverb of choice. However, it should be noted that the addition of the Surround and Wide mic positions especially does add a beautiful ambience to the library. Each mic position (Close, Decca, Wide, Surround) adds depth, beauty, and variety to the samples. Within Nashville Scoring Strings you will find two sample folders: the original samples and a de-noised version of the samples. I love the fact that the developer included both sets of samples. Some users are likely going to want to use the de-noised samples to produce a higher studio-quality sound, minus the occasional shuffling and background sounds, but I personally prefer the originals. While the audio difference between the two is not huge, there is a life and vitality to the original samples that just adds an extra burst of energy and humanity to the samples.
Audio Ollie has a knack for samples filled with life anyway, as Audio Ollie’s sampling philosophy is to use samples sourced from actual performances and phrases instead of individually created “perfect” samples. This means the samples for spiccatos and legatos are extracted from living, breathing performances, and you can tell. The spiccatos are especially the beneficiary of this approach, as they are crisp and have a lively character that you just don’t often hear in a string library. Another highlight among the articulations are the harmonics. The harmonics are GORGEOUS and brimming with fragile beauty, especially when you use the original samples (which includes some extra air and background noise). The legatos within the library are beautiful and very nimble. However, you won’t find controls for vibrato or portamento, as these are baked directly into the samples. This might be a deal-breaker for some, but I personally prefer it, as it allows me to get a beautiful legato performance out-of-the-box without having to mess around with dials and knobs. Another thing to note here is the lack of keyswitch patches. Again, this might be a deal-breaker for those who require keyswitches, but I didn’t miss them.
Another innovative approach Audio Ollie has taken within the library is the inclusion of “B” patches – a re-edited version of each patch that creates a new sound and character. Keep in mind that these are not a second set of samples, but the editing here would convince many that they are. These “B” patches are a great idea all by themselves, but the developer has really put them to work in a separate “Symphonic” folder. The Symphonic patches combine the original patches with the “B” patches to create a full symphonic library sound. This is great for moments when you need a bigger, fuller symphonic sound. Another nice addition are the multis. The multi patches combine some of the patches together in creative ways that give you a sound you might not otherwise think to create on your own. A final addition of note is the rebowing feature, allowing you to hold down the sustain pedal on the longs and legatos to trigger a rebow on repeated notes.
Nashville Scoring Strings is an excellent core string library. With several unique features, a beautiful set of samples, and some great scripting, Nashville Scoring Strings is a great addition to the world of sampled strings.
Facts
Nashville Scoring Strings requires the full version of Kontakt 5.8+ and requires 45 GB of hard drive space. There are both the original and de-noised samples along with a second set of edited samples to create a B patch for every articulation. There are separate instruments for violin, viola, cello, and bass, as well as full ensemble and multi patches. Nashville Scoring Strings is available from Audio Ollie for $499 but is available for the introductory price of $349 through December 1, 2020.
Nashville Scoring Strings normally sells for $499.00 from Audio Ollie
Demos of Nashville Scoring Strings by Audio Ollie
Videos of Nashville Scoring Strings by Audio Ollie
Contributor Raborn Johnson reviews Nashville Scoring Strings by Audio Ollie
“Beautifully recorded and sampled, Nashville Scoring Strings features some excellent articulations and some innovative scripting. With lively performance-based samples and some wonderful mic positions, Nashville Scoring Strings offers a sense of humanity and richness that has enriched my orchestral palette.”
