In the worship team of the modern day church, it is more likely to find a musician using a laptop and controller rather than dragging around an 80-pound keyboard. Thanks to the innovation of sampling technology, worship teams around the world are employing vast instrument libraries to enhance their worship service. Gone are the days of cheap sounding synthesized strings. Now, worship leaders can unleash the realism of a full-scale orchestral string section in the worship service.
Sampling technology has been around for many years, and has been used mostly by film composers in the creation of orchestral mocks. By using sampling, producers can get a real overview of how the music would sound when recorded by an actual live orchestra. Herein is the power of sampled instrumentation. Sampling is not synthesized sound, but actual recordings of real players playing every note, slide, fret, string and style that is specific to their individual instrument. The recorded data is sampled and triggered by a keyboard controller, giving the user unlimited control and playability as if they were playing the strings themselves.
In order to provide the finest resources for your ministry, every month Sharefaith researches and reviews the best solutions for churches and ministries. Our aim is to provide resources that simplify yet enhance the task of church leadership. This month our Editor’s Pick is Cinematic Strings, and our focus is on the church’s worship team. Cinematic Strings is a phenomenal string library that is meticulously sampled, perfectly recorded and presented in a brilliant user-friendly way. The revolutionary technology of Cinematic Strings enables musicians and worship leaders to incorporate stunning string sections into their weekly worship service, passion or nativity play, worship concert, or even during a studio recording of a worship album.
Technical overview: Cinematic Strings consists of 22GB of content containing five orchestral string sections: 1st violins, 2nd violins, cellos, violas and bass. These sections are masterly crafted with all playable styles such as legato, vibrato, staccato, pizzicato, tremolo etc. Recording was done in 24 bit at 48khz. The samples are presented in Kontakt format and are compatible with Native Instruments Kontakt 3.5 and up.
The realism of the audio quality is enhanced by the inclusion of 3 mic positions, giving the user total control of the overall sound, mixing and placement of the string players. When adjusted, this variable mic positioning will result in a masterfully sounding string section.
Because of the complexity and quality of the string library, you will need to use a Mac or PC with the following minimum requirements: Quad Core 2.66ghz, 4GB RAM, 23GB Hard Drive Space (Sata Drive Recommended), and the software Kontakt 3.5 or above.
Tech support for Cinematic Strings is split between library creators Alex Wallbank and David Hearn. Between Wallbank, who lives in Sydney, Australia, and Hearn in London, they have the whole 24 hours covered if you have any questions or help requests.
Why is Cinematic Strings Sharefaith’s top pick? For one, the price is right. Other similar focused string libraries are priced well over $1000 and require far more technical savvy and equipment to operate. Cinematic strings however, is priced at only $699. Beyond that, the quality is unrivaled. Cinematic Strings is set apart by its detail, sonic clarity, overall sound quality and ease of use. Overall, Cinematic Strings is an extraordinary piece of technology that the church can easily use to achieve outstanding results. You will not find a simpler, more integrative, and professional sound software.
Don’t just take our word for it. Listen to these beautiful demos created using Cinematic Strings, and imagine the capabilities of introducing this library in your worship service or studio recording.
http://www.cinematicstrings.com/media/mp3/CS Demo 5 – Alex Wallbank – Home.mp3
http://www.cinematicstrings.com/media/mp3/CS Demo 2 – Alex Wallbank – Why.mp3
You can visit their website at: www.cinematicstrings.com
Read and extensive review of Cinematic Strings: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may10/articles/cinematicstrings.htm