STRING ENSEMBLE

Controls

• Violins 4'0 to 100% — Level of the 4' register, an octave above the key
• Violas 8'0 to 100% — Level of the 8' register, at the key's pitch
• Cellos 16'0 to 100% — Level of the 16' register, an octave below the key
• Attack5 to 3000 ms — How slowly the keys swell in
• Release20 to 5000 ms — How long the keys ring after they are let go
• Brightness0 to 100% — Low-pass of the whole section, from dark to bright
• Ensemble0 to 100% — How much of the three-tap ensemble chorus is heard
• Ensemble ModeClassic / Wide / Deep — Classic, Wide (the taps spread to the sides) or Deep (slower and deeper)
• Volume−24 to +12 dB — Output level

Best uses

• Lay a warm string bed under a song
• Play the classic 70s string-machine parts
• Swell pads in from silence with a long attack
• Thicken synth or organ parts with an octave of strings

Properties

Signal chain: MIDI → a Voice per Key (16', 8' and 4' PolyBLEP Sawtooths, locked an octave apart, free-running) × Attack/Release Envelope → Sum → 12 dB/oct Low-Pass (Brightness) → Body Resonances (450 Hz, 2.8 kHz) → Three-Tap Ensemble (slow and fast LFOs, 120° apart; mod wheel deepens it) → Volume. Fully polyphonic like the divide-down originals, no samples; sustain pedal, pitch bend ±2 semitones, all MIDI passed on.

Formats

• JSFXJSFX for REAPER, with REAPER's own sliders
• GFXJSFX GFX for REAPER, with its own interface
• VST3VST3 for any DAW
• CLAPCLAP for any DAW
• LV2LV2 for Linux DAWs such as Ardour, Carla and Qtractor

Factory presets

Classic Strings · Wide Pad · Slow Swell · Cello Bed · Bright Section · Dark Wash