Vienna Symphonic Library releases free "Violin Runs" String Ensemble Virtual Instrument

The Vienna Symphonic Library team has announced the release of Violin Runs, a new library featuring string ensemble runs, as a free gift for everybody. This is the fifth virtual instrument the Austrian company provides free of charge. Vienna's Free Instruments can be activated on an iLok key or on the user's computer without the requirement of a physical key.

Here's what they say:

There's a special quality to fast scales performed by an ensemble of string players. It's the simultaneous presence of precision and minimal random deviations in a well-rehearsed ensemble that creates the smoothness and vividness of string ensemble runs. So to increase liveliness and authenticity in a track, it may be better to use pre-recorded runs than creating a string run out of single notes. That's why VSL recorded octave runs performed by an ensemble of 14 violin players in all scales and modes, presented in the well-organized patch structure of the Vienna Synchron Player.

The ensemble was recorded in Vienna's second studio, the Silent Stage, which offers a tight, controlled ambience that lets users place these strings in any acoustic environment they can imagine, either with the onboard convolution and algorithmic reverbs included in the Vienna Synchron Player, or with any external effects plug-ins.

All runs are available in all minor and major scales as well as in Greek modes, always played upwards and downwards. What's more, they're all available in two variations: "Fixed runs" trigger a fast run as soon as a key is hit, landing on a long sustained note one octave higher or lower. "Perform runs" work differently: First a long note is played, and once the user presses a note one octave above or below, the run is performed toward that target note, which is then sustained again. It's also possible to create beautiful longer passages by connecting upwards and downward runs, or by adding variations through triggering only a part of the runs.

Using the Vienna Synchron Player's time stretching feature it is easy to adjust all runs to any tempo, and even accelerate or decelerate the runs in real-time using the stretch factor slider.

Preconfigured mixer presets offer various reverb lengths and placements as first or second violins. Preset names such as lush, bright, close, classic, distant, wide, retro, sentimental and many more not only illustrate the broad range of available sound characteristics, but also the capabilities of the Synchron Player's full-fledged mixer.

Price: Free at vsl.co.at