Session Strings Pro Explained®
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4:56 Understanding the Presets
See how the presets that ship with this library are categorized, first by recording technique, then by style, then by section, and finally by function.
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6:28 The Main Window
Learn how the controls on this page, which appears in all three of the preset types, are used to blend the two versions of each section together, control the amount of bow noise, stereo width, and envelope characteristics of the section.
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7:05 The Animator Window Pt. 1
This window functions as either a step sequencer for chords, or as an arpeggiator. Learn how the basic controls are used to create patterns, alter the dynamics, timing, and number of steps, and set the trigger mode.
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5:58 The Animator Window Pt. 2
See how Animator presets are used, customized, saved, and loaded, and how to work with the different articulations and arpeggiator playback modes.
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10:02 Getting to Know the Articulations
Listen to samples of the available articulations and become familiar with the types of parts associated with the various playing styles.
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6:59 Working with Key Switches
Learn how the Keyswitch window is used to play or program string parts using multiple playing styles in a single performance.
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6:07 Working with the Articulation Window
Discover how this window is used to set up various articulations to be triggered by real time performance gestures, including velocity, sustain pedal, expression pedal, and pitch bend.
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3:36 The FX Window
Hear how the built in three band equalizer, compressor, and convolution reverb are used to enhance the sound of the string instruments.
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7:22 Session Strings Pro in Action
Explore a short musical example utilizing seven different instances of Session Strings Pro that switch between multiple articulations. Discover a few ideas on filtering and chasing the key switch notes.
Product Overview
Eli Krantzberg, author of MIDI Orchestration Explained, dives into one of todays most exciting and inspiring string collections, Native Instruments Session Strings Pro. In this series, Eli covers both the plug-in and how you can integrate it into your workflow to make beautiful sounding string parts and arrangements.
Eli starts with the basics, covering how the Presets are organized. From there, he explores the Main Window and all of its Controls and Blending Options. The next two videos cover the extremely powerful Animator Window which can be used as either a Chordal Step Sequencer or an Arpeggiator.
With the basics covered, Eli gets into the more advanced functionality of this powerful instrument, starting with the available Articulations. After that, he shows you how to work with the powerful Key Switches feature.
From there, Eli explains how to Set Up and Trigger Articulations using the Articulation Window. Eli now walks you through applying the final polish using the FX Window, and concludes with a video on bringing it all together and utilizing Session Strings Pro in your own projects.
Whether you’re just starting out using strings in your compositions, or you’re an experienced Sessions Strings Pro user looking for a better understanding of the instrument, watch “Session Strings Pro Explained” today!
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Reviews
Submitted 2 months ago
Excellent tutorial but last video ended too quickly.
Excellent tutorial. I wish the last video was longer or there were more examples like this. This is the kind of stuff you can't finding the manual. It would be great to have the session so it could be deeply examined.
I am a: Professional, Musician, Pro Tools
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 3 months ago
Session Strings - Very Good Video Set
Really good series of videos ...
I am a: Musician, Producer, Cakewalk Sonar, Studio One
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 10 months ago
very helpful
short but useful to learn from when you start with this vsti
I am a: Hobbyist
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 10 months ago
Got me on my feet!
I needed a down n dirty tutorial before I took on a big project. This got me up to speed to get it done! Thanks!
I am a: Professional, Musician, Producer, Audio Engineer, Sound Designer, Bitwig Studio, FL Studio
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 11 months ago
Good video!
Good tour of this product - I like the example at the end that ties everything together - shows what this product can do.
I am a: Hobbyist, Musician, Producer, Beat Maker, Audio Engineer, Sound Designer, Mastering Facility, Cakewalk Sonar
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 1 year ago
Excellent!
Thoroughly and clearly explained. Very helpful! Hope to see more videos on other kontakt instruments!
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 2 years ago
I learned stuff!
awesome teaching. Thank you!
I am a: Semi-Pro, Musician, Studio One
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 2 years ago
Quick and Easy
I purchased this video to get up to speed quickly. The video rolls in at just under an hour, so it's worth watching. Not sure I can justify the cost though. Use it in conjunction with the user manual and you should be ok. What I needed first was an understanding of how string sections work. But there is plenty here for experimentation.
I am a: Producer, Professional, Audio Engineer, Musician, Sound for Film/TV
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 2 years ago
Very helpfull
The video's are very informative, detailed and also contain practical examples. There is nothing really to complain about. I also already own Session Strings Pro so this is a very helpfull series to me as I now understand this sample library much better.
I am a: Beginner, Hobbyist
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Submitted 2 years ago
clarity in action
Didn't have a clue what I was doing before I watched this. I now know this is a lot more powerful than I thought. I can actually program string runs and make them sound real rather than hunting for loops in the right key.
I am a: Producer, Professional, Audio Engineer, Musician, Sound for Film/TV
Ease of Use Quality of Videos Value of Training Access to Videos
Reviews
Submitted 2 months ago
Excellent tutorial but last video ended too quickly.
Excellent tutorial. I wish the last video was longer or there were more examples like this. This is the kind of stuff you can't finding the manual. It would be great to have the session so it could be deeply examined.
I am a: Professional, Musician, Pro Tools
Submitted 3 months ago
Session Strings - Very Good Video Set
Really good series of videos ...
I am a: Musician, Producer, Cakewalk Sonar, Studio One
Submitted 10 months ago
very helpful
short but useful to learn from when you start with this vsti
I am a: Hobbyist
Submitted 10 months ago
Got me on my feet!
I needed a down n dirty tutorial before I took on a big project. This got me up to speed to get it done! Thanks!
I am a: Professional, Musician, Producer, Audio Engineer, Sound Designer, Bitwig Studio, FL Studio
Submitted 11 months ago
Good video!
Good tour of this product - I like the example at the end that ties everything together - shows what this product can do.
I am a: Hobbyist, Musician, Producer, Beat Maker, Audio Engineer, Sound Designer, Mastering Facility, Cakewalk Sonar
Submitted 1 year ago
Excellent!
Thoroughly and clearly explained. Very helpful! Hope to see more videos on other kontakt instruments!
Submitted 2 years ago
I learned stuff!
awesome teaching. Thank you!
I am a: Semi-Pro, Musician, Studio One
Submitted 2 years ago
Quick and Easy
I purchased this video to get up to speed quickly. The video rolls in at just under an hour, so it's worth watching. Not sure I can justify the cost though. Use it in conjunction with the user manual and you should be ok. What I needed first was an understanding of how string sections work. But there is plenty here for experimentation.
I am a: Producer, Professional, Audio Engineer, Musician, Sound for Film/TV
Submitted 2 years ago
Very helpfull
The video's are very informative, detailed and also contain practical examples. There is nothing really to complain about. I also already own Session Strings Pro so this is a very helpfull series to me as I now understand this sample library much better.
I am a: Beginner, Hobbyist
Submitted 2 years ago
clarity in action
Didn't have a clue what I was doing before I watched this. I now know this is a lot more powerful than I thought. I can actually program string runs and make them sound real rather than hunting for loops in the right key.
I am a: Producer, Professional, Audio Engineer, Musician, Sound for Film/TV
1. When did you start dabbling in music?
I started playing drums in high school at age fourteen. Like most kids my age around then, I was into progressive rock. Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Yes. They rocked my world. A few short years later though, my musical life changed. While studying music in college I discovered Charlie Parker, Milt Jackson, Sonny Stitt, and John Coltrane. Milt Jackson spoke to me in such a profound way that it left me no choice but to take up vibraphone.
These great players, along with drummers like Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, Art Blakey, and Elvin Jones changed not only the way I thought about drumming, but also music - and by extension, life - as a whole. I realized life was meant to be a creative endeavor. The idea of improvising based on a loose set of guidelines and rules permeated into my psyche even when I wasn't holding a pair of drumsticks or mallets. But if I am going to be perfectly truthful, I have to hold Henry Miller and Woody Allen equally responsible for shaping the way I view and experience the world around me.
2. What training have you had?
I am currently an Apple certified Logic Pro. Young and cocky, and armed with only a partial University degree, I dropped out of school and began playing steady commercial hotel engagements and jazz gigs when I could. This went on for many years until I decided it was time to complete my degree - which I ultimately did with a major in Political Science and a minor in music.
It was at this point that I formed my current band Nightshift. We are going in to our twenty third year now - playing commercial one nighters like weddings, corporate events, etc. Don't turn your nose up at it though - it has allowed me a wonderful quality of life. It gave me the freedom to go back to school and complete a post graduate degree in Communications Studies - all the while supporting myself by playing weddings.
3. When did you get into recording?
It was in this graduate program - in the early nineties - that I found myself drawn to the fledgling emerging universe of hard disc recording and midi sequencing. Based on nothing more than the recommendation of one of my band mates who had an old Atari, I jumped in head first and bought a Mac LC ll, along with a version 1.1 of what was then Notator Logic. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But, in hindsight, it was a decision of epic importance in my life - shaping my future as much as the music of Milt Jackson and Charlie Parker did fifteen years prior.
I opened up my own commercial home studio in 1998 and began doing a variety of projects, working on radio jingles, artist CD projects, and whatever came my way. A couple of years later a colleague called me up - desperate. He was working at a post production house and one of the editors had just quit. They were doing audio post for a weekly TV series and needed a Pro Tools editor - and fast! And so, once again, I jumped in head first into what would ultimately open up my world even more - the world of Pro Tools.
4. People you have worked with/for?
Focusing on Logic, I built up a small but loyal client base and my phone kept ringing for Logic tech support and instruction. Film composers and studio owners all over the city were calling me. Even the music stores were giving out my phone number at this point! This kind of stuff becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. The more of it you do, the more calls you get to keep doing it. At least that's the way it should be!
As my Logic chops kept growing, I was hired by an old buddy of mine, Len Sasso, who was then an associate editor at Electronic Musician magazine, and began writing some columns for them. I had a blast doing them - and really learned to focus and express my thoughts in a concise and clear manner. This lead to a collaboration with LA based composer Terry Michael Huud on the 2006 film called Civic Duty - which was certainly one of the highlights of my professional life as a composer.
5. Why are you so good at training people?
I wake up every day excited to boot up, and create. Whether it's instructional videos, creating music, working with a studio client, performing with my band, or teaching at the schools - my days are filled with what I love doing. Enriched by the stimulation and creative freedom this modern music making software brings to my life. I bring that excitement and passion to each and every training product I create. My years of experience both using and teaching these programs has taught me the best way to make the user comfortable with these complex programs.
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In this FREE series commissioned by Applied Acoustic Systems, Eli Krantzberg covers the expansive performance library of electric and acoustic guitar strumming inside and out, and shows you how to make Strum GS-2 your new favorite session guitarist!
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Logic Pro X 10.2 integrated Alchemy 2, one of the most powerful virtual instruments ever made. In this three-hour video training tutorial series, Eli Krantzberg teaches you how to become a Alchemy wizard and unleash all of its power on your music!
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Maestro 2 is Apogee's flexible and powerful OS X Mixer software solution that's included with all Apogee interfaces. Studio master Eli Krantzberg shows you everything you need to know about Maestro 2, as well as how to get the best performance out of your Apogee interface and improve your workflow.
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