Pretty impressive timbre! An extra point of realism for string patches would be to get velocity to modulate (shorten) the attack time, because in real strings bowing hard causes the standing waves to build up more quickly. You could also try using pulse waves instead of saw waves, then add eq to emphasise primary air resonance (500hz for violins, but probably lower if you want a combined strings patch) and bridge resonance (about 4-5Khz for violins, but again lower on the larger family members) It is a common mistake to assume that you should choose a waveform that resembles the shape of the string under slip stick motion, but that is not what you actually hear on a bowed string! What you actually hear comes from the forces exerted onto the bridge (which is the 1st derivative of the slip-stick motion, and thus more like a pulse wave), then transmitted through the bridge and resonating in the body. The tricky bit is then finding the right pulse width, but given that pulse width is somewhat akin to bowing position 10-15% is normally a good starting point. You can then also assign, say, the mod wheel to modulate pulse width, which somewhat resembles changing bowing position. Also modulating pulse width with a bit of Perlin noise adds further movement to the timbre, making the sound more alive, and simulating the chaotic variance in real world slip-stick action. A bit of fairly fast vibrato (after a quite short delay) also sweetens up most string patches. In your case I suspect the heavy use of unison chorusing achieves a similar effect, but you might find it sounds even sweeter with fewer voices and a bit of vibrato. That said, I am spouting theory. I would love if you tried some of the above to see if you like the results, but synthesis is really an art where practice trumps theory.... so you may well prefer the great sound you have already developed :)
Pretty impressive timbre!
An extra point of realism for string patches would be to get velocity to modulate (shorten) the attack time, because in real strings bowing hard causes the standing waves to build up more quickly.
You could also try using pulse waves instead of saw waves, then add eq to emphasise primary air resonance (500hz for violins, but probably lower if you want a combined strings patch) and bridge resonance (about 4-5Khz for violins, but again lower on the larger family members) It is a common mistake to assume that you should choose a waveform that resembles the shape of the string under slip stick motion, but that is not what you actually hear on a bowed string! What you actually hear comes from the forces exerted onto the bridge (which is the 1st derivative of the slip-stick motion, and thus more like a pulse wave), then transmitted through the bridge and resonating in the body. The tricky bit is then finding the right pulse width, but given that pulse width is somewhat akin to bowing position 10-15% is normally a good starting point.
You can then also assign, say, the mod wheel to modulate pulse width, which somewhat resembles changing bowing position. Also modulating pulse width with a bit of Perlin noise adds further movement to the timbre, making the sound more alive, and simulating the chaotic variance in real world slip-stick action.
A bit of fairly fast vibrato (after a quite short delay) also sweetens up most string patches. In your case I suspect the heavy use of unison chorusing achieves a similar effect, but you might find it sounds even sweeter with fewer voices and a bit of vibrato.
That said, I am spouting theory. I would love if you tried some of the above to see if you like the results, but synthesis is really an art where practice trumps theory.... so you may well prefer the great sound you have already developed :)
@@robertp6859 interesting… I’ll have to look into creating a more advanced preset for extra dynamics based on pitch and add some modulation options.