VSL Synchron Duality Strings Ostinato + FX

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 Stars

VSL’s Synchron Duality Strings libraries offer the winning combination of a 52‑piece string ensemble and a chamber section of 27 players performing simultaneously in acoustically isolated sound stages, giving users total control over timbre, room ambience and combined string orchestra size. This ambitious concept has now yielded six collections, four of which (Regular, Sordino, Colors and Virtuoso) were explored in the January 2024 and October 2024 issues of SOS.

The two remaining collections expand the series’ musical scope. Synchron Duality Strings (Ostinato) (39GB) sees VSL snap into ‘action strings’ mode with the driving short‑note articulations often heard in film, TV, trailer and video game music. These brisk, urgent bowing styles are performed by separate first violin, second violin, viola, cello and double bass sections, with programmed tutti ‘full strings’ presets also available.

Unlike the spiccato performances in the regular collection, this library’s excellent spiccatos are played as both upbows and downbows. The détaché short notes also have a pad‑friendly long variant incorporating looped sustains. Alternating up and down bows via velocity or keyswitches creates immediate realistic rhythmic grooves; the new ‘Sequences’ feature automates the process, providing 11 pre‑programmed spiccato and détaché sequences of two to four articulations.

Also included is VSL’s new super‑smooth ‘legato largo’ style, created from previously unused legato content and optimised for slow, emotive, sweeping cinematic themes. This is the default legato for the library’s user‑friendly Flow View interface, with the classic legato accessible in the more detailed Precision View. It sounds lovely, and adds a welcome expressive melodic dimension to the ostinato library.

Moving into darker realms, the 56GB Synchron Duality Strings (FX) pushes the boat out with a bumper collection of experimental string effects. Much creative thought has gone into this collection: in addition to the usual scary atonal clusters and tension‑building, wavering‑pitch nerve janglers, there are fast octave ‘cross‑slides’ sounding like a pterosaur feeding frenzy, glissandos slithering into a malignant whole‑tone cluster chord and demented aleatoric atonal phrases played in four‑part divisi. In other words, organised chaos.

Other disquieting noises include tuning‑peg pitch‑bends, excellent behind‑the‑bridge screeching short notes and manic arpeggios, and brutally harsh, stabbing unison ‘scratches’ (think Psycho shower scene). On a more musical level, I also enjoyed the fully chromatic natural harmonics single notes and chords, and loved the ‘shuffled pizzicatos’, where four divisi sections simulate digital delay fast repeats by serially staggering their entries by a 32nd note. Amazing!

This being VSL, many artics are played in a choice of bowing styles and long/short variants by each section. If a string section of Beethoven’s day had tried their hand at this kind of material the players would have been carted off to the madhouse, so let’s be thankful we live in an age where such musical lunacy is actually encouraged!