It’s a String Thing: Vintage Strings MKIII Vs. String Dream Synthesizer (Review)

The 70s saw much of the beginning of electronic music. Part of the inventiveness and spirit of that decade saw the beginning of new synthesizer instruments often referred to as string machines. Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, and Pink Floyd among other artists made use of them.

Of course the analogue eventually has travelled into the digital domain with more or less successful emulations making their appearances. What is especially interesting to see is that a few affordable plugins have appeared which claim to reproduce these original instruments in all their retro glory. We decided to compare two different virtual instruments whose ambition is to emulate the string machine sound to see what kind of harmonies might come out. The lucky two are Vintage Strings MKIII and String Dream Synthesizer.

Read more of this exiting match-up by clicking here.

The original instruments were viewed as an alternative to a real orchestra for the musician on the road. Of course they never quite sounded like the real deal, but still had a sort of charm which to this day contributes to their popularity. Among the real life synths back in the day to make their appearance were the Crumar Multiman, Logan String Melody and the prominent Solina. Roland and Moog were also clever enough to join the bandwagon with Moog Opus 3 and Roland with their RS202.

On to the virtual instruments: Vintage Strings MKIII is manufactured by Musicrow Audio Software, otherwise known for its many instruments specifically aimed for Native Instruments’ prominent modular host Reaktor. Behind String Dream Synthesizer is Nusofting, another independent company who also are publishes Broken drum machine and DK+.

Vintage Strings mkIII offers a retro looking graphical user interface which to me appears a bit unclear. The different sections of instrument come with heavily italicised tags which on a high resolution monitor makes it unnecessarily hard to read. String Dream Synthesizer on the other hand has a distinctly modern look. It comes with a no-nonsense visual appearance which is hardly pushing the envelope, but is very clear and self- explanatory. Personally, I tend to favour the looks found on plugins such as String Dream Synthesizer. Your mileage may vary.

It is also clear that each synthesizer has different philosophies when it comes to how the user alters or creates their own sounds. String Dream Synthesizer lets the user activate different voices named after instruments such as Contra Bass, Cello, Horn, etc. Vintage Strings has opted for another  model with two sections that generates the sound coupled with parts dedicated to adjusting parameters such as fatness, modulation, chorus and reverb. Vintage Strings clearly has the sound generating aspect covered although I find the options more difficult to navigate.

When it comes to the bundled presets found on each plugin I am pleased to say that both instruments come with top notch sounds. There are many and explore. It also becomes clear that their different philosophies continue on a more fundamental level. Vintage Strings comes forward as having a sort of charming romantic aura which possibly could put its spell on quite a few people out there. String Dream Synthesizer, on the other hand, sounds somewhat more modern in its characteristics, and perhaps with a slightly more pronounced warmth.

It is hard for me to judge whether either is closer to the original sounds generated by the Crumars and Logans back in the day, but it’s clear to me that neither of the plugins are sub-standard, both taking the user to different territories in the vast world of strings and pads. Vintage Strings MKIII stays true to its name in the sense that it clearly offers a more vintage type of sound, while the String Dream Synthesizer is warmer with more luscious character lending itself to any type of backing pad or string sound. Overall my verdict is that neither is superior to the other, and they actually compliment each other nicely.

Price-wise Strings Dream Synthesizer is available for $45 and is available in the VST and AU format. Vintage Strings MKIII and is exclusively released for Windows VST hosts and can be had for 59€. Make a wise choice ye lover of strings.