Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

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ChrisFFTA
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Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by ChrisFFTA » Thu Aug 19, 2021 5:05 pm

Just wondering if anyone has created orchestral strings sounds with a pedal

I had a Mel9 which was a bit disappointing and currently I’m experimenting with big plate reverbs and a Boss ST1 and getting close especially capoing high up the neck

Anyone else used pedals to get this sound?

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Thu Aug 19, 2021 5:18 pm

Depends on how you want to achieve it. Vibrato can help, as with heavy reverb and delay trails. Couple that with an octave up/down shimmer thing with volume swells and your there. No wrong way to do it. But modulation, delays and reverbs are your friend. The attack of a guitar is not like keys so I find swelling or ebowing into it easier. You could always use a violin bow with your guitar in conjunction. Good luck

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by sessylU » Thu Aug 19, 2021 5:58 pm

How realistic are you looking to get here?

If you want synthish string sounds, you might have options. Although (having just relistened to demos on it), I don't know how much closer you will easily get that the Mel9. I was impressed by the Cello sound on that, but the String setting sounds like it has some weird EQ envelope that lumps a shortish attack and decay on the front of the note. I think the Cello sound up a few octaves might actually sound better. I think EHX are maybe going for a cheesey synth string (well, a mellotron, pretty obviously) so they have that EQ envelope to sound like bow noise.

If you want to DIY this, I've managed stringish (but absolutely not convincing) sounds by using a reverb to take of the attack (basically using the reverb as the amplitude envelope), with other delays, trems and verbs afterwards to control the sustain, I guess? Then fine tuning with fuzz/dirt pedals in front of all this as like a way of determining waveshape. Sounds kool, sounds acceptably stringsish to fool people into thinking it's a characterful synth. Does not sound like actual orchestral strings.

If you want something to sound like actual orchestral strings, I don't think this can be done. Maybe with a midi guitar? Maybe with a HOG2? (I always got the impression that the Mel9, Bass9, Synth9 and Key9 were basically presets of the HOG2 repackaged....
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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by jorri » Fri Aug 20, 2021 4:03 am

The classic thig for a synth string sound would very wet delay and reverb, tremolo picked. See slowdive and various. Maybe a reverse verb and slide. Its depends which verb because you want density and removal of attack without cluttered tails- if anything a reasonably short decay reactive to note changes.

Add shimmer or pitch and maybe modulation for depth. Never found chorus helps anything sound like an actual ensemble but it can sound cool

Otherwise sometimes looping slide tremolo parts over and over with a delay then play it backwards and pitch altered...probably closest things to strings ive done

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by Pacafeliz » Sat Aug 21, 2021 2:12 am

...I remember the Digitech Space Station was pretty orchestral. But they're so expensive now. Insane... I've owned about 4 of em but always ended up selling them.

Damn that'd be a good reissue, i guess...
i love delay SO much ...that i procrastinate all the time.

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by Plumerai » Sat Aug 21, 2021 5:54 am


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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by fuzzjunkie » Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:45 am

From my midi days, I think you have to think a bit about technique and arrangements. A pedal isn’t going to be convincing on its own.

Viola, Cello, and Bass are all an octave apart. The Violin is voiced a 5th above the Viola. Common keys revolve around the open strings of G-D-A. It’s common for the Cello or Viola to double the Violin melody when not playing counterpoint.

If you had a Harmonizer that could play 5ths and Octaves, while letting you mix in % of each, that would be a start. Mix in sustaining and staccato parts into the melody.

Reverb can be added to blend things together. A better result would be to have a guitar that split the bass and treble. A few guitars have been set to do this, some (Roland Hex pickups) even split out the individual strings. Then the treble notes could be the violin parts, and processed with delay or reverb or overdrive or eBow, and the bass parts could be processed differently and with added octaves to sound more like a proper backing arrangement.

Of course, ambient pads can just be ambient pads, where judicious use of reverb and octave harmonies are enough.

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by cestlamort » Tue Aug 24, 2021 11:00 am

Pacafeliz wrote:
Sat Aug 21, 2021 2:12 am
...I remember the Digitech Space Station was pretty orchestral. But they're so expensive now. Insane... I've owned about 4 of em but always ended up selling them.

Damn that'd be a good reissue, i guess...
Space station strings/pads = Roller rink from the future.

There are some modded versions of the other pedals in the series that'll do the xp300 sounds (by jet pack mods, if I remember right)

I ended up selling my Casio Guitar (or guitars!) when I got a Space Station, since it did the weird pads with less outboard gear (or less synths). The "real" Casio midi guitars are all fun (and I wish I'd kept mine). Wire used them at some point too (which just makes me want one again even more). Unlike the Roland technology, it's straight up midi, so you can plug in any synth. (or just run the onboard GM synth on the PG380). That said, the tracking was always a bit slow, but not a big deal for swells/pads.

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by Singlebladepickup » Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:19 pm

The Last Gasp Art Laboratories "Misty Cave" pedal has a kind of delay/flange thing that can be controlled with expression pedal. I think that pedal and either an e-bow or gizmotron would sound like cello or something orchestral. I've actually wanted to do that myself, but I don't have any of those things.

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by burpgun » Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:24 pm

Check out the Boss SY-1 synth pedal. It's got a number of strings options with some modest ability to tweak, and it tracks very well. Simple, gets the job done.

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by CorporateDisguise » Wed Aug 25, 2021 2:54 am

I use the POG2/HOG2 for pseudo string sounds. It has an automatic volume swell that is a decent facsimile. It can also do some flutey tones as well. Reed instruments are the hardest, as they have such a distinct tone with an inherent buzz that is hard to reproduce. The filtering, especially in the HOG is very powerful and helpful in getting the right tonality without the piercing high end. And with the freeze mode you can get the cool infinite sustain of a bowed instrument.

Is it likely to trick anyone? No. Does it do it’s job in my looping setup? Yes.

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by ChrisFFTA » Fri Sep 03, 2021 9:09 pm

Thanks everyone

I already have the SY1 and it’s in the ballpark but also just grabbed an Astral Destiny for its shimmer etc

See how I go

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:44 am

I just use a Boss RV-6 set to shimmer (with the tone at about 9 o’clock) after a volume pedal for pad stuff. Works ok for River Man kinda sounds.

I played violin for a long time. There’s really no way to emulate bowing with a guitar. The upstroke with a bow sounds different than the downstroke. That’s multiplied by however many folks are in the string section.

If I were to get more serious about doing a string-ish sound I might try a Slow Gear type thing into a fuzz the the White Atom I have coming that’s happy after a buffer and has adjustable bias. Lop off a little of the initial attack with the Slow Gear and have a little subtle Velcro action on the attack and texture on the decay. Then into the RV-6.

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by fuzzjunkie » Sat Sep 04, 2021 8:26 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Sep 04, 2021 9:44 am
I just use a Boss RV-6 set to shimmer (with the tone at about 9 o’clock) after a volume pedal for pad stuff. Works ok for River Man kinda sounds.

I played violin for a long time. There’s really no way to emulate bowing with a guitar. The upstroke with a bow sounds different than the downstroke. That’s multiplied by however many folks are in the string section.

If I were to get more serious about doing a string-ish sound I might try a Slow Gear type thing into a fuzz the the White Atom I have coming that’s happy after a buffer and has adjustable bias. Lop off a little of the initial attack with the Slow Gear and have a little subtle Velcro action on the attack and texture on the decay. Then into the RV-6.
Decades ago I used to play an eBow into an inverse reverb setting on a Roland DEP-5. That was a pretty bowed string sound. Then Kevin Shields came along and ruined the whole thing.

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Re: Orchestral Strings with a pedal?

Post by jorri » Sun Sep 05, 2021 4:20 am

I thought it would be annoying to mention 'just use a cheap bow and a lot of rosin" but that i have done a lot too (especially on bass). It doesnt really help with "string synth" type sounds necessarily, just as a soloist, turning your guitar into a hurry gurdy, or low 'cello sul pont." (Near bridge=more harmonic whilsling).

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