Vienna BBO: Strings

Vienna BBO: StringsPure Motion. Pure Emotion. Vienna has always been the city of strings a place where craftsmanship, artistry, and centuries of musical tradition converge. On our own scoring stage, the string sections of the Vienna Synchron Orchestra embody that legacy, blending seamlessly with the grand acoustics of Stage A to create a lush, luminous sound that has become a defining hallmark of the Big Bang Orchestra. Overview String ensembles playing in unison and in

Pure Motion. Pure Emotion.

Vienna has always been the city of strings – a place where craftsmanship, artistry, and centuries of musical tradition converge. On our own scoring stage, the string sections of the Vienna Synchron Orchestra embody that legacy, blending seamlessly with the grand acoustics of Stage A to create a lush, luminous sound that has become a defining hallmark of the Big Bang Orchestra.

Overview

• String ensembles playing in unison and in octaves
• Includes a massive 112 piece string ensemble
• Multiple microphone positions, additional close mic positions
• Real legatos, glissandos, espressivo, swells, trills, pizzicatos, etc.
• Flow View for easy, intuitive and effortless playing

Let Your Strings Flow

Combining the full sample content of the previously available BBO Packs Lyra (High Strings), Musca (Low Strings), and the monumental string ensembles of Zodiac (Supermassive Ensembles), BBO Strings brings together the full force and beauty of Vienna’s string power in one comprehensive collection. Enhanced by our intuitive Flow View, every articulation and ensemble is at your fingertips, ready to inspire seamless creativity and effortless symphonic flow.

High Strings

The High Strings patches capture the soaring elegance of Vienna’s finest string players. With 14 first violins, 12 second violins, and 8 violas performing together – the violas an octave below the violins – this ensemble offers a broad and balanced tone that is ideal for lyrical melodies, sweeping themes, and radiant textures.

Recording all three sections performing together allows for perfect musical cohesion. Each player instinctively adjusts intonation, tone color, phrasing, and vibrato to the collective sound, resulting in an organic unity that feels alive and deeply expressive. The result is a seamless orchestral timbre that shines in any mix, whether used alone or layered with the full Big Bang Orchestra tutti performances.

Low Strings

The Low Strings ensemble – six cellos and four double basses performing together in octaves – provides the solid foundation and emotional depth essential to any orchestral arrangement. Their perfectly balanced interplay creates a resonant, homogeneous sound that anchors your compositions with warmth, gravity, and subtle power.

As with the high strings, recording both sections together ensures the natural interaction and micro-adjustments that make a live performance so special. The result is an incredibly coherent and full-bodied tone – rich in resonance, yet articulate enough to support detailed orchestral writing.

Supermassive Ensembles

When 112 string players unite, the result is nothing short of breathtaking. These uber-large ensembles offer a truly monumental sound that expands and enriches your arrangements with epic depth and grandeur – not just a bit louder, but smoother, broader, and more enveloping.

1st Violins – 30 players

2nd Violins – 26 players

Violas – 20 players

Cellos – 22 players

Basses – 14 players

The Tutti patches feature all sections performing together, either in their natural voicing across six octaves or in condensed form spanning four. Octave combinations between sections – such as violins/violas, violas/cellos, or cellos/basses – create richly layered textures ideal for dramatic builds and cinematic crescendos.

Articulations

Low & High Strings

• Short notes, bold and agile
• Sustained with light and strong vibrato, and espressivo
• Legato with light and strong vibrato, and espressivo
• Sforzato, sforzatissimo, swells short and long, soft and very soft swells, soft diminuendo
• Tremolo with normal and fast attack, half and whole tone trills
• Fast repetitions, staccato at 120/140/160 BPM
• Glissandos minor and major 2nd, up and down
• Pizzicato

Supermassive String Ensembles

• Short notes – bold and agile
• Long notes – regular and soft release
• Legato – regular and soft release, marcato
• Dynamics – sforzato, sforzatissimo
• Tremolo

Mixer Presets

Room Mix Presets

The most resource-friendly presets: Based on a room mix we created from all available room microphones, you will get an impressive sound that will help you to manifest your orchestral ideas on every device.

Stereo Decca Tree Presets

The "Decca tree" is the microphone tree that is the heart and soul of every orchestral recording. It consists of a main stereo channel and a mono center channel and captures the details of the room from the conductor’s perspective.

Surround to Stereo Presets

Enjoy the massive sound of all available room microphones, including the decca tree mics, down-mixed to a stereo signal. You will get a great impression of the huge sound our Synchron Stage Vienna is known for.

Surround Presets

If you insert your Synchron Player as a surround plug-in in your sequencer, these presets will provide the starting point for your surround setup.

Processed Presets

We have added some compression using the integrated compressor to achieve an even more powerful sound of the Big Bang Orchestra. Feel free to add more FX as you create the symphonic sound of your desire.

Microphone Setup

• Main (Decca tree stereo)
• Main (Decca tree center)
• Main surround stereo
• High stereo
• High surround stereo
• High strings