Violins, violas, cellos, double basses — put them all together, and you get one of the most majestic and elegant sounds known to man. There aren’t many musicians who haven’t dreamed of having a string section play over their music, or work with a top violinist or cellist. Of course, this can be prohibitively expensive, especially when it comes to recording a full-string section in a large, professional recording studio.
But, whether you’re a composer, arranging strings for pop music, or scoring to picture, the best strings VSTs give you a viable option to bring symphonic sounds to your music. While you can’t replace the real thing, some of these string sample libraries come startlingly close. Note that this list is just for string instrument libraries — if you’d like your strings to come in a full orchestra package, check out our guide for The Best Orchestral VSTs.
And while some of them ain’t cheap, there are some lovely affordable options too. Stick around for the end, as we learn a technique used by top film composers and arrangers to combine real players with digital libraries for a brilliant, authentic result. So — the best strings VSTs — let’s go, or in this case, let’s bow!