Zilhouette Strings: Kontakt String Instrument by Cinematique Instruments

Zilhouette Strings lets you choose from five ensemble sizes: Quartett, Full Range, Chamber Ensemble, Just Lows and Just Highs. These ensembles come from solo and trio sessions combined into real player groups rather than a single full-orchestra recording.

After choosing an ensemble, you can set the volume of the violin, viola, cello and bass groups separately. Muting groups lets you play a solo cello from the Quartett ensemble, for example, or create many other combinations. A seating switch offers American or German arrangements, and an off setting keeps all panning centered.

A sweetness control moves the overall sound from natural at one end to sweet and smooth at the other, which can make the strings sound more distanced. The instrument also includes eight selected reverb types, including church, cathedral, classic and great hall settings.

The long patches respond to the mod wheel, which slides through the dynamic layers. The shorts and pizzicato patches vary length from short to spiccato with the mod wheel, and the developer uses advanced programming to keep dynamics nearly continuous.