The sound of Japanese strings is both captivating and highly unique. What makes it so distinctive? Smaller ensembles recorded in focused studio spaces lend themselves to more agile playing, and a focus on perfection leads to incredible accuracy. These strengths make Japanese ensembles equally capable of delicate nuance and sweeping emotional performances that move listeners to tears. For many of us who have admired Japanese soundtracks for years, this sound has long been a source of inspiration, but it’s been out of reach for most composers outside of Japan — until now.

Our goal with Tokyo Scoring Strings is to give you the orchestral string sound featured in so many world-famous Japanese productions. This project has been a dream come true for all of us at Impact Soundworks, and we’re thrilled to have worked with some of our musical heroes to bring it to life. But we weren’t satisfied with just capturing this remarkable sound; we also sought to deliver an outstanding, inspiring UI, flexible editing, beautiful legato, and recording depth to rival any other industry-standard string libraries.

Our Japanese Partners

We are honored to have partnered with an incredible team of musicians and collaborators in Japan:

• Koichiro Muroya Strings, led by Koichiro Muroya. The most in-demand session ensemble in all of Japan. Their exquisite playing can be heard on many of your favorite soundtracks.
• Mitsunori Aizawa, Japan’s top engineer, responsible for mixing and recording hundreds of world-famous scores.
• Sound City, an incredible recording space with over 60 years of history. This choice of studio gives Tokyo Scoring Strings a tighter, more focused sound that lends itself extremely well to more agile playing and mixing with external reverb.
• Renowned anime & film composer Masaru Yokoyama, who brought his experience recording scores around the world through his companies Plugnote and MiracleBus.
• Crypton Future Media and SonicWire, our Japanese distributors who have helped with the project from the very beginning.

Tokyo Scoring Strings features five independently recorded sections (Violins 1, Violins 2, Viola, Cello, Bass) in a typical Japanese ensemble size (8/6/4/4/3) suitable for small and large productions alike.

Tokyo Studio Strings includes a well-rounded set of articulations recorded in superb detail. We have paid particular attention to delivering outstanding legato as well as the agility and crisp short notes that are such a strength of smaller Japanese string sections. You’ll be able to easily write and mock-up sweeping melodies, intimate legato, and aggressive agile passages.

Note: All articulations below are true, unique recordings, not created by re-pitching or processing other samples!

Articulations

• Arco (Sustain) – 5 dynamics, 3 vibrato levels (senza, con, molto)
• Bowed Legato – 3 dynamics, 2x rr
• Slurred Legato – 3 dynamics, 2x rr
• Bowed Portamento – 3 dynamics
• Slurred Portamento – 3 dynamics
• Rebow – 3 dynamics, 5x rr
• Staccato – 5 dynamics, 6x rr
• Staccatissimo – 5 dynamics, 6x rr
• Spiccato – 4 dynamics, 6x rr
• Crisp (Secco) Spiccato – 2 dynamics, 6x rr
• Sforzando – Dotted eighth & dotted quarter lengths, 3x rr
• Decrescendo – Dotted eighth & dotted quarter lengths, 3x rr
• Pizzicato – 3 dynamics, 4x rr
• Tremolo – 4 dynamics
• Trills – 2 dynamics, whole tone & half tone
• Releases – natural, excited, and staccato
• Harmonics

Console: Modular FX Rack and Mixer

Console is a fully-featured mixer, modular effects rack, and pedal board, designed to give you full control over your mix. Effects include multiple EQs (digital and analog-style), compressors, spatial FX, modulation FX, amps, distortion pedals, reverbs, and more.

Each mic channel can be loaded with up to 8 FX in any order, plus another 8 slots on the master channel, with support for send routing as well. The new “Galois Reverb” added in Kontakt 6 Player sounds fantastic as an alternative to our included custom IRs.

Download the Console manual here to learn more!