Focused on the unique "Middle Eastern" style, providing a sound that is often impossible to achieve with standard Western string libraries.
Middle Eastern string playing relies heavily on specific ornaments. Sultan Strings includes a robust selection of both phrases and playable articulations that reflect these techniques.
: The library excels in playability, offering a natural and responsive playing experience. The samples are carefully edited to replicate the subtleties of human performance, making it difficult to distinguish from a live ensemble.
For the right projects—and for composers who understand its strengths and limitations—Sonokinetic Sultan Strings truly is better than the alternatives. It delivers authentic, time-saving, and inspiring content at a price that’s hard to beat. If your work ever calls for the sounds of Middle Eastern strings, this library deserves a permanent place in your Kontakt collection. sonokinetic sultan strings kontakt library better
To make the Sonokinetic Sultan Strings library perform better and sound more realistic in your productions, focus on leveraging its unique phrase-based design while optimizing technical performance. Although now a legacy product, its authentic Middle Eastern "digital" ensemble (3 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello) remains a powerful tool. Vi-Control 1. Optimize Technical Performance
The Sonokinetic Sultan Strings Kontakt library is better if your goal is immediate cinematic atmosphere. It isn't a "do-it-all" library, but for Middle Eastern textures, it offers a level of phrasing and tonal authenticity that few others can match. It turns a flat MIDI arrangement into a living, breathing score. To help you decide if this fits your current project: What are you currently scoring?
You can switch between different phrases, tempos, and time signatures on the fly during a live performance or arrangement. 5. Seamless Workflow and Interface Design Focused on the unique "Middle Eastern" style, providing
The ensemble consists of 5 violins, 3 violas, and 2 cellos. This smaller, tighter group provides a "dry" and detailed sound. It cuts through a mix much better than a massive 60-piece orchestra when you need that specific ethnic edge. Is it Better Than Modern Alternatives?
The primary argument for the superiority of Sultan Strings lies in its adherence to authenticity through performance. In traditional Western string libraries, the composer plays individual notes, and the software attempts to stitch them together. While this offers control, it often lacks the idiomatic soul of non-Western music. Middle Eastern string writing is defined by complex runs, glissandos, and specific ornaments that are nearly impossible to replicate by playing one key at a time. Sultan Strings approaches this by recording actual performances. By sampling these runs and ornaments as distinct phrases, Sonokinetic captured the human nuance that a keyboardist simply cannot emulate. When a composer triggers a "run" in Sultan Strings, they are hearing a section of musicians performing that run in unison, with the correct attack, bow pressure, and intonation. This results in a sound that is not merely "ethnic-flavored" but genuinely authentic.
€149–199 (often on sale for ~€99) Value: High – because no other library in this price range gives you truly playable, ornamented Middle Eastern strings out of the box. : The library excels in playability, offering a
The Kontakt library is often considered a "better" choice for composers seeking hyper-realistic Middle Eastern performances . While it has been discontinued by the developer, it remains a cult favorite for its unique phrase-based approach that captures nuances difficult to program manually. Why It’s Considered Better
The library was recorded with players who instinctively bend into , Uşşak , and Rast scales. The phrase engine intelligently maps these microtonal inflections to your keyboard. You don’t need to manually pitch-bend every note or buy a $2,000 Lumatone keyboard.