Lineage Strings is a premium sampled string ensemble library from ProjectSAM, recorded in a European concert hall, featuring intelligent performance tools like Adaptive Phrasing and automatic orchestration for realistic, fluid lines.
Purpose and Core Sound
Lineage Strings delivers a 35-player string ensemble recorded in the Broadcasting Music Center in Hilversum, Netherlands. It captures five separate sections—Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, and Contrabass—with up to 13 articulations per section, including longs, legato, staccato, spiccato, pizzicato, tremolo, harmonics, trills, and flourishes. The library emphasizes a warm, human, distinctly European character, blending close, stage, and ambient microphone positions for clarity, warmth, and hall depth.
The sound is rooted in ProjectSAM’s ambient sampling philosophy, offering three microphone mixes plus a pre-seated option. Users can blend or use mics separately, balancing punch and intimacy with expansive realism. Recorded at 96 kHz and provided at 48 kHz, the library includes multiple dynamic layers and round-robin variations for expressive, natural performances.
Key Capabilities: Smart Lookahead and Adaptive Phrasing
Smart Lookahead analyzes your performance just before it sounds, allowing the engine to respond musically rather than mechanically. This foundation enables fluid legato, natural runs, and organic phrasing, dramatically improving realism. It powers the library’s intelligent performance features without requiring manual intervention.
Adaptive Phrasing builds on this by turning a single articulation into a flexible tool. It tracks note lengths, speed, and repetition to automatically select the most appropriate articulation for each moment. For full control, you can hold a keyswitch to force any articulation anytime, like pizzicato, ensuring phrasing follows your musical intent seamlessly.
Workflow: The Arranger and Builder Instruments
The Arranger instrument automatically distributes your performance across all five sections, creating authentic string ensemble voicings from a single performance or chord. You can customize section behavior, including locking sections to specific roles like top notes, and the engine arranges remaining instruments around them—just like a real orchestrator. This eliminates manual part splitting or MIDI track juggling.
The Builder instrument lets you create custom ensembles by combining or layering instruments and articulations. Both Arranger and Builder are available in large multi-mic versions and smaller single-mic versions. Polyphonic legato tracks multiple voices simultaneously, allowing several legato lines to flow at once, while precision control adjusts timing for a focused or loose feel.
Practical Applications and Performance Controls
Lineage Strings suits composers needing quick, realistic string arrangements without complex programming. Use single instruments for sectional writing, the Arranger for scoring full ensemble passages, or the Builder for tailored setups. Dedicated down and up bow performances can alternate automatically, be set explicitly, or be overridden mid-phrase, enhancing phrasing. Automatic vibrato shapes dynamics and phrasing for subtle motion.
The library supports NKS1 and NKS2 standards, providing direct access to essential features via Komplete Kontrol controllers. Accessibility features ensure streamlined integration in modern setups. Ideal for film scoring, trailer music, or any genre requiring authentic string ensemble textures, the library’s intelligent tools reduce production time while maintaining musical depth.
Key features
- Five independently playable string sections with up to 13 articulations each
- Adaptive Phrasing automatically selects articulations based on performance
- Arranger instrument orchestrates notes across sections in real time
- Polyphonic legato for multiple simultaneous legato lines
- Down and up bowing controls with automatic, explicit, or overridden modes
- Three microphone positions plus pre-seated mix for flexible tone shaping
- Supports NKS1 and NKS2 for easy hardware controller integration
Best for
Ideal for composers and producers seeking a comprehensive string library that balances realism with creative flexibility. Best for film and media scoring, where quick iteration and organic ensemble writing are essential. Also suited for trailer music, pop, or any genre requiring expressive, room-authentic strings with minimal programming effort.