Soliste VLN.356 Violin
by Expressive E · Instrument · Physically modeled solo violin
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Soliste VLN.356 is a physically modeled solo violin from Expressive E, played in real time with no samples.
It is built for expressive controllers such as Osmose, Touché and other MPE devices but also works with standard MIDI; it costs $99.
Best for: Acoustic Instruments, Sound Design. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Jazz, Acoustic & Classical, Pop.
Keywords: strings, solo strings, MPE support, physical modelling, hybrid, modern, bass instrument, bright, cinematic, classic, crisp, sound design.
What it does
VLN.356 is the violin of Expressive E's Soliste collection of physically modeled solo strings. It is played rather than triggered: bowing, vibrato and tone follow pressure, timbre and pitch from an MPE controller or a standard keyboard. Expressive E describes it as "crisp, bright, and endlessly expressive."
- Three play modes: Classic (press and tap), Virtuoso (back-and-forth bowing) and Expressive Bow, a hybrid of the two; tremolo can be controlled on the fly.
- Smart vibrato: manual vibrato, or assisted vibrato that fades in as you hold a note, with adjustable amount, speed and fade-in.
- Articulations: 32 presets covering sul ponticello, sul tasto, pizzicato, Bartók, col legno, spiccato, spiccatissimo, staccato, staccatissimo and martelé.
- Six bodies: Spark, Hollow, Sleek, Antique, Lyric and Mellow, each changing the instrument's tone.
- Bow and feel: settings for bow response and vibrato behavior so the model matches your playing.
- Controllers: works with Osmose, Push 3, Seaboard, LinnStrument and other MPE devices, plus standard MIDI keyboards with flexible parameter mapping.
It is sold alone or in the four-instrument Soliste bundle (violin, viola, cello and double bass).
Source: Expressive E product page
When to use it
VLN.356 is the better pick when you want to perform a solo violin line in real time and shape every note by hand. Compared with sampled libraries such as Berlin Strings or BBC Symphony Orchestra Core, it is far smaller and more responsive to playing, but reviewers find it less natural. Like Audio Modeling's SWAM Violin it is modeled rather than sampled, so phrasing comes from your controller rather than from recorded articulations. Compared with Arturia's Augmented STRINGS, it focuses on a single solo player instead of layered, synth-processed textures.
- Best for: expressive solo violin lines and contemporary, slightly synthetic string parts, especially played on Osmose or another MPE controller.
- Genres: cinematic, contemporary, electronic, pop and acoustic arrangements.
- Look elsewhere if: you need convincing classical realism, a full section or keyswitched articulations; a sampled library such as Berlin Strings is the safer choice.
- Tip: MusicRadar suggests layering it with sample libraries for hybrid orchestral textures.
What producers say
Reviewers enjoy playing it and value its expressiveness, but agree it sounds somewhat synthetic and is held back by missing keyswitches.
- Sound On Sound (Robin Bigwood) "absolutely loved playing them, especially with an Osmose", while noting a "quite strong synthetic quality" in plain melodic playing.
- MusicRadar called Soliste "a fine example of modelling software" and found the violin "very striking" and lively under Osmose, but said legato phrasing doesn't convincingly match real instruments.
- Criticisms: articulations are chosen by mouse only, with no MIDI keyswitches; no double stops; an incomplete preset system, missing documentation and a steep learning curve.
Where to buy
- Plugin Boutique: $99
- Expressive E: $299
Tutorials and reviews
- Emulating Violin Stops with Osmose and Expressive E's "Soliste" String Plugin
- Violin on Osmose, with Soliste.
- Soliste Walkthrough
- Soliste — Articulation Examples
- 🎻 The Most EXPRESSIVE Strings Ever? Meet SOLISTE!
Similar plugins
- SWAM Violin by Audio Modeling · Physically modeled solo violin · $66.33
- Studio Solo Strings by Vienna Symphonic Library · Sampled solo strings · $566.61
- Soliste VLA.419 Viola by Expressive E · Physically modeled solo viola · $99
- Soliste CLO.756 Cello by Expressive E · Physically modeled solo cello · $99
- SWAM Cello by Audio Modeling · Physically modeled solo cello · $66.33
- Soliste DBS.1130 Double Bass by Expressive E · Physically modeled double bass · $99
- SWAM String Sections by Audio Modeling · Physically modeled string ensembles · $334.33
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