Unlike standard Western orchestral libraries that focus on multi-sampled single notes (sustains, staccatos, pizzicatos), Sultan Strings is built from the ground up around pre-recorded phrases, improvisations, and traditional Middle Eastern intervals.
For $299 (MSRP, often on sale for $199), you are not just buying samples. You are buying a . You are buying two decades of ethnomusicological research, recorded by world-class Istanbul session players, and packaged into an interface that your DAW understands instantly.
If you need a general-purpose orchestral string library for traditional scoring, Sultan Strings isn’t the right choice. As one composer noted about Sonokinetic’s string libraries in general: “for the price, the Sonokinetic strings are very good, just not as exhaustive and deeply sampled as some of the others I mentioned”. For dedicated expressive legato lines, libraries like Cinematic Studio Series offer smoother, more consistent monophonic legato.
The Kontakt interface is designed for speed, putting essential controls—articulation switching, mic mixing, and performance options—right at your fingertips.
The library was recorded with a clean, close-to-medium microphone perspective, allowing you to apply your own reverbs to match the rest of your template. Final Verdict
Includes a "light" version for phrases to reduce RAM strain and ensure quicker loading.
Let’s get granular. Here are the technical and musical features where Sonokinetic’s engine leaves Kontakt’s factory library (and even high-end rivals like EastWest RA or Ethno World) in the dust.
Standard string libraries excel at producing Western orchestral textures—romantic legatos, soaring melodies, aggressive shorts. But they completely fail at replicating the ornament-rich, microtonally-inflected phrasing characteristic of Middle Eastern music. Sultan Strings solves this problem by capturing from “one of the world’s best Middle Eastern string ensembles,” rather than trying to fake the style through sample manipulation.
Whether it is "better" depends entirely on your specific production needs: Choose Sultan Strings if
Most orchestral libraries rely entirely on multi-samples. You press a MIDI note, and it plays a single, static sound. While flexible, this approach completely misses the phrasing, passion, and connected legato style unique to Middle Eastern string playing.
Scoring desert kingdoms, Middle Eastern dramas, Ottoman court flashbacks, Balinese gamelan fusion, or any fantasy setting that requires longing, vibrato-heavy, micro-tonal phrasing.
Despite being phrase-focused, it includes core articulations such as sustains (with dynamic crossfading to vibrato), tremolos, trills, glissandi, and tempo-synced runs.
Kontakt’s standard scripting allows for arpeggiators and step sequencers. Sultan Strings includes a dedicated that syncs to your DAW’s tempo.
Sonokinetic Sultan Strings Kontakt Library Better ((new)) -
Unlike standard Western orchestral libraries that focus on multi-sampled single notes (sustains, staccatos, pizzicatos), Sultan Strings is built from the ground up around pre-recorded phrases, improvisations, and traditional Middle Eastern intervals.
For $299 (MSRP, often on sale for $199), you are not just buying samples. You are buying a . You are buying two decades of ethnomusicological research, recorded by world-class Istanbul session players, and packaged into an interface that your DAW understands instantly.
If you need a general-purpose orchestral string library for traditional scoring, Sultan Strings isn’t the right choice. As one composer noted about Sonokinetic’s string libraries in general: “for the price, the Sonokinetic strings are very good, just not as exhaustive and deeply sampled as some of the others I mentioned”. For dedicated expressive legato lines, libraries like Cinematic Studio Series offer smoother, more consistent monophonic legato.
The Kontakt interface is designed for speed, putting essential controls—articulation switching, mic mixing, and performance options—right at your fingertips. sonokinetic sultan strings kontakt library better
The library was recorded with a clean, close-to-medium microphone perspective, allowing you to apply your own reverbs to match the rest of your template. Final Verdict
Includes a "light" version for phrases to reduce RAM strain and ensure quicker loading.
Let’s get granular. Here are the technical and musical features where Sonokinetic’s engine leaves Kontakt’s factory library (and even high-end rivals like EastWest RA or Ethno World) in the dust. Unlike standard Western orchestral libraries that focus on
Standard string libraries excel at producing Western orchestral textures—romantic legatos, soaring melodies, aggressive shorts. But they completely fail at replicating the ornament-rich, microtonally-inflected phrasing characteristic of Middle Eastern music. Sultan Strings solves this problem by capturing from “one of the world’s best Middle Eastern string ensembles,” rather than trying to fake the style through sample manipulation.
Whether it is "better" depends entirely on your specific production needs: Choose Sultan Strings if
Most orchestral libraries rely entirely on multi-samples. You press a MIDI note, and it plays a single, static sound. While flexible, this approach completely misses the phrasing, passion, and connected legato style unique to Middle Eastern string playing. You are buying two decades of ethnomusicological research,
Scoring desert kingdoms, Middle Eastern dramas, Ottoman court flashbacks, Balinese gamelan fusion, or any fantasy setting that requires longing, vibrato-heavy, micro-tonal phrasing.
Despite being phrase-focused, it includes core articulations such as sustains (with dynamic crossfading to vibrato), tremolos, trills, glissandi, and tempo-synced runs.
Kontakt’s standard scripting allows for arpeggiators and step sequencers. Sultan Strings includes a dedicated that syncs to your DAW’s tempo.