I don’t think HSO is part of H6, but then I got HSO before I got H6.
The string patches on HSO are
- Dbl Basses: Solo Combi, Solo Staccato Alt, Combi
- Dbl Basses + Cellos: unisono, octave
- Ensemble: Legato Pad
- Ensemble Strings: Solo Combi, Solo Pizzicato, Tutti Combi, Tutti Pizzicato
- Viola: Solo Combi, Solo Staccato Alt
- Violas: A Combi, B Combi, A Soft Legato, Legato 12-24 Players, Legato X Tremolo, Spiccato A Alt, Spiccato B Alt
- Violin: Solo Combi, Solo Staccato Alt
- Violins I: A Combi, A Legato Soft, A Legato+ Portamento, B Combi, Legato 16-32 Players, Legato X Tremolo
- Violins II: A Combi, A Legato Soft, A Legato+ Portamento, B Combi, Legato 16-32 Players, Legato X Tremolo
- Violins: Spiccato A Alt, Spiccato B Alt
- Cellos: A Combi, B Combi, A legato Pad, B Legato Pad, A Legato Soft, Legato 10-20 Players, Legato X Tremolo, Spiccato A Alt, Spiccato B Alt
- Cellos + Violas: unisono, octave
- Cello: Solo Combi, Solo Staccato Alt
In practice you use something legato as a default, then the other articulations are swapped in and out according to what you wrote in the score or the lanes of the key editor. I have limited experience with it, but my preference has been to ignore the ensemble and 2-section patches in favor of 4 straight ahead sections with solo instrument patches on separate tracks when needed. In the case of divisi, I use the A/B combinations of course. (So if 1st Violin is divisi, then Violins I A Combi for one part and Violins I B Combi for the other).
The quick controls for body and air are particularly nice.
When you examine HSO in H6 you find that there are a LOT of samples. The quality is pretty decent. For the asking price, HSO is a fantastic deal.
If I could change one thing, it would be to get rid of the reverb on HSO instruments. This messes with the ability to craft a virtual concert hall.I suppose a deVerb plugin would help, or clever use of an envelope shaper. I also encountered trouble with the english horn, which seemed to be panned left (as I recall) when I wanted to seat it center right.