Your string pad sounds like a preset from a stock sound module, and you can’t work out why. That’s the gap String Machines fills for Avenger users, a vintage-hardware-sampled expansion at $75. It’s for producers who want real ensemble shimmer instead of a chorus plugin pretending to be one.
We think it depends entirely on how much that sound matters to you. Brilliant for some, redundant for others.
The Problem This Solves
Software string patches usually fake the thing that made hardware string machines famous. The slow, swirling ensemble movement. The slightly wobbly tremolo on an organ stab. The way a cheap vintage keyboard’s filter rounds off every note.
Stack a generic saw pad, a chorus and a tape plugin and you get close. Close isn’t the same as the real circuit.
Vengeance Sound’s answer is to sample the real gear. Per the developer, Manuel Schleis spent years collecting and deep-sampling original vintage machines. The result is a pack aimed squarely at that gap. If your tracks keep asking for old-school string warmth and you keep faking it, this is the frustration it targets.
How It Performs
The scale is the headline. You get over 50 machines, 654 new multisamples and over 14,500 individual wav files, all from real vintage gear. Every wav is perfectly looped, so sustained pads don’t stutter at a loop point when you hold a chord for eight bars.
Here’s where it gets practical. You can blend in different string or organ registers, the way you’d pull drawbars or tabs on the original. Then you can switch on real sampled ensemble effects and real sampled tremolo. These are recordings of the hardware effect, not a modulation plugin approximating it.
Hold a wide chord, bring the ensemble in slowly and listen to the movement across the stereo field. That’s the part a stock chorus rarely nails.
You can also change filter settings and sustain modes. And the Macro section simulates important functions of the original synthesizers, so the controls feel familiar if you know the source hardware.
We can’t give you CPU figures, because we don’t have any to give. With 4.5GB of uncompressed wav files, expect it to lean on your drive more than on raw processing. Check how it behaves on your own machine.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The strengths are concrete. 101 Avenger presets get you playing immediately, and the sampled ensemble and tremolo give you authenticity you can’t dial in from a generic effect.
Looping quality matters more than it sounds. Bad loops ruin pads.
The weaknesses are just as concrete. You need VPS Avenger v1.8.2 or later, so this is useless without it. Annoying if you’re on an older install. It also wants 4.5GB of space, which is a real ask on a small laptop SSD.
And the focus is narrow. It’s strings and organs from vintage gear. If you wanted a broad expansion with drums, basses and leads, this isn’t that. Don’t buy it hoping it’ll become your general-purpose sound library.
Value for the Price
At $75, you’re paying for 14,500+ files of real sampled hardware plus 101 presets. That’s a lot of raw material for a niche pack.
Is it worth it? If vintage strings and organs are central to your sound, yes. You’d spend far longer trying to recreate this from scratch, and you still wouldn’t have the real ensemble sampled.
If you’ll use it on one track a year, it’s harder to justify. The value here is tied to how often you reach for this specific flavour.
Who Should (and Shouldn't) Buy This
- ✅ Buy if you already run Avenger and want authentic vintage string machine and organ tones.
- ✅ Buy if you make synthwave, soul, ambient or retro-leaning work and keep faking ensemble movement.
- ✅ Buy if you like the Macro-style approach of tweaking familiar hardware-style controls.
- ❌ Skip if you don't own Avenger or can't update to v1.8.2 or later.
- ❌ Skip if your drive is nearly full, since you need 4.5GB free.
- ❌ Skip if you want a broad, general-purpose expansion rather than a focused vintage one.
Specs & Technical Details
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Vengeance Sound |
| Price | $75 |
| Plugin Format | N/A (expansion for VPS Avenger) |
| OS Support | N/A |
| Activation | N/A |
| CPU Usage | N/A |
| Trial Available | N/A |
| Version Reviewed | Requires VPS Avenger v1.8.2 or later |
Score Breakdown
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Quality | 3.8/5 | Real sampled vintage gear with sampled ensemble and tremolo |
| Value for Money | 3.3/5 | Plenty of content, but only if the niche suits you |
| Ease of Use | 3.5/5 | 101 presets and familiar Macro controls inside Avenger |
| Features | 3.5/5 | Register blending, filter and sustain modes, ensemble and tremolo |
| CPU Efficiency | N/A | No figures available, so not scored |
| Overall | 3.4/5 | Strong for vintage string fans, narrow and Avenger-locked for everyone else |
Our Verdict
String Machines is a specialist tool, and it does the specialist job well. At $75, you’re buying real vintage ensemble and tremolo character that generic effects only imitate.
It’s wrong for you if you don’t own Avenger, can’t spare 4.5GB or want range over depth. For everyone else who lives in vintage string and organ territory, it earns a spot on the drive.
If you’re still weighing sound libraries, see our best expansion packs for synth workflows roundup. Not sure about the host? Read our VPS Avenger overview. For other realistic instrument libraries, there’s Ample Bass TR6 review. And if you’re building a retro rig on a budget, try vintage-style plugins worth buying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need VPS Avenger to use String Machines?
Yes. It's an expansion for VPS Avenger and requires v1.8.2 or later. It won't work as a standalone product.
How much storage does String Machines need?
It's 4.5GB of uncompressed wav files. Make sure you have that free before you buy.
What's actually in the pack?
Over 50 machines, 654 new multisamples, over 14,500 individual wav files and 101 Avenger presets. All of it was sampled from real vintage gear and perfectly looped.