October 30, 2025
by GForce Software
String machine synths were an affordable way for musicians in the 70s and 80s to add rich, orchestral textures to their arrangements. These instruments offered polyphony, but with limitations. Most were paraphonic, meaning all notes shared a single filter and envelope. Despite this, their warm, ensemble sound became a defining feature of music from that era.
GForce VSM IV brings together the best of these machines into one instrument, faithfully recreating classics like the ARP Omni II and Solina String Machine. In this article, I’ll look at five iconic songs that made heavy use of string machines and show how they can be recreated using VSM IV.
One of the most recognizable string machine leads comes from Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” Released in 1980, it’s a bleak yet beautiful song, built around an airy string machine melody that is doubled by the bass guitar. The sound came from the ARP Omni II, and VSM IV includes a sampled version of it.
To recreate the “Love Will Tear Us Apart” sound, start with the Omni II Violins Basic patch. The song has a dark mix, so lower the filter cutoff to 3.4 kHz, and raise the release time to allow the notes to overlap and blend together. Add some effects by raising the mix level of the chorus, ensemble and reverb effects to about halfway, which will add lush, airy ambience to the sound.
The original performance was played by overlapping the melody notes, which creates a more fluid sound. If you’re programming MIDI on the piano roll, you can get the same effect by lengthening the notes to make them overlap, like so:
“Just Like Heaven” by The Cure is one of the band’s most enduring tracks, released in 1987 on Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. It’s never been confirmed, but the intro synth melody sounds a lot like a Solina String Ensemble, another classic string machine from the 70s.
To recreate this sound, you can start with the default VSM A Simple Solina preset. We only need to use Layer B, so move the balance slider all the way to the right. The sound is very dark, so lower the filter cutoff to around 1.2 kHz. It’s also a dry, mono sound, so don’t add any chorus or ensemble to this one, just a moderate amount of small reverb effect. As with “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, the melody notes overlap, so raise the Amp EG release time to around half a second and perform or program the part by overlapping certain notes.
In 1979, Gary Numan released “Cars,” a minimalist synth-pop hit that helped define the early new wave sound. The main string part was recorded using a Moog Polymoog, specifically the Vox Humana preset.
VSM IV includes this patch, and it sounds just like the original. To recreate the sound, use the Vox Humana Hi Basic preset, then add a generous amount of reverb and Ensemble effect to recreate that swirling, spacey texture. The synth is very bright in the mix, so use the EQ in VSM IV to add around 4dB of boost in the highs.
Formed after the death of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, New Order carried over much of the same gear, including the ARP Omni, which they continued to use across their early albums. “Age of Consent”, the opening track to 1983’s Power, Corruption & Lies, blends driving bass and drums with dry guitars and a bright, energetic synth melody.
To recreate it, use the same Omni II Violins Basic patch as before but leave the filter wide open, which results in a brighter sound. The original recording is extremely wide, so I use a stereoizer like Ozone Imager 2 to push the stereo spread even further. The reverb is also dialed back compared to “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, resulting in a more up-front sound.
String machines can be used for chords as well as melodies. “Fade to Grey” by Visage was released in 1980 and produced by Midge Ure and Billy Currie of Ultravox. The song blends a cold electronic beat with lush strings and moody vocals. According to online discussions, the string machine used was likely a Yamaha SS30, a dual-layer instrument with separate violin and cello sections.
VSM IV includes several SS30 patches, and the aptly named SS30 Big Patch & Violins Ultravox Violin is the one that sounds closest to “Visage”. The original part uses vibrato modulation, so tweak the LFO rate and depth to get a nice, wide vibrato. You can also boost the midrange slightly and roll off a bit of the top end to soften the sound.
VSM IV makes it easy to recreate these classic tones. Its built-in effects and EQsound great, and the sheer range of instruments included makes it a great tool for producers who want vintage sounds without dealing with aging hardware.
