It's hard to answer the question without knowing what sort of sound you're after from the strings. Do you want dramatic orchestral strings like a contemporary film score, or an intimate string trio? Different libraries are targeted at different sounds.

If you want a pop strings sound, Session Strings is an affordable choice - it sounds good and fits nicely into the mix. You won't be able to get solo sounds from it, though.

Miroslav is an older library, but has some excellent sounds, both sections and solo instruments. It's more orchestral than pop, but fits nicely into a mix. Plus, you get additional instruments other than strings.

Garritan is also relatively inexpensive (although it used to be cheaper). If you know what you're doing, you can get some excellent sounds from the string sections. The solo instruments are usable, but disappointing. However, I really like the woodwinds in the library.

Kirk Hunter has a Pop/Rock Strings library which gives coverage from solo strings up to large sections. I don't think it sounds as nice as some of the other libraries - not a "real" and resonant, especially the cellos - but it's certainly worth considering. Again, it'll work well in a mix.

If you like the lush sound, you might look at the LA Scoring Strings (LASS) library, which focuses on the orchestral sound. Personally, I think it's probably a bit much for a song mix.

There's also a LASS First Chair library, featuring a reduced set of the full LASS library, with only the solo strings. Layer these on top of a nice string section and you've got the best of both worlds. They're not designed as such, but they work pretty well as solo instruments - the slurs are very cool.

I can't comment on libraries that use dongles, since I avoid using them. The last I saw, the EW Gold Orchestral was around $100US, which is a nice price.

Many of these libraries go on sale at various times of the year, so that could save you a chunk of change. I've bought them all over the years... a sort of modified GAS. All lovely sounds, but the ability to get great sounds from the library ultimately rests on your ability to write for strings.

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?