Vienna Symphonic Library Releases First Five Vienna Instruments Collections Of The Symphonic Cube
March 21, 2006
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The Vienna Symphonic Library team is proud to announce the release of the first five Vienna Instruments Collections of the SYMPHONIC CUBE: Solo Strings, Chamber Strings, Orchestral Strings I, Orchestral Strings II, and Woodwinds I are now available worldwide from distributors and dealers. The second part of the SYMPHONIC CUBE will be available within the next two months: Woodwinds II, Brass I, Brass II, Harps, and Percussion are in the final stages of production and testing. Additionally, the team continues to improve on the PC and Mac versions of the software and is providing frequent updates on their website's User Area.
The website also provides a wealth of Vienna Instruments Audio Demos for all of the currently available Collections, illustrating the authenticity of the new Performance Algorithms. Each demo comes with a Tutorial Folder including the respective MIDI file and the Vienna Instruments Presets.
VIENNA INSTRUMENTS integrate intelligent Performance Algorithms with their easy-to-use VST/AU plug-in instruments to orchestrate an inconceivably vast array of samples. For the first time, hundreds of inspiring articulations can be combined in one Preset and on a single MIDI track. Vienna's proprietary Performance Detection analyzes intervals, repeated notes, patterns, and even speed in real-time and automatically summons the appropriate articulation or nuance.
10 VIENNA INSTRUMENTS — 1 SYMPHONIC CUBE
Each of the 10 Collections comes with the Software Instrument, Standard Library, and Extended Library on DVD. For each Collection's Standard Price customers get the software instrument (i.e., the audio engine with its user interface) and the Standard Library. Registered users of Vienna's existing sample libraries will be granted extensive discounts to upgrade to the Extended Libraries of the Vienna Instruments. The price of a Collection's Extended Library depends on how many single instruments a user is adding and how many sample libraries he or she has registered. The price of the Extended Libraries can be easily determined using the Discount Calculator at Vienna's website.
The SYMPHONIC CUBE will eventually contain a combined total of over 550 GB or more than 800,000 stereo samples in 44.1kHz/24 bit quality. It will include all of the samples that are comprised in the PRO EDITION and the HORIZON SERIES, plus much more, for example, Fast Interval Performances, Trill Performances (using the speed controller), gypsy and harsh styles, ponticello, sul tasto, ricochet, mordents, arpeggios, etc. New instruments include a small clarinet in Eb, a triple horn, new timpani, and taiko drums to mention but a few.
Ease-of-Use and Authenticity
The Vienna Symphonic Library website offers Video Tutorials that make it easy to grasp the Vienna Instruments' innovations. One of the most intriguing accomplishments is the incorporation of intelligent Performance Detection algorithms directly into a Patch. Here it seems the plug-in can virtually read the user's mind, reacting instantly to the played passages and providing the musically appropriate samples in real-time. The Vienna Instrument constantly monitors the keyed in notes, checks for intervals, repeated notes, patterns, trills etc., depending on the loaded Patch, and switches automatically between articulations. Depending on the relative succession of the played notes, taking into account intervals, velocity, and even playing speed, the Vienna Instrument provides different articulations. As an example, you can automatically switch from détaché to portato, to staccato, and to spiccato the faster you play, without the need to operate key switches or other controllers. The Performance Tool's original concept of providing real note transitions for real legatos, glissandos, repetitions, etc. has been further improved and built into the engine, resulting in stunningly authentic musical lines. Every Collection comes with a wealth of pre-configured Presets, so it's easy for the user to simply start to play and enjoy, without almost no learning curve.
The Engine
Vienna's software mastermind, Christian Teuscher, has worked very hard, drawing from his life-long experiences as a musician, composer, and a programmer to create a tool advanced in its simplicity. The streaming audio-engine can pre-load up to 25,600 stereo samples (e.g., on a 1.6 GB RAM Windows system), and play back a theoretical total of 3,456 Articulations (Patches) on one MIDI channel – unrivaled figures in the world of samplers and virtual instruments. The RAM Optimizer kicks unused samples out of memory, and the lossless real-time de-compression minimizes the use of RAM and hard disk resources altogether.
The ViennaKey
This USB protection device by Syncrosoft is not included in the box of any Collection, it is available as a separate item. Users will need one ViennaKey for every computer they want to run a Vienna Instrument on. Syncrosoft protection devices not issued by the Vienna Symphonic Library (e.g., by Steinberg) can be used when they are updated via downloading the latest Syncrosoft License Control Center from the Syncrosoft website.
System Requirements
PC Intel/AMD 2 GHz (3++ GHz recommended) with Windows XP
Apple G4 1 GHz (G5 recommended) with Mac OS X 10.4 or higher
1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
VST (PC) or AU (Mac) compatible host, also works stand-alone on PC and Mac
DVD drive for installation
Fast separate harddrive
88 key master keyboard (highly recommended)
ViennaKey (Vienna Symphonic Library USB Protection Device)
RTAS and Intel Mac compatibility coming later this year.
For more information, visit their web site at www.vsl.co.at.
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