# [NEW] Big Bang Orchestra Returns - BBO: Altair



## Ben (Feb 8, 2022)

Big Bang Orchestra is back with a new installment: "Big Bang Orchestra: Altair".
This time you will get separate section performances of strings, woodwinds, brass, and tutti.

As usual, we've recorded the orchestra with multiple mics, so it's very easy to create your own mix and sound.
It also blends perfectly with the other BBO and Synchron libraries: In the first pass, each note was played by the entire orchestra. Immediately afterwards, each section played this note with the *same phrasing and style*. It’s as though the entire orchestra played the notes together, but in fact they didn’t – you have separate recordings of strings, woodwinds, and brass ensembles available that you can combine and orchestrate any way you like.

Note: Please make sure to update the eLicenser Control Center to the latest version: https://helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/...ontrol-Center-License-Management#current_elcc

Get it now for just € 65 (regular: € 95) here:





ALTAIR: Section Essentials - Vienna Symphonic Library


Big Bang Orchestra: Altair presents a different take on our Synchron full orchestra recordings, and provides completely new recordings of short and long notes played by the individual sections of the orchestra.




www.vsl.co.at





And don't forget the 2+1 February Special





Vienna Vouchers 3+1 Free - Vienna Symphonic Library







www.vsl.co.at


----------



## iMovieShout (Feb 8, 2022)

*Exciting !!!!!!!!*


----------



## doctoremmet (Feb 8, 2022)

Wait. An entire new ALPHABET??


----------



## tcb (Feb 8, 2022)

the next bbo library
BBO:Back


----------



## daviddln (Feb 8, 2022)

doctoremmet said:


> Wait. An entire new ALPHABET??


It would be great!


----------



## jamwerks (Feb 8, 2022)

Awesome!


----------



## JTB (Feb 8, 2022)

Ben said:


> This time you will get separat section performances


Typo ^ separate


----------



## zouzou (Feb 8, 2022)

What are the differences between BBO Altair vs. Smart Orchestra...?


----------



## Ben (Feb 8, 2022)

zouzou said:


> What are the differences between BBO Altair vs. Smart Orchestra...?


Hm, they don't have really much in common. BBO: Altair is a tutti orchestra where you can access each section. Smart Orchestra is the perfect sketching and live-performance tool, optimized for use with a keyboard. Also there are no legatos available in BBO: Altair.


----------



## ptram (Feb 8, 2022)

It's exactly what I was missing from Andromeda: real separate sections!

Paolo


----------



## Marsen (Feb 8, 2022)

Isn´t the tutti patch in Altair redundant for Andromeda owners?


----------



## zouzou (Feb 8, 2022)

Ben said:


> Hm, they don't have really much in common. BBO: Altair is a tutti orchestra where you can access each section. Smart Orchestra is the perfect sketching and live-performance tool, optimized for use with a keyboard. Also there are no legatos available in BBO: Altair.


Can't I achieve the same thing using the faders in Smart Orchestra (Orchestra Instrument), to mix my sections as I want?


----------



## mr.vad0614 (Feb 8, 2022)

I suppose Altair is not a free addition to BBO Bundle owners would it? Especially as I have the entire collection? Thank you


----------



## Evans (Feb 8, 2022)

mr.vad0614 said:


> I suppose Altair is not a free addition to BBO Bundle owners would it? Especially as I have the entire collection? Thank you


Seems like it's the same price regardless? (EDIT: I might be wrong, see two posts below mine)

If you own the bundle and are logged in, the price you see on the Altair product page is the price the system has configured for you.

If you're missing any elements of the bundle, you can also add those to the basket and then refresh the Altair product page. It will show you the price as if you already owned the others. They've got a really nice system for this, I think!


----------



## dcoscina (Feb 8, 2022)

Bought it, love it. The mic mix control over each section is great. The low brass really has that portent I'm looking for. My only wish it to be able to switch 8ves in strings off and on or have a unison option. I know with this price point it's not really feasible but I can wish can't I?


----------



## Frederick (Feb 8, 2022)

I hope we're going to get muted versions of BBO libraries, I just might get those as well.

By the way: Purchasing by completing the BBO bundle lowers the price to 49 Euro.


----------



## Petrucci (Feb 8, 2022)

Here comes my vouchers))


----------



## Evans (Feb 8, 2022)

Frederick said:


> By the way: Purchasing by completing the BBO bundle lowers the price to 49 Euro.


That's interesting, which means the usual trick of adding qualifying products to my basket to see the discounted price isn't working.


----------



## dcoscina (Feb 8, 2022)

Ben said:


> Hm, they don't have really much in common. BBO: Altair is a tutti orchestra where you can access each section. Smart Orchestra is the perfect sketching and live-performance tool, optimized for use with a keyboard. Also there are no legatos available in BBO: Altair.


Another winner here Ben. As soon as I saw the walkthrough video I bought it. The low brass and strings sound especially tasty. The short arts in the strings sound really great too.


----------



## smellypants (Feb 8, 2022)

I haven't bought any of the BBO stuff because I was under the impression it would all be included in a flagship Synchron library at some point.

Is my thinking faulty in this?

Cheers


----------



## Ben (Feb 8, 2022)

Evans said:


> That's interesting, which means the usual trick of adding qualifying products to my basket to see the discounted price isn't working.


You have to add the bundle to the basket to see your personal upgrade price.


----------



## Ben (Feb 8, 2022)

smellypants said:


> I haven't bought any of the BBO stuff because I was under the impression it would all be included in a flagship Synchron library at some point.
> 
> Is my thinking faulty in this?
> 
> Cheers


I don't think that the tutti orchestra will be part of any Synchron library - but that's just my personal guess. Anyways, if this happens you will be able to upgrade to the Synchron libraries - just like it was the case for Brass and Woodwinds.


----------



## Evans (Feb 8, 2022)

Ben said:


> You have to add the bundle to the basket to see your personal upgrade price.


Sorry if I was unclear. That's what I was saying I did. See top-right and bottom-left of this screencap.


----------



## Ben (Feb 8, 2022)

zouzou said:


> Can't I achieve the same thing using the faders in Smart Orchestra (Orchestra Instrument), to mix my sections as I want?


Well, kind of. Smart Orchestra is based on our Silent Stage recorded samples. Compared to BBO / Synchron you have no control over the mics. Also, Smart Orchestra uses IR reverb to add room to the samples, BBO / Synchron is already recorded with room sound.


----------



## Ben (Feb 8, 2022)

Evans said:


> Sorry if I was unclear. That's what I was saying I did. See top-right and bottom-left of this screencap.


Make sure you are logged in. Also, you can check out what parts of the bundle you are missing by clicking on the "i" in the price box:










__





BBO BUNDLE - Vienna Symphonic Library


The BIG BANG ORCHESTRA BUNDLE contains all the individual Big Bang Orchestra Collections from A to Z. Create large orchestrations in no time. Beef up your existing tracks with ensemble and solo instruments, and inject some inspiration into your composing process.




www.vsl.co.at


----------



## Evans (Feb 8, 2022)

Ben said:


> Make sure you are logged in. Also, you can check out what parts of the bundle you are missing by clicking on the "i" in the price box:


I won't distract from the thread any further, but I am definitely logged in (even logged out and back in), and the "i" is not appearing. Perhaps there's some sort of odd JavaScript error or endpoint that's simply stuck (though I have no scriptblocking plugins of any sort).

Just an FYI if other people experience the same. It's happened before, where the "i" snapped into place after lingering on the page for a long while.


----------



## AndyP (Feb 8, 2022)

Great! I have often wished to have the sections individually. Let's go complete the bundle.


----------



## zouzou (Feb 8, 2022)

Ben said:


> Well, kind of. Smart Orchestra is based on our Silent Stage recorded samples. Compared to BBO / Synchron you have no control over the mics. Also, Smart Orchestra uses IR reverb to add room to the samples, BBO / Synchron is already recorded with room sound.


Thank you very much for this very useful information!


----------



## Ben (Feb 8, 2022)

Evans said:


> I won't distract from the thread any further, but I am definitely logged in (even logged out and back in), and the "i" is not appearing. Perhaps there's some sort of odd JavaScript error or endpoint that's simply stuck (though I have no scriptblocking plugins of any sort).
> 
> Just an FYI if other people experience the same. It's happened before, where the "i" snapped into place after lingering on the page for a long while.


If you still experience issues with the website, please contact [email protected]


----------



## Dewdman42 (Feb 8, 2022)

sounds really nice.


----------



## SupremeFist (Feb 8, 2022)

yes yes yes but where is your next piano


----------



## ptram (Feb 8, 2022)

I wonder if we can make a composite preset with parts from BBO Alpha, Andromeda, Andromeda sordino, and Altair. The mics setup seems to be the same. The patch sounds seem to be homogeneous, and therefore to be easily blended.

Paolo


----------



## ptram (Feb 8, 2022)

Marsen said:


> Isn´t the tutti patch in Altair redundant for Andromeda owners?


They are quite different. Altair has a more limited number of long articulations. It has two different shorts versus one.

The few articulations in Altair have a stronger character than the Andromeda equivalents. I would say that the scale is:

AN Short (slow, soft) -> AL Short Agile (fast, nervous) -> AL Short Bold (strong, marcato).

AN Long Normal (soft) -> AL Long (strong) -> AN Long Marcato (accented) -> AL Long Marcato (very strong) -> AN Long Sforzato (sfz).

Andromeda has several Long and Dynamic variants.

Paolo


----------



## RonOrchComp (Feb 8, 2022)

Unsurprisingly, this sounds fantastic, but as I write library music, this collection is completely unusable to me.


----------



## sostenuto (Feb 8, 2022)

VSL activity rekindled !! Big Bang Orchestra lives ! 🤩


----------



## rnb_2 (Feb 8, 2022)

Evans said:


> I won't distract from the thread any further, but I am definitely logged in (even logged out and back in), and the "i" is not appearing. Perhaps there's some sort of odd JavaScript error or endpoint that's simply stuck (though I have no scriptblocking plugins of any sort).
> 
> Just an FYI if other people experience the same. It's happened before, where the "i" snapped into place after lingering on the page for a long while.


You'll get the 49€ price on the BBO Bundle if you already own all 26 of the other parts - it looks like you're missing parts of the bundle, so the bundle price you're seeing is the cost to get all of the missing parts, including Altair. Buying Altair by itself will always show the intro price, regardless of how much of BBO you own, so if you already have everything, buying the bundle is the better option.


----------



## Evans (Feb 8, 2022)

rnb_2 said:


> You'll get the 49€ price on the BBO Bundle if you already own all 26 of the other parts - it looks like you're missing parts of the bundle, so the bundle price you're seeing is the cost to get all of the missing parts, including Altair. Buying Altair by itself will always show the intro price, regardless of how much of BBO you own, so if you already have everything, buying the bundle is the better option.


That wasn't my issue, but could be valuable to someone else. Should I have time later, I'll detail it to Support as Ben requested. It is no longer necessary discussion here.

How about them audio demos? Good stuff? Got a favorite?


----------



## muziksculp (Feb 8, 2022)

Ben said:


> Also there are no legatos available in BBO: Altair.


----------



## muziksculp (Feb 8, 2022)

Hi @Ben 

Congratulations on the new* Altair* BBO library. Since I only have one of the BBO Libraries, (Zodiac), I initially thought that Altair was not a new library, but one that was already released. But, checking it again, I'm quite interested in this library, it has a unique concept that can help in getting an orchestration of a track speeded up, by actually playing the sections in, without all the details, and then taking things to the next phase, of orchestrating with more detailed libraries, i.e. Synchron Strings Pro, Synchron Brass, and Synchron Woodwinds. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


----------



## dcoscina (Feb 8, 2022)

I think the mix settings are especially great for Big Bang where you can separate the instrument groups better within the ensembles. Really nice!


----------



## muziksculp (Feb 8, 2022)

OK. I now own BBO Altair, also had BBO Zodiac. 

A very nice, and useful BBO combo to have, I think.


----------



## ptram (Feb 8, 2022)

Ben said:


> Smart Orchestra is the perfect sketching and live-performance tool, optimized for use with a keyboard.


Limited to the sections, and with no solo instruments, can't Altair be as good a sketching tool? Add a branch of solo instruments, and it is complete!

Paolo


----------



## charlieclouser (Feb 8, 2022)

Evans said:


> I won't distract from the thread any further, but I am definitely logged in (even logged out and back in), and the "i" is not appearing. Perhaps there's some sort of odd JavaScript error or endpoint that's simply stuck (though I have no scriptblocking plugins of any sort).
> 
> Just an FYI if other people experience the same. It's happened before, where the "i" snapped into place after lingering on the page for a long while.


I logged in to my VSL account, added the BBO Bundle to my cart, and since I already have all the other elements of the bundle purchased and registered, when I clicked on the "i" it showed the final price for Altair as $49 instead of the normal introductory price of $65. 

I am on MacOS + Safari, and the "i" is always displayed when it should be....


----------



## gyprock (Feb 8, 2022)

charlieclouser said:


> I logged in to my VSL account, added the BBO Bundle to my cart, and since I already have all the other elements of the bundle purchased and registered, when I clicked on the "i" it showed the final price for Altair as $49 instead of the normal introductory price of $65.
> 
> I am on MacOS + Safari, and the "i" is always displayed when it should be....


I'm on Mac but didn't get the "i". I paid 65 Euro for Altair. In my case I had the BBO bundle previously purchased but because I already had Synchron Strings Pro, I didn't have an individual license for the BBO individual string packs (because they are part of the SSP license). Perhaps this is why I didn't get the 49 Euro price. Am I entitled to a refund of 16 Euros? Who knows? Perhaps Ben can chime in.


----------



## ptram (Feb 8, 2022)

ptram said:


> can't Altair be as good a sketching tool?


Something I can't find is a way to separately control the volume of the individual sections, in the combined branches (Strings+Woodwinds, Strings+Brass, Woodwinds+Brass).

Having it would allow that live mixing-in that can be done in Smart Orchestra. One can still control the individual microphones, but this would require acting on too many faders at the same time.

Paolo


----------



## Robo Rivard (Feb 8, 2022)

After adding the library to my template, I watched the videos, and realized that I used the french spelling on my tracks (Altaïr, instead of Altair). The pronunciation is also quite different. In french, it sounds like "alta-here".

Fantastic library. I love everything Synchron. I wish I had that library when I started.

@Ben 

Any release date for the second solo instruments in Synchron Woodwinds?


----------



## JonS (Feb 8, 2022)

Ben said:


> Make sure you are logged in. Also, you can check out what parts of the bundle you are missing by clicking on the "i" in the price box:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ben, when I click on the "I" how come some of those titles say ELIGIBLE while most say REGISTERED? I own the entire BBO Bundle except Altair.


----------



## Petrucci (Feb 8, 2022)

I just go to BBO bundle page(which I own except Altair) on VSL site and it shows me the price of around 49$, strangely on Bestservice it is closer to 64$ or something..


----------



## rnb_2 (Feb 8, 2022)

Petrucci said:


> I just go to BBO bundle page(which I own except Altair) on VSL site and it shows me the price of around 49$, strangely on Bestservice it is closer to 64$ or something..


Yeah, Best Service isn't showing the discount as they usually do. I have a few $ in BestCoins, so I was going to go that route, but it wouldn't be worth it.


----------



## Barza (Feb 8, 2022)

I don’t quite get it with this library compared to Andromeda (which I already have). In Andromeda you do not have specific patches for the individual sections. However, the sections are all given their own channels in the mixer. So if you only want the woodwinds, for example, you simply mute the other sections and that is all you get. Given that you can do that, I don’t see what Altair is actually adding. Am I missing something?


----------



## markleake (Feb 9, 2022)

gyprock said:


> I'm on Mac but didn't get the "i". I paid 65 Euro for Altair. In my case I had the BBO bundle previously purchased but because I already had Synchron Strings Pro, I didn't have an individual license for the BBO individual string packs (because they are part of the SSP license). Perhaps this is why I didn't get the 49 Euro price. Am I entitled to a refund of 16 Euros? Who knows? Perhaps Ben can chime in.


I don't see the bundle price either. I'm logged in, and have bought the BBO bundle previously.

I think you are right, it's because we have SSP. It's not showing the bundle price maybe because it can't account for the bundle being completed by other non-BBO products?

@Ben - any fix for this?


----------



## Frederick (Feb 9, 2022)

markleake said:


> I don't see the bundle price either. I'm logged in, and have bought the BBO bundle previously.
> 
> I think you are right, it's because we have SSP. It's not showing the bundle price maybe because it can't account for the bundle being completed by other non-BBO products?
> 
> @Ben - any fix for this?


I don't think that owning SSP can be the problem, because I already owned SSP before purchasing the original BBO bundle in 2020. In my case when I added the bundle to my cart it was 49 Euro and when I only added Altair to my cart it was 65 Euro.


----------



## markleake (Feb 9, 2022)

Frederick said:


> I don't think that owning SSP can be the problem, because I already owned SSP before purchasing the original BBO bundle in 2020. In my case when I added the bundle to my cart it was 49 Euro and when I only added Altair to my cart it was 65 Euro.


Yes, that's the problem I believe. Normally it would discount the specific item, e.g. Altair, when you are logged in and looking at the Altair page. Currently it's not doing that for some people.


----------



## Ben (Feb 9, 2022)

Barza said:


> I don’t quite get it with this library compared to Andromeda (which I already have). In Andromeda you do not have specific patches for the individual sections. However, the sections are all given their own channels in the mixer. So if you only want the woodwinds, for example, you simply mute the other sections and that is all you get. Given that you can do that, I don’t see what Altair is actually adding. Am I missing something?


You will still have quite some bleed from the other sections if you do this in BBO: Andromeda.


----------



## Ben (Feb 9, 2022)

@markleake Please contact [email protected]
As soon as we know which users experience this issue we probably can fix it asap.


----------



## Barza (Feb 9, 2022)

Ben said:


> You will still have quite some bleed from the other sections if you do this in BBO: Andromeda.


Is that the only benefit?


----------



## Ben (Feb 9, 2022)

Barza said:


> Is that the only benefit?


Pretty much, yes. You can use each section individually, and mix and match to your liking.
Also, as already noticed by some users here - these are completely new recordings and have slightly different qualities.


----------



## tritonely (Feb 9, 2022)

Great release! I hope you will extend BBO with a completely new A-Z. To be sure VSL or buyers from Altair: all samples in Altair are already in octaves like Andromeda?


----------



## Barza (Feb 9, 2022)

Ben said:


> Pretty much, yes. You can use each section individually, and mix and match to your liking.
> Also, as already noticed by some users here - these are completely new recordings and have slightly different qualities.


Thanks very much for the clarification.


----------



## Ben (Feb 9, 2022)

tritonely said:


> Great release! I hope you will extend BBO with a completely new A-Z. To be sure VSL or buyers from Altair: all samples in Altair are already in octaves like Andromeda?


Yes, the sections play in octaves, just like in Andromeda.


----------



## Ben (Feb 9, 2022)




----------



## romantic (Feb 9, 2022)

tritonely said:


> Great release! I hope you will extend BBO with a completely new A-Z. To be sure VSL or buyers from Altair: all samples in Altair are already in octaves like Andromeda?


+1, and ideally start with G and Y


----------



## holywilly (Feb 9, 2022)

Ben said:


> Make sure you are logged in. Also, you can check out what parts of the bundle you are missing by clicking on the "i" in the price box:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So if I purchase the BBO bundle with price of 49 Euro, do I get the license for Altair? (I own all BBO and Synchron libraries)


----------



## Petrucci (Feb 9, 2022)

holywilly said:


> So if I purchase the BBO bundle with price of 49 Euro, do I get the license for Altair? (I own all BBO and Synchron libraries)


Yes, because Altair is the part of BBO bundle now!


----------



## JonS (Feb 9, 2022)

holywilly said:


> So if I purchase the BBO bundle with price of 49 Euro, do I get the license for Altair? (I own all BBO and Synchron libraries)


You do as I just did exactly that!!


----------



## holywilly (Feb 9, 2022)

My will is weak......bought! And expecting what's coming up next.


----------



## raagamuffin (Feb 10, 2022)

@Ben: I am interested in buying the Altair, but I can't seem to find the exact split of players. It's just tutti or sections. Can you please tell me how many players of each section are playing in the tutti or in sections?


----------



## Ben (Feb 10, 2022)

raagamuffin said:


> @Ben: I am interested in buying the Altair, but I can't seem to find the exact split of players. It's just tutti or sections. Can you please tell me how many players of each section are playing in the tutti or in sections?


I don't know the exact number of players, but you can get a good impression of the orchestra from the photos here: 





ANDROMEDA: Tutti Essentials - Vienna Symphonic Library


Big Bang Orchestra: Andromeda gives you all the articulations of the free Big Bang Orchestra, newly and uniquely recorded with more sonic and expressive flexibility, along with many more articulations that were not included in the free version.




www.vsl.co.at





You will get 
- a tutti section -> the entire orchestra plays
- a strings section -> all strings play in octaves
- a woodwinds section -> all woodwinds play in octaves
- a brass section -> all brass play in octaves






Big Bang Orchestra: Altair | VSL - Instruments







www.vsl.info


----------



## sostenuto (Feb 10, 2022)

Have Andromeda. Altair comparative comment, so far, not as clear, concise as limited talents allow.
Most notable, specific enhancements ?


----------



## raagamuffin (Feb 10, 2022)

Ben said:


> I don't know the exact number of players, but you can get a good impression of the orchestra from the photos here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ben, will I at least be able to get a list of the instruments used in the brass/woodwinds section? Is it the same as combinations of the other modules in BBO? For example, Hercules + Kopernicus + Jupiter? I am asking because I want to know if I need to buy other instruments to supplement what you have in Altair - I am trying to build my brass/woodwinds section essentials but in an affordable manner.


----------



## rnb_2 (Feb 10, 2022)

rnb_2 said:


> Yeah, Best Service isn't showing the discount as they usually do. I have a few $ in BestCoins, so I was going to go that route, but it wouldn't be worth it.


This seems to have been fixed - I just checked Best Service again, and it shows my price to upgrade the bundle as ~$47. Thankfully, I've been busy with other things for the last couple days and haven't purchased Altair yet.


----------



## Petrucci (Feb 11, 2022)

rnb_2 said:


> This seems to have been fixed - I just checked Best Service again, and it shows my price to upgrade the bundle as ~$47. Thankfully, I've been busy with other things for the last couple days and haven't purchased Altair yet.


The only trouble being VSL Voucher of 50$ is bigger than 47$)))) oh, well, it's not that Big of a sum of money.. Or maybe there will be more new products introduced before the end of this sale, who knows...))


----------



## jamwerks (Feb 11, 2022)

Petrucci said:


> The only trouble being VSL Voucher of 50$ is bigger than 47$)))) oh, well, it's not that Big of a sum of money.. Or maybe there will be more new products introduced before the end of this sale, who knows...))


Yeah, that's a bummer ! They should make it possible at chek-out to add a 3 euro token for a coffee for one of them at Starbucks!


----------



## Petrucci (Feb 11, 2022)

jamwerks said:


> Yeah, that's a bummer ! They should make it possible at chek-out to add a 3 euro token for a coffee for one of them at Starbucks!


Agreed!))))


----------



## Ben (Feb 11, 2022)




----------



## raagamuffin (Feb 11, 2022)

Ben said:


> I don't know the exact number of players, but you can get a good impression of the orchestra from the photos here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


@Ben : In this picture, I do six horns but I don't see anything in the low brass section (trombones, tubas, cimbasso?) I know that Hercules has 4 bass trombones, 1 bass tuba, 1 contrabass tuba. I just want to know if when you say tutti or brass section, it includes the low brass section as well? Or is all the bass frequencies coming just from the horns? I need to know this so that I can decide if I must buy the low brass to supplement this. Thanks in advance!


----------



## RSK (Feb 11, 2022)

dcoscina said:


> Another winner here Ben. The low brass and strings sound especially tasty. The short arts in the strings sound really great too.


My thoughts exactly. Perfect for putting down ideas in a hurry for fleshing out later.


----------



## dhlkid (Feb 11, 2022)

I hope VSL can consider to release a BBO strings ensemble patch that not recorded in octave


----------



## muziksculp (Feb 13, 2022)




----------



## mgaewsj (Feb 14, 2022)

muziksculp said:


>



I guess I need some help with Parallel Mode.
At 4:17 in the video you can see a CC12 knob in the Stack area.





Question: how can I enable (and remove) it?


EDIT: ok, I figured it out, I can enable it on the top part of the Stack Area (Dim.Ctrl/D).
not sure to understand the difference between Dim.Ctrl/A, Dim.Ctrl/B, Dim.Ctrl/C, etc. though


----------



## Erisno (Feb 14, 2022)

mgaewsj said:


> not sure to understand the difference between Dim.Ctrl/A, Dim.Ctrl/B, Dim.Ctrl/C, etc. though


You can have more dimension trees (columns) in the Synchron Player, that's why there are more Dim. ctrl/ABC...so you could have a different controller for each column.
For example, in the picture you posted, you can see that the Stack column is controlled with the Dim.Ctrl/D.


----------



## mgaewsj (Feb 14, 2022)

Erisno said:


> You can have more dimension trees (columns) in the Synchron Player, that's why there are more Dim. ctrl/ABC...so you could have a different controller for each column.
> For example, in the picture you posted, you can see that the Stack column is controlled with the Dim.Ctrl/D.


I see, thanks 👍.
is there any relevance to the fact that in the case it's using D and, for instance, not C? I guess not


----------



## Ben (Feb 14, 2022)

mgaewsj said:


> I see, thanks 👍.
> is there any relevance to the fact that in the case it's using D and, for instance, not C? I guess not


Usually A-C are already used by the instrument presets.


----------



## jamwerks (Feb 14, 2022)

The manual is your friend !!


----------



## JTB (Feb 14, 2022)

The Info page doesn't state:

The articulations
The instruments
The number of instruments
The dynamic layer count

Are these not important when making a purchasing decision?... apparently not!.

Just blow that money out of peoples wallets with a big fat brass chord, pretty graphic design and a smidge of ye olde FOMO.


----------



## mgaewsj (Feb 14, 2022)

jamwerks said:


> The manual is your friend !!


not so much actually, at least it was not so clear to me.
I only got it thru Paul's tutorial video (02)


----------



## odod (Feb 14, 2022)

what is the dedicated strings legato library of VSL?


----------



## Zanshin (Feb 14, 2022)

odod said:


> what is the dedicated strings legato library of VSL?


Synchron Strings Pro and/or Synchron Elite Strings.


----------



## doctoremmet (Feb 14, 2022)

odod said:


> what is the dedicated strings legato library of VSL?


Or if you prefer their older drier samples, there’s Synchronized SE Vol. 1 (contains orchestral and solo instrument samples), Vol. 2 (chamber strings), Vol. 3 (appassionata strings + sordino variants of all other strings) and Vol. 5 (dimension strings, sections that comprise of individual players’ mic positions that can be solo’d). There are larger Synchronized full versions of chamber, solo and dimension strings as well.


----------



## Zanshin (Feb 14, 2022)

doctoremmet said:


> Or if you prefer their older drier samples, there’s Synchronized SE Vol. 1 (contains orchestral and solo instrument samples), Vol. 2 (chamber strings), Vol. 3 (appassionata strings + sordino variants of all other strings) and Vol. 5 (dimension strings, sections that comprise of individual players’ mic positions that can be solo’d). There are larger Synchronized full versions of chamber, solo and dimension strings as well.


Yup, what the doctor says. Additionally, if you are just looking for string legato in Synchron, and don't care about individual sections. - Lyra (high strings), and Musca (low strings) are on sale. These will probably be the easiest to mix with Altair (they should have the same mixer presets).


----------



## raagamuffin (Feb 14, 2022)

mgaewsj said:


> I guess I need some help with Parallel Mode.
> At 4:17 in the video you can see a CC12 knob in the Stack area.
> 
> 
> ...


Sorry, but what is parallel mode? I didn't get it from the video.


----------



## Ben (Feb 14, 2022)

raagamuffin said:


> Sorry, but what is parallel mode? I didn't get it from the video.


The button on top of a dimension that turns blue when being activated.
There are two parallel mode modes per slot - XFade and Mix, so you can combine both if you like.
Mix will mix the sound without being influenced by a controller, XFade will activate slot crossfade.






Dimension Tree View | VSL - Software Manuals







www.vsl.info


----------



## JTB (Feb 14, 2022)

RSK said:


> Perfect for putting down ideas in a hurry for fleshing out later.


€ 1,890 is a lot for a sketching tool.


----------



## Saxer (Feb 15, 2022)

JTB said:


> € 1,890 is a lot for a sketching tool.


Ensemble library doesn't mean sketching in all cases.


----------



## JTB (Feb 15, 2022)

Saxer said:


> Ensemble library doesn't mean sketching in all cases.


So you have your bassoons, clarinets and oboes all playing the same line, but then...


----------



## RSK (Feb 15, 2022)

JTB said:


> € 1,890 is a lot for a sketching tool.


I'm talking about Altair. What are you talking about?


----------



## JTB (Feb 15, 2022)

I'm talking about the entire BBO series being a sketching tool. Even marketed as such. Sketching tools that could be constructed in half an our using existing bassoons a3, clarinets a3 and oboes a3 patches. Boom! you just saved yourself € 100 for half an hours work. Less tracks less faffing. WIN!
And you can have different CC1 curves, start points, end points, mic positions, velocities etc. etc. etc.


----------



## Evans (Feb 15, 2022)

JTB said:


> I'm talking about the entire BBO series being a sketching tool. Even marketed as such.


Can you point to a statement from VSL on this matter? I'm not seeing "sketch" or "sketching" appearing in the content at the BBO page on the VSL site.

There's one line about being able to "create large orchestrations in no time," but that's not the same as sketching (maybe a Venn diagram overlap, and it's just one line on a page full of information). And quite a few of the BBO releases are not at all just "pre-orchestrated" patches (15, I think, have separate sections or even solo instruments?).


----------



## Saxer (Feb 15, 2022)

JTB said:


> I'm talking about the entire BBO series being a sketching tool. Even marketed as such. Sketching tools that could be constructed in half an our using existing bassoons a3, clarinets a3 and oboes a3 patches. Boom! you just saved yourself € 100 for half an hours work. Less tracks less faffing. WIN!
> And you can have different CC1 curves, start points, end points, mic positions, velocities etc. etc. etc.


The whole BBO bundle contains all á3 wood sections separate and combined as well as trumpets, horns, low brass plus combis. Also string sections separate and together. It's a lot more than just the fat tuttis.


----------



## RSK (Feb 15, 2022)

JTB said:


> I'm talking about the entire BBO series being a sketching tool. Even marketed as such. Sketching tools that could be constructed in half an our using existing bassoons a3, clarinets a3 and oboes a3 patches. Boom! you just saved yourself € 100 for half an hours work. Less tracks less faffing. WIN!
> And you can have different CC1 curves, start points, end points, mic positions, velocities etc. etc. etc.


"The entire BBO series" is not a sketching tool. Five of them are separate string sections, two of them are individual percussion libraries, one is nothing but horns, another is nothing but trumpets....


----------



## holywilly (Feb 15, 2022)

BBO collection is the salt and pepper, they spice up the music.


----------



## ptram (Feb 15, 2022)

I may be the one who cited the sketching potential of the BBO series, but it's just one of the uses they can serve for.

But what they are is ensemble patches, that add to a score the effect of an ensemble recording (the power or mass of a low brass section, or the whole orchestra playing the same note, or the individual players contributing to a complex texture, and so on).

Ensembles that are not monolithic, since you can reshape their internal balance by mixing the individual section microphones.

Paolo


----------



## JTB (Feb 15, 2022)

How could anyone do anything but sketch with such limited articulations?. And then the other 2/3 of the series is tutti patches.

From the VI series Trumpet Ensemble - € 97 _ _ _ _From the BBO series Kopernikus - € 95






If you want big scary tutti patches, try using the MIDI transpose feature in your DAW and then select every track in your template. That ought to do the trick.


----------



## RSK (Feb 16, 2022)

JTB said:


> How could anyone do anything but sketch with such limited articulations?.


You mean legato regular and soft; longs regular, soft, and espressivo; spiccato bold and agile; marcato; sforzato and sforzatissimo; swells long and short; diminuendo; flutter tongue; half and whole tone trills; repititions at multiple speeds, and rips?

I think I could muddle through somehow. LOL

The weakness of the BBO isn't a lack of articulations (I'm fairly sure that list is as long as Berlin Brass'), it's the lack of individual instruments in the brass and woodwinds. That's where the Synchron Series comes in. But even using that as a basis for saying the entire BBO is nothing but a sketching tool would be a stretch.


----------



## Evans (Feb 16, 2022)

JTB said:


> How could anyone do anything but sketch with such limited articulations?. And then the other 2/3 of the series is tutti patches.


An admittedly quick skim of your post history shows almost exclusively negative commentary on products from VSL, EastWest, Orchestral Tools, Cinematic Studio Series, and Audiobro. Seems like maybe you only like Synchron Strings Pro?

Can we refocus on people exploring what Altair is, and not what they wish it was?


----------



## RSK (Feb 16, 2022)

Evans said:


> An admittedly quick skim of your post history shows almost exclusively negative commentary


You could have ended the post there.


----------



## Mike Greene (Feb 16, 2022)

JTB said:


> How could anyone ...


As others have pointed out, your posts are pointedly negative against VSL. That's not what the forum is for, especially in Commercial Announcement threads, so please don't post further negativity in any VSL threads. Thank you.


----------



## Casiquire (Feb 16, 2022)

dhlkid said:


> I hope VSL can consider to release a BBO strings ensemble patch that not recorded in octave


There are! Tana through Xenia are individual string sections pulled from SSP


----------



## rqsrqs (Feb 16, 2022)

Casiquire said:


> There are! Tana through Xenia are individual string sections pulled from SSP


I purchased Special Edition1 vol 1 over the last November sale and I am very happy with the sound. Do you think it pays to add Tana which is Synchron violins to replace the Synchronized violins of SE. Same with the violas, cellos and bass since it is on sale. In other words, is Synchron much better sounding than Synchronized. I only use longs and legato in my music.


----------



## Zanshin (Feb 16, 2022)

rqsrqs said:


> I purchased Special Edition1 vol 1 over the last November sale and I am very happy with the sound. Do you think it pays to add Tana which is Synchron violins to replace the Synchronized violins of SE. Same with the violas, cellos and bass since it is on sale. In other words, is Synchron much better sounding than Synchronized. I only use longs and legato in my music.


Only you can know  But SSP (and thus Tana etc) is fairly well loved. The SE strings are mostly classical in character, whereas SSP is a more modern character.


----------



## Petrucci (Feb 16, 2022)

rqsrqs said:


> I purchased Special Edition1 vol 1 over the last November sale and I am very happy with the sound. Do you think it pays to add Tana which is Synchron violins to replace the Synchronized violins of SE. Same with the violas, cellos and bass since it is on sale. In other words, is Synchron much better sounding than Synchronized. I only use longs and legato in my music.


Or you could wait for Synchron Strings Pro sale and jump on it, though you will be able to upgrade from BBO strings to SSP anyway when there is SSP sale)


----------



## Casiquire (Feb 16, 2022)

rqsrqs said:


> I purchased Special Edition1 vol 1 over the last November sale and I am very happy with the sound. Do you think it pays to add Tana which is Synchron violins to replace the Synchronized violins of SE. Same with the violas, cellos and bass since it is on sale. In other words, is Synchron much better sounding than Synchronized. I only use longs and legato in my music.


You have the Synchronized special edition? I think that paying even the reduced price of 65 each for the sections would still be better spent just going towards the 445 for the full SSP. Either option would expand what you already have with the Special Edition, it would all blend together and work very consistently without much hassle


----------



## rqsrqs (Feb 16, 2022)

Casiquire said:


> You have the Synchronized special edition? I think that paying even the reduced price of 65 each for the sections would still be better spent just going towards the 445 for the full SSP. Either option would expand what you already have with the Special Edition, it would all blend together and work very consistently without much hassle


Thanks for the reply. I forgot to mention that I have the synchronied version of SE1. It is nice that I can try out just the Synchron violins and even return them if not satisfied which makes it easier to decide. I wish all libraries let you try out a small subset of instruments before deciding to purchase the full library. I could have saved a lot.


----------



## Casiquire (Feb 16, 2022)

rqsrqs said:


> Thanks for the reply. I forgot to mention that I have the synchronied version of SE1. It is nice that I can try out just the Synchron violins and even return them if not satisfied which makes it easier to decide. I wish all libraries let you try out a small subset of instruments before deciding to purchase the full library. I could have saved a lot.


I agree, it's one of VSL's major strengths, as well as consistency and quality control. It's good to know exactly what you're going to get.


----------



## doctoremmet (Feb 22, 2022)

Nice one @Stephen Limbaugh ❤️


----------



## AndyP (Feb 22, 2022)

I downloaded Altair today. While doing so, I noticed the following. I have the BBO Bundle (also paid only 49€ for Altair) and the Synchron Strings Bundle Standard. 

Now I wanted to download Tania and the other strings (I know, they are included in the Synchron Strings), but if I have only the standard package, then I have more Mic Positions in BBO. Unfortunately I am missing the 5 strings sections in my download section. 
Does anyone know about this?


----------



## Karmand (Mar 3, 2022)

Well after reading about negativity, or VSL praises I'll chime in. I was not originally interested in this lib. I thought is was 'not enough'. I finally broke down near the end of this opening sale. I am workin on something that needed a push to get a melody out, bring it up smoothly with intensity and bring it back to a brass timbre nicely. Enter Altair. I have to say first that I like the Synchron Player and this set. No it does not do it all, but it did do what I needed to bring a main melody out and enhance it. So I loved it. Good price and blends real nice. I have plenty to say negatively about VEP7 crashes, VSL limits, pricing craziness etc, but I wanted to mention how it helped me this time.


----------



## doctoremmet (Mar 3, 2022)

AndyP said:


> I downloaded Altair today. While doing so, I noticed the following. I have the BBO Bundle (also paid only 49€ for Altair) and the Synchron Strings Bundle Standard.
> 
> Now I wanted to download Tania and the other strings (I know, they are included in the Synchron Strings), but if I have only the standard package, then I have more Mic Positions in BBO. Unfortunately I am missing the 5 strings sections in my download section.
> Does anyone know about this?


Correct. If you buy the bundle while already owning Synchron Brass, Synchron Strings Pro and / or Woodwinds, they adapt the price accordingly but also do not include overlapping libraries such as H, I, J, K in case of Brass, N, O, S in case of Woodwinds and T, U, V, W, and X in case of Strings. So there is no easy way to get those extra mic positions in the BBO “versions”. Then again, you bought the bundle without paying for them.


----------



## AndyP (Mar 4, 2022)

doctoremmet said:


> Correct. If you buy the bundle while already owning Synchron Brass, Synchron Strings Pro and / or Woodwinds, they adapt the price accordingly but also do not include overlapping libraries such as H, I, J, K in case of Brass, N, O, S in case of Woodwinds and T, U, V, W, and X in case of Strings. So there is no easy way to get those extra mic positions in the BBO “versions”. Then again, you bought the bundle without paying for them.


Hi Doc,

yes, I have received this information from VSL in the meantime. I am also fine with it, I was just not aware of it before.

At least I will keep the bundle price for future expansions, which is a good thing.


----------



## doctoremmet (Mar 4, 2022)

AndyP said:


> Hi Doc,
> 
> yes, I have received this information from VSL in the meantime. I am also fine with it, I was just not aware of it before.
> 
> At least I will keep the bundle price for future expansions, which is a good thing.


Great! And you have all the other instruments that come with BBO on top of the strings bundle! What an awesome collection Andy. I hope it’ll inspire you to make some lovely music and have tons of fun.


----------



## doctoremmet (Mar 4, 2022)




----------



## ninose (Mar 6, 2022)

Marsen said:


> Isn´t the tutti patch in Altair redundant for Andromeda owners?


I was just wondering that as well. Both Andromeda and Altair sound amazing. But if you already own Andromeda, what do you get with Altair that Andromeda doesn't have?


----------



## Ben (Mar 6, 2022)

ninose said:


> I was wondering that as well. If you already own Andromeda, what would you get with Altair that Andromeda doesn't have?


Separat sections, recorded in the same session, playing in tutti and then one section at the time.
This allows you to only use the strings, or only the woodwinds, or only brass, and mix and match how ever you like.


----------



## ninose (Mar 6, 2022)

Ben said:


> Separat sections, recorded in the same session, playing in tutti and then one section at the time.
> This allows you to only use the strings, or only the woodwinds, or only brass, and mix and match how ever you like.


Thank you very much Ben. That's sounds fantastic.Will be sure to get it then as I don't currently have a BBO library with separate playable sections.


----------



## aeliron (Mar 6, 2022)

ninose said:


> Thank you very much Ben. That's sounds fantastic.Will be sure to get it then as I don't currently have a BBO library with separate playable sections.


Be aware there are issues:

Post in thread 'VSL BBO Altair- Voice count skyrockets like crazy'
https://vi-control.net/community/th...unt-skyrockets-like-crazy.121943/post-5058418

It may still work for your purposes, though, and you may still want to get it at this price anyway.


----------



## ptram (Mar 6, 2022)

aeliron said:


> Voice count skyrockets like crazy


As I commented in that thread: huge chords with a huge amount of open mics can't but result in heavy CPU load. It's a linear consequence. But that shouldn't be normal use. If 'sketching', you don't need all the mics. If 'reinforcing' for realism, you don't write big chordal blocks.

Paolo


----------



## markleake (Apr 15, 2022)

Does anyone else have an issue with Altair when using the velocity crossfade patches? When I move CC1 up through the 80 to 105 range, I get what sounds like quite a strong filter-sweep effect. The higher frequencies dip in volume and then come back up. It's especially prevalent on strings, some on woods, but not for brass.

To reproduce, load the VelFX sus patch, set to the strings long notes articulation, play a chord with right hand, then move your mod wheel up from 0 to 128. Doesn't matter the mics you use, it's there regardless of mics.

I want to know if other people have the same issue, before I log it with VSL. But I'm worried this is just a part of how the library has been programmed, or is severe phasing between layers. This seems like a basic function of the library that is a bit broken.

@Ben, is this something other people have reported?


----------



## Erisno (Apr 15, 2022)

You can try using the Vel F at 127 and use Timber Adjust instead like you would use it for modulation.


----------



## markleake (Apr 15, 2022)

Erisno said:


> You can try using the Vel F at 127 and use Timber Adjust instead like you would use it for modulation.


I guess I could, yes. But that's just a filter. I've never had to use a filter before to get around such an issue with layer cross-fading.

Plus it's the strings that seem most effected by this. Ensemble strings are far less susceptible to phasing issues with multiple dynamics layers. Which makes me suspect something is wrong with the Vel.FX control. It sounds like it's applying filters to the layers.

Do you get the same issue?


----------



## Ben (Apr 15, 2022)

markleake said:


> @Ben, is this something other people have reported?


I can''t remember hearing about such issues with this library. I can'tcheck it myself right now, so I recommend to mail [email protected] with a brief demo DAW-file/MIDI and an audio render. My colleagues will look into this.


----------



## markleake (Apr 15, 2022)

Ben said:


> I can''t remember hearing about such issues with this library. I can'tcheck it myself right now, so I recommend to mail [email protected] with a brief demo DAW-file/MIDI and an audio render. My colleagues will look into this.


Thanks Ben. I'll send them an email tomorrow.


----------



## markleake (Apr 16, 2022)

Support got back to me and said what I hear is the cross-fading between the low intensity and loud dynamics. Erm.... 

Anyway, seems they missed the point, even though I explained what I was hearing and gave them an audio example.

I'll post the example here, see what others think.

This is two chords. In each chord I go from 0 to 128 on CC1 (modwheel). Around 85 to 110, I hear very strong phasing or a filter effect, in the second half of each chord. Also the added dynamic layer just comes in at the same top volume as the lower dynamic layer.

I don't have any other string libraries that has such a strange crossfade. SSP doesn't behave at all like this with the crossfades... hence why I thought something was wrong in Altair. I tested the woods and brass again in the same way, and can't hear any effect like this with them.


----------



## Ben (Apr 16, 2022)

markleake said:


> Support got back to me and said what I hear is the cross-fading between the low intensity and loud dynamics. Erm....
> 
> Anyway, seems they missed the point, even though I explained what I was hearing and gave them an audio example.
> 
> ...


Hi! I have heard back from Herb regarding this, and there should be a library update available soon, that should fix that. 
Sorry, I'm not as available as usual right now, and I personally can't check everything as well, because I need a few days off to take a breath and spend some time with my family.


----------



## markleake (Apr 16, 2022)

Ben said:


> Hi! I have heard back from Herb regarding this, and there should be a library update available soon, that should fix that.
> Sorry, I'm not as available as usual right now, and I personally can't check everything as well, because I need a few days off to take a breath and spend some time with my family.


Awesome, great to hear... and glad to know I wasn't going crazy! Thanks Ben!!

There's no rush on my part.  It was more the crossfades sounded so odd, I was surprised it hadn't been reported already. I've already responded to your support colleague's email before I saw your reply, sorry. Hopefully that doesn't confuse things.

Anyway, enjoy your Easter with family... and stop reading forums!!


----------



## RSK (Apr 16, 2022)

aeliron said:


> Be aware there are issues:
> 
> Post in thread 'VSL BBO Altair- Voice count skyrockets like crazy'
> https://vi-control.net/community/th...unt-skyrockets-like-crazy.121943/post-5058418
> ...


Yeah, if you're double-fisting on every choir I'd be shocked if this didn't happen.


----------



## dcoscina (Apr 16, 2022)

Ben said:


> Hi! I have heard back from Herb regarding this, and there should be a library update available soon, that should fix that.
> Sorry, I'm not as available as usual right now, and I personally can't check everything as well, because I need a few days off to take a breath and spend some time with my family.


Everyone needs downtime Ben and you are a wonderful ambassador for VSL. Enjoy your time off!


----------



## sostenuto (Apr 16, 2022)

dcoscina said:


> Everyone needs downtime Ben and you are a wonderful ambassador for VSL. Enjoy your time off!


Trusting you remain strong on adding Altair to Andromeda _ and perhaps Lyra, as well. Musca maybe not a strong as Lyra ? Your guidance, and demo examples, have been most helpful !!


----------



## dcoscina (Apr 16, 2022)

sostenuto said:


> Trusting you remain strong on adding Altair to Andromeda _ and perhaps Lyra, as well. Musca maybe not a strong as Lyra ? Your guidance, and demo examples, have been most helpful !!


you mean a playthru video? Ah... yeah... I started a new job.. I'm going to be a little busy for the next month. Hopefully, once I get settled in, I can do more of this playthrough videos


----------



## Zanshin (Apr 16, 2022)

dcoscina said:


> you mean a playthru video? Ah... yeah... I just got hired by Roland Canada.. I'm going to be a little busy for the next month. Hopefully once I get settled in, I can do more of these playthrus


Congrats!


----------

