# SYNCHRON-ized Plucked Instruments



## Ben (Feb 11, 2020)

Upright Bass with jazz articulations
Concert Guitar for solos (single notes) and accompaniments (chords)
Overdrive – Distorted Electric Guitar
Improved playabilty for fluid, authentic performances
Introductory Price € 175 (regular: € 220)

This library is based on the VI Single Instruments Upright Bass, Concert Guitar and Overdrive, customized and enhanced for the new Synchron Player. 
*More information available here!*

Introductory Offers on Crossgrade Prices:

For registered users of Plucked Instruments Bundle (Standard Library): €70 (reg. €95)
For registered users of Plucked Instruments Bundle (Full Library): €20 (reg. €35)
Crossgrade prices from the VI Single Instruments Upright Bass, Vienna Concert Guitar and Overdrive are available.


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 13, 2020)

Eagerly awaiting my codes tomorrow so I can download and try it out in person. This was an instant buy once I heard the demos and read the write-up. Improvements to the release tails of what was already my favourite Upright Bass (by far) give me confidence I can finalize project tracks with no regrets later.

The Concert Guitar seems improved as well. I use it a fair amount, and my only complaint is that it is so good that I tend to be lazy and keep as permanent vs. placeholder tracks when really I should only use it long enough to work up the parts live.  It's uncanny how realistic it sounds, and the extra work put into the new version really broadens its applicability to different styles.


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## Virtuoso (Feb 13, 2020)

Is it possible to buy just the Upright Bass in its new Synchronized form?


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## Ben (Feb 13, 2020)

Virtuoso said:


> Is it possible to buy just the Upright Bass in its new Synchronized form?


No, it's not possible to get only one instrument of this collection, I'm affraid.


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## ptram (Feb 13, 2020)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Improvements to the release tails of what was already my favourite Upright Bass (by far) give me confidence I can finalize project tracks with no regrets later.


Mark, did you find that the new version is really better than the older one? Upgrading costs very little to the owners of the old version, but since I'm using mostly VI instruments, I don't know if I should upgrade.

This set is a bit different than the other orchestral instrument, so using them in Synchron Player would be not an issue in my workflow. They are in any case to be treated in a different way than flutes and clarinets.

Paolo


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## dsblais (Feb 13, 2020)

For $20, I tried the conversion and have now tested out the classical and overdrive. I think it's a worthwhile improvement. The legatos seem much improved, especially the slides and bends. I think VSL accomplished its goal of improved playability and sound quite well with these. I wish the electric was available clean as well, but all in all an excellent kit.


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## Ben (Feb 15, 2020)

Listen to this impressive demo by Nicholas Decrescent, featuring the SYONCHRON-ized Upright Bass, SYNCHRON-ized Chamber Strings and the Synchron Yamaha CFX!


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## Ben (Feb 17, 2020)

And the next demo, this time featureing the Concert Guitar: Matador Remembered by Guy Bacos


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## Ben (Feb 18, 2020)

A 10-minutes walkthrough of the Upright Bass is available now:


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 19, 2020)

Sorry that I won't be able to provide detailed in-use feedback for a while, as I had an accident last Thursday, a minor concussion, lots of injuries, and it is a struggle to use my hands or my left arm. I've received a lot of questions here and there on follow-up, but I don't yet know how soon I'll be back in productive mode. The purchase is very cheap as an upgrade though, so hopefully the vendor demos are enough for making decisions while the introductory sale lasts.


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## Ben (Feb 19, 2020)

@Mark Schmieder Get well soon!


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## dsblais (Feb 19, 2020)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Sorry that I won't be able to provide detailed in-use feedback for a while, as I had an accident last Thursday, a minor concussion, lots of injuries, and it is a struggle to use my hands or my left arm. I've received a lot of questions here and there on follow-up, but I don't yet know how soon I'll be back in productive mode. The purchase is very cheap as an upgrade though, so hopefully the vendor demos are enough for making decisions while the introductory sale lasts.


Sorry to hear you had an accident. I hope you feel better soon and fully recover use of your hands and arm.


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## Mark Schmieder (Feb 19, 2020)

Thanks, but let's not make this thread about me.  Back to the topic at hand. I'll contribute again when I can. I just wanted people to know I'm not intentionally ignoring them. I'm sure I'll recover.


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## Ben (Feb 20, 2020)

Concert Guitar Walkthrough:


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## Ben (Feb 22, 2020)

Overdrive Electric Guitar Walkthrough:


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## mohsohsenshi (Feb 25, 2020)

Really like the Syn Concert Guitar, that reminds me the sound of Norbert Kraft, whose CDs I listened to hundreds of times during my teenage.

If VSL make it possible as a separate purchase in the future, I would like to pick it up, since I already have upright bass and electric guitar from amplesound.


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## Mark Schmieder (Mar 2, 2020)

Kraft definitely has a unique sound and is one of my very favourite players. He does have a custom instrument as I recall, but I think VSL made one specifically just for this library and that it is unique, with decisions such as arching that were made to reduce or eliminate unwanted resonance.


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## Mark Schmieder (Mar 15, 2020)

I re-did all of my Concert Guitar tracks yesterday using the new edition, and was surprised how much was added, even though it isn't stuff I initially need (e.g. the more resonant samples). The Synchron treatment really works well on this guitar when it is placed in large orchestrations, which happens to be how I'm using it currently. The reverb is just right (though I bring it down to -10 dB as a starting point). And the legato somehow seems cleaner as well.


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## Mark Schmieder (Mar 16, 2020)

I re-did most of my Upright Bass tracks tonight, but it's a bit time-consuming to re-map my old matrix-and-preset switching track to the new system, so it's actually taking a bit less time to work on the tracks that I hadn't yet added articulation switches for. 

Everything sits better now and flows more smoothly (cross-fades etc.). Whether a small combo setting, big band, or various Latin American genres. I'm using a wider range of settings now than before, due to effectively taking care of most production in the pre-mix inside Synchron Player.

The reverb mostly works well in every context; I'll pull it down to -20 dB in more intimate jazz combo settings. And I'll use Close or Classic as the main mic distance criteria on a case by case basis as well. But there was one main thing that took me a little while to figure out, as there are so many places where reverb can get set in Synchron Player and I didn't really think that was it (it wasn't!): the default for CC23 (Release) is mid-way (at 64), and this is usually too high for the portato articulations.

I'm not criticizing, as this is a CC-controlled parameter and for the longer sustain articulations this is actually a nice setting with or without vibrato chosen. But new users might not think to look at the Release timing or the CC control, so hopefully this will help others who are migrating.

Although I had generally found I needed more post-processing on Upright Bass using Vienna Suite (especially the EQ), I don't need to do much of that now as the mix presets have very good EQ presets that also have very useful settings that distinguish the closer mic positions from the longer impulse responses labeled "Classic".

As I did apply this SYNCHRON-ized version to one piece that I had not yet done any work on using the older VI Pro version, I can easily say that the Synchron library is faster to work with and more intuitive, and along with other work I've done recently to port stuff to SNCHRON-ized libraries, I am finding that the new workflow in Synchron Player is incredibly well thought out, is missing nothing from the old interface, and presents a better prioritized workflow for the most frequent editing that is done.


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## Mark Schmieder (Mar 16, 2020)

To Paolo's by-now old query regarding the Upright Bass, I hope I have now answered that. And though he expected to use this differently than Flute and Clarinet libraries, I will be trying the SYNCHRON-ized Flutes later this week (I won't be bothering with the Clarinets as I play those parts myself and only rarely use libraries for quick late-at-night preliminary mock-ups).

It will be interesting to see how similarly I end up setting things for the Flutes (in jazz and latin contexts) compared to the Upright Bass. I remain astounded at how versatile the VSL flutes are for every genre and context; nothing ever even comes close to knocking them out of a project. Even my girlfriend, who is a professional flutist (and will eventually record all of my parts) in multiple genres, gets a little nervous about whether she can do a better job (she's awesome, so of course she can).


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## dadadave (Aug 14, 2020)

Is it possible to buy the synchron-ized Upright Bass separately and, if not, why does VSL not want my money? 

It's weird to lock products in bundles whose previous versions were available as stand-alones.
It's even weirder when said bundle contains instruments from mostly wildly different musical styles (if you do Jazz, are you really looking for a 7-String electric guitar? If you do metal, are you really interested in an Upright bass and a nylon string guitar?) It's a bit like bundling a harmonica with an oboe, just because people blow into both...


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## Ben (Aug 14, 2020)

dadadave said:


> Is it possible to buy the synchron-ized Upright Bass separately and, if not, why does VSL not want my money?
> 
> It's weird to lock products in bundles whose previous versions were available as stand-alones.
> It's even weirder when said bundle contains instruments from mostly wildly different musical styles (if you do Jazz, are you really looking for a 7-String electric guitar? If you do metal, are you really interested in an Upright bass and a nylon string guitar?) It's a bit like bundling a harmonica with an oboe, just because people blow into both...


No, we do not sell these seperately. If we offered each VI instrument as SYized single instrument we would almost double the number of products we offer - adding a lot of complexity especially for new users.

Instead we decided to offer the SYized instruments in bundles at very attractive prices.


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## Mark Schmieder (Aug 14, 2020)

The price is right, and I understand the packaging constraints regarding product management.

The Nylon Guitar is actually the PRIMARY rhythm/chordal instrument in MUCH of Latin American Jazz; especially in Brasil but not just there. So it's not as odd of a pairing as some might think.

I personally despise the electric guitar, but don't feel like I spent money specifically on that instrument. Electric guitars in general sound like vacuum cleaners to me; no dynamics or expression, and a piercing tone that is also hideous. I was so happy when my guitarist who is in two of my jazz combos switched to arch-top guitar last year. Such a difference!

Some modern composers use solid-body electric guitar; I have never been able to tolerate it in that context.

But as for jazz, it often is more dominant in Fusion oriented music than other types of guitar. Not an Ibanez though; usually a Telecaster. I think this one is designed mostly for modern orchestral music that features some electric guitar bits here and there.


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## dadadave (Aug 14, 2020)

Ben said:


> No, we do not sell these seperately. If we offered each VI instrument as SYized single instrument we would almost double the number of products we offer - adding a lot of complexity especially for new users.
> 
> Instead we decided to offer the SYized instruments in bundles at very attractive prices.



Thank you for your rapid response, that helps! 

To be frank, I wasn't expecting *EVERY* VI instrument that was SYized to be offered as a single instrument, but I equally wasn't expecting a highly individual, specific instrument that was previously sold separately to only be available in its best form as part of a really unusual bundle (anyone feel free to point me to any other similar bundle that combines three such disparate instruments, with all due respect to Latin American Jazz / Bossa Nova with 7-String Lead or Rhythm Guitars).

Obviously I'm just a single data point, however I don't feel protected from complexity by this; Instead I am discouraged from entering the VSL Synchron (libraries in general) ecosystem, causing me to shrug and simply look elsewhere for an upright bass library. Other users' experiences may be different, of course, and what irritates me may be great for them...


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## Ben (Aug 14, 2020)

@dadadave Thanks for your feedback, I'll report it to HQ


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## method1 (Aug 14, 2020)

The VI version is still available, & they are essentially the same samples. 
As for being discouraged from the entire ecosystem, by the same logic you could boycott any library that doesn't sell individual instruments out of a larger collection. I get that you feel that this specific bundle is an odd selection, but applying that line of thinking to collections that are more "cohesive" makes no sense to me.


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## Zanshin (Aug 14, 2020)

Ben said:


> @dadadave Thanks for your feedback, I'll report it to HQ



Put me on that too. Demo’d the SE version, would love to be able to buy the full version by itself.


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Aug 14, 2020)

Mark Schmieder said:


> I personally despise the electric guitar, but don't feel like I spent money specifically on that instrument. Electric guitars in general sound like vacuum cleaners to me; no dynamics or expression, and a piercing tone that is also hideous. I was so happy when my guitarist who is in two of my jazz combos switched to arch-top guitar last year. Such a difference!



Where's my tar and feathers?


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## dadadave (Aug 14, 2020)

method1 said:


> The VI version is still available, & they are essentially the same samples.
> As for being discouraged from the entire ecosystem, by the same logic you could boycott any library that doesn't sell individual instruments out of a larger collection. I get that you feel that this specific bundle is an odd selection, but applying that line of thinking to collections that are more "cohesive" makes no sense to me.



_(I don't want to turn this thread into a thread about me and my purchasing decisions, but I'm not sure I got my main point across)_

"Boycott" sounds overly dramatic. I'm just not interested in having to buy stuff I don't want to get the stuff that I do want, I have plenty guitars already and as a customer I value choice, so, without any hard feelings, for the time being I'll look elsewhere where I am offered that choice. The ecosystem thing: if a developer might make future, improved versions of an instrument only available in curious bundles, that's not a huge deal or risk, but it does affect my purchasing decision (especially if they already have a bit of a reputation for handling bundles in ways that aren't universally loved).

I am not expecting every single instrument to be sold individually, no matter what, neither by VSL nor anyone else. However, we're talking here about an instrument that was (and still is) being sold individually in its old form and now has been updated, so if you want that, the GUI /workflow improvements and according to some who own both improved scripting, you're now expected to buy two other instruments along with it, because they happen to be excited the same way and I guess they didn't fit in the standard orchestral collections (I mean, might as well go all the way and toss in a harp, too, those are plucked, right? ) If you liked a car model and the latest version of it came out and you suddenly could only buy it if you also buy a motorcycle and a surfboard along with it, would that not seem strange to you? 

I am not against bundles. I am not against, where appropriate, for instance bundling orchestral sections, obviously, and only making them available that way. Or instrument variations (guitar bundles with electric, acoustic, nylon, even bass guitars make sense). Or stylistic bundles (like Swing! and Swing More!). Some developers like Orchestral Tools and 8dio are even starting to sell individual instruments out of perfectly sensible orchestral section libraries, and it's been a well-received move, but it's perfectly ok (great, even!) for each developer to have their own marketing strategy. Some just make more sense to me and I'll gravitate towards those, while others have me going "wait, what?" and moving on. *shrug*


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## Virtuoso (Aug 14, 2020)

Agreed. I bought the bundle because I wanted a good upright acoustic bass (and this one _is_ really good), but I have zero use for the guitars and I do resent having to pay for them.

It's such an odd combination. Bundling the acoustic bass with a sax or a brushed drum kit, even a piano would make sense, but a heavily distorted Steve Vai 7-String Ibanez?

The VSL electric sounds like someone's strangling a duck, and the sheer amount of programming required to make it sound _barely passable_ makes it a total non-starter for me.


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## NYC Composer (Aug 17, 2020)

I have to agree-I’m only interested in the upright, and VSL should consider selling it separately.


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## Chungus (Aug 17, 2020)

Lemme add to the chorus in liking the Syncronized upright to be sold separately.

I considered purchasing it when the bundle came out, but ultimately decided against it because I wouldn't use the guitars.


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## Maximvs (Aug 17, 2020)

I also think that to mantain the full modular approach that VSL has managed to do for quite a long time, which I like a lot, they should consider selling Synchron instruments individually like they did for the Vienna Instrument Pro.

Cheers,

Max T.


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## william81723 (Nov 10, 2020)

Can any body answer me that is there only regular down strum in concert guitar?
Did I miss anything?
but in the original version：
- battende is the "normal upstroke"
- pull the "normal downstroke"


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## lsabina (Nov 21, 2022)

I only want the bass too.


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