# Announcing FocuSounds! - New Violin and Cello Libraries - New Videos Added



## FocuSounds (Oct 27, 2012)

Hey folks,

We're thrilled to premiere our new sample library company "FocuSounds" here on VI-Control. 

Our first two releases feature solo violin and solo cello for Kontakt. Both available now for only $49!


Website: http://www.focusounds.com/


Youtube Videos: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwt99lJzFIE&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3wKdydEwro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfzjj4SWPpQ&feature=plcp 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTdUc_8TuKI&feature=plcp 
http://youtu.be/e69-rULolDY

Hope you enjoy!

Best,
FocuSounds Staff


----------



## jleckie (Oct 27, 2012)

Hmm-read your company name wrong. For a moment I thought it was spam!


----------



## MaestroRage (Oct 27, 2012)

that's a very sweet cello indeed.


----------



## MA-Simon (Oct 27, 2012)

*Re: Announcing FocuSounds! - New Solo Violin and Solo Cello Libraries*

Edit: Problems resolved!


----------



## FocuSounds (Oct 27, 2012)

*Re: Announcing FocuSounds! - New Solo Violin and Solo Cello Libraries*

- Resolved! -


----------



## Carles (Oct 27, 2012)

*Re: Announcing FocuSounds! - New Solo Violin and Solo Cello Libraries*

That's great.

"Our goal is to create virtual instruments that are *highly-expressive*, intuitive and *affordable* for all composers".

That sounds like I'm a clear potential customer 

I've spent too much already on strings but still missing highly-expressive Oboe and English Horn specially.

Please tell me that you've plans to produce some woodwinds!

Cheers,
Carles


----------



## FocuSounds (Oct 27, 2012)

*Re: Announcing FocuSounds! - New Solo Violin and Solo Cello Libraries*

Maybe.


----------



## FocuSounds (Oct 28, 2012)

*Re: Announcing FocuSounds! - New Solo Violin and Solo Cello Libraries*

Here's a video of the piano scroll data for the track "Winter". CC#1 and velocity. Should give you a good idea of just how easy it is to get the kind of result you hear in this demo. The harder velocities trigger a longer non-vibrato to vibrato progression while the middle velocities trigger a quick/natural vibrato progression. All played in real-time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwt99lJzFIE&feature=g-upl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nwt99lJz ... ture=g-upl)

Watch in 720p!

Best,
FS


----------



## jamwerks (Oct 28, 2012)

Hi, I'd suggest some naked demos. Putting a synth behind these acoustic instruments makes it hard for me to judge the depth and tone. Thanks


----------



## noiseboyuk (Oct 28, 2012)

jleckie @ Sun Oct 28 said:


> Hmm-read your company name wrong. For a moment I thought it was spam!



I know... I did that too, I must admit. The colour scheme too - focu in green, sounds in white... I dunno guys, that might need a little rethink...


----------



## damstraversaz (Oct 28, 2012)

Hi
first thanks for sharing the video !
I will be interested too by naked demos and by some others exemples with some quick musical phrase or short notes.

always nice to see new compagny !
Damien


----------



## dannthr (Oct 28, 2012)

*Re: Announcing FocuSounds! - New Solo Violin and Solo Cello Libraries*

Congratulations on the new release!


----------



## FocuSounds (Oct 28, 2012)

*Re: Announcing FocuSounds! - New Solo Violin and Solo Cello Libraries*

Thanks guys!

As requested, here's a naked demo of the "Passion" patch from the Sweet Cello library. Hope this helps!

Best,
FS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3wKdydEwro


----------



## DeactivatedAcc (Oct 28, 2012)

Nice violin, esp. on the upper range. Congrats, good luck guys.


----------



## almagata (Oct 28, 2012)

Thanks Fs, maybe a violin naked demo also?


----------



## FocuSounds (Oct 28, 2012)

Here you go! 

Naked violin demo featuring the "Solo" patch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfzjj4SWPpQ&feature=plcp

I forgot to include the velocity controller pane, but it's clearly visible which velocities are high (bright red) and which are middle (purple). 

Enjoy!
- FS


----------



## jamwerks (Oct 29, 2012)

Thanks for the naked demos. Sounds great.
Welcome on board and good luck !!


----------



## Hannes_F (Oct 29, 2012)

Not bad indeed!


----------



## wst3 (Oct 29, 2012)

pretty darned impressive, especially at that price point! I'd be really interested in hearing the electric instruments, if you can.

Thanks, and good luck with your launch!


----------



## TuomasP (Oct 29, 2012)

Interesting and with that price quite irresistible - is Sweet Viola next?

+1 for more info about those electric instruments too


----------



## dannthr (Oct 29, 2012)

I like my Viola Sassy.


----------



## FocuSounds (Oct 29, 2012)

Sweet Viola is definitely on the list.  Have some other cool releases coming up as well!

As requested, a naked demo of the "Sultry" electric violin patch. Very Narnia-esque. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTdUc_8TuKI&feature=plcp


The one thing that's difficult to convey is just how many different things you can do with the electric violin/cello -- can run it through so many different effects, as they're both direct-recorded. The electric cello goes all the way down to the lowest F on the piano -- super beefy.

Thanks!
- FS


----------



## Craig Sharmat (Oct 29, 2012)

It would help seeing how nimble the instruments are


----------



## MA-Simon (Oct 29, 2012)

Hey everyone, 

I need to apologize for my earlier post!
It was late at night, so I haven't really had much time for testing:
There seems to be something wrong on my end of the line.
My system is getting a little dated anyway, so I finally ordered a "real" one with the "i7", fancy SSD drives and everything...

Their support is very friendly and the guys at FS even provided me with a set of custom tailored patches! Everything works nicely now. :D 

Next time, I wont comment in a topic like this, but write to the support first.
Please ignore my earlier post and go on, give these strings a try!


----------



## NYC Composer (Oct 29, 2012)

Craig Sharmat @ Mon Oct 29 said:


> It would help seeing how nimble the instruments are



+1. Sounds really nice in slow passages.

Is this the Blakus company??


----------



## stu (Oct 29, 2012)

Hi Focusounds.

Thanks for the update - the legato transitions is much smoother now.
But I think there still some work to do.
I imagine the legato transitions should be even more elegant and smooth.
The middle velocity (dynamic) layer is great for that I think.

Thanks.


----------



## FocuSounds (Oct 30, 2012)

Hi Stu,

Glad you're digging the update!

The middle velocity layer (and high velocity layer) is indeed intended for use with the legato transitions. The lowest velocity layer is solely intended for starting a phrase. 

Best,
FS


----------



## Blakus (Oct 30, 2012)

NYC Composer @ Tue Oct 30 said:


> Is this the Blakus company??


This is not me 
Congrats on the releases FS!


----------



## Treb (Oct 30, 2012)

"Ultra-low RAM and CPU footprint"

Can I have a general idea of how much RAM each of these patches use?

Also, the naked demos seem very wet. Is that reverb baked in?


----------



## FocuSounds (Oct 30, 2012)

Hi Treb!

Each of the cello patches have around 40 MBs of samples. When loaded, it takes up about 4.5 MBs of memory in Kontakt.  The violin patches are around 30 MBs each in sample size.

The samples were recorded dry for maximum mixing flexibility. No room/hall tone baked in the samples at all. 

Best,
FS


----------



## shakuman (Nov 2, 2012)

It sounds nice! but how the interface looks like ? o/~


----------



## FocuSounds (Nov 2, 2012)

Hi, Shakuman! 

The interface is deliberately basic. The patches are super-clean as there is no need for various controllers. We wanted to create an instrument that you can just load up and instantly play! 

Best, 
FS


----------



## NYC Composer (Nov 2, 2012)

Again, the instruments sound great, but are you planning to do some demos that indicate how they sound when played more actively, or as Craig put it, 'nimble'?

...or are they simply not meant to be used like that?


----------



## FocuSounds (Nov 2, 2012)

Here you go! 

http://youtu.be/e69-rULolDY


Best,
FS


----------



## Akiha (Nov 4, 2012)

Sounds good, love the tone on both the instruments. Hope your release turns out to be successful.

Any plans to extend the instruments with other articulations? Or including additional patches for pizz, stac etc for an additional cost?


----------



## FocuSounds (Nov 4, 2012)

Hi, Akiha!

Thank you for the kind words and thankfully the response has been wonderful!

We may very well record additional articulations in the near future, but we wanted to initially focus our attention on a variety of legato performances. We felt that there were plenty of great options out there for violin/cello short articulations (pizz, stac, spicc, etc.), but very few options when it came to a variety of legato sustains. Though if and when we do record additional articulations, we will be sure to give the Sweet Violin/Cello owners a discount. 

For example: The "Dolce" patch is not only played softly, but it was also bowed close to the fingerboard to achieve that mysterioso/airy sound. The "Solo" patch is overall the most versatile patch of the bunch played at a comfortable, solo dynamic. The "Passion" patch is a strong solo dynamic and the "Obsessed" patch really has the player digging in (lot of lovely rosin sound with that one). Same goes for the electric violin -- the "Sultry" patch is a comfortable solo dynamic while the "Snow" patch is a really lilting/delicate-sounding patch. 

Sort of went off on a tangent there, but I hope that explains why we decided to spend all that recording time capturing sustains that really cater to a variety of musical applications. It also works great as a first chair violin/cello section lead. 

Best,
FS


----------



## Akiha (Nov 6, 2012)

FocuSounds @ Sun Nov 04 said:


> Hi, Akiha!
> 
> Thank you for the kind words and thankfully the response has been wonderful!
> 
> ...



Thanks for the details guys, much appreciated. Looks really interesting, especially for that price point.


----------

