# Best Chinese Instrument libraries 2019?



## Daniel James (Nov 26, 2019)

Hey all,

Just got a gig which is going to be using a lot of Chinese instruments. Having not been in this genre for a while I havn't paid much attention to whats on the market.

I know EW RA and Silk have got this covered pretty well but I was curious as to if there were any newer more modern sampled instruments in the field, which you think are worth knowing about?

-DJ


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## mralmostpopular (Nov 26, 2019)

Daniel James said:


> Hey all,
> 
> Just got a gig which is going to be using a lot of Chinese instruments. Having not been in this genre for a while I havn't paid much attention to whats on the market.
> 
> ...



I don’t know if there’s much newer. I’ve heard Kong Audio mentioned around a few times.

I also found this thread from a couple of years ago that list some things I haven’t heard of before:






Chinese/Asian Libraries?


If their Qin Engine has been updated to 64-bit VST, then that's very good news. I was under the impression that it still needed a 64-bit Bridge to work in a 64-bit DAW. Which was not encouraging me to purchase any of their instruments up to this point. I visited their site, and they mention...




vi-control.net


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## holywilly (Nov 26, 2019)

http://www.threebodytech.com/
They have most detailed sampled dulcimer and flute in the market






amplesound.net


Ample Guitar, Ample Bass, Ample Metal, AGG, AGF, AGP, AGM, AGT, AGL, AGML, AME, AMR, ABA, ABP, ABJ, Virtual Instruments, Sample library, Tab Player, Strummer




www.amplesound.net





One of the best Chinese Pipa

You can't go wrong with the Chinese developers!


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## DSmolken (Nov 26, 2019)

And they do the West's guitars quite well, too.


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## M0rdechai (Nov 27, 2019)

I'm hoping for a "Dynasty ERA" or something of the sorts by Eduardo Tarilonte, covering far Eastern instruments.
I read somewhere here that he was planning it but not in the near future.


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## Zee (Nov 27, 2019)

Embertone: has the best Erhu on the market imo their Bawu is also good
There are Erhu phrases in Soundiron's Street Erhu and in CS Tina Guo vol1.
The Pipa from Ample sounds great from the Demos and it uses the same engine as their guitars
Soniccouture has Shang Khaen aand Sho and A Guzheng
Ilya Effimov offer Bawu and Hulusi (both wind instruments)
Best service has Peking Orchestra which is mainly percussion (but it's for Engine 2)
Sonica Instruments mainly release Japanese instruments but they're close to chinese ones (the Koto and the Sho at least)
Impact Soundworks and Evolution Series recently released a deeply sampled Guzheng each they're both great so you can't go wrong with either
(i'm at work currently so those are the ones i remember there might be more)


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## Technostica (Nov 27, 2019)

Sonica Instruments look interesting - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfqrHS8CeA_8-g1yHu0WGdw


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## Joe Totino (Nov 27, 2019)

For percussive elements, check out World Percussion Core by Evolution Series. You can purchase the standalone "World Percussion Asia" library, or the Core which has Asia, Middle East, Africa, South America, etc. It's a really cool library with 4 mic positions, and a super intuitive interface.


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## dohm (Nov 27, 2019)

One of my favorites is Soniccouture's Guzheng.


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## sostenuto (Nov 27, 2019)

Kong Audio provided the most comprehensive and useful content for affordable cost. 



Kong Audio - Chineese instruments



Anthony Chou (Support) provided excellent e-mail communication and help over many months ( extended hours in his China timezone ). Assume he is still there.


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## Solarsentinel (Nov 27, 2019)

Daniel James said:


> Hey all,
> 
> Just got a gig which is going to be using a lot of Chinese instruments. Having not been in this genre for a while I havn't paid much attention to whats on the market.
> 
> ...


i recommend you Soniccouture for this. It does not cover all the chinese instruments but their strings instruments are pretty good. (like the guzheng). And more since version 2 and the nks compatibility was release.


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## Yury Tikhomirov (Nov 29, 2019)

@Daniel James, those are libraries, but what would be 2-3 essential instruments in your opinion that might work fine in trailer context for adding that unique chinese character?


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## Henning (Nov 29, 2019)

I once used Impact Soundworks' Vocalisa to fake a Chinese Women Choir:


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## Yury Tikhomirov (Nov 29, 2019)

Henning said:


> I once used Impact Soundworks' Vocalisa to fake a Chinese Women Choir:



Fantastic work - both timbre and composition wise! Would not you mind to guide us a bit through at least couple of instruments (not libraries) used in the composition - I could hear Erhu, Bawu (flute) and may be Pipa on the background, and of course, the awesome choir


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## Henning (Nov 29, 2019)

Thanks a lot! I bought two Dizis in different tunings, an Erhu and a Pipa and played and recorded them. Drums are a mix of some HZ1 and Kong's percussion, as I remember. I also think I used some Adventure Strings.


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## Yury Tikhomirov (Nov 29, 2019)

Henning said:


> Thanks a lot! I bought two Dizis in different tunings, an Erhu and a Pipa and played and recorded them. Drums are a mix of some HZ1 and Kong's percussion, as I remember. I also think I used some Adventure Strings.


So those were a real recorded instruments! Just wow. So rare nowadays. I am envious now. But would like to emphasize again - fantastic work!


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## Henning (Nov 29, 2019)

Thanks mate. I actually love playing and getting to know new instruments. I actually spend much more on real instruments than on sample libs nowadays.😁


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## Yury Tikhomirov (Nov 30, 2019)

I was tired of searching for any Dizi (Bamboo Flute), and then suddenly found this:





Virtual Chinese Transverse Flute Dizi for Kontakt


Virtual Chinese Transverse Flute Dizi by Suonopuro



www.suonopuro.net





I don't have high expectation (they look like private Kontakt libraries), but may be anyone have heard at least anything about it or (I might be asking too much) have ever tried it?


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## Mark Schmieder (Nov 30, 2019)

Unfortunately the best Dizi is no longer available, but I still have my copy. It was from Bela D Media, in the Spiritual Winds library by Tarilonte. Both low and high versions were included, with breath control. A Low Dizi is included in Epic World.

Silk and Ra have both voicings as well. I haven't reviewed them recently, but seem to recall a baked-in vibrato. If you care to know, I can take the time to review them in more detail.

There is also a Chinese Bamboo Flute called the Xiao, but I'm not 100% positive (without taking some extra time) whether I properly listed libraries as supporting that vs. Dizi, if they simply called it Bamboo Flute or Chinese Flute. Sources include Spitfire Andy Findon Kitbag, Forest Kingdom, and Ethno World.

Note that I am not bothering to list Garritan World as a source for anything here, even though its collection is quite extensive, as it is more of academic interest than something you'd use in pro work.


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## Mark Schmieder (Nov 30, 2019)

As is often the case, the Wiki Instruments database is quite helpful here:









Dizi (instrument) - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org













Xiao (flute) - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org





When in doubt, if you have a picture accompanying a sample library source, the end-blown configuration would be a Xiao and the transverse orientation would be a Dizi. Different materials can be used for either, but various types of bamboo is pretty common.


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## Mark Schmieder (Nov 30, 2019)

That's an hour I'll never get back, but it is also a time-saver to do this sort of research and get to a level of confidence of what's what. It's just amazing though, how most vendors are extremely sloppy in their labeling and terminology, when it comes to non-western instruments.

Anyway, if you see something labeled Chinese Bamboo Flute, it is usually a Dizi (low pitched is the most common), and rarely a Xiao. A Bamboo Flute with no nationality listed, such as the one in Ethno World, may be from somewhere else (for instance, theirs is from Indonesia).

The Xiao is rarely sampled; the Dizi is a bit more common in the sampling world and treated a bit better when it is. I could tell by the sound alone that both of Andy Findon's are Dizi models, but I could be wrong. Usually the Dizi sounds a bit airy to me compared with the Xiao (in spite of the orientation comparisons to an orchestral flute vs. an end-blown flute from the Middle East).

The tiny Koudi has not been sampled as far as I know, and is rarely played anyway, as it was invented in 1971 by a famous Dizi maker.

The Garritan World instruments have very little going for them, as one would expect, but can serve as an academic reference. Annoyingly, all of their patches are extremely sample-stretched, with no indicators or documentation (within the instrument) on natural range. Perhaps they sampled multiple voicings, but more likely they took one standard instrument and stretched in both directions, based on the sound quality. Very little if any expression available, or articulations.

For the Xiao, Tarilonte did it twice and Silk has one. The latter may have more articulations, but I think the vibrato is fairly baked in. I have a slight preference for Tarilonte's, and maybe even Epic World (which also includes phrases) over Forest Kingdom.

Dizi is a bit more straightforward, as Andy Findon tackled this one and did a superb job. Note that the Dizi usually has a membrane near the mouthpiece hole, so he calls the one in his second volume a Chinese Membrane Flute. Most of Andy's terminology in his libraries is WAY off-base; it took a lot of research to really figured out what he sampled for most of those two collections.

My rankings for both instruments are below, and remember that the one in Ethno World is an Indonesian End-Blown Bamboo Flute, so is left off these lists but is extremely good.

*Xiao (Chinese End-Blown Bamboo Flute)*

Eduardo Tarilonte's Forest Kingdom: Instruments: Wind: Xiao Flute (Engine)
Eduardo Tarilonte's Epic World: Instruments: Xiao Long Notes (Engine) — Extended Range
EW Silk: China: Xiao (Wind) (Play)
Garritan World Instruments: Winds: China: Xiao (ARIA) — Extended Range

*Dizi (Chinese Transverse Bamboo Flute)*

Spitfire Andy Findon Kitbag: Chinese Bamboo Flute (Kontakt) — Low Dizi
Spitfire Andy Findon Kitbag: Chinese Membrane Flute (Kontakt) — High Dizi
Eduardo Tarilonte's Epic World: Instruments: Low Dizi (Engine) — Extended Range
Bela D Media Anthology 2: Spiritual Wind: Dizi (Kontakt) — BC support
EW Silk: China: Dizi Large (Wind) (Play) — Low Dizi
EW Silk: China: Dizi Small (Wind) (Play) — High Dizi
EW Ra: Far East: Wind: Dizi (Play) — High Dizi
Garritan World Instruments: Winds: China: Di-zi (ARIA) — Extended Range

I hope this is helpful to somebody.


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## holywilly (Nov 30, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> That's an hour I'll never get back, but it is also a time-saver to do this sort of research and get to a level of confidence of what's what. It's just amazing though, how most vendors are extremely sloppy in their labeling and terminology, when it comes to non-western instruments.
> 
> Anyway, if you see something labeled Chinese Bamboo Flute, it is usually a Dizi (low pitched is the most common), and rarely a transverse Xiao. A Bamboo Flute with no nationality listed, such as the one in Ethno World, may be from somewhere else, and theirs for instance is from Indonesia.
> 
> ...



http://www.threebodytech.com/products/whisperofloong
This one is newly released and it sounds like a real deal.


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## Mark Schmieder (Nov 30, 2019)

Looks like three materials on offer for three patches, including one made of bone or maybe stone.

The audio demos fail when I try them.

Unfortunately what little Chinese I once knew, is now forgotten.

600 yuan converts to roughly 85 or 90 US Dollars, and the library size is 4 GB once decompressed. Seems like a good deal overall.

I would have preferred that my full post had not been quoted above, as it contains errors that I am about to correct, and as exactly 0% of what was said has anything at all to do with the reply. I'll never understand the popularity of quoting posts; it only causes trouble.


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## Vashi (Nov 30, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> As is often the case, the Wiki Instruments database is quite helpful here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Xiao is end blown, Dizi is side and with the membrane.


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## Vashi (Nov 30, 2019)

Yury Tikhomirov said:


> I was tired of searching for any Dizi (Bamboo Flute), and then suddenly found this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...








Shakuhachi e Xiao per EWI


Shakuhachi e Xiao per EWI, flauti virtuali per Kontakt by Suonopuro.



www.suonopuro.net





Using his demo video from here, the developer seems to have gotten the Xiao sound very well.

This is a recorded version of the piece "If Clouds Knew" the developer used in the dizi demo video that you can use for comparison.


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## Mark Schmieder (Nov 30, 2019)

I had corrected that in the other post but hadn't re-found the earlier one yet, but it too is now corrected. It takes many iterations for me to get something right, when cross-referencing a dozen or more references at once. My linear memory isn't that great; I'm a mathematician so my specialty is seeing patterns. Orientation is also irrelevant (I specialized in Topology); Organic Chemistry was a challenge when I tried to switch from Engineering to Genetics in Grad School.


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## mixtur (Nov 30, 2019)

UVI world suite also has Asian instruments 
https://www.uvi.net/world-suite.html


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## 2chris (Nov 30, 2019)

Sonica Instruments
Soniccouture
Impact Soundworks
Wavesfactory
Insession Audio
Soundiron


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## Robo Rivard (Nov 30, 2019)

I wasn't expecting anything when I clicked on that thread, but it proved to be quite instructive!... Thanks to you all!


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## Raphioli (Nov 30, 2019)

Another thread to bookmark. 
Thanks for the informative thread.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 1, 2019)

Although I have a decent one in Silk, I have been shopping for a Guzheng (Chinese Zither) recently.
The ones available are:

Impact Soundworks (Plectra Series)
WavesFactory Guzheng
Soniccouture Guzheng
Evolution Series World Strings Guzheng
Best Service Gu Zheng (made in China)
Sound Magic

After my research, I plan to get the Evolution, but I like the Best Service one a lot too. Of course, I don't own any of them, so somebody like Mark might be a better judge.

This is personal, but I prefer the sound of the Bawu more than the Dizi and Xiao for a Chinese wind instrument. The Efimov Bawu sounds better to me in the demos than the Embertone Bawu, so I'm probably going to get it now, while there's a sale on. The Bawu in Silk is nice, I just don't like the Silk interface. Efimov also has a Hulusi, and sells it with the Bawu in a set.

Sound Magic offers a set called Bamboo Dreams, which includes a Long Dizi, a short Dizi, a Xiao, and a Bawu. They are available separately and they sell a Pipa too.

The Yangquin or Yang Quin (hammered dulcimer) is one of my favorite Chinese instruments. It's in Silk. A really amazing one is made by a company called 3 Body Tech--they call it http://www.threebodytech.com/products/raindropandblade (Raindrop &amp; Blade). And 50% off today!

For the record, Aria Sounds also has a Xiao. I can't vouch for the quality, but you can currently pick it up for 67 euros at VSTBuzz, and it also comes with a Bansuri, a Celtic Harp, the LSS Solo Strings, 3 percussion libraries, a piano, pipe organ and a harpsichord. And its still way cheaper than the currently discounted Silk and Tarilonte. 

If you want to see these instruments in action vs Western instruments, watch the students of a music school, challenged by a rebel Guzheng player, battle in this Chinese teen movie. Guzheng vs. Harp, Erhu vs Violin, Yangquin vs piano, Sheng (I think) vs trumpet, Dizi and Xiao vs winds, etc. (Plot point: the Yangquin player--the star of the film--has a crush on the piano player) Game over when the last guy comes in wailing on a Suona, and no western instruments can match his sound.

​


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## Daniel James (Dec 1, 2019)

You guys are awesome 

-DJ


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## DSmolken (Dec 1, 2019)

Cool battle scene. For its opposite, I know this is Mongolian, but the zither, dulcimer and flute seem very similar to Chinese ones, and there's fiddles as well. This is an example of working together with Western instruments to make a coherent whole. Really nicely blended.



Actually, the hammered dulcimer is very similar to Eastern European ones, too, if you got samples of one it can probably fill in for the other.


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## Vashi (Dec 1, 2019)

More east and west fusion.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 1, 2019)

As you might have guessed, I use Bawu more in my own music than Xiao or Dizi as well. Efimov's is magnificent, but the one in Silk is pretty good as well (though I too despise the Play workflow and interface), and both Garritan World and Ethno World have token representations.

My rankings of Guzhing are below, but I tend to use Korean zithers and Japanese Koto a bit more, so take this with a grain of salt as I didn't take the time to annotate the advantages of each, and also the bottom three or four aren't specifically ordered at this point, pending further review -- for instance, I doubt that Garritan World is better than Silk.

*Gu Zheng (Guzheng/18-23-String Chinese Zither)*

ISW Guzheng (Kontakt)
Yellow River Sound Gu Zheng (Engine)
Evolution Series: World Strings: Guzheng (Kontakt)
Soniccouture Guzheng (Kontakt)
Wavesfactory Guzheng (Kontakt)
Garritan World Instruments (ARIA)
EW Silk (Play)
The Yellow River Sound product is the one from Best Service. I think all of these are on sale this weekend. Getting Bawu and Hulusi together from Efimov is advantageous for good blend.

I have been ignoring Sound Magic for years, because it was my understanding that they are Windows-only, but I see that they do support macOS (at least they do now). Interesting that they cover the modern Koudi, which I said no one had sampled, but they simply call it a Short Dizi.


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## sostenuto (Dec 1, 2019)

When I want authentic Chinese instrments ..... http://www.chineekong.com/audiodemotracks.htm


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 1, 2019)

Chinee Kong is Windows-only. That might be why I also thought Sound Magic's stuff wasn't for the Mac. Chinee Kong probably have the most complete collection of anybody, and the material is deliberately recorded in a way that it blends and positions well within a Chinese Orchestra setup.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 1, 2019)

I must say, those discounts are quite enticing for Sound Magic today! So many configurations of price reductions and freebies, which makes it very flexible depending on what you want or need.

As much as I hear the instrument live now and then in my area, and have good libraries already, I have never grown attached to the Er Hu.

The Pipa may be my favourite Chinese instrument, and the best one I have is in Silk, but I had been eying the expensive one from Ample as a future purchase. Has anyone compared these?

The Konghou was extinct for a long time but has had as revival. I rather like the Chinese Harp sound and find it something I would likely use. I don't think anyone else has sampled one.

I already have a lot of Guzhengs that are all pretty good, but Bamboo Dreams might be worth it as it seems their Dizi goes deeper feature-wised than most and they of course include the "Short Dizi" and what may be the best Xiao. I have good Bawus already but this one might possibly be the best.

So one choice would be to get Bamboo Dreams with Pipa for free ($149 total), and Guzheng with Konghou for free ($99 total), or maybe Kongou with Bamboo Dreams for free ($149 total) and Laurel Pipa on its own ($59 total).

So that would be $250 for all but Erhu, and $200 for all but Erhu and Guzheng.

For the more timid, there's the China Impression bundle, but it makes future purchases awkward as it extracts the Bawu from Bamboo Dreams as a freebie but that library doesn't offer a la carte purchases.


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## Yury Tikhomirov (Dec 1, 2019)

My personal short list is now consist of:
-Embertone Chang Erhu (just purchased!)
-Ample Sound Pipa (I have extra -10% on top because do have ABU, so it is clearly the next purchase).
-Ilya Efimov Hulusi (and may be Bawu) - will be added to my shopping list a bit later.
-ISW Guzheng (with 50$ Gift card in APD that could be purchased with APD money resulting -20$ discount it must be a bargain, though I haven’t checked that myself)

I would like to mention some nice gongs in Saga Trailer Percussion that I also have.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 1, 2019)

Ethno World also has a Gu Zheng, which they call Zheng Harp. It's actually quite good for its small sample size, so I'd place it right behind the ones from Soniccouture and Wavesfactory.

I have updated my list after careful review, and studying the user manuals. I remember there being a recent library that I skipped due to already having so many good ones, but can't remember which vendor it was that offered a new entry. or maybe I'm confused as I think Evolution Series had a new product that I considered redundant vs. how many offerings I already had for that instrument.

*Gu Zheng (Guzheng/18-23-String Chinese Zither)*

ISW Guzheng (Kontakt) — 18 unique articulations
Yellow River Sound Gu Zheng (Engine) — 17 unique articulations; sympathetic resonance
Evolution Series: World Strings: Guzheng (Kontakt) — 14 articulations; four mics to mix
Soniccouture Guzheng (Kontakt) — notes colour-coded for natural vs. extended chromatic
Wavesfactory Guzheng (Kontakt) — 5 articulations, including eBow
Ethno World: Stringed Instruments: Zheng Harp (Kontakt)
EW Silk: China: Guzheng (String) (Play)
Garritan World Instruments (ARIA)
There are so many differences between these libraries, in how they're miked, played, available techniques, etc., that I'm not really sure that there is one that does it all. I do not regret having so many, that is for sure. And I would need more time to truly firm up that order of preference, but I would say that I'm confident that none of them are off by more than one place in the list at most.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 1, 2019)

Good to know that owning Ample's upright bass gives me 10% discount for their Pipa.


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## Yury Tikhomirov (Dec 1, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Good to know that owning Ample's upright bass gives me 10% discount for their Pipa.


There is a loyalty discount for owners of any of their products as far as I know. And I must say if Pipa is on the level of their Upright Bass (which is so damn good), then it must be the best one.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 1, 2019)

Here's where I stand on the Pipa after a half hour or so of comparing what I have vs. the two I don't (using their on-line demos), and a bit more annotation of known features:

*Pipa (Chinese Lute)*

Sound Magic Laurel Pipa (Kontakt) — 15 categories; 60 variations
Ample China Pipa (Ample Sound Engine) — 11 articulations
EW Silk: China: Pipa (String) (Play) — 19 articulations
UVI World Suite: Fretted String: Pipa (UVI Workstation) — 13 articulations
Garritan World Instruments (ARIA)
The quality of the Pipa in Silk is way better than I remembered, with lots of flexibility, but in my view a very non-ideal interface for dealing with such an instrument.

The Sound Magic audio demos sound similar to Silk, and it's twice as big due to more variations, so I think I'll go with that now, and keep Sample Sound's "cleaner" and more distant/ambient sounding library as an alternative if I'm not thrilled buy the one from Sound Magic.

The one from Ample Sound is four times as large as the one from Sound Magic, partly due to having two editions (simple and advanced). I don't really know what all of those symbols in the lower left mean; presumably these are available articulations. I don't know what Sound Magic's interface looks like, or if they are Kontakt based or standalone. I would go for Kong Chinee if available on macOS.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 1, 2019)

I like Er Hu a bit better than I thought, after listening to the Sound Magic demos again. So I went back to what I already have, and found that Silk's is nicely recorded (though perhaps a bit TOO clean), with many articulations, but not a good interface for this sort of instrument.

*Er Hu (Erhu/Chinese Violin/Plectrum Violin)*

Sound Magic China Story Erhu (Kontakt)
EW Silk: China: Er Hu (Bowed String) (Play) — 24 articulations
EW Ra: Far East: Bowed: Erhu (Play) — 16 articulations
Ethno World: Bowed Instruments: Erhu (Kontakt) — too raspy
UVI World Suite: Stringed: Er Hu (UVI Workstation) — too raspy; 6 articulations
Garritan World Instruments (ARIA)

The others are too dirty, but Sound Magic's seems to strike a good balance, so I'll buy it tonight.


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## Yury Tikhomirov (Dec 1, 2019)

@Mark Schmieder, so no love for Embertone’ one or you just don’t have it?
I couldn’t compare it to those in collections, but I just think Chang Erhu is super expressive and good sounding.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 2, 2019)

I sold it. I have a policy of not speaking about stuff I sold, out of respect for the developers.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 2, 2019)

It took a couple of hours of deep research and cross-referencing and comparisons of sound, to figure all of this out, but this is my revised chart of Dizi choices, which, uh, made me dizzy. 

*Dizi (Chinese Transverse Bamboo Flute)*

Sound Magic Bamboo Dreams: Long Dizi
Sound Magic Bamboo Dreams: Short Dizi — Koudi
Spitfire Andy Findon Kitbag: Chinese Bamboo Flute (Kontakt) — Dadi; C3 to C5; 10 articulations
Spitfire Andy Findon Kitbag: Chinese Membrane Flute (Kontakt) — Xiao Di; F4 to G6; 8 articulations
EW Silk: China: Dizi Large (Wind) (Play) — Dadi; C3 to D5; 9 articulations
EW Silk: China: Dizi Small (Wind) (Play) — Qu Di; B3 to C6; 10 articulations
EW Ra: Far East: Wind: Dizi (Play) — Qu Di; C4 to B5; 11 articulations
Bela D Media Anthology 2: Spiritual Wind: Dizi (Kontakt) — Qu Di; A3 to C6; BC support
Eduardo Tarilonte's Epic World: Instruments: Low Dizi (Engine) — Qu Di; Extended Range (G2 to C6)
Garritan World Instruments: Winds: China: Di-zi (ARIA) — Extended Range
Until I buy them and download/install/try, I won't know the note ranges of the Sound Magic libraries.

I'm torn between Spitfire and Silk, as the latter MIGHT be deeper but is a bit too clean and doesn't have a workflow that I enjoy compared to Spitfire's. It took me a long time to conclude the identities of the two from Andy Findon. Too airy and overblown to likely be a cleaner Xiao type flute.

The two Tarilonte libraries use sample-stretching, so I don't trust them overall, but the older Spiritual Wind anthology appears to have more articulations if one gets into the scripting.

Here's a good resource for the note ranges of the various members of the Dizi family:






Dizi Instrument


WELCOME TO OUR DIZI STORE! Browse through our beautiful selections of Chinese flutes for the Dizi that you want. The most common key to start with is C and D. Our Dizis are from Hangzhou by makers Xie Bin and Dong Xue Hua. Video and sound demos available. Check them out here!




www.easonmusicstore.com





This appears to be put together with C3 as Middle C, which is how most of us in the US name our notes even though the scientific standard (and the primary basis in Europe) is to use C4.


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## BeneJ (Dec 2, 2019)

Garageband on the iPad has some surprisingly good ones!


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 2, 2019)

Assuming once again that Sound Magic is the king (for dual platform choices) of Bawu, here's my update for current choices (not including ones I sold, which I refuse to rank out of respect).

*Bawu (Chinese Wind)*

Sound Magic Bamboo Dreams: Bawu
Ilya Efimov Bawu (Kontakt) — B2 to F#4; 4 unique articulations, plus combinations
Ethno World: Woodwind and Brass: Bawu (Kontakt) — B2 to F4; 10 articulations
EW Silk: China: Bawu (Wind) (Play) — B2 to A4; 5 articulations
Garritan World Instruments (ARIA)
The one in Silk is pretty bad; my memory was faulty. And also not very flexible. Yet the one in Ethno World is quite advanced for a large library that doesn't focus on such instruments. I haven't really gotten to where I fully understand Efimov's yet, at the same level as Ethno World's, but look forward to the one from Sound Magic, if I receive product keys soon.


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## tcb (Dec 2, 2019)

As a Chinese I am happy that Chinese instrumentsare are mentioned.They are good instruments～

I am a Dizi and Xiao player.They are our traditional flutes.They have almost same fingering.But they sounds very differently.Dizi have a membrane covers a hole in its body.The membrane enhances the vibration of Dizi and makes it sounds uniquely.Dizi is much brighter and louder than Xiao.Usually Xiao is longer than Dizi so its range is about a octave lower than Dizi.

They are more than 12 different keys Dizi and Xiao,although they can play all semitones.Actually it is more than 12 Dizi and Xiao.Short Dizi likes piccolo,whereas long Dizi likes basson.Their price is very low(In China a 50$ Dizi/Xiao is very good)


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## Daniel James (Dec 2, 2019)

Credit where its due. The Spitfire LABS Moon Guitar is fucking incredible!!!!

-DJ


----------



## Mark Schmieder (Dec 2, 2019)

TCB, thanks so much for your input -- it reinforces which references are accurate (if incomplete) and which are not, amongst the sources some of us found out of desperation to learn more about these instruments. And it also adds a lot of first-hand knowledge that helps even further.

I did find with that one link I posted, that gave good descriptions of several of the "voicings" within the Dizi family, that they are highly affordable, even for good quality, so I may order one, once I decide my preferred initial voicing. And thanks for clarifying that the membrane is common vs. rare, as that wasn't clear from some sources and I think not all libraries included it (i.e. the ones that are too "clean" sounding).


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 2, 2019)

The GarageBand Chinese instruments are fun to play. You can't beat a touch interface. I believe that the sounds are modeled, as I don't think you could get these effects through sampling.













They also have a Koto and set of Taikos. They don't come with a regular Garageband download, you have to request them. But there's no extra charge.


----------



## Mark Schmieder (Dec 2, 2019)

In case it got lost in the noise, I want to reiterate (as there's a sale of 50% that ends today) that the Wavesfactory Gu Zheng includes an eBow articulation! I tried it out last night and it's "unique". 

Not for everyone, but I also enjoy using a "bowed" Vibraphone now and then. Anyway, I will reach for my Wavesfactory library when I want something a bit experimental like that.


----------



## tcb (Dec 2, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> TCB, thanks so much for your input -- it reinforces which references are accurate (if incomplete) and which are not, amongst the sources some of us found out of desperation to learn more about these instruments. And it also adds a lot of first-hand knowledge that helps even further.
> 
> I did find with that one link I posted, that gave good descriptions of several of the "voicings" within the Dizi family, that they are highly affordable, even for good quality, so I may order one, once I decide my preferred initial voicing. And thanks for clarifying that the membrane is common vs. rare, as that wasn't clear from some sources and I think not all libraries included it (i.e. the ones that are too "clean" sounding).



I tried membranes from different companys.They usually made of reed and are very cheap（1$ is enough 1year).The challenge is to appropriately paste it.Menbranes are fragile.And paste too loose or tight both make Dizi sounds bad.
Here is an example.

There is a trick to appropriately paste it：Before pasting,roll membrane into a small ball,then flatten it.
Last,membranes have lines（textures?),usually we paste it vertical to Dizi body.

And we don't use glue.We use a “donkey-hide gelatin 阿胶(ejiao)”（https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey-hide_gelatin).Garlic's juice is another choose.Gralic
is easy to find in Chinese kitchen（But it is somewhat pungent）


----------



## Mark Schmieder (Dec 2, 2019)

Very helpful; thanks for such a detailed post.

My first Armenian Ney arrives in a few days, and that will help me judge how eager I am to take on the Xiao and/or Dizi. I've had a bit of trouble retaining what I learn on the Andean Quenas though.


----------



## Mark Schmieder (Dec 3, 2019)

It's fairly time-consuming to download, install, and authorize the full suite of Sound Magic products, and then to ascertain the exact articulations that are supported, and it will be a few days before I can finish the job.

For now, I'll just make clear that the Pipa and Erhu are Kontakt instruments (they have standalone versions as well, but those are out of date) and the others are all hosted by Neo Orchestra (a custom sampling host).

What little I've done with them all so far, impresses me in terms of recording quality and depth, so I have no regrets over the $307 spent. I am pretty confident these are each best-in-class, and I especially wanted the Chinese Harp, which no one else has sampled.


----------



## DSmolken (Dec 3, 2019)

Some similar zithers and possibly flutes here: http://en.catsnu.com/Project/GugakVSTi.aspx

Has anybody tried that stuff? It's free, and might work for simple uses...


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 3, 2019)

I feel like I've been there before, a couple of years ago (maybe), when someone was asking for sources that might be able to form a Korean Orchestra (and work well together). Might have been a different forum though. A quick scan of that link is impressive regarding coverage. Not sure of the vintage, or depth.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 4, 2019)

Insanity Samples came out with a *Yangquin* today.

​

One drawback I see is that it has nothing in the interface for different scales.


----------



## Lassi Tani (Mar 25, 2020)

How about this: https://www.strezov-sampling.com/products/view/jade.html

I think ensembles from Jade together with some solos e.g. from Sound Magic would be a great combination.

@Mark Schmieder Have you had time to use Sound Magic libraries, and if yes, could you share?


----------



## Iswhatitis (Mar 25, 2020)

Daniel James said:


> Hey all,
> 
> Just got a gig which is going to be using a lot of Chinese instruments. Having not been in this genre for a while I havn't paid much attention to whats on the market.
> 
> ...


I was supposed to do this job that required Chinese instruments but the producer turned out to be a complete scumbag after I bought Peking Opera Percussion so I never use it. It’s just okay. I had also purchased EW Silk and RA as well, which are also okay but old libraries. 









Peking Opera Percussion | Best Service | bestservice.com


Peking Opera Percussion | Drum and percussion instruments used in traditional Chinese Opera | many playable midi templates included | made by Chinese producers | EN




www.bestservice.com


----------



## Iswhatitis (Mar 25, 2020)

Mark Schmieder said:


> That's an hour I'll never get back, but it is also a time-saver to do this sort of research and get to a level of confidence of what's what. It's just amazing though, how most vendors are extremely sloppy in their labeling and terminology, when it comes to non-western instruments.
> 
> Anyway, if you see something labeled Chinese Bamboo Flute, it is usually a Dizi (low pitched is the most common), and rarely a Xiao. A Bamboo Flute with no nationality listed, such as the one in Ethno World, may be from somewhere else (for instance, theirs is from Indonesia).
> 
> ...


That’s👆what I would have said.


----------



## Seth Tsui (Oct 4, 2020)

sekkosiki said:


> How about this: https://www.strezov-sampling.com/products/view/jade.html
> 
> I think ensembles from Jade together with some solos e.g. from Sound Magic would be a great combination.
> 
> @Mark Schmieder Have you had time to use Sound Magic libraries, and if yes, could you share?



I was frustrated with putting together all sorts of different libraries for a long time that all had radically different recording environments and styles, just to get the full lineup of Chinese instruments.

That's why George Strezov and I worked to make Jade the only product you'd need to buy in order to write music with these instruments, and finally have everything sound like it belongs together. 

Jade includes every Chinese instrument I could find in Beijing, plus full string ensembles, Chinese percussion, Mongolian choirs - I highly recommend checking it out.


----------



## Mark Schmieder (Oct 4, 2020)

Has anyone compared the instrument listings of Jade vs. OT's new offering yet?

I've been too busy with my coast-to-coast move and new job. I'm not automatically assuming there is a lot of overlap or that they are on par with each other, even disregarding quality, miking, velocity layers, etc.

Different developer philosophies, so I wouldn't necessarily think they are in direct competition. For instance, individual instrument emphasis vs. ensemble packaging and staging?


----------



## ChrisSiuMusic (Oct 4, 2020)

I'd love to do a comparison video, but am waiting for Jade's update first! I think then it would be a more fair A to B.


----------



## JonS (Oct 4, 2020)

Daniel James said:


> Credit where its due. The Spitfire LABS Moon Guitar is fucking incredible!!!!
> 
> -DJ


What about Orchestral Tools Phoenix Orchestra?


----------



## Mark Schmieder (Oct 4, 2020)

That's the one I was referring to in my post.


----------



## Seth Tsui (Oct 4, 2020)

There is quite a lot of overlap, with about the same amount of focus on solos and ensembles, the main difference between the two is Northern China vs Southern China.

Jade Ethnic Orchestra was recorded in Beijing (North China) - so I had access to China Central Conservatory players and Peking Opera players in the city, and also Inner Mongolia just North of the Great Wall which allowed me to put together a really nice suite of Mongolian instruments and singers, some of which had never been sampled before.

Phoenix Orchestra was recorded in Thailand using a Chinese orchestra from Singapore. They have a smaller version of the Southern Chinese Orchestra lineup made popular by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, with Gaohus instead of Jinghus or a second ensemble of 8 erhus like in Jade, and also they fill out the lower end of the range with Western celli and basses instead of the Mongolian instruments.

Both are meticulously crafted, amazingly detailed products that, for the first time, give composers anywhere the ability to write for a Chinese orchestra, think Steven Chow's Kung Fu Hustle, which I did a video on using Jade here:


In addition to the Chinese Orchestra sound, I wanted to make sure Jade could be useful for telling many other kinds of Asian stories. Think Netflix's Marco Polo, Tan Dun's Hero score, or how Nathan Wang uses Asian instruments in Detective Chinatown. That's why we've included some things unique to our library like sound design pads created from the players' improvs, deep-sampled Guqin, gigantic Chinese Dagu drums playing in ensembles, Vietnamese Dan Nhi, Sanxian (Chinese Shamisen), and syllabuilder for the choirs using real Mongolian words carefully picked so they could be strung together without saying anything embarrassing.

BTW, love your videos Chris Siu, and I'm looking forward to the comparison one. Thanks for holding off until the update, we have a lot of great things planned for it, all of which have already been recorded, and should be out later this year.


----------



## ChrisSiuMusic (Oct 5, 2020)

Seth Tsui said:


> There is quite a lot of overlap, with about the same amount of focus on solos and ensembles, the main difference between the two is Northern China vs Southern China.
> 
> Jade Ethnic Orchestra was recorded in Beijing (North China) - so I had access to China Central Conservatory players and Peking Opera players in the city, and also Inner Mongolia just North of the Great Wall which allowed me to put together a really nice suite of Mongolian instruments and singers, some of which had never been sampled before.
> 
> ...



Appreciate the rundown Seth. And thank you for the kind words! Really looking forward to seeing what the update brings.


----------



## Beans (Oct 5, 2020)

Ha! I'm in the other camp: it's completely viable to compare what Company A is selling today with what Company B is selling today. Who knows, after Strezov's update is released, OT could announce one in reaction. What then?

But, I'd hate for someone's hard work on a video to be out of date just because an update came out shortly thereafter. That's a good reason to wait for a sweet spot, after the Strezov update. In my opinion.


----------



## ChrisSiuMusic (Oct 5, 2020)

Beans said:


> Ha! I'm in the other camp: it's completely viable to compare what Company A is selling today with what Company B is selling today. Who knows, after Strezov's update is released, OT could announce one in reaction. What then?
> 
> But, I'd hate for someone's hard work on a video to be out of date just because an update came out shortly thereafter. That's a good reason to wait for a sweet spot, after the Strezov update. In my opinion.


Absolutely! I've thought about that too. But since OT just released Phoenix, I feel like an update would come next year at the earliest (if at all), so I'd like the video to be out after Strezov's update so at least there's some point of comparison. 

Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if OT picked up a few tips here or there from Jade, so it'll be really interesting to see how Jade levels things out.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Oct 5, 2020)

I also wouldn't be surprised at all if there's another Asian library by the time Chris gets around to doing his video. Or not too long after. 

Something from Mr. Tarilonte, maybe? He used Chinese instruments as a basis for some of his New Age sounds in Nada. It's not a big jump to Silk Road ERA.  Or maybe a new NI Discovery edition? I was surprised that they didn't include a Discovery in KU13, after Gamelan, Cuba, India, West Africa, and Middle East in the last few.

Anyway, I've got my fingers crossed for a Bawu in the JEO update.


----------



## YaniDee (Dec 14, 2020)

The Impact Soundworks Gu-Zheng is on sale for $39 currently..









Plectra Series 5: Guzheng (VST, AU, AAX)


Intricate Kontakt sample library featuring the authentic and beautiful sound of the Chinese Guzheng, captured with crucial articulations and extra techniques.




impactsoundworks.com


----------



## Mark Schmieder (Dec 14, 2020)

Although there's now a lot of competition for quality Gu Zheng libraries (including a new one just released this past week), I still for the most part consider ISW's to be the best (although some of the others have different strengths) and that's a great price for that library.


----------



## lettucehat (Dec 14, 2020)

Seriously considering the ISW Guzheng - I have to say it's not the best sounding solo instrument in JEO. Would people say ISW's is the richest sounding out of the box? I can't tell from demos. East West Silk's sounds pretty great even though I don't like using Play. Evolution's is more expensive and I can't tell if that's much better sounding either. Then there's the one in Phoenix, also for a reasonable price, albeit perpetually rather than just this month. Thoughts on guzheng sound?

Edit: Wow the Ample Guzheng sounds like it was recorded really well, shame it's 3 times the cost of the others. Same with the Raindrop and Blade Yangqin.


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## 667 (Dec 14, 2020)

Evolution Series. Based on demos only; I don't own either.









World Strings Guzheng 2.0


This is the next chapter in our world music journey weighing in at approximately 18 gigs (NI compression) down from 40 Gig (RAW). Evolution Series partnered with world- renowned Guzheng maker Hong Sound (Emilymax), specialising in unique hand-crafted instruments. These instruments are a true...




www.evolutionseries.com


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## muziksculp (Dec 14, 2020)

*Ample Sound* has a great sounding *Gu Zheng (China Zheng)*. Not Kontakt based. They use their own player. Which sounds very good.

http://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=35

They also have a Pipa Library if you need a good one. 

http://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=30

I have both of them, and I'm very happy with their quality.


----------



## AudioLoco (Dec 15, 2020)

Don't ever, ever, buy Chinee Orchestra Lite!

I bought it falling for "it's just like the Chinee Orchestra Full but with less instruments".
Turns out it is actually the worst sounding samples ever of a really bad 20$ children's keyboard from around 1997 with vaguely Chinese sounds.

I kid you not. It is not an exaggeration. (BTW it was even still in demo mode, with intermittent noise, so you needed to send an email to get your license "after 2 working days")
I didn't know if to laugh or cry.

It was on sale, so I went through it trying to navigate in the "artistic" 1990's website.
Once I opened and downloaded (around 400mb!) I couldn't believe my ears and felt robbed.
I thought there was more to download, but that was it.
They had a demo of something else sounding really, really great where they captioned "Chinee Orchestra Lite demo."
Did a Paypal thingy for false advertisement and they gave me my around a 120$ back luckily right away.

I don't know if it is incompetence or on purpose, but I don't think I will ever explore their 500$+ main library after this.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 15, 2020)

lettucehat said:


> Seriously considering the ISW Guzheng - I have to say it's not the best sounding solo instrument in JEO. Would people say ISW's is the richest sounding out of the box? I can't tell from demos. East West Silk's sounds pretty great even though I don't like using Play. Evolution's is more expensive and I can't tell if that's much better sounding either. Then there's the one in Phoenix, also for a reasonable price, albeit perpetually rather than just this month. Thoughts on guzheng sound?
> 
> Edit: Wow the Ample Guzheng sounds like it was recorded really well, shame it's 3 times the cost of the others. Same with the Raindrop and Blade Yangqin.


The Guzheng is one of the most popular world instruments for virtual instrument developers, probably because it has a sound like the harp but is set up more like a zither, with the soundboard parallel to the strings. It's familiar sounding, yet "asian." Also, I suspect that all plucked sounds are easier to do than many other, more complex-sounding instruments, like the Erhu. In addition to the ones you mentioned, there are also quality Guzhengs from Soniccouture, WavesFactory, Best Service (which you can demo in their free "engine artists" Engine library), among others. It's in EthnoWorld, but not World Suite.

I should mention that "zheng" is a broader group of instrument, like guitar. There are different zhengs. That's why the Best Service one is called Gu Zheng.

If you're trying for realism, it's good to have bendy-type ornaments. The JEO one has a lot of articulations, but they are all separate patches, which for me is frustrating--it's the only one like that, and I hope they will address that in the coming update. Both Silk and Ethno World have a ton of phrases, and you can't sound more realistic than that. 

Personally, I listened to all of them and chose the Evolution series, which I am very happy with. Silk is really excellent because it has tons of articulations and their unique playable Elements instruments. I don't think there's any shortcut around listening to the sound and finding out about the UI, finding out what you like and can afford.

The ISW Guzheng has more articulations than the Evolution one, but that's because it has so many bowed ones--which is not the usual way a Guzheng is played.

I don't have them all, because I feel like I've got it covered. I think if I ever buy one more, it would be the Best Service one. I really love the sound of that one.

For me, there is no "best," there is just the one (or ones) that you will most enjoy playing. Is a Stratocaster the best? There are more Stratocasters available as VIs than any other electric guitar. Well it isn't if you like the sound of a Les Paul better.

The Raindrop and Blade Yangqin is probably my favorite world virtual instrument, because it comes with a ton of MIDI files, instead of phrases. This allows you to take the authenticity of these melodies and put your own mark on them. It is also a kick-ass virtual instrument. So glad I finally got it during this year's BF sale.

Writing this makes me want to go back to my arrangement of "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" that I attempted to do with JEO. Hmmmm...


----------



## AceAudioHQ (Dec 15, 2020)

Are there any chinese percussion libraries besides Kong Audio ChineeKong V3+, Best Service Peking Opera Percussion? I'm not even counting Orchestral Tools Dagu since it basically has one drum and drumsticks. Something that would cover several different chinese percussion instruments.


----------



## [email protected] (Dec 15, 2020)

What about the à-la-carte-option for PHOENIX from Orchestral Tools?


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## AceAudioHQ (Dec 15, 2020)

I have all the other instruments already, just need more percussion, and both Jade and Phoenix are way over my budget


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## holywilly (Dec 15, 2020)

https://www.threebodytech.com/cn/


They are the best sampled Chinese instruments.


----------



## DSmolken (Dec 15, 2020)

Also excellent metal guitar.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 15, 2020)

holywilly said:


> https://www.threebodytech.com/cn/
> 
> 
> They are the best sampled Chinese instruments.


I bought "Raindrop & Blade" from their other site. As I said above, it's my favorite world instrument, so I am very sold on the company.









Raindropdrop & Blade - Virtual Instruments - Three-Body Technology


Raindropdrop & Blade, is sampled from YangQin, a Chinese traditional instrument, it will let you get the legendary feeling of Chinese romance.



www.threebodytech.com





I wish the site you linked to was in English, though. 

Which of their other instruments do you recommend?


----------



## holywilly (Dec 15, 2020)

All winds instruments! You need to be able to access Taobao in order to purchase rest of the Chinese instruments. I hope one day they will sell them all world wide.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 15, 2020)

holywilly said:


> All winds instruments! You need to be able to access Taobao in order to purchase rest of the Chinese instruments. I hope one day they will sell them all world wide.


I'm going to send them a note.


----------



## dmw (Dec 15, 2020)

I have never ordered from them,but

DIMI Studio in Taiwan sells the Three-body instruments.





Three-Body Technology 三體聲音科技 - 帝米數位音樂







dimi.tw


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## holywilly (Dec 15, 2020)

dmw said:


> I have never ordered from them,but
> 
> DIMI Studio in Taiwan sells the Three-body instruments.
> 
> ...


Yep! That’s where I am from


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## dmw (Dec 15, 2020)

holywilly said:


> Yep! That’s where I am from


So for people outside of Taiwan or China, who do not understand Chinese, would ordering from DIMI be easier than Taobao?


----------



## AnhrithmonGelasma (Dec 15, 2020)

AudioLoco said:


> Don't ever, ever, buy Chinee Orchestra Lite!
> 
> I bought it falling for "it's just like the Chinee Orchestra Full but with less instruments".
> Turns out it is actually the worst sounding samples ever of a really bad 20$ children's keyboard from around 1997 with vaguely Chinese sounds.
> ...



Are you sure you're not just playing the very first part of each sample, instead of letting them play out? The Chinee Orchestra SE demo is 508 mb (not counting the player) and free, though with intermittent noise bursts and limited articulations relative to the non-demo version (I don't see a "Lite" version other than the SE "Standard Editon"). I've only bought the Guqin so far, but the Guqin itself is 268 mb, so I imagine the non-demo SE (which contains the Guqin) is much larger. The Guqin has many more articulations than the one included in the demo. I'm no expert, and I've only studied Chinese music a little, but it sounds great to my ear.


----------



## AnhrithmonGelasma (Dec 15, 2020)

(Also, many of the more interesting articulations for Chinee Orchestra instruments are triggered by high velocity. Clicking lower on the gui key corresponds to playing with higher velocity.)


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## holywilly (Dec 15, 2020)

dmw said:


> So for people outside of Taiwan or China, who do not understand Chinese, would ordering from DIMI be easier than Taobao?


Definitely yes!


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## AudioLoco (Dec 15, 2020)

AnhrithmonGelasma said:


> Are you sure you're not just playing the very first part of each sample, instead of letting them play out? The Chinee Orchestra SE demo is 508 mb (not counting the player) and free, though with intermittent noise bursts and limited articulations relative to the non-demo version (I don't see a "Lite" version other than the SE "Standard Editon"). I've only bought the Guqin so far, but the Guqin itself is 268 mb, so I imagine the non-demo SE (which contains the Guqin) is much larger. The Guqin has many more articulations than the one included in the demo. I'm no expert, and I've only studied Chinese music a little, but it sounds great to my ear.


The separate instruments are different then the product I got unfortunately, i think they are the ones from the full product, which may sound fine, like you are finding. (They are a completely different download file, and each is around the disc space you encountered)


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 15, 2020)

Good explanation from Tiger on why there are so many good Gu Zheng libraries. I sold a few due to so much overlap and redundancy in my collection, but like most of the ones that I've bought. I still have one for sale that isn't as well known for some reason (Yellow River for Engine) but which sounds and plays too much like others for me to bother keeping.

I'm hard-pressed to name a favourite, and own or have owned most of the ones mentioned here, but in order to consolidate my workflow further, I'm choosing for now to focus a bit more on ISW's as I use their other world instrument libraries so there is a familiarity to the workflow and articulation control.


----------



## InfFs (Dec 15, 2020)

I found some Three Body Tech's Chinese instruments demo video

Chinese Flute: 
Chinese Xun: 
Chinese Bamboo Xiao: 
Chinese Suona: 
Chinese Hulusi:


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 15, 2020)

InfFs said:


> I found some Three Body Tech's Chinese instruments demo video
> 
> Chinese Flute:
> Chinese Xun:
> ...



Just wow. 
If I am ever lucky enough to get these I don't think I will ever need any others.

I wrote them and sent them a link to this thread. 

I'll post here if I hear back from them.


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## AudioLoco (Dec 16, 2020)

InfFs said:


> I found some Three Body Tech's Chinese instruments demo video
> 
> Chinese Flute:
> Chinese Xun:
> ...



Sounds awesome, would be great to have an interface in English and a Paypal option...


----------



## Raphioli (Dec 16, 2020)

InfFs said:


> I found some Three Body Tech's Chinese instruments demo video
> 
> Chinese Flute:
> Chinese Xun:
> ...



Who ever can speak Chinese, needs to let them know that they will make bank if they make this available worldwide. (hopefully with a PayPal option like @AudioLoco says)
They sound great!


----------



## LinkinCB (Dec 16, 2020)

Dear all❤,

Thank you for raising your cocncerns with "Three-Body Technology" team. You make our team feel grateful and encouraged.

To be honest, non-mandarin speaking users' concern about our products is absolute unexpectedly and surprisingly, which bring us the motivation to develop the English version. So we are honored to announce here that we will release the English version of Chinese instrument VST series asap. (estimated time is January 2021). We hope to get your suggestions and comments.

By the way, below is the English version of Chinese "Xun" panel for your kindly reference. If you have urgent request for purchasing, we accept PayPal transfer, and we can help you to update it to English version for free after the English version released.

We appreciate for your attention to our Chinese instrument VST series.

Warm Regards


----------



## antames (Dec 16, 2020)

@LinkinCB, that's awesome! Your instruments sound amazing. I'm sure many of us on this forum will be jumping onto it as soon as the English version becomes available.


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## DSmolken (Dec 17, 2020)

I hope this also encourages developers of other ethnic instruments to look beyond their local markets. I can say that people all over the world will buy West African choirs, some because they need that sound for a particular job, but most probably just because they think it's cool and they want it.


----------



## AudioLoco (Dec 17, 2020)

LinkinCB said:


> Dear all❤,
> 
> Thank you for raising your cocncerns with "Three-Body Technology" team. You make our team feel grateful and encouraged.
> 
> ...




Great news! 谢谢!


----------



## holywilly (Dec 17, 2020)

LinkinCB said:


> Dear all❤,
> 
> Thank you for raising your cocncerns with "Three-Body Technology" team. You make our team feel grateful and encouraged.
> 
> ...


我們需要胡琴！
I wish you guys develop string instruments (every range of HuQin)! The winds are beyond amazing!


----------



## AceAudioHQ (Dec 17, 2020)

LinkinCB said:


> We appreciate for your attention to our Chinese instrument VST series.



Make a bundle for people who want them all


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 17, 2020)

AceAudioHQ said:


> Make a bundle for people who want them all


I also suggested to them in my email that an intro price would be a good way to increase everybody's interest. 

I do believe that the enthusiasm on this very thread in VI:Control may have lit a fire on them to bring these instruments out here. So kudos to @holywilly 

I have wanted *"Raindrop & Blade"* ever since I first heard about it, and finally picked it up during the Black Friday sale. It's one of my favorite BF purchases, along with Sunset Strings. FYI, it is currently marked down from $149 to $119.

More information on the company here: 









Downloads - Three-Body Technology


Three-Body Technology is a music technology company, focuses on developing professional audio software. Now have three series of products: Guitar Series, Effect Series and Chinese Traditional Series.



www.threebodytech.com


----------



## dremin (Dec 18, 2020)

@LinkinCB i'm soooo getting this as soon as the english version comes out! but yes please make it a bundle with an intro price! would love to buy them all at once.


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## dremin (Dec 19, 2020)

also not sure how many of you are aware but Three-Body Tech also made a superb virtual guitar that's better than a lot of the well-known contenders https://www.threebodytech.com/en/products/heavier7strings

so the quality of their products is no surprise actually


----------



## lettucehat (Dec 19, 2020)

Count me among those who would be very grateful for these options in English. There's more demand than you can imagine! As an owner of Strezov's Jade, I am still in the market for outstanding soloists and I get the sense that these are the best out there, though I'm sure further reviews in English can help explain the products in depth.

Also, if there's a gu zheng in development let us know


----------



## Tremendouz (Dec 19, 2020)

Add me to the pile of interested people. I'm hoping for custom bundle discounts if you buy 2 or 3


----------



## dremin (Dec 21, 2020)

@LinkinCB guys also please make bawu, erhu, pipa, guzheng and more beautiful chinese instruments, i'll be happy to buy them all from you!


----------



## AceAudioHQ (Dec 21, 2020)

There's a free Yangqin for you, No idea if it's any good since it didn't yet appear in native access. Also a 25€ discount code and a lottery. I wonder if this means NI is making Discovery Series: China ?






Native Instruments







www.native-instruments.com


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## AceAudioHQ (Dec 21, 2020)

Walkthrough


----------



## dremin (Dec 21, 2020)

@TigerTheFrog could you check this NI Yangqin out and let us know how does it compare to Raindrop & Blade?


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 21, 2020)

dremin said:


> @TigerTheFrog could you check this NI Yangqin out and let us know how does it compare to Raindrop & Blade?



I requested it, but it hasn't turned up in Native Access yet.

I generally like the Discovery Series, though. They get better with each installment, always have a lot of articulations and phrases, and have really intuitive interfaces. I'm a big fan of the Middle Eastern one in particular. I think they are under-rated by the snobs.

However, they didn't do themselves any favors with the video above. Yuck!

The video below has been posted on VI:Control before, but it's a good intro to the articulations on the real instrument and how it differs from similar world instruments, like the Santur or Dulcimer.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 21, 2020)

While I still haven't been able to download it, the manual is online. In terms of feature set, it doesn't look like it is in the same ballpark as Raindrop & Blade.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 21, 2020)

To give context, here are few details from the 3-Body site about Raindrop & Blade.

5 layers of velocity: The STBT (smooth transition between tones) technology brings more natural sound and captures perfect performance details. No matter how hard or soft you hit the keys, you can always get the sound effects that satisfy you.
Separately recorded left-hand right-hand samples: the tone is different. Three modes are provided for Hand Exchange on the software interface to make the instrument played in a natural way.
3-5 RR (round robin) samples: the same pitch being played repeatedly is common in Yangqin. We recorded 3-5 RR for every velocity.
Tremolo: two velocity layers of tremolo samples are recorded. We also recorded samples for octave- and third-playing tremolo.
Clean Mode: inspired by the psychological sound model, we developed clean mode that decays differently for harmonic and non-harmonic tones. This allows sound to be cleaner than a real-world Yangqin.
Common performances: tremolo, flicking, hammer revert, muting, and noises, etc.
Two types of recorded release samples: by hand or by pedal.
Yin-Yang Button: you can transit between polar contrast feelings by this button.

"Hammer invert" means the playing with the other side of the hammers (rubber and bamboo) that you see in the above video. The NI Yangqin sounds a lot brighter than the others, so it's possible they did the whole thing with the bamboo side. 

Raindrop & Blade is just a more subtle and multi-faceted instrument than anything else out there, and it provides more options for the player. For the record there are a LOT more articulations than mentioned above. 

In terms of available VIs, I think that Silk comes in second for sound and maybe the NI comes in second for features. For example, like R&B, NI Yangqin also has draggable MIDI patterns.

JEO is not really a competitor to any of the above as it only has three articulations. The advantage is that it blends in with all the other JEO instruments. 

I don't have Phoenix. Maybe I will get it someday and do a comparison video. Or maybe wait to see if Mr. Tarilonte does a Chinese or Asian library. 🙏 Nada was not intended to be that.


----------



## DSmolken (Dec 21, 2020)

TigerTheFrog said:


> Or maybe wait to see if Mr. Tarilonte does a Chinese or Asian library. 🙏 Nada was not intended to be that.


...in spite of having the same name as North Korea's space agency.


----------



## lettucehat (Dec 21, 2020)

Well a NI Discovery China/Asia would be most welcome. Seems like it's been an obvious gap in the series to cover next. I also think they're underrated, I use the hell out of everything except Gamelan and Cuba, and not because they aren't great either. I guess it won't be part of Komplete 13 though, which I think a lot of us wanted to upgrade to next summer sale..

Those details about Raindrop and Blade are really impressive, I actually had no idea it went that far. Definitely the best option overall, if you work enough with Yanqin to justify the extra price. I also agree Silk is underrated and undermentioned here considering its sound quality. I have it as part of the composer cloud, and while I'm planning on ending the cloud next renewl, Silk is one of the libraries I might want to buy despite the terrible legato instruments. The way the instruments are recorded is really fantastic, although it's a matter of taste. I am a fan of the close, full sound. I have JEO but the sound is generally dull and distant.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 21, 2020)

lettucehat said:


> Well a NI Discovery China/Asia would be most welcome. Seems like it's been an obvious gap in the series to cover next. I also think they're underrated, I use the hell out of everything except Gamelan and Cuba, and not because they aren't great either. I guess it won't be part of Komplete 13 though, which I think a lot of us wanted to upgrade to next summer sale..
> 
> Those details about Raindrop and Blade are really impressive, I actually had no idea it went that far. Definitely the best option overall, if you work enough with Yanqin to justify the extra price. I also agree Silk is underrated and undermentioned here considering its sound quality. I have it as part of the composer cloud, and while I'm planning on ending the cloud next renewl, Silk is one of the libraries I might want to buy despite the terrible legato instruments. The way the instruments are recorded is really fantastic, although it's a matter of taste. I am a fan of the close, full sound. I have JEO but the sound is generally dull and distant.


To me, it's not so much about wanting a Yangqin, but because it is such a superlative world instrument. I am very interested in all the other Three-Body instruments when they come out next year. 

If NI comes out with an Asian Discovery, I will buy at the intro price and then resell it after I upgrade to Komplete 14.


----------



## lettucehat (Dec 21, 2020)

TigerTheFrog said:


> To me, it's not so much about wanting a Yangqin, but because it is such a superlative world instrument. I am very interested in all the other Three-Body instruments when they come out next year.
> 
> If NI comes out with an Asian Discovery, I will buy at the intro price and then resell it after I upgrade to Komplete 14.



Oh right, you can do that. I'm so used to libraries being non-transferable I forget that NI libraries are different...

I can see how a Yangqin is one of the more versatile instruments that can be used in many non-Chinese contexts, I'm mostly just thinking out loud in terms of how I plan and justify purchases. Owning JEO and having access to Silk for now, I have to be a little stingy until I really need something much nicer!


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## AnhrithmonGelasma (Dec 21, 2020)

TigerTheFrog said:


> To give context, here are few details from the 3-Body site about Raindrop & Blade.
> 
> 5 layers of velocity: The STBT (smooth transition between tones) technology brings more natural sound and captures perfect performance details. No matter how hard or soft you hit the keys, you can always get the sound effects that satisfy you.
> Separately recorded left-hand right-hand samples: the tone is different. Three modes are provided for Hand Exchange on the software interface to make the instrument played in a natural way.
> ...



If you haven't used OT's 25 euro voucher yet, it can be used to get an individual instrument from Phoenix. Yangqin or yangqin ensemble would be 5 euro each, or pipa, liuqin, zhongruan, zhongruan ensemble, or one of the wind instruments for free. However it won't seem to allow you to have more than one item in the cart at a time---otherwise I would have gone for the Gaoyin Suona and the Xun in D. But they make me want the Three Body versions even more, as I'm almost certain those are more expressively playable and fully featured.

Voucher code:
OT-holidays-2020









Phoenix Orchestra


A contemporary Chinese chamber orchestra, offering a vibrant palette for creating authentic Chinese music—both ancient and modern—for your scores and productions. This collection was created and designed with Richard Harvey for Harry Gregson Williams and his score for Disney’s live-action Mulan...




www.orchestraltools.com





(click on the "Instruments" tab)


----------



## Mark Schmieder (Dec 21, 2020)

Looks like quite a few people beat me to the punch! Being near the end of the alphabet, I tend to get product announcements late in the game, and it doesn't yet show up in Native Access (just as NI suggested would be the case due to high demand) but I immediately thought there must be a Discovery Series China on the way (especially after reading the manual).

The instrument GUI and feature set are also completely in line with that series.

UPDATE: After three reboots, it showed up just now in Native Access. Installing as I write this. My only other Yangqin is the one in EW Silk, which is OK but I despise the Play interface and the awkwardness of articulation-switching and patch comprehension. The Play system is pretty long in the tooth and feels decades behind patch management in other players at this point.


----------



## muziksculp (Dec 21, 2020)

Looking forward to see *Strezov Samples JADE Chinese Orc. Update*, with more new content, and key-switches for articulations released this year. That would be a wonderful gift.

I wonder if they will be releasing the update this year ? given we are very close to moving into 2021. 

Plus, I think it is one of the best sounding Chinese orchestral libraries available.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 21, 2020)

Now that it's downloaded and installed, I have compared it to the one in Silk and would say it's 20 to 40 times as good. Very good mic placement and articulation handling.

It would be nice to also have a Yuechin (aka Moon Lute). The only one I know of is in Garritan World Instruments.


----------



## wxyz (Dec 25, 2020)

Anyone know of a good solo matouqin vst? Can't get Kong Audio to load in Nuendo 11.


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## AceAudioHQ (Dec 25, 2020)

Mark Schmieder said:


> The Play system is pretty long in the tooth and feels decades behind patch management in other players at this point.



That will most likely change next month when the opus engine comes out, I think it will breathe new life into several play libraries with easier articulation changing etc.


----------



## AnhrithmonGelasma (Dec 28, 2020)

wxyz said:


> Anyone know of a good solo matouqin vst? Can't get Kong Audio to load in Nuendo 11.



You've probably already found this, but Jade Ethnic Orchestra has several solo Morin Khuur patches (from what I've read Matouquin is apparently just the Mandarin Chinese name for the Mongolian Morin Khuur, not a redesign of it), though unfortunately they can't be bought individually. Here's a walkthrough of the bass solo Morin Khuur patches:



And the rest of the Morin Khuur solo patches:


----------



## muziksculp (Dec 28, 2020)

I wonder if JADE Ethnic Orchestra will be updated before 2021. 

I'm beginning to doubt that's going to happen.


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## Jason Morin (Jan 10, 2021)

Hello,

at www.amplesound.net we have an *Ample China Series* which includes 2 virtual instruments:

*-Ample China Zheng*

More info here: https://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=35







*-Ample China Pipa*

More info here: https://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=30







We are also in early development for another traditional Chinese instrument. All I can say for now is that it does not have any strings. 


Best regards to all of you and if you have some spare time, go listen to some of our video and audio demos.


Cheers!


----------



## Kevinside (Jan 10, 2021)

Phoenix Orchestra... A great work from OT...


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## muziksculp (Jan 10, 2021)

Jason Morin said:


> All I can say for now is that it does not have any strings.


Hehe.. My guess a Chinese Wind Instrument. Looking forward to know what it is when it's ready. 

I have a few of your instruments, including the Pipa, and China Zheng sound amazing ! I highly recommend them.


----------



## muziksculp (Jan 10, 2021)

I just went forward and purchased the *Sonica Instruments KOTO 13*, another amazingly realistic, and very high-quality Instrument. I listened to other less priced options, but the KOTO 13 was the best to my ears, and today is their last day of the special discount price.

KOTO is a Japanese Instrument, but I thought it would be useful to post this here, just in case someone decides to buy it today, the last day of the discount.


----------



## Tremendouz (Jan 24, 2021)

Seems the Three-Body Technology chinese instruments are now out as English versions.


----------



## LinkinCB (Jan 25, 2021)

Hi Everyone,

We're proud to release the new Chinese Instrument/Music Series virtual instrument launched via https://www.threebodytech.com/, the deepest sampled ancient Chinese Instrument in the world, diversify your ethnic library.

The 5 new products are Dizi, Xiao, Xun, Suona, and Hulusi. The original samples and techniques will transport you to the world of ancient China.

We are looking forward to exploring the mysterious power and sharing the Yin&Yang with you.

We appreciate your interest and hope you will enjoy the Intro Price ”20% off, valid date is 25th Feb” ❤️ .


----------



## LinkinCB (Jan 25, 2021)

Tremendouz said:


> Seems the Three-Body Technology chinese instruments are now out as English versions.


You are amazing ❤️


----------



## qwetvj (Jan 25, 2021)

I come from China.
I am very happy to see someone discussing Chinese musical instruments here.
The most frequently used Chinese music sources are Three-Body Technology, Ample Sonud，Engine 2 and Kong Audio.

In China, Three-Body Technology’s woodwind instruments are very popular. HuLuSi 、SuoNa、Xun、DongXiao、Qudi，In addition to the Yangqin.
Ample Sound's Guzheng and Pipa are great.
Kong Audio's products are a bit old，But sometimes it’s still a good solution.its instruments are relatively complete.
Engine 2，The Yellow River Guzheng and Peking Opera Perc are very authentic.
NI‘s YangQin It is also very good as a free product.
ilya's Hulusi and bawu are also fine.
Best Service Ethno 6 Sometimes it will come in handy.

The fineness of OT, Jade ,UVI World ，Sampletank and EW Silk is still a bit worse.Can only be used to write hybrid symphony.
Sound Magic not many people use，in China.

There is currently no useful erhu.


----------



## Tremendouz (Jan 25, 2021)

I have to say I'm very impressed by the demos, especially these two 



My wallet screams in agony


----------



## muratkayi (Jan 25, 2021)

Hi everyone, 

What are my options when I am looking for a Guqin? Has anybody tried one or possibly several and can recommend his/her favourite? 

I would really like to be able to make use of glissandi and while I am at it the option to choose between modern steel strings and traditional silk.


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## qwetvj (Jan 25, 2021)

muratkayi said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> What are my options when I am looking for a Guqin? Has anybody tried one or possibly several and can recommend his/her favourite?
> 
> I would really like to be able to make use of glissandi and while I am at it the option to choose between modern steel strings and traditional silk.


KongAudio’s GuQin has glissandi


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## muratkayi (Jan 25, 2021)

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I visited their website under chineekong and can't find any audio demoes or videos for the guqin. Do you own it? If yes, what's your opinion of it or could you probably upload an audio example?

In general I would prefer a single instrument to a full orchestra - I basically just want the guqin


EDIT:
Hang on, I found the subpage for their guqin. Checking it now


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## muratkayi (Jan 25, 2021)

I really like that one and it's 40$. Will give it a go some time!


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## SirKen (Jan 25, 2021)

qwetvj said:


> I come from China.
> I am very happy to see someone discussing Chinese musical instruments here.
> The most frequently used Chinese music sources are Three-Body Technology, Ample Sonud，Engine 2 and Kong Audio.
> 
> ...


What do you think of the Guzheng from Impact Soundworks?


----------



## JohnG (Jan 25, 2021)

I have had excellent performance from JADE from Strezov Sampling. Looking forward to the update but I've used it ever since the pre-release on a show and it sounds great to me. It's unusual for a non-Western library in that it has good character, but is still in tune enough to use within a bigger orchestral context.

I have particularly enjoyed that it's not solely China as such, but includes some Mongolian vocals and instruments as well.

Not taking anything away from the alternatives, but JADE has been good for me.

[note: I have received free products from Strezov Sampling]


----------



## qwetvj (Jan 25, 2021)

muratkayi said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thanks for the reply. I visited their website under chineekong and can't find any audio demoes or videos for the guqin. Do you own it? If yes, what's your opinion of it or could you probably upload an audio example?
> 
> ...


----------



## qwetvj (Jan 25, 2021)

SirKen said:


> What do you think of the Guzheng from Impact Soundworks?


Very few people will use it .Relatively unpopular.
For me personally,Guzheng, Ample≈Engine 2> Kongaudio .
Ample's Guzheng is more like a real Guzheng .
Engine 2 's has more dynamic, Although it's not like real Guzheng, it's more beautiful than a real GuZheng .
Generally do not consider other .


----------



## lettucehat (Jan 25, 2021)

I'm curious to hear what makes Jade not so great, considering there is a lot of content. I realize the solo instruments are not very realistic or flexible, but I also don't hear them as "hybrid" appropriate either.


----------



## qwetvj (Jan 25, 2021)

Sorry,My english is very bad .
I mean, JADE may cover up shortcomings in symphony or ensemble performance .I did not find a more suitable word.As a comprehensive instrument, maybe I shouldn't have such high demands on him.

In China, its price is expensive than the full set of Kong Audio。But its articulation are less than kongaudio .Kongaudio is a product more than ten years ago ,Except for the close microphone, it is really cost-effective.Kong audio has more than 24 instruments(Among them, ChineeKong contains a lot of percussion, and Chinee Wind includes a variety of DiZi ) .But jade has more ensemble sounds and also vocal instruments .Unfortunately, there will never be any news from KongAudio.

JADE is indeed a sound library with a large number of instruments.Strezov Sampling is also a company I like.I also know that they have made a lot of efforts for this sound library .
Looking forward to their new upgrades .


First, Chinese instruments relies heavily on articulation.
Second, Jade’s voice will be a little strange .Its sound is a bit old-fashioned, a bit like the soundtrack of a Chinese art film in the 60s .Even if the microphone is closed, it doesn’t sound clear enough .I don’t know if it will be more in line with foreigners’ aesthetics .

I'm just talking about the musicians around me ，Or the forum I usually use .It does not rule out that some people will be very good at using it .


----------



## lettucehat (Jan 25, 2021)

qwetvj said:


> Sorry,My english is very bad .
> I mean, JADE may cover up shortcomings in symphony or ensemble performance .I did not find a more suitable word.As a comprehensive instrument, maybe I shouldn't have such high demands on him.
> 
> In China, its price is expensive than the full set of Kong Audio。But its articulation are less than kongaudio .Kongaudio is a product more than ten years ago ,Except for the close microphone, it is really cost-effective.Kong audio has more than 24 tones(Among them, ChineeKong contains a lot of percussion, and Chinee Wind includes a variety of DiZi ) .But jade has more ensemble sounds and also vocal instruments .Unfortunately, there will never be any news from KongAudio.
> ...


That's very helpful thank you. I agree with your thoughts on Jade, I just wasn't sure what you meant. I have only used Jade so far in large ensemble contexts that helps to cover up certain issues. And I agree about the sound, I wish it were a bit more modern, at least with the close mics. And I think I can imagine the problems you might have with Phoenix and Silk.. glad you like the NI Yangqin however, as I think it's pretty great, though I'm not knowledgable at all. I was mostly curious if there was something major I was missing about Jade, since from my limited perspective I usually assume that chromatic zithers and plucked instruments are much easier to do correctly compared to winds and bowed strings. Thanks again for your insight.


----------



## muratkayi (Jan 26, 2021)

qwetvj said:


> Its sound is a bit old-fashioned, a bit like the soundtrack of a Chinese art film in the 60s


😁I think that sounds like a great marketing claim, hahaha. It's that sought-after hard to find, impossible to copy sound of Chinese art films of the 60s


----------



## DimensionsTomorrow (Jan 26, 2021)

qwetvj said:


> Its sound is a bit old-fashioned, a bit like the soundtrack of a Chinese art film in the 60s


That sounds amazing! I’m picturing Wong Kar Wai. Want!


----------



## wxyz (Jan 26, 2021)

qwetvj said:


> Sorry,My english is very bad .
> I mean, JADE may cover up shortcomings in symphony or ensemble performance .I did not find a more suitable word.As a comprehensive instrument, maybe I shouldn't have such high demands on him.
> 
> In China, its price is expensive than the full set of Kong Audio。But its articulation are less than kongaudio .Kongaudio is a product more than ten years ago ,Except for the close microphone, it is really cost-effective.Kong audio has more than 24 instruments(Among them, ChineeKong contains a lot of percussion, and Chinee Wind includes a variety of DiZi ) .But jade has more ensemble sounds and also vocal instruments .Unfortunately, there will never be any news from KongAudio.
> ...


I agree with your enthusiasm for Kong Audio, but have not been able to load it in Cubase 11 or Nuendo 11 with 64bit dll. Any ideas?


----------



## qwetvj (Jan 26, 2021)

wxyz said:


> I agree with your enthusiasm for Kong Audio, but have not been able to load it in Cubase 11 or Nuendo 11 with 64bit dll. Any ideas?


V2.2 March 26,2018
Qin VSTi x64 update，Optimized interface refresh displays and performance improvements to accommodate fast loading and stable calls in more host composer software.
I use it in Cubase 11.


----------



## qwetvj (Jan 26, 2021)

DimensionsTomorrow said:


> That sounds amazing! I’m picturing Wong Kar Wai. Want!


It’s like an Chinese anime.It was an error in my translation.
For example,


----------



## BradHoyt (Jan 26, 2021)

lettucehat said:


> That's very helpful thank you. I agree with your thoughts on Jade, I just wasn't sure what you meant. I have only used Jade so far in large ensemble contexts that helps to cover up certain issues. And I agree about the sound, I wish it were a bit more modern, at least with the close mics. And I think I can imagine the problems you might have with Phoenix and Silk.. glad you like the NI Yangqin however, as I think it's pretty great, though I'm not knowledgable at all. I was mostly curious if there was something major I was missing about Jade, since from my limited perspective I usually assume that chromatic zithers and plucked instruments are much easier to do correctly compared to winds and bowed strings. Thanks again for your insight.


It's also important to note that there will be a massive Jade update in the near future that will expand and update the library, so it'll be interesting to see what that looks like.


----------



## pondinthestream (Jan 26, 2021)

Does anyone have examples from Raindrop and Blade playing in its lowest register? Even pitched down would be useful to me. Similarly for the other ThreeBody Tech libraries, their lowest range is of most interest to me. 
I have thr Tear of Land and it is very beautiful


----------



## pondinthestream (Jan 26, 2021)

Re Kong Audio, they have closed I think. For some unfathomable reason I have lost my copy of Bian Zhong and sadly that is that


----------



## reutunes (Jan 26, 2021)

qwetvj said:


> Very few people will use it .Relatively unpopular.


Er... do you have any data to back that up?


----------



## qwetvj (Jan 26, 2021)

pondinthestream said:


> Does anyone have examples from Raindrop and Blade playing in its lowest register? Even pitched down would be useful to me. Similarly for the other ThreeBody Tech libraries, their lowest range is of most interest to me.
> I have thr Tear of Land and it is very beautiful



View attachment RaindropAndBlade.mp3

I played a short section by RaindropAndBlade


----------



## pondinthestream (Jan 26, 2021)

qwetvj said:


> View attachment RaindropAndBlade.mp3
> 
> I played a short section by RaindropAndBlade


Thanks, lovely


----------



## constaneum (Jan 26, 2021)

i have to agree there's really no great sounding Er Hu in the current market. i think they mostly sample normal legato but with Er Hu, there's lots of bending notes which aren't really captured for that kind of performance. sad....

I only knew this Three-Body Technology website. Great to know another great sample producer in the market.


----------



## lettucehat (Jan 26, 2021)

I imagine the first good erhu will have to be modeled, and we aren't even there with violins yet.


----------



## constaneum (Jan 26, 2021)

lettucehat said:


> I imagine the first good erhu will have to be modeled, and we aren't even there with violins yet.



i think bowing instruments are generally harder to capture its soul and expressiveness. Bohemian series are nearly there even though it may not be perfect but it's indeed something a leap forward.


----------



## DimensionsTomorrow (Jan 26, 2021)

qwetvj said:


> It’s like an Chinese anime.It was an error in my translation.
> For example,



No problem. That still sounds awesome to me as I lean toward more retro stuff (old Shaw Brothers films, etc) rather than modern film scores. Thanks so much for your excellent input.


----------



## DimensionsTomorrow (Jan 26, 2021)

BradHoyt said:


> It's also important to note that there will be a massive Jade update in the near future that will expand and update the library, so it'll be interesting to see what that looks like.


Definitely. I hope they do a sale to coincide with it. What was the intro price for Jade?


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 27, 2021)

pondinthestream said:


> Re Kong Audio, they have closed I think. For some unfathomable reason I have lost my copy of Bian Zhong and sadly that is that


That's not true. I'm working on a YouTube video comparing all the Yangqin virtual instruments currently available, so I got the Kong Audio one a few weeks ago. They were totally available via email.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 27, 2021)

I think the erhu, along with the human voice and the violin, is one of the very hardest instruments to sample and script into a believable VI.

I think the only chance for a realistic Erhu VI would be the kind of serious effort that a company like Virharmonic put into the violin. What we need is a solo Erhu library from somebody like Three-Body, not an Erhu as part of an ensemble product. 

Instead, we have countless Guzhengs, which are much simpler sonically, and easier to attempt.


----------



## DSmolken (Jan 27, 2021)

TigerTheFrog said:


> I think the erhu, along with the human voice and the violin, is one of the very hardest instruments to sample and script into a believable VI.


Let's hope no sax players see this, ha.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 27, 2021)

DSmolken said:


> Let's hope no sax players see this, ha.


I said "one of." Absolutely saxophones are extremely hard to do, and probably a lot of other instruments around the world that I'm not knowledgable enough to judge. But I have listened to Erhus and have played the VIs.... and no go.

But I believe the human voice is the hardest, because everybody knows precisely what it is supposed to sound like, and can notice the tiniest flaws. Whereas you can fake some instruments enough to fool a listener who is unfamiliar with every aspect.


----------



## pondinthestream (Jan 27, 2021)

TigerTheFrog said:


> That's not true. I'm working on a YouTube video comparing all the Yangqin virtual instruments currently available, so I got the Kong Audio one a few weeks ago. They were totally available via email.


Have not replied to me for a while. I will try again. Great news if I can get my BianZhong happening. I gave up trying a while back., My emails didnt bounce so the account was active. Been a tough year so maybe I got them "at a bad time"


----------



## AnhrithmonGelasma (Jan 27, 2021)

pondinthestream said:


> Have not replied to me for a while. I will try again. Great news if I can get my BianZhong happening. I gave up trying a while back., My emails didnt bounce so the account was active. Been a tough year so maybe I got them "at a bad time"


I had an easier time reaching them through KVR PM (about a year ago).


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 27, 2021)

pondinthestream said:


> Have not replied to me for a while. I will try again. Great news if I can get my BianZhong happening. I gave up trying a while back., My emails didnt bounce so the account was active. Been a tough year so maybe I got them "at a bad time"


If I understand their authorization system, you send them a request through the software and a code comes back via email. I don't think you could buy anything if there wasn't somebody there. 

I wrote them and a response came back the next day, January 7th from Shan at [email protected]

Skype: Live:ds_shan
Mobile/WeChat: +8613902775631


----------



## pondinthestream (Jan 27, 2021)

TigerTheFrog said:


> If I understand their authorization system, you send them a request through the software and a code comes back via email. I don't think you could buy anything if there wasn't somebody there.
> 
> I wrote them and a response came back the next day, January 7th from Shan at [email protected]
> 
> ...


I bought Bian Zhong Pro a few years back, Ive been emailing Anthony as he was the contact at the time. Will give it a day to see if Anthony responds and then try your contact Shan. Thanks, appreciate your help


----------



## pondinthestream (Jan 27, 2021)

AnhrithmonGelasma said:


> I had an easier time reaching them through KVR PM (about a year ago).


Thanks, I tried KVR as well.


----------



## qwetvj (Jan 27, 2021)

TigerTheFrog said:


> That's not true. I'm working on a YouTube video comparing all the Yangqin virtual instruments currently available, so I got the Kong Audio one a few weeks ago. They were totally available via email.


Kongaudio is basically in a state of discontinued development, and sales are still available .


----------



## pondinthestream (Jan 27, 2021)

pondinthestream said:


> I bought Bian Zhong Pro a few years back, Ive been emailing Anthony as he was the contact at the time. Will give it a day to see if Anthony responds and then try your contact Shan. Thanks, appreciate your help


Hooray, contacted Shan who got back very quickly. Bian Zhong Pro safely reinstalled . Thanks Tiger the Frog


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## AudioLoco (Jan 28, 2021)

Just quickly giving a thumbs up to Tear of Land from Three Body. Very very nice. A lot of detail, me likes!


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## pondinthestream (Jan 28, 2021)

AudioLoco said:


> Just quickly giving a thumbs up to Tear of Land from Three Body. Very very nice. A lot of detail, me likes!


Yes the sound is very beautiful. I am thinking of getting a real one


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## AnhrithmonGelasma (Jan 28, 2021)

The Three Body Audio sale is now available at Best Service. 

"Purchase Phoenix Scream and get another instrument for free from Three-Body Tech" means: "*two virtual instruments* have been created for Suona: *Phoenix Scream*, with the most commonly used pitch range, and *Phoenix Growl*, which represents a bass.

_*As soon as you have registered Phoenix Scream you will get Phoenix Growl as a gift from TBT."*_


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## DSmolken (Jan 28, 2021)

Somebody make a track with Phoenix Scream called "The Phoenix Steps On A Lego".


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## muratkayi (Jan 28, 2021)

too bad, they don't offer a Guqin

Just out of curiosity and to needlessly kindle my expectations a bit: Do you guys think that the new Yangqin by NI is actually a precursor to a DISCOVERY: CHINA collection? And do you think that will contain a Guqin? What are your thoughts on NI's Discovery series? I really love those collections and its set of features, although (my only gripe so far) I realize the deeper you wanna go with individual instruments the sooner you stumble across its limitations.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 28, 2021)

muratkayi said:


> too bad, they don't offer a Guqin
> 
> Just out of curiosity and to needlessly kindle my expectations a bit: Do you guys think that the new Yangqin by NI is actually a precursor to a DISCOVERY: CHINA collection? And do you think that will contain a Guqin? What are your thoughts on NI's Discovery series? I really love those collections and its set of features, although (my only gripe so far) I realize the deeper you wanna go with individual instruments the sooner you stumble across its limitations.


I think it's near impossible that this is a one-off. The only question in my mind is whether it is going to be a Chinese Library, or a more Pan-Asian one. 

I think what you say is true of all group libraries, from EthnoWorld and World Suite all the way to very expensive country or culture-themed ones. The best instruments in my experience have always been solo ones--but even among those there are wide divergences in quality. 

I have always found that having a lot of instruments to explore is a good thing as it has led me to identify the ones I like the best, and want to learn more about.


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## muratkayi (Jan 28, 2021)

TigerTheFrog said:


> as it has led me to identify the ones I like the best, and want to learn more about.


That's a great angle!


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## Tremendouz (Jan 30, 2021)

I Just got Whisper of Loong (dizi) from Three-Body Tech and I'm very impressed. The modelled vibrato is my favourite part of it: way too often we either get a baked in vibrato, a crossfaded vibrato (phasing issues) or a modelled vibrato that sounds more like a tremolo effect... but not here  

Here's a very quick and dirty clip. All you're hearing is done with just modwheel, expression and some high velocity notes triggering mordents. There are 2 levels of vibrato speeds: low modwheel values add gentle and slow vibrato while high modwheel values make it faster and deeper (you can set the speed and depth for both separately)

My wallet hurts but I'll probably grab the xiao soon haha


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## Tremendouz (Jan 30, 2021)

I have to add to the message above: while the instrument is great, I'm afraid one of the demos ("My Lover" by Mr. Alex) wasn't made with this VST. I tried to replicate it myself but even with the vibrato depth maxed out I couldn't reproduce the deep vibrato, plus the legato sounds different. I'm thinking it's actually a real dizi performance.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong and I'm just not using the instrument correctly, but I think it's worth looking into. The other demos sound legit but I bought this Instrument mainly because I was so blown away by this particular demo track.

@LinkinCB Do you have more information about Mr. Alex's demo track for Whisper of Loong?


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## runningruan (Jan 30, 2021)

Tremendouz said:


> I Just got Whisper of Loong (dizi) from Three-Body Tech and I'm very impressed. The modelled vibrato is my favourite part of it: way too often we either get a baked in vibrato, a crossfaded vibrato (phasing issues) or a modelled vibrato that sounds more like a tremolo effect... but not here
> 
> Here's a very quick and dirty clip. All you're hearing is done with just modwheel, expression and some high velocity notes triggering mordents. There are 2 levels of vibrato speeds: low modwheel values add gentle and slow vibrato while high modwheel values make it faster and deeper (you can set the speed and depth for both separately)
> 
> My wallet hurts but I'll probably grab the xiao soon haha


Beautiful! Thank you for sharing, appreciate getting to listen to quick tests and the out-of-the-box sound. Have you used OT's Phoenix, Jade Ethnic Orchestra or/and Kong Audio? If you have, how would you compare them? Three-Body's instruments are sounding truly impressive and authentic, and I'm very proud of them, just wondering about the ease of use and playability. 

"My Lover" by Mr.Alex is indeed so awesome, I want to believe it's made by Whisper since its on the Whisper playlist!


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## runningruan (Jan 30, 2021)

Tremendouz said:


> I have to add to the message above: while the instrument is great, I'm afraid one of the demos ("My Lover" by Mr. Alex) wasn't made with this VST. I tried to replicate it myself but even with the vibrato depth maxed out I couldn't reproduce the deep vibrato, plus the legato sounds different. I'm thinking it's actually a real dizi performance.
> 
> I sincerely hope I'm wrong and I'm just not using the instrument correctly, but I think it's worth looking into. The other demos sound legit but I bought this Instrument mainly because I was so blown away by this particular demo track.
> 
> @LinkinCB Do you have more information about Mr. Alex's demo track for Whisper of Loong?


Incidentally, that pipa is wonderful in "Market In Front Of Bixia Temple" by Mr. Dandan Zhu, I am almost certain it is a real pipa recorded, but hoping to be surprised by Three-Body


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## Tremendouz (Jan 30, 2021)

runningruan said:


> Have you used OT's Phoenix, Jade Ethnic Orchestra or/and Kong Audio?


I've only tried the free xiao patch derived from Jade by Strezov Sampling and wasn't impressed, it sounded quite distant and the legato sounded a little mushy. Also the vibrato was baked in I think which sounds nice but it's less flexible. Who knows if the full version is better but the freebie didn't make me want to buy Jade.


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## Tremendouz (Jan 30, 2021)

runningruan said:


> Incidentally, that pipa is wonderful in "Market In Front Of Bixia Temple" by Mr. Dandan Zhu, I am almost certain it is a real pipa recorded, but hoping to be surprised by Three-Body


You might wanna check out the pipa by Ample Sound, I have it and it's absolutely fantastic. It's not cheap though.


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## mohsohsenshi (Jan 30, 2021)

runningruan said:


> Incidentally, that pipa is wonderful in "Market In Front Of Bixia Temple" by Mr. Dandan Zhu, I am almost certain it is a real pipa recorded, but hoping to be surprised by Three-Body


 
Maybe I can ask him for you whether it is a recorded pipa or not. He is one of the talented composers in Chinese Vi forum.


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## LinkinCB (Feb 1, 2021)

Tremendouz said:


> I have to add to the message above: while the instrument is great, I'm afraid one of the demos ("My Lover" by Mr. Alex) wasn't made with this VST. I tried to replicate it myself but even with the vibrato depth maxed out I couldn't reproduce the deep vibrato, plus the legato sounds different. I'm thinking it's actually a real dizi performance.
> 
> I sincerely hope I'm wrong and I'm just not using the instrument correctly, but I think it's worth looking into. The other demos sound legit but I bought this Instrument mainly because I was so blown away by this particular demo track.
> 
> @LinkinCB Do you have more information about Mr. Alex's demo track for Whisper of Loong?


Hi, Thanks for your concern about Three-Body Technology. "My Lover" is an original composition from one of our Chinese user, and we are also surprised by his use of "Whisper of Loong". It is indeed a super high level work. We know that he uses "breath-bite-controller-2" midi controller in this song to make DiZi more "breathing". Superb skill and the controller does give "Whisper of Loong" much more performance besides what we recorded. We think this is beyond how common user of the plugin. So although this song is excellent, we did not put it in the first of many demo songs. Please rest assured that we will never do the despicable conduct of using real play as a demo song We will contact the composer Mr. Alex and try to let him share some of his skills, such as recording a screen or something. By the way, we will also add a supplementary description to this song to let other users know.


----------



## Tremendouz (Feb 1, 2021)

LinkinCB said:


> Hi, Thanks for your concern about Three-Body Technology. "My Lover" is an original composition from one of our Chinese user, and we are also surprised by his use of "Whisper of Loong". It is indeed a super high level work. We know that he uses "breath-bite-controller-2" midi controller in this song to make DiZi more "breathing". Superb skill and the controller does give "Whisper of Loong" much more performance besides what we recorded. We think this is beyond how common user of the plugin. So although this song is excellent, we did not put it in the first of many demo songs. Please rest assured that we will never do the despicable conduct of using real play as a demo song We will contact the composer Mr. Alex and try to let him share some of his skills, such as recording a screen or something. By the way, we will also add a supplementary description to this song to let other users know.


Thanks for the explanation. I'm wondering if the breath controller is controlling more parameters at once than just CC1 (vibrato) and CC11 (expression).

I tried linking the volume of the yin and yang microphones to CC11 to emulate the change of tone when you blow harder. Maybe Mr. Alex did something similar


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## JoshJay (Feb 23, 2021)

Quick question on Three-Body Tech's Phoenix Growl: The description says it "represents a bass". Does that mean it's a true Bass Suona (low note G2) like one used in a Chinese Orchestra? Or is it a lower pitched suona (more of an alto range) that's more commonly seen in sample instruments?


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## runningruan (Feb 23, 2021)

JoshJay said:


> Quick question on Three-Body Tech's Phoenix Growl: The description says it "represents a bass". Does that mean it's a true Bass Suona (low note G2) like one used in a Chinese Orchestra? Or is it a lower pitched suona (more of an alto range) that's more commonly seen in sample instruments?


I read somewhere on their site or Taobao that it's not an actual bass suona, I believe it's processed using the traditional soprano or big G suona.


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## LinkinCB (Feb 23, 2021)

JoshJay said:


> Quick question on Three-Body Tech's Phoenix Growl: The description says it "represents a bass". Does that mean it's a true Bass Suona (low note G2) like one used in a Chinese Orchestra? Or is it a lower pitched suona (more of an alto range) that's more commonly seen in sample instruments?


Hi， 

Phoenix Growl and Phoenix Scream use the same set of sampling，just repitched. And Phoenix Growl is gifted to you when you purchase Phoenix Scream. 

Hope this can help you know about our products.


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## Jason Morin (Mar 25, 2021)

Hello,

We are now adding this beautiful Ample China Qudi to our collection. Hope you guys are going to enjoy





*Ample China Qudi *, a beautiful and delicate traditional Chinese flute built on the latest development of the Woodwind Sample Engine with 4.4 GB of samples, including head and body articulations, FX sounds, as well as a select collection of improvised licks.








More info here: https://www.amplesound.net/en/pro-pd.asp?id=36



Jason


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## stargazer (Nov 30, 2021)

Amplesounds Dongxiao and Qudi both seems great!
So does the Three-Body equivalents - Lost Soul and Whisper of Loong!
Anybody has both the Dongxiao and Lost Soul or Qudi and Whisper of Loong and can compare?


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## qwetvj (Nov 30, 2021)

stargazer said:


> Amplesounds Dongxiao and Qudi both seems great!
> So does the Three-Body equivalents - Lost Soul and Whisper of Loong!
> Anybody has both the Dongxiao and Lost Soul or Qudi and Whisper of Loong and can compare?


Whisper of Loong more bright and sweet.
Ample Qudi more bamboo sound.
Lost Soul better response to breathing controller.
Ample Dongxiao more powerful FX.


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## stargazer (Dec 1, 2021)

Thank you very much, *qwetvj*!

Regarding the Ample Dongxiao:
Do you mean articulations/special effects keyswitches or FX as in EQ/Comp/Del/Rev?


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## qwetvj (Dec 1, 2021)

stargazer said:


> Thank you very much, *qwetvj*!
> 
> Regarding the Ample Dongxiao:
> Do you mean articulations/special effects keyswitches or FX as in EQ/Comp/Del/Rev?


I mean articulations/special.
DongXiao has many powerful blow articulations。
Suitable for film music.


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## Groctave (Dec 1, 2021)

I listened to a lot of libraries because I needed Chinese instruments for an animated series I'm working on now (for Tencent so they sure know what Chinese instruments are) and for me the best were the Three-Body Tech ones (https://www.threebodytech.com /// @LinkinCB). The sound is detailed and gorgeous!

Just purchased the Kirchhoff-EQ too. Can't wait to try it...


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## ResidentSmeagol (Dec 2, 2021)

I work on quite a bit of Asian stuff (Both Japanese and Chinese) and for the Chinese stuff my library consists of pretty much Ample and Three Body Tech. 

As far as DongXiao is concerned though I have both the Three Body Tech (Whisper of Loong) and Ample's DongXiao and Ample's is definitely the better sounding one. The Three Body Tech is a bit too thin and shrill. The Ample DongXiao has a much nicer, full bodied tone with a slightly rolled off top that just sounds gorgeous. There are times when you need shrill, so I do keep Whisper of Loong around but most of the time my first choice for DongXiao is Ample. 

But both companies make exemplary instruments.


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## stargazer (Dec 2, 2021)

Thank you all for your opinions and advice!
I’ve bought the Three-Body instruments and the Yellow River Gu Zheng.
Haven’t installed yet, though.
Will also get the Ample 4in1 Chinese bundle.

Any thoughts on the NI Spotlight EAST ASIA for Chinese Percussion (and other stuff)?


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## tcb (Dec 2, 2021)

stargazer said:


> Thank you all for your opinions and advice!
> I’ve bought the Three-Body instruments and the Yellow River Gu Zheng.
> Haven’t installed yet, though.
> Will also get the Ample 4in1 Chinese bundle.
> ...


EAST ASIA is good!My only complain is NI didn't go further into east aisa instruments.Chinese,Korean,and Japanese instruments (and music)are very different.I think NI could divide the project into 3 parts then release 3 libraries.With this limitation,many kinds of instruments didn't be sampled


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## qwetvj (Dec 2, 2021)

stargazer said:


> Thank you all for your opinions and advice!
> I’ve bought the Three-Body instruments and the Yellow River Gu Zheng.
> Haven’t installed yet, though.
> Will also get the Ample 4in1 Chinese bundle.
> ...


NI East Asia's pulck instruments can be used.
KongAudio and YRS Peking Oprea Percussion may be use for percussion .
Orchestral Tools DaGu can be use fou DaGu .


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## Evans (Dec 6, 2021)

Just making sure everyone knows that Ample Sound is running a winter sale until (or through?) the 1st of January, and it includes their Ample China collection. Pretty tempting, but I'm also partially saving funds for a hopeful Three Body sale.


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## stargazer (Dec 6, 2021)

Evans said:


> Just making sure everyone knows that Ample Sound is running a winter sale until (or through?) the 1st of January, and it includes their Ample China collection. Pretty tempting, but I'm also partially saving funds for a hopeful Three Body sale.


Three-Body just had a BF sale at around 30%.


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## Evans (Dec 6, 2021)

stargazer said:


> Three-Body just had a BF sale at around 30%.


Yeah, I'm an idiot.


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## stargazer (Dec 6, 2021)

Evans said:


> Yeah, I'm an idiot.


I’m sure you’re not - and hopefully there will be another sale soon. (I wish I could hire somebody to check my inbox for sales and discounts, to be able to free up some time to get to work and make some music )


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## ResidentSmeagol (Dec 6, 2021)

ResidentSmeagol said:


> I work on quite a bit of Asian stuff (Both Japanese and Chinese) and for the Chinese stuff my library consists of pretty much Ample and Three Body Tech.
> 
> As far as DongXiao is concerned though I have both the Three Body Tech (Whisper of Loong) and Ample's DongXiao and Ample's is definitely the better sounding one. The Three Body Tech is a bit too thin and shrill. The Ample DongXiao has a much nicer, full bodied tone with a slightly rolled off top that just sounds gorgeous. There are times when you need shrill, so I do keep Whisper of Loong around but most of the time my first choice for DongXiao is Ample.
> 
> But both companies make exemplary instruments.


I did want to come back and clarify though - when I say that Whisper of Loong is a bit too thin and shrill, I don't mean it's necessarily thin and shrill, period. I mean in relation to Ample's DongXiao, it's a bit more thin and shrill than Ample's but still very, very good. I didn't mean to indicate it was low quality or Strezov level. Any library from Ample, Three Body, or Sonica are still leagues above anything you'd get from Jade.


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## Evans (Dec 7, 2021)

@Mark Schmieder it seems like in a few posts you really liked the Sound Magic products. What am I missing? From what I hear of their winds, there's a lot of odd articulation stitching, a lack of clarity in the recordings themselves, and some stereo imaging inconsistencies.

I'm very much open to being wrong.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 7, 2021)

ResidentSmeagol said:


> As far as DongXiao is concerned though I have both the Three Body Tech (Whisper of Loong) and Ample's DongXiao and Ample's is definitely the better sounding one. The Three Body Tech is a bit too thin and shrill. The Ample DongXiao has a much nicer, full bodied tone with a slightly rolled off top that just sounds gorgeous.



I'm sure you are comparing the right instruments with each other, but you have the names wrong.

3-Body's Whisper of Loong is a Qudi (melodic Dizi), so obviously it only makes sense to compare it with Ample's Qudi, not with their Dongxiao.

Lost Soul is 3-Body's Dongxiao.

In terms of flutes from those two companies, I only have Lost Soul and Qudi, and I recommend both of them highly. 

I also like 3-Body's Yangqin (Raindrop & Blade) and Ample's Guzheng (China Zheng)


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## ResidentSmeagol (Dec 7, 2021)

Reid Rosefelt said:


> I'm sure you are comparing the right instruments with each other, but you have the names wrong.
> 
> 3-Body's Whisper of Loong is a Qudi (melodic Dizi), so obviously it only makes sense to compare it with Ample's Qudi, not with their Dongxiao.
> 
> ...


Ahahah absolutely right. Sorry, I wrote that right before I went to bed. Shame on me as I have a degree in Chinese and have worked in Chinese music for ages. I've even dated plenty of chinese musicians so I really screwed that one up. One of these times I'm glad I'm anonymous  

I get thrown off a lot by Three body's names for all their stuff. In the past I've thought of making a cheat sheet with the poetic names they use for their instruments and what they are.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 7, 2021)

ResidentSmeagol said:


> Ahahah absolutely right. Sorry, I wrote that right before I went to bed. Shame on me as I have a degree in Chinese and have worked in Chinese music for ages. I've even dated plenty of chinese musicians so I really screwed that one up. One of these times I'm glad I'm anonymous
> 
> I get thrown off a lot by Three body's names for all their stuff. In the past I've thought of making a cheat sheet with the poetic names they use for their instruments and what they are.


I totally agree! Those names are not helpful.


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## Evans (Dec 21, 2021)

I know this is not the Deals board, but I'm posting here since it's such a specific topic that usually receives little attention: there's a discount now on Three-Body Tech products.

Their website link:








Three-Body Technology - Virtual Instruments and Effects


Three-Body Technology is a music technology company, focuses on developing professional audio software. Now have three series of products: Guitar Series, Effect Series and Chinese Traditional Series.



www.threebodytech.com





Best Service link:
https://www.bestservice.com/deals/three-body_technology_up_to_37_off_3793.html


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## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 21, 2021)

Also, there is a whole series of new Chinese and other world instruments from the Evolution Series on sale now from Native Instruments. Included are Guzheng, Erhu, Dizi, Bawu, Pipa, Suona, and Guqin. There are also Japanese and Mongolian instruments in their previously-released Chronicles series.






Native Instruments







www.native-instruments.com


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 21, 2021)

Yep, that one was a bit of a surprise! The new suite includes lots of new material, and apparently an update to the Oud, with only the Gu Zheng apparently being from slightly older vintage, as well as the new series that includes Miyako and Taiko.

Nice that one can buy into any portion of the new Evolution Series or the whole bundle without really duplicating what has already been bought previously. I just got the notice a few minutes ago though, so haven't had a chance to listen to demos.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 21, 2021)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Yep, that one was a bit of a surprise! The new suite includes lots of new material, and apparently an update to the Oud, with only the Gu Zheng apparently being from slightly older vintage, as well as the new series that includes Miyako and Taiko.


Where did you get the information that the Guzheng was older vintage? At the least, it has a new interface and some new features. 

Maybe no new articulations?


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 21, 2021)

I simply inferred it due to no mention of v2.0, whereas the Oud is labeled v2.0.

As far as I can tell, their website has zero info on these new instruments and bundles. I guess it's an NI exclusive, for now, and there's even a slight hint that not all of these will be available after the sale ends. Kind of confusing, to say the least.


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## Mark Schmieder (Dec 21, 2021)

Evans said:


> @Mark Schmieder it seems like in a few posts you really liked the Sound Magic products. What am I missing? From what I hear of their winds, there's a lot of odd articulation stitching, a lack of clarity in the recordings themselves, and some stereo imaging inconsistencies.
> 
> I'm very much open to being wrong.


At one point, somewhere on this forum, I stated that I would have to recuse myself from discussing Sound Magic. That's as much as I'll say on the topic. Just wanted you to know I wasn't ignoring you.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 21, 2021)

Mark Schmieder said:


> I simply inferred it due to no mention of v2.0, whereas the Oud is labeled v2.0.
> 
> As far as I can tell, their website has zero info on these new instruments and bundles. I guess it's an NI exclusive, for now, and there's even a slight hint that not all of these will be available after the sale ends. Kind of confusing, to say the least.


I put a note to @pulse from Evolution Series on the main thread about this sale.






NI Sale


https://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/komplete/evolution-series-offer-2021/?localization_country=FR&utm_campaign=nks+evolution&utm_content=save_up_to_63%25_on_instrum&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter



vi-control.net


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 21, 2021)

It is too early for me to offer a clear judgement on the Sound Magic libraries I have. In their current sale I bought Bamboo Dreams and Morin Khuur as I wanted some ensembles. 

It is an unfamiliar player and the manual has been hard for me to get much out of. I am finding it takes a lot of work to get good sounds out of them, but there are some nice sounds on some instruments. There are also a lot of technical issues, such as the stereo field and, in some cases, some very odd notes. In most cases these are tonal and volume imbalances, but in one there is a note where some of the round robins appear to be blank. 

For now, though, I'm unsure how much this is down to me learning to use them; how much might be something customer support could help with, and how much is just a rather poor product. 

When the sounds are good, I think they must know what they are doing and I must be at fault for the bad. So do bear that in mind - I simply am not sure yet. 

The physically modelled legato is definitely not good. But when is it ever? The physically modelled vibrato is better and can be used for effective, quick bursts of expressive vibrato.


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## Tremendouz (Dec 22, 2021)

Bee_Abney said:


> Bamboo Dreams


My condolences. Got it on sale earlier but unless I'm missing something, the legato is just a very basic portamento script that makes it sound like a synth. Furthermore one of the instruments sounded like it was recorder further away than the others, lacking clarity.

I tried to ask support about the legato since the audio demos showcase extremely realistic sound which was nothing like the product itself. More than a year later still no reply despite a few reminder messages from my side.

Lesson learned I guess.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Dec 22, 2021)

Mark is such an enthusiast and so knowledgeable about world instrument VIs that his silence speaks volumes to me.


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 22, 2021)

Tremendouz said:


> My condolences. Got it on sale earlier but unless I'm missing something, the legato is just a very basic portamento script that makes it sound like a synth. Furthermore one of the instruments sounded like it was recorder further away than the others, lacking clarity.
> 
> I tried to ask support about the legato since the audio demos showcase extremely realistic sound which was nothing like the product itself. More than a year later still no reply despite a few reminder messages from my side.
> 
> Lesson learned I guess.


Yes, the demos sold it to me. I have not been able to get sounds anywhere close to them. Some of the samples do have some character, but I can’t access them to try to fix the problems.

I suppose I should write to support and join the queue!


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## jesussaddle (Aug 7, 2022)

Mark Schmieder said:


> That's an hour I'll never get back, but it is also a time-saver to do this sort of research and get to a level of confidence of what's what. It's just amazing though, how most vendors are extremely sloppy in their labeling and terminology, when it comes to non-western instruments.
> 
> Anyway, if you see something labeled Chinese Bamboo Flute, it is usually a Dizi (low pitched is the most common), and rarely a Xiao. A Bamboo Flute with no nationality listed, such as the one in Ethno World, may be from somewhere else (for instance, theirs is from Indonesia).
> 
> ...


Really helpful. Hopefully VI Control has more forum members like you!


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## jesussaddle (Aug 7, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> Yes, the demos sold it to me. I have not been able to get sounds anywhere close to them. Some of the samples do have some character, but I can’t access them to try to fix the problems.
> 
> I suppose I should write to support and join the queue!


Thank you! Happily, partly thanks to your heads up, I bought 2 of the China Instruments (Erhu and Zheng) from Amplesound, and the Spitfire Andy Findon Kitbag Series (being discontinued) with the 10 windy thingamajigs (the online demos were too quiet but I figure even if they're only decent, for $78 total its worth it):

Shakuhachi
Chinese Bamboo Flute
Contrabass Flute
Ocarina
Fujara
Bansuri
Chinese Membrane Flute
Low Panpipes
Low Ocarina
Quena

Also I bought the Amplesound Ethnic Banjo, Stratocaster and 12 String (if you buy them at once like that it seems to be the way to save.) To be honest I bought the strat only because of hearing one certain preset - those presets they include seem to be real time-savers.


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## jesussaddle (Aug 8, 2022)




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## jesussaddle (Aug 8, 2022)

I was having trouble coding that. But what I meant to say above is:

Messing around with Amplesound's "Ample China Erhu" and threw together some random copyright-free clips - actually I think this virtual instrument meets my expectations (Amplesound is a really good company.)

I know, there's a lot that could be fixed in the keyswitching and composition. Its just a fast throwtogether.


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## Bee_Abney (Aug 9, 2022)

jesussaddle said:


> I was having trouble coding that. But what I meant to say above is:
> 
> Messing around with Amplesound's "Ample China Erhu" and threw together some random copyright-free clips - actually I think this virtual instrument meets my expectations (Amplesound is a really good company.)
> 
> I know, there's a lot that could be fixed in the keyswitching and composition. Its just a fast throwtogether.


Well, you've established very well that this library can really nail the sounds I love from the erhu!


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## jesussaddle (Aug 9, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> Well, you've established very well that this library can really nail the sounds I love from the erhu!


Thank you. I really appreciate that, it has potential. Expression & Pitch Bend & 5 keyswitches were used on that but i was just learning. There's more potential untapped!


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## Bee_Abney (Aug 9, 2022)

jesussaddle said:


> Thank you. I really appreciate that, it has potential. Expression & Pitch Bend & 5 keyswitches were used on that but i was just learning. There's more potential untapped!


Absolutely. I like to do something similar when working with a new instrument. Start by making a small track with it and get a sense of what I might be able to do with it. That also ensures that I have a head start if I suddenly need it for something else and need to learn how to make the most of it quickly.


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## jesussaddle (Aug 9, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> Absolutely. I like to do something similar when working with a new instrument. Start by making a small track with it and get a sense of what I might be able to do with it. That also ensures that I have a head start if I suddenly need it for something else and need to learn how to make the most of it quickly.


Same here. Most of the time I'm in over my head and trying to come up for air (on DAW questions, plugin questions, or creative knowledge), but I think about a 3rd or 5th of the time I have some deeper attachment in some of these - and I hope one day to take the more personal ones and build something stretched out long enough to make more feelings happen.


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