# Wivi Band, The Vst/au/rtas Instrument - Now Available



## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

Click for full-sized screenshot

WIVI BAND, THE VST/AU/RTAS INSTRUMENT - NOW AVAILABLE

Pricing And Availability: $149, AVAILABLE NOW

Following the success of Wivi Band for iPhone, with over 100,000 downloads in the iTunes App Store, Wallander Instruments now presents its latest software instrument: Wivi Band - The Virtual Instrument. 

Wivi Band for Mac/PC is an easy-to-use, low-cost yet powerful software instrument, dedicated to wind instruments. It includes 10 modelled brasses and woodwinds (trumpet, trombone, french horn, tuba, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, tenor saxophone and soprano recorder). All instruments can be played solo or in sections of up to 8 players with automatic divisi.

The sound engine behind Wivi Band is the same high-quality engine used to power the world-renowned synthesis/modeling software WIVI, but the instruments are wrapped behind an intuitive and easy-to-use interface with only the features you need, right where you need them. The software loads super-fast, and all instruments have fluent, continuous dynamics that can be controlled using the mod wheel, an expression pedal or even performed with a breath controller. 

Wivi Band runs as its own dedicated software instrument, available in AU, VST & RTAS format (including native 64-bit) on both Mac and PC. 

For more information, please visit our website:

http://www.wallanderinstruments.com

Best regards,
Wallander Instruments


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## paoling (Nov 8, 2010)

This is something that everybody should have. In my opinion.
Good move Arne...


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## Raindog (Nov 8, 2010)

This offer has to come when I just decided to resist any further urge to buy plugins. On the other hand my wind controller is trembling with anticipation now that the Wallander instruments have a price range that is almost irressitible. It might end as always by pressing the PayPal button :oops: 
Raindog


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## paoling (Nov 8, 2010)

Can I say that if you own WIVI SE player instruments, you can use the existing instruments in the much simpler WIVI Band player, and you can use the additional instruments of WIVI Band in WIVI SE player?
This is an incredible option for who wants some "traditional" instruments to improve his palette of sounds.


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## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

Hi! 

If you own both Orchestral & Band Brass + Woodwinds and Saxophones, there is a $29 crossgrade to get the player only, if you follow the update link on our products page. Wivi Band will automatically find any installed WIVI Standard/Pro instruments and load into the Wivi Band player. 

If you own only one of the big instrument sets, you can get an upgrade/crossgrade for $79. 

The instruments in Wivi Band can also be used with the Standard/Professional players, but then you need to manually copy the instruments from Wivi Bands instruments folder to WIVI's.

There will also be upgrades so that if you get Wivi Band, and decide you want the full set in the future, there will be a price discount for the full collections (so that you do not have to pay for the same instruments twice). The details are being worked out now!


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## Raindog (Nov 8, 2010)

An upgrade path is most attractive. Thanks
Raindog


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## paoling (Nov 8, 2010)

Arne I already bought WIVI Band for 149$ (and I own the Woodwind collection). The 79$ upgrade included the additional instruments? Because I think that the hype of getting your product has made me lost 70 $. :(


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## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

paoling @ Mon 08 Nov said:


> Arne I already bought WIVI Band for 149$ (and I own the Woodwind collection). The 79$ upgrade included the additional instruments? Because I think that the hype of getting your product has made me lost 70 $. :(


Ok, do this: follow the upgrade link and see if you apply for the crossgrade. If you do, purchase the crossgrade, register it to your license e-mail. Then send me your old order number and details, and we will request a cancellation of your first order.


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## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

Oh, by the way. It seems like we can make a partial refund on your order. Let me know if you prefer that.

EDIT: In which case I need your order number.  Best would be if you used the contact form on our webpage.


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## damstraversaz (Nov 8, 2010)

It seems to be very interesting. not a lot of time for testing it now but I will do this as soon as possible.
just a little question, what is your copy protection, and is it possible to install it on 2 computers ( for exemple main daw and laptop for gig)
all the best
damien


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## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

damstraversaz @ Mon 08 Nov said:


> It seems to be very interesting. not a lot of time for testing it now but I will do this as soon as possible.
> just a little question, what is your copy protection, and is it possible to install it on 2 computers ( for exemple main daw and laptop for gig)
> all the best
> damien


There is no real copy protection only water marking, as is the case with our other software. During downloading, the software it is automatically licensed to your name/e-mail, which is displayed in the interface. It is a single-user license, but as long as you are the only one accessing the software you may use the installer to put the software on all your personal computers and run simultaneously. Once the installer is downloaded, keep it in a safe place and you may use it to install the software on all your future computers as well.


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## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

paoling @ Mon 08 Nov said:


> Arne I already bought WIVI Band for 149$ (and I own the Woodwind collection). The 79$ upgrade included the additional instruments? Because I think that the hype of getting your product has made me lost 70 $. :(


Never mind my comments. I found your order and verified that you were eligible for the $79 upgrade. I issued a partial refund of $70 to you. I am not sure when the amount will be released by 2CheckOut.com (who manages the transaction) though, as they verify all refunds manually, but anyway just to let you know it has been registered and should be on its way.


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## damstraversaz (Nov 8, 2010)

great ! that's a nice copy protection.
thanks a lot for the answer

damien


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## paoling (Nov 8, 2010)

Wallander @ Mon Nov 08 said:


> paoling @ Mon 08 Nov said:
> 
> 
> > Arne I already bought WIVI Band for 149$ (and I own the Woodwind collection). The 79$ upgrade included the additional instruments? Because I think that the hype of getting your product has made me lost 70 $. :(
> ...



Thanks so much Arne for your answer. I sent a mail with the contact form and you've did it all already. You're incredible


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## noiseboyuk (Nov 8, 2010)

This looks interesting! Is there a trial version for Wivi Band?


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## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

At least for now there is no trial for Wivi Band, only WIVI Standard Edition, sorry. But the instrument engine behind Wivi Band is the same, in terms of sound/playability, so in that regard the WIVI Trial is still useful as a testing ground.


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## noiseboyuk (Nov 8, 2010)

OK, thanks. The one thing I couldn't really tell from the general trial versions was the sound of sections, as I could only load one or two of a given instrument at a time. Are there any official or user demos? Especially interested in the brass - thanks.


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## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

noiseboyuk @ Mon 08 Nov said:


> OK, thanks. The one thing I couldn't really tell from the general trial versions was the sound of sections, as I could only load one or two of a given instrument at a time. Are there any official or user demos? Especially interested in the brass - thanks.


You can add more than one or two instruments of a type in the trial, but you need to duplicate the instruments (use 2-3 "Bb-Trumpet 1" for example). You can change polyphonic settings of instruments manually to get bigger sections that way.

Since Wivi Band to such as extent overlaps WIVI, we will probably use the same demos for both products. Although a lot of people like their tweaking options, demo composers were told to try and not change the default settings of instruments if possible, in which case most demos should be a good reflection of Wivi Band as well. Especially demos such as Yrjö's brilliant "Oh when the saints" demo, which was made before Orchestral & Band Brass was released, so you can be sure that all instruments used for that demo is included with Wivi Band. 

Btw, I believe most if not all instrument types in Wivi Band is included with the trial, so that should get you a feel for the sound, at least for the range included with the trial. In Wivi Band you have full range, and can also increase range artificially as much as you like.


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## MacQ (Nov 8, 2010)

Hi Arne,

Can I set all instruments in a section to a single MIDI channel and NOT use the automatic divisi? I have the Woodwinds collection, so would I be able to load the WIVI Band instruments in my standard player (with variations)? 

~Stu


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## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

MacQ @ Mon 08 Nov said:


> Hi Arne,
> 
> Can I set all instruments in a section to a single MIDI channel and NOT use the automatic divisi? I have the Woodwinds collection, so would I be able to load the WIVI Band instruments in my standard player (with variations)?
> 
> ~Stu


In the Wivi Band player divisi is always automatic if you build a section. But you can play unison notes simply by playing only one note. 

The Wivi Band instruments can be copied from Wivi Band's instruments folder and opened in WIVI's Standard/Professional player. This has to be done manually, because WIVI does not find instruments unless they are in the standard instruments folder.


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## Angel (Nov 8, 2010)

My wife asks me what I want for xmas.... yesterday I said: "Nothing... surprise me" (for the first time I had no specific wish.
Till now 

Great move, Arne.


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## bryla (Nov 8, 2010)

Wallander @ Mon Nov 08 said:


> All instruments can be played solo or in sections of up to 8 players with automatic divisi.


Are there 8 different trumpets in Bb senza sordini the same way as there are 3 in the Brass package? Are they all differently modelled so you could stack 8?

I see you've removed the numbering from your website :(


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## Frederick Russ (Nov 8, 2010)

Wallander @ Mon Nov 08 said:


> Following the success of Wivi Band for iPhone, with over 100,000 downloads in the iTunes App Store



I just did the math - that's amazing! Congrats Arne :!:


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## Udo (Nov 8, 2010)

Great deal Arne (although the iPhone version appears to have more instruments).

Better still, you can get it at Bestservice.de for $117 ex tax (at time of posting; amount fluctuates with the exchange rate).
Get an extra 10% off when you buy another product. US shipping 10 EUR per order.


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## Wallander (Nov 8, 2010)

bryla @ Mon 08 Nov said:


> Wallander @ Mon Nov 08 said:
> 
> 
> > All instruments can be played solo or in sections of up to 8 players with automatic divisi.
> ...


There are three different of each, when using a section of more than three, it reuses the first instruments. In practice this is not a problem because everything is synthesized/modelled, so there are never any issues with phasing or anything.



> Great deal Arne (although the iPhone version appears to have more instruments).
> 
> Better still, you can get it at Bestservice.de for $117 ex tax (at time of posting; amount fluctuates with the exchange rate).
> Get an extra 10% off when you buy another product. US shipping 10 EUR per order.


Well, I am not 100% sure how that is setup for the moment, but we make a point out of not having price competition between our on-line retailers, so the international price will be ¢99/$149 despite your territory. 

However, if you run a business and can deduct VAT, you may be able to get a tax discount if you make the purchase from a local dealer or distributor (in this case running a business in Germany and purchase the item from Best Service) but it will not be the case for international sales. I hope that sheds some light on it.

EDIT: I realized this is not a direct download, but the boxed version. The price of the boxed Wivi Band can indeed vary a bit over the world (generally it is more or less an even sum game because of shipping costs, import taxes, customs fees etc). I gope that sheds some FURTHER light on it.


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## Raindog (Nov 8, 2010)

I checked the NEW trial version (I had an older version installed and couldn´t try all the instruments included in WiVi band). Couldn´t stop playing with my wind controller. It´s just an absolute MUST BUY when using breath controllers as only the samplemodelling libraries and the Wallander instruments make use of the dynamic potential of a wind controller. Absolutely fabulous stuff. o=< 

One question though: What does the ambience controller in WiVi band do? Can you choose different rooms? I might upgrade to the SE player version later as I absolutely love the possibility to position the instruments on stage. This is done so intuitively and it works very well. So once again an upgrade path would be highly appreciated.

Sorry, one more question: Is there any possibility to mix in some "dirt" like valve noises or sound irregularities when blowing the wind controller? If there would be any critisism about the instruments I would say that they do sound a little bit too clean (but this is highly subjective I must admit)

No time left. I have to press the "buy" button ~o) 
Regards
Raindog


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## damstraversaz (Nov 9, 2010)

just a suggestion, it would be great to have the wivi manual online, it could help a lot to understand how it works, as we can try the sound with wivi standart .


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## Udo (Nov 9, 2010)

Raindog @ Tue Nov 09 said:


> ............ Is there any possibility to mix in some "dirt" like valve noises or sound irregularities when blowing the wind controller? If there would be any critisism about the instruments I would say that they do sound a little bit too clean (but this is highly subjective I must admit)


That's only available in the $499 PE Player. (You could attach a small contact mic to your windcontroller, near the mouth piece, and blend that in. I've done that with a Yamaha WX5, to get some lip buzz, etc and noise from the keys  ).


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## Udo (Nov 9, 2010)

damstraversaz @ Tue Nov 09 said:


> just a suggestion, it would be great to have the wivi manual online, it could help a lot to understand how it works, as we can try the sound with wivi standart .


http://www.wallanderinstruments.com/?mode=downloads&lang=en


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## damstraversaz (Nov 9, 2010)

oups sorry I miss this one...thanks !


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## Raindog (Nov 9, 2010)

Udo @ 9th November 2010 said:


> Raindog @ Tue Nov 09 said:
> 
> 
> > ............ Is there any possibility to mix in some "dirt" like valve noises or sound irregularities when blowing the wind controller? If there would be any critisism about the instruments I would say that they do sound a little bit too clean (but this is highly subjective I must admit)
> ...



Thanks for your response. Didn´t know that.
Best regards
Raindog


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## Raindog (Nov 9, 2010)

Udo @ 9th November 2010 said:


> damstraversaz @ Tue Nov 09 said:
> 
> 
> > just a suggestion, it would be great to have the wivi manual online, it could help a lot to understand how it works, as we can try the sound with wivi standart .
> ...



thanks for the link
Raindog


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## Wallander (Nov 9, 2010)

> just a suggestion, it would be great to have the wivi manual online, it could help a lot to understand how it works, as we can try the sound with wivi standart .





> Is there any possibility to mix in some "dirt" like valve noises or sound irregularities when blowing the wind controller? If there would be any critisism about the instruments I would say that they do sound a little bit too clean (but this is highly subjective I must admit)


As Udo explained, the Wivi Band PDF documentation is now online.  It can be found on the Wallander Instruments downloads page. And I can confirm that tweaking of the internal features of instruments is reserved for the Standard and Professional Edition players. Although the microphone trick is a specialty not having to do with WIVI, it simply means recording the breath noise from the wind/breath controller. Although it is not something I have used, I imagine this can also be quite effective. 

Wivi Band is more of a streamlined out-of-the-box solution with the most crucial features readily at hand. It was designed so that anyone should be able to dive right into it, and use it without preparation or reading any documentation, even with little or no experience of software synthesizers general.



> I checked the NEW trial version (I had an older version installed and couldn´t try all the instruments included in WiVi band). Couldn´t stop playing with my wind controller. It´s just an absolute MUST BUY when using breath controllers as only the samplemodelling libraries and the Wallander instruments make use of the dynamic potential of a wind controller. Absolutely fabulous stuff.
> 
> One question though: What does the ambience controller in WiVi band do? Can you choose different rooms? I might upgrade to the SE player version later as I absolutely love the possibility to position the instruments on stage. This is done so intuitively and it works very well. So once again an upgrade path would be highly appreciated.


 

Yes, it is a very good idea to download the LATEST trial edition for anyone who is unsure what they have on their system. There have been quite a few updates to WIVI over the years, and the trial edition has been updated in parallel.

Behind the interface, Wivi Band does have the WIVI room simulation, only that you cannot change settings such as reverb time, color etc. But in the setup menu on the display you can choose between Anechoic, Studio, Theatre, Hall and Church. 

The ambience knob moves the instruments back and forth in the room. A high value means the instrument is put in the back of the room. When ambience is set to "Off" that instrument/channel is output anechoic, regardless of the choice of room. If ambience is set at 10% you only have the early reflections, so it is semi-dry. Panning moves the instruments left/right, and Spread is used to spread out the section by moving the instruments to different positions in the room (only applicable when you have 2 or more instruments). 

This is also covered in the PDF documentation for those who want GUI illustrations to go with it. 

And yes, there will absolutely be an upgrade path for Wivi Band owners.


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## Raindog (Nov 9, 2010)

The pdf-instructions are very clear, thanks for providing them. One thing came into my mind. There is no multi output in WiVi band. So if you want to eq or process the instruments differently you will have to open one instance per instrument, is that correct? Should be no major problem though as the cpu load seems to be very low even on my MacBook Pro.
Best regards
Raindog


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## Wallander (Nov 9, 2010)

Raindog @ Tue 09 Nov said:


> The pdf-instructions are very clear, thanks for providing them. One thing came into my mind. There is no multi output in WiVi band. So if you want to eq or process the instruments differently you will have to open one instance per instrument, is that correct? Should be no major problem though as the cpu load seems to be very low even on my MacBook Pro.
> Best regards
> Raindog


Exactly, in that case you want one instance per instrument/section.  Originally the intention was to make the plug-in in monotimbral, to keep things as simple as possible for the user. But in the end the four channels was added as an alternative to save CPU and for convenience for those who prefer not having to switch interface all the time.

Those who want to do external processing often wants to add their own reverb as well. And if you set the Wivi Band reverb to "Anechoic" it will be completely turned off, saving the CPU of reverb processing anyway, so having multiple instances should mean very little overhead.


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## EvilDragon (Nov 9, 2010)

I have a question for Arne: is at least the Professional Player multi-output? If it's not, it should be, to justify the "professional" in its title even more so.


Just a friendly suggestion.  No multi-outs is a deal-breaker for me, even at the price of WIVI Band!


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## noiseboyuk (Nov 9, 2010)

EvilDragon @ Tue Nov 09 said:


> I have a question for Arne: is at least the Professional Player multi-output? If it's not, it should be, to justify the "professional" in its title even more so.
> 
> 
> Just a friendly suggestion.  No multi-outs is a deal-breaker for me, even at the price of WIVI Band!



Don't forget that the footprint of Wivi is about 1k... no problem to just have an instance per instrument, really.


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## EvilDragon (Nov 9, 2010)

It's to do with one's workflow, unfortunately. I tend to use multi-outs instead of multi-instances, and that's not gonna change soon as I see it...


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## bryla (Nov 9, 2010)

If I buy WIVI band, will I get discounts later for purchasing brass or wind?

oops nevermind...


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## noiseboyuk (Nov 9, 2010)

EvilDragon @ Tue Nov 09 said:


> It's to do with one's workflow, unfortunately. I tend to use multi-outs instead of multi-instances, and that's not gonna change soon as I see it...



Generally I do too, though honestly it wouldn't bother me for a microsecond to build single instances into a template (or per-project for that matter) if there were no practical disadvantages. And I really can't think of any in this case...


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## EvilDragon (Nov 9, 2010)

Still, it would be nice to have it as an option, regardless.


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## Wallander (Nov 9, 2010)

I agree it would be a nice option, but having a shared reverb requires all instruments to be channeled down the same audio route, and then process that with a single reverb unit. Once this is done you cannot separate the instruments again. 

So if there were multiple outs, the plug-in would have to be designed to use one reverb per channel, and increase total CPU use by 4 times. Although it could simplify workflow in some setups, it did not justify the additional CPU usage it would require. 

This is also the case with WIVI Professional, there are 3 outs in the Professional player but they are used to separate direct sound, early reflections and late reverb. It is a question of architecture, and no practical way to get around without changing the whole concept of the player unfortunately.

Either way, in practice there are no technical barriers to using the software as a monotimbral plug-in only, as it was designed with that in mind. If there is room for that kind of setup in your template, that is.


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## EvilDragon (Nov 9, 2010)

Couldn't the reverb optionally be used as a send FX in a multi-out configuration? That could possibly be a solution, methinks 

However, I see your points there indeed. And then again, when you first promoted WIVI, 2 GHz dualcores were the shiznit. And even then WIVI could model a 100 or so instruments. Now, we have i7 with 4 cores and hyperthreading. How's that for CPU muscle? :D


In fact, I'd probably suggest to have a super-high-quality modeling mode which could utilize even MORE CPU power but get painfully realistic results instead - WIVI is pretty good as it is now, but naturally, as with all modelled stuff, it can always be taken a step further, there's always things that can be improved (particularly higher order harmonics behavior, more humanized noises and random squeaks and stuff). So, implementing such a HQ mode could do WIVI very much good and nothing particularly bad (unless the user's an idiot and he tries to run HQ mode on an underspec'd machine )


And of course, we're all very eager and patient to see what you'll come up with with WIVI Strings! You do have a pretty tough job ahead of you, sample libraries are getting better and better in this regard (and more massive, too, which is why I'm a proponent of modelling) - but someone needs to change the game, really. I believe WIVI, Modartt and Synful can do it. It's just a matter of time.


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## gravehill (Nov 9, 2010)

I'm usually using 2 separate instances of WiVi - one for brass and another for woodwinds. The main reason is that I only have 16 midi channels per instance anyway, so there's enough reason to separate the groups. Getting separate audio channels for instrument groups that way is just an added bonus.


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## noiseboyuk (Nov 9, 2010)

As an aside, does anyone have any user demos using wivi brass and woods? Just did a search with no real results. As their advertising says, virtually infinite velocity layers, divisi, custom section sizes and legato are some pretty heady selling points, I'm surprised it hasn't made more inroads.

Playing with my demo again, I'm not too convinced by the trombones or French Horns. But I do really like the trumpets and most of the woods. I'm tossing up between this and the VSL sale right now.

I like the really stripped-down new interface, and pleased to read that it uses the same ambiences and basic staging of the full version.


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## Wallander (Nov 10, 2010)

Blake, impressive work! Thanks for posting these demos.


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## MacQ (Nov 10, 2010)

Hey Arne,

Picked it up with the crossgrade ... a fantastic deal to get some basic brass for WIVI. A question about the sound, though: It's a little bit ... buzzy? Is there any way to tone that buzz down? Especially I find the French Horns to be harsh, and I can't seem to get that "noble" sound out of them. Do you have any suggestions there?

Thanks,

~Stu


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## Pochflyboy (Nov 12, 2010)

Pretty impressive for the price IMHO


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## Mike Connelly (Nov 17, 2010)

Now if only EVERY library was optimized for wind controller - once you've worked that way, using mod wheel or foot pedal feels downright archaic.


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## noiseboyuk (Nov 17, 2010)

As someone whose experience with wind instruments begins and ends with getting a note out of a Coke bottle, do you think it's really worth me going down this road? I've got so used to a modwheel...


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## Mike Connelly (Nov 17, 2010)

You could always try out a keyboard plus breath controller.


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## Raindog (Nov 18, 2010)

chrisboy @ 18th November 2010 said:


> > As someone whose experience with wind instruments begins and ends with getting a note out of a Coke bottle, do you think it's really worth me going down this road? I've got so used to a modwheel...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Same here. Steep learning curve. Easier than a recorder. And LOTS OF FUN o=< 

The tuba DOES rock. And so do the horn and the flute (to name a few). Grat stuff
Raindog


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