# VSl Dimension Strings - Template Tutorial



## muk (Apr 6, 2015)

*Eh? What’s this all about?*

The deep sampling of VSL’s flagship strings library, the Dimension Strings, presents you with a great flexibility. You can use them in a multitude of ways, and maybe except for the larger than life sound it can be a real workhorse of a strings library. But the sheer wealth of articulations, patches, players – combined with the features of the sample player – can be a little overwhelming when first trying to wrap your head around. And then there are some little nifty tricks, which may not be obvious but which can help in achieving a more streamlined workflow or a nicer sound. For that reasons I thought I’d share what experience I have on the topic. *Saxer* was kind enough to help me out with tips and tricks when I started to build the template. Many of the ideas presented here are either his, or inspired by his setup. A hearty ‘thank you’ for that.

*Preparations*

Here’s what you need to start: 


a cd – no, make that two – with relaxing background music. Don’t ask, just do it.
VSL Dimension Strings, obviously.
Vienna Instruments Pro Player. If you don’t have the pro version I’d recommend that you buy it straight away. Don’t want to? Ok, go ahead with the standard version. You’ll have to skip some of the more refined features of the template, but basically it’ll still work fine.
A reverb of choice. 
Time. Time. Loads of time.
Optional: Vienna Ensemble Pro. I’m working with it for the template, but it’s not essential. You’ll just have to figure out the routing on your own if you don’t have it.

*Let’s start then, shall we?*

The first decision you have to take is the number of players per section that you want. For my purposes 10-8-6-6-4 is best, so I’ll go with that. It is a well-balanced, midsized classical setup. The section sizes of Berlin Strings are comparable (8-6-5-5-4). You can choose a different setup if you want. Just be careful to avoid phasing if you make it larger. If you need late romantic section sizes you may want to use the transposition trick on top of the technique shown below.
18 violins, you may wonder. Where do they come from? Dang, DS includes only 8 players, doesn’t it? Absolutely right. But because we have so many articulations sampled, and each one on each string, we can multiply that number without triggering the same samples. More on that later.
Next decision: how many groups per sections do you want? I’ll go with two. I find that’s a perfect balance between workflow and sonic quality of the results. And for divisi I rarely use more than two groups per section. You could set up each player individually. For me that’s not practical. I won’t play in and then tweak the part for violins 1 10 times anyway. It’s just too time consuming. With two groups I still have the benefit of two takes per section, and it keeps the amount of work manageable.

Enter the matrix
Set up a channel with VI Pro. Name it ‘Vl 1 A (5)’ (the bracketed number is the number of players in that group) or anything you like. Add 12 matrices. In the first matrix we are going to create our legato instrument. I tend to use this articulation when playing in something quickly, so it makes sense to use it as ‘default’ articulation when loading up the template.
1.	Make it a 2x2 matrix.
2.	Fill in the five slots of cell 1 with the articulations shown. Do the same for the two cells named ‘Run’.
3.	Choose speed and velocity to switch between the cells of the matrix. Set the thresholds to your liking.
4.	Tick Velocity crossfade and set the ‘VelX’-slider to the cc you like (I use cc1).






Link to bigger image: http://i61.tinypic.com/35je103.png
Picture 1

In the ‘Port’ cell we are going to load these patches:





Picture 2

Don’t just fill in the regular legato and portamento patches. Really use the ones presented here. Player 1’s legato, for example, will also be used for our second violins section (we have to do that to boost up the number of players. Remember, there’s ‘only’ 8 violin players sampled in DS, but we need 18 ). I spent some time to check that wherever possible no sample is used more than once. So, even if Player 1 is used in Vl 1 subgroup A, and as well in Vl 2 subgroup B, it won’t trigger the same samples even when Vl 1 and Vl 2 play in unison. Because in Vl 1 A he’ll play ‘A_perf-leg_Vib’, but in Vl 2 B ‘G_pef-trill_leg’. Even if a sample is played twice at the same time it will at least be panned differently and with different reverb settings. That and the fact that 16 other samples will be played at the same time make it highly unlikely that you’ll ever have a phasing issue. At least I haven’t so far.
One last trick for this matrix: for the two cells named ‘Run’ we are going to set a more extreme tuning curve. I used a ‘finding tune’ curve as starting point, and then manually pulled the points to more extreme cent-values. 





Picture 3

Now, for the cells called ‘Run’ set these newly created humanization curve with the more extreme values.

Congratulations, your first articulation is ready for prime time. Here you have five violins (Vl 1 subgroup A) playing legato. You can use your modwheel or breath controller for the dynamics, which will trigger and fade trough the appropriate velocity layers. When you hit the keys on your keyboard softly it will automatically trigger a portamento (remember how we chose velocity to switch between the y-axis of the matrix? That’s why). Best of all, if you play quickly, the ‘Run’-cells with the more extreme tuning settings will be triggered. That means that when playing fast passages your strings will automatically play less in tune with each other – just like in a real string section!

*Just a short note*
Before filling the next matrix assign keyswitches to each matrix. I used octave 1 for all sections except the basses. There I used octave 6 so that they don’t overlap the playable range.
In matrix 2 I filled staccato and spiccato. Make a 1x2 matrix. In the upper cell I filled staccato, in the lower cell spiccato. I set again speed to switch between the cells of the matrix. You’ll get staccato when playing slower, spiccato when faster.
It is of little use to have velocity crossfade on short articulations. Instead it is more convenient to control the short articulations with velocity. Hit the keys of your keyboard harder and it triggers louder staccatos. That’s what we want. To achieve this we have to deactivate the velocity crossfade slider. This can’t be done by unticking the ‘Vel.XF’ box because that’s the master XF switch. It would affect all matrices, not just the short notes. Instead look at the slot editor (it’s the middle section on the right side). There’s a tab ‘Edit’. Go there. In the drop down menu ‘Velocity XF’ choose ‘off’ (for the long articulations like legato, sustain etc. it should be set to ‘global’).

It would take too many pictures were I to show which patches I filled in in each cell. So instead I made a video showing just that. As we are not going to boost the numbers of violas, celli, and double basses you can simply use the regular patches there.

https://youtu.be/TgOEtEpBxbU

Wow, in terms of boring videos this one will be hard to beat.

*So many matrices*
With this tutorial already being long as it is there’s no need to go through each and every matrix individually. You can see which articulations I used with which keyswitch in the video. Of course you don’t have to follow this strictly. Customize to your liking. The next matrix worth mentioning is the one with the sustains. Here we have three options: non vibrato, vibrato, progressive vibrato. So I set up a 3x1 matrix. To switch between the cells I used cc3, for the simple reason that it doesn’t get used otherwise in my workflow and was the first cc-number that was free. If you want to trigger a sustain with progressive vibrato, for example, you have to hit the keyswitch F1, and set cc3 to a value above 84. If you are using Cubase you can create an Expression Map to make it even easier for you. Because all the sections of the strings will be set up the same way (except the double basses where the keyswitches will be in octave 6) this won’t be too tedious a task.

The pizzicato-matrix is also worth mentioning. This one is configured to give you a Bartok-pizz. (a pizz with a slapping sound) at the highest velocities.
In the last two matrices there are dynamic patches. Here we don’t only use a keyswitch and cc3 to choose the articulation, but another keyswitch. See that A/B switch below the matrix? With this keyswitch you can choose whether the articulation will be a crescendo or a decrescendo. (Actually this A/B keyswitch can be seen in previous matrices too, but that’s simply laziness on my part. It doesn’t do anything there, but I didn’t bother to deactivate it since it doesn’t interfere with the functionality either. Of actual use it’s only in the last two matrices).

*Sections and groups*
Okay, that’s it for subgroup A of the violin 1 section. Take a moment to gather some strength, you’ll need it. Because now is the moment I’m going to tell you that – and you probably see this one coming – you need to duplicate this setup for subgroup B, and then all the other sections. Sheesh. No matter how you tackle it, it’s going to take some time. You can either duplicate the channel and manually replace every single patch. At least all the matrices will already be setup correctly that way. Or there’s a possible shortcut. It works only in the standalone mode of VI Pro. First save the vl1 subgroup A that we just created as a preset. Open VI Pro in standalone mode. Load the preset, then press Ctrl+Alt+W (on a Mac it’s probably something with that apple key). That should bring up a list with all patches currently loaded. You can choose patches and substitute them as well…
It will go faster as you progress because there are less players per section. The double basses (don’t forget to adjust their keyswitches) I didn’t divide into subgroups. I’m not likely to write divisi for them often (or ever). And I didn’t hear a big difference between one pass and two passes for them, so I went with just one group there. Check that each subgroup responds to one midi channel. Vl 1 A (5) to midi channel 1, Vl 1 B (5) to midi channel 2, Vl 2 A (4) to midi channel 3…

Whew, congratulations for having made it thus far! You have now a pretty sophisticated template for your dimension strings, both in terms of workflow and sound. Now you need to pan each group, add reverb and any other effects you wish. As an aside: DS used close mics for every single player. The raw samples sound very detailed, but also contain a lot of high frequency because of that. You want to push them back into the room with your reverb. Play around until you found the right balance between richness of detail and lushness of the sound for you. If they sound harsh you didn’t push them back enough. If they start to loose detail and begin to sound muddy it’s too far back.
After that, your template is ready for usage!

Here is how it sounds:

[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F199490093&secret_url=false[/flash]

https://soundcloud.com/linos-music/vsl-dimension-strings-vl-1-one-pass
Vl 1 together, one pass


[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F199490264&secret_url=false[/flash]

https://soundcloud.com/linos-music/vsl-dimension-strings-vl-1-two-passes
Vl 1 two passes


[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F199490374&secret_url=false[/flash]

https://soundcloud.com/linos-music/vsl-dimension-strings-celli
Celli

Just gorgeous, isn’t it?

*Sisyphus, oh Sisyphus*
You can stop right here if you want. But there’s one last trick up my sleeve! We are going to make a second template for this. Ouch.
But it’s totally worth it, if you have the stamina and the right reverb, that is. You probably will need a reverb that features visual placement. You can do it with traditional reverb, eq, and panning, but it will be tedious.

In this template we are going to split up all the players to individual channels. This doesn’t take too long if you work from the first template you created. Duplicate Vl 1 A (5) four times. In the first channel delete all patches but those of player 1. In the second channel leave only the patches of player 2 etc. You get the picture. Like in template 1, each subgroup (not each player!) responds to one midi channel. That means that you have to set Vl 1 players 1 o 5 to midi channel 1, Vl 1 players 6 to 10 to midi channel 2…
Make doubly sure to save this template under a new name so you don’t accidentally overwrite the first one you just created!
Then we are grouping the channels together again just like in the former template: each section divided in two subgroups. Create 9 busses. Name them Vl 1 A (5), Vl 1 B (5), Vl 2 A (4) etc. Route each of these busses to the Master Bus. Then route the individual channels into the according bus (Vl 1 player 1 to 5 into Vl 1 A (5), players 6 to 10 into Vl 1 B (5) and so on). In the end it should look like this:





Link to bigger image: http://de.tinypic.com/r/2l9io21/8
Picture 4

There are two advantages to this approach: 1. You can quickly and easily access each individual player should it need be. 2. and more importantly, you can place each single player on the stage individually. Like this:





Picture 5

This needs a lot of processing power, because you need an instance of reverb for every single player (34 in total, or more if you chose bigger section sizes). I use Independence Origami as my reverb, which let me define an individual spot on the stage for each player. I would save myself and my computer the hassle, but to my ears it sounds even better. Listen for yourself:

[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F199490645&secret_url=false[/flash]

https://soundcloud.com/linos-music/vsl-dimension-strings-vl-1-individual-reverb
Vl 1, individual reverb on each player


[flash width=450 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F199490771&secret_url=false[/flash]

https://soundcloud.com/linos-music/dimension-strings-celli-individual-reverb
Celli, individual reverb on each player

Hear how it sounds more spacious, has more depth to it compared to template 1? It has a convincing, three dimensional spatiality that really lets the beautiful strings sounds shine.

If you set up the routing like you seen it in picture 4 both templates will be compatible. You can load up template 1 for sketching or use it if you have to work quickly. It will save a lot of resources. Before bouncing to audio simply switch to template 2 – nothing else will have to be changed because all the routing stays the same.

At long last
That’s it! You should now have two compatible templates for the Dimension Strings. One resource-conserving, yet fully playable and great sounding as a working tool, and another one that’s heavier on your computer but makes no compromises in terms of sound. Best of all, both work exactly the same way and you can switch between them in a matter of seconds.

Of course the templates described here are but one way to configure the Dimension Strings. You can customize it to your own taste. The VI Pro Player and the library itself give you uncountable possibilities. Maybe you want larger section sizes? Try using the transposition trick. Not happy with the set of articulations I chose? Define your own matrices with different articulations. Be creative! If you found other neat tricks that you worked into your own template I’d be glad to hear about them.

I hope this longwinded tutorial was of some use to you. If something is unclear or you have any questions just let me know.


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## DaddyO (Apr 6, 2015)

Thank you so much for sharing this. It really shows the possibilities for the setup of Dimension Strings in VI Pro.


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## amordechai (Apr 6, 2015)

Thank you very much!
Fantastic tutorial.
- A.


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## Saxer (Apr 6, 2015)

nice tutorial, muk!

it's more or less the way i went too 

some differences (for those who are interested): in my template i decided to have extra tracks for short notes. sometimes i double accents in faster legato passages or on phrase endings with short note samples. so i like to have both at the same time. makes 18 tracks for strings but that's ok for me.

as i control dynamic of the 'one-shots' by velocity the modwheel is free to scroll between different note lenght (spicc, stacc, short and long detaché). keeps me from having too many key switches... a question of taste. i'm not a fan of key switches.

meanwhile i started another setup with dimension strings doubled by the orchestral strings. i build it from the ground up but the system is similar. i just replaced one of the players by the orchestral section. and i made some more cells for the legatos selected by 5 velocity-values: low velo for portamento, lo mid velo for non-legato (sustained), hi mid velo for normal legato, high velo for non-vibrato and on 127 there's a sfz. the slot for the normal legato is greater than the others. so it' still good playable and i can adjust the exact articulation i want per editing the velocity later.
but that setup isn't ready up to now... probably i was running out of 'relaxing music cd's'!

dimension strings are very flexible and have by far the best playability for my taste. it's defenitely worth the time it takes to make an individual setup.


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## muk (Apr 7, 2015)

Thank you guys, I'm glad you find it useful.

@Saxer I can imagine that DS sounds great layered with the orchestral strings. I only have the patches that come with VSL SE and SE+, but I'll have to try that. There's a lot you can do with DS and VI Pro. Setting the modwheel to scroll between cells for short articulations is a good idea. It can save some keyswitches if you're setting up more articulations than I did.


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## muk (Apr 9, 2015)

By the way Saxer, have you tried the individual positioning of all the players? I find it's a definite improvement over the grouped reverb.


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## Saxer (Apr 9, 2015)

muk @ 9.4.2015 said:


> By the way Saxer, have you tried the individual positioning of all the players? I find it's a definite improvement over the grouped reverb.


nope, i didn't. maybe i'll give it a try when i set up my slave pc and source all strings out over VEPro. at the moment i have all my vsl's (and others) directly inside of logic tracks and 'room' them over VSS2. so every divisi section get it's own 'early-reflection'-place with a 'glue-all'-tail.


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## eljodon (Apr 10, 2015)

Thanks for sharing! Could you do one with VSL Dimension Brass?LOL!


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## muk (Apr 11, 2015)

You definitely should, Saxer. It's totally worth it. If you are not too busy setting up your new Hollywood Strings template, that is 

eljodon, much as I'd like to I don't have Dimension Brass. So I can't help you there, sorry.


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## pavolbrezina (Apr 11, 2015)

I prefer to double DS with Orchestral strings. Much bigger sound and you can finish the piece before retirement :lol:


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## muk (Apr 12, 2015)

Ha, I love DS precisely for the smaller sound. For late romantic symphonic section sizes theres a wealth of options. For classical/chamber not so much. And I just love the sound of DS on their own.

Do you find DS timeconsuming to program? Odd that you should say so, because I find them to be very playable. Of course they need editing afterwards, but in my experience by trend rather less so than other strings libraries i tried. Except if you'd care to play in every individual player. There I'd agree that it is not practical.


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## just2high (Jun 1, 2015)

Thanks so much for this tutorial, its a great help. I'm having trouble with the replace patch function you're talking about though, it doesn't seem to respond.


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## muk (Jun 1, 2015)

You're welcome. Are you trying it in VI Pro standalone? It only works in standalone mode.


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## just2high (Jun 1, 2015)

Yeah I am using it in stand alone. The Stand Alone VI Pro 2 correct? 

I just posted on the VSL forum as well and Paul said it was working fine for him and I re-installed it and its still not responding.

CTRL+ALT+W right? Doesn't do anything. Searching their forums there is a picture of what is supposed to happen, which looks really handy.

I'm on a PC, Win7 Ult. VI Pro2 build 2.4.13670


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## lowdown (Jun 1, 2015)

Thanks for the tutorial!
Very useful.


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## muk (Jun 1, 2015)

Yes, VI Pro 2 standalone. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+W brings up this window for me:






Really don't know why it doesn't work for you. I hope the guys from VSL can resolve it for you.


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## just2high (Jun 1, 2015)

Okay, I finally figured out what it was.

I'm using VI Pro 2 on a slave computer and I was screen sharing into it. For some reason it doesn't like the CTRL+ALT+W key combo but it takes everything else. I hooked up my keyboard directly to the slave and it works. Try it again through the screen share and it doesnt. Weird.


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## jason.d (Jun 1, 2015)

Wow. Great tutorial, thank you very much! About as professional as a textbook!

Some great techniques here that I can't wait to try. o/~


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## muk (Jun 2, 2015)

Thank you jason, glad it was of help to you.

Good you have figured it out just2high.


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## Zelorkq (Jun 2, 2015)

Absolutely fantastic tutorial!!!

I already set up my Dimension Strings a year ago and it's completely different to this... took me AGES to finish it and the rest of my template (... 'dynamic finish' - I update it every month for tweaks and small reworks) and now I'm thinking of reworking the entire Dimension Strings part :oops: 

muk, you don't have this as a preset that you'd be willing to share? :D


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## muk (Jun 2, 2015)

Well, I can share my Vienna Ensemble viframe, I think that's the easiest way as it contains all section setups. You can download it here:

http://we.tl/Wk7doCQsQl


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## amordechai (Jun 2, 2015)

muk @ 2.6.2015 said:


> Well, I can share my Vienna Ensemble viframe, I think that's the easiest way as it contains all section setups. You can download it here:
> 
> http://we.tl/Wk7doCQsQl



Thank you for sharing!


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## Zelorkq (Jun 2, 2015)

You are awesome!! Thanks!!!! 

Who knows, maybe I'll still change everything harhar but it's perfect for a setup.


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## muk (Jun 2, 2015)

By the way, as I'm rather sensitive about tuning I kept the humanization on the lower side. You can get a slightly lusher sound by increasing the tuning variations on some of the players. Yet another thing you can set to taste.


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## pol (Jul 16, 2015)

Hello,
Could you please re upload your vienna ensemble viframe.
Thank you.


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## muk (Jul 17, 2015)

Late to the party?  Here you go:

http://we.tl/3awpYg8YrX

It is a good idea to follow through my tutorial and set it up yourself though. Yes, it takes some time. But you'll learn a lot about how your strings and VI Pro works, and you can customize everything to your liking.


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## pol (Jul 17, 2015)

Thank you so much.
I've already started your tutorial and you're right i've learned a lot of things about VI pro.


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## muk (Jul 17, 2015)

You're welcome. Good to hear it was of use to you.


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## JimVMusic (Aug 11, 2015)

muk said:


> Late to the party?  Here you go:
> 
> http://we.tl/3awpYg8YrX
> 
> It is a good idea to follow through my tutorial and set it up yourself though. Yes, it takes some time. But you'll learn a lot about how your strings and VI Pro works, and you can customize everything to your liking.


Thanks for the great tutorial and for uploading your template. Both really helped me get DS into my template. All the best!


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## muziksculp (Aug 15, 2015)

Hi muk,

Many Thanks for your VSL Dim-Strings tutorial.

I haven't gone through it in detail yet, but I appreciate your time, and effort in posting this very valuable tutorial.

Interestingly, I was trying to find a Youtube video tutorial showing the various ways one can work with Dim-Strings, showing a clear, step-by-step, setting things up, how to manage using the number of players, i.e. (via using multiple Slots in one VI Instance), or (Have multiple Instances of VI-Pro, loaded up with one Player in each VI-Pro Slot), but there seems to be very little on this on Youtube, mostly the VSL official videos of Paul.

It would be very helpful if there were some additional Youtube video tutorials that focus on the various ways to use, and setup VSL Dim-Strings. Showing the various options, and ways to use them, ...etc. Could I have missed some good videos on this topic ?

I might have some questions about your tutorial, after i read, and digest all the info., so I might post them here.

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## muk (Aug 16, 2015)

Hey muziksculp

Except from the official VSL tutorial videos there wasn't much that I could find about the Dimension Strings. That's partly why I took the time to write this tutorial. So, unfortunately I don't have links to other helpful resources.
If you have any questions about the tutorial or Dimension Strings in general don't hesitate to ask.


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## muziksculp (Aug 16, 2015)

muk said:


> Hey muziksculp
> 
> Except from the official VSL tutorial videos there wasn't much that I could find about the Dimension Strings. That's partly why I took the time to write this tutorial. So, unfortunately I don't have links to other helpful resources.
> If you have any questions about the tutorial or Dimension Strings in general don't hesitate to ask.



Hi muk,

Thanks for the feedback.

Again, I'm Glad, and very Thankful, that you posted this tutorial, since there are a very limited amount of online resources regarding working with VSL's Dim-Strings. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## muk (Sep 1, 2015)

Good to hear that it was of help. Here is another download-link for my viframe should anybody have missed to grab it:

http://we.tl/UUtfTkug4T


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## muk (Oct 12, 2015)

If anybody is interested in a somewhat more elaborate mockup using this template, you can listen here:

http://vi-control.net/community/threads/händel-water-music-mockup.49085/


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## muk (Nov 25, 2015)

After some further tweaks and refinements the template sounds like this now:



I really love the playability and sound, it's a lot of fun to work with it. If anybody is interested and I find the time I may work these tweaks into the tutorial guide.


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## Christof (Nov 25, 2015)

muk said:


> After some further tweaks and refinements the template sounds like this now:
> 
> 
> 
> I really love the playability and sound, it's a lot of fun to work with it. If anybody is interested and I find the time I may work these tweaks into the tutorial guide.



This sounds quite strange to my ears, i have played this piece many times in an orchestra.Maybe it is the lack of vibrato, but I miss the warm emotional sound, especially for Schubert.To me it sounds like a small chamber orchestra trying to play in a baroque manner.
But I know how hard it is to do such a mockup.Bravo anyway!


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## muk (Nov 25, 2015)

Interesting perspective Christof. I find it very transparent and modern, in contrast to the succulent, vibrato heavy 'romantic' sound that for example Karajan favoured. Soundwise (though not for the tempo) I was more oriented towards Mackerass this time, and I quite like that sound for a Schubert fifth. Give Norrington's recording a listen, after that this mockup will sound really lush in comparison


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## muk (Dec 28, 2015)

Due to recent request here is a new link to the viframe:

http://we.tl/WH3WYBwEKv


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## Virgil (Jan 14, 2016)

I've missed it again... :-(
Is there any chance of you sharing it again? This seems to be so incredibly useful to many people. Being a total VSL beginner myself I'm sure I could learn a lot, too.


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## Ion (Jan 14, 2016)

Hi Muk, 

Thank you so very much for the tutorial, this is seriously awesome and super helpful to a DS nub like me. I just finished setting up 1st Violins and it took a long looonnng time with multiple CDs of relaxing music. Is there a chance you could please repost the viframe again, I would greatly appreciate it


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## muk (Jan 17, 2016)

Hey guys, here you go:

http://we.tl/popfwLYRRO

Let me know if you have any questions.


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## Virgil (Jan 17, 2016)

Thank you so much for the tutorial and for sharing your viframe, muk!


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## Zelorkq (Jan 20, 2016)

What I'm still missing is Vibrato control, so additionally I added an extra NV-Vib patch with crossfading for the sustains (loading the two patches in one slot and enabling the XFade button between the two). Problem with this approach is that the voice count doubles (from 1 billion to 2 billion). I've only done this to the Sustains as there doesn't seem to be an easy way to make this available for Legato with this setup, because they already use espressivo and vibrato patches in combination.
Additionally I also split the Double Basses into 2 players each. It might only occur seldom, but I prefer having them split just as well.


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## Saxer (Jan 20, 2016)

I have a little velocity window (about 30 to 35 above the portamentos) where I can blend non-vib to vib sustains. I don't need it often so it's ok that I can only reach it by editing the velo-value.
I also have a version where the "A"-sections are doubled with VSL Orchestral strings to beef up the section size.

I really would love annother heavy vibrato layer! Please VSL!


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## Robert Cote (Jan 21, 2016)

Saxer said:


> I really would love annother heavy vibrato layer! Please VSL!



+1!


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## muk (Jan 22, 2016)

Nice addition Zelorkq. It's a good idea to make the non vibrato sustain crossfadeable to the vibrato sustain. I don't use them very often, and if I do I usually work with the progressive vibrato patch. But for a bit more control your approach is definitely good.


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## holywilly (Jun 9, 2016)

May I request the vienna ensemble viframe for dimension string once again? Please.


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## muk (Jun 10, 2016)

Here's a new link:

https://we.tl/G51RjMYNhL


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## holywilly (Jun 10, 2016)

Many thanks!


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## esencia (Aug 28, 2016)

+1
the link is not working anymore :S
thanks!


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## artomatic (Sep 5, 2016)

Would appreciate an updated link as well. Thanks, muk! Great tutorial!!


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## muk (Sep 6, 2016)

Ok, one more time. But as written, I really recommend taking the time to set it all up the way YOU want it to have instead of using my viframe:

https://we.tl/nBz1jsd7e4


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## artomatic (Sep 6, 2016)

Understood. Just wanted an idea. Noob here and I do appreciate this. Thanks!


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## molemac (Sep 19, 2016)

artomatic said:


> Understood. Just wanted an idea. Noob here and I do appreciate this. Thanks!


Sorry to be a pain but another late to the party here . can you please bear to upload a new link . Thanks


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## molemac (Sep 19, 2016)

molemac said:


> Sorry to be a pain but another late to the party here . can you please bear to upload a new link . Thanks


Also a quick question. why dont you use Mir pro or 24 for positioning ?


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## muk (Sep 19, 2016)

Even though MIR is convenient to use I didn't feel the need to switch from my current setup. My setup allows to place individual instruments on stage, just like MIR. And I preferred the results over what i could achieve with the MIR-demo. So I haven't bought it. But if you have it, by all means you can use it with the template specified here. It should work very well.


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## molemac (Sep 19, 2016)

muk said:


> Even though MIR is convenient to use I didn't feel the need to switch from my current setup. My setup allows to place individual instruments on stage, just like MIR. And I preferred the results over what i could achieve with the MIR-demo. So I haven't bought it. But if you have it, by all means you can use it with the template specified here. It should work very well.


Cool Ill try it , can I have a link please, the others have run out.


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## wcreed51 (Sep 19, 2016)

I don't see Origami on the Magix website


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## muk (Sep 19, 2016)

It is included in their sampler called 'Independence':

http://www.magix-audio.com/ch/independence/funktionen/

There used to be a free version as well.


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## molemac (Sep 19, 2016)

muk said:


> It is included in their sampler called 'Independence':
> 
> http://www.magix-audio.com/ch/independence/funktionen/
> 
> There used to be a free version as well.


_ have all 3 , origami, vss2 and Mir pro so will do a test . Meantime would love to get your link . Thanks _


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## muk (Sep 20, 2016)

https://we.tl/FeUgZorKtt


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## dfhage (Apr 27, 2017)

Really late to the party now, any chance I can get another download link ?

Many thanks

Dave


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## Dewdman42 (Apr 11, 2019)

Great Tutorial! The template download link has expired, anyone have the final version of it handy to share?


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## Pixelpoet1985 (Apr 12, 2019)

I'm interested in the files, too.


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## cug (Dec 25, 2019)

muk said:


> *Eh? What’s this all about?*
> 
> ...For that reasons I thought I’d share what experience I have on the topic. *Saxer* was kind enough to help me out with tips and tricks when I started to build the template. Many of the ideas presented here are either his, or inspired by his setup. A hearty ‘thank you’ for that.
> 
> ...


Hi @muk, thanks for the detailed instructions. I wonder if this could be posted somewhere permanently with graphics. Maybe VSL would be interested in hosting the tutorial on their forum with links and downloadable templates, viframes, etc. Otherwise, perhaps Google Drive might be better for long term availability. Apparently We Transfer is only good for a week or so whereas these useful posts will hopefully live for many years in this forum. Glad to help you find a long term solution if you could post the template again. 

Thanks, 
Carlos Garza


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## muk (Dec 26, 2019)

Thank you for the offer Carlos. It's a pity the pictures have gone. I have sold Dimension Strings, so unfortunately I can't reupload neither the pictures nor the viframe. If anybody else wants to recreate the images I'd certainly help.


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## holywilly (Dec 26, 2019)

cug said:


> Hi @muk, thanks for the detailed instructions. I wonder if this could be posted somewhere permanently with graphics. Maybe VSL would be interested in hosting the tutorial on their forum with links and downloadable templates, viframes, etc. Otherwise, perhaps Google Drive might be better for long term availability. Apparently We Transfer is only good for a week or so whereas these useful posts will hopefully live for many years in this forum. Glad to help you find a long term solution if you could post the template again.
> 
> Thanks,
> Carlos Garza



I used @muk ‘s method to create my own Dimension Strings and still use them in my template, pm me with your email address and I will send you my DS presets.


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## stigc56 (Dec 26, 2019)

muk said:


> Thank you for the offer Carlos. It's a pity the pictures have gone. I have sold Dimension Strings, so unfortunately I can't reupload neither the pictures nor the viframe. If anybody else wants to recreate the images I'd certainly help.


Out of curiosity let me ask you what library replaced Dimension Strings?


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## muk (Dec 26, 2019)

stigc56 said:


> Out of curiosity let me ask you what library replaced Dimension Strings?



No simple answer. For playability, I haven't found another strings library that comes close. The way Dimension Strings reacts to cc changes felt very natural to me. But I was never quite happy with the sound signature. It is a kind of tv music sound, very direct and somehow a little steely. It's not a sound I have much use for. This and VSL's dongle policy made me sell the library. 

Now I am using Light & Sound Chamber Strings for the classical chamber strings sound. Spitfire Chamber Strings for the shorts, or if I need more articulations than Light & Sound has. The library I use the most at the moment is Cinematic Studio Strings though. Fantastic library that. And completely different sound signature than Dimension Strings.

So the closest substitute would be Light & Sound Chamber Strings. It doesn't offer the articulations nor the flexibility of Dimension Strings, but I prefer its sound. When I need more depth of articulations then it's SCS. But the sound signature I am using the most at the moment is CSS, so not chamber strings at all.


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