# OrchestralTools - THE Timpani INTRO SPECIAL ends today!



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 20, 2013)

Hey Guys,

after the release of Expansion A and the BWW 1.5 update, THE Timpani is released today!

The Timpani is available exclusively at OrchestralTools:
http://www.orchestraltools.com/page10/index.php

*Here some facts:*
- True Damping Control let you dampen the timpani on a very natural way, which is great especially on key- or thematic transitions!

- Single hits with up to 10 RRs and 7 velocities

- 4 different mallets (soft, normal, hard and baroque)

- Recorded at Teldex Berlin in its natural position

- 3 mic positions

- Tempo synced 4th, 8th, 16th and 32nd repetitions

- Real dynamics (crescendos and diminuendos in several lengths)


*New: Dark Kingdom - by Hendrik Schwarzer*
[mp3]http://www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/dark_kingdom.mp3[/mp3]

Our friend Sascha Knorr made a composition screencast about his official demo "Timpani Escapades" and how he used the library. Thanks to Sascha for his secret insights.

*Composition Screencast:*
http://youtu.be/Ry6-0Iu6dRo

*Timpani Escapades - by Sascha Knorr:*
[mp3]http://www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/timpani_escapades.mp3[/mp3]

Introduction price (until July 10th) will be € 99.- / € 117.80 (EU customers)

More information on *orchestraltools.com* and later on this thread.

All the best,
Hendrik


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## Nathanael Iversen (Jun 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani (composition screencast)*

Very nice! Timpani are such wonderful instruments!


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## playz123 (Jun 20, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani (composition screencast)*

A much anticipated and long awaited release, and the library sounds superb. I'll definitely be purchasing this...as soon as credit card payment options are made available (sorry; couldn't resist that)  Sascha's video was also a treat to watch and most informative. He did a great job of demoing timpani while keeping it all very musical at the same time. Brilliant!

I assume the damping can be controlled or turned on and off by an assignable MIDI CC?? It will be very useful to be able to control damping as much or as little as required.


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## OT_Tobias (Jun 21, 2013)

Hi Frank,

yes, the damping can be controlled via CC and also switched off/on with a button. It works amazingly well 
To turn damping off completely, just set the volume to zero.
CC64 Pedal down lets the timpani ring out, pedal up enables damping/regular release, depending on the setting.
In a future update we are looking into making the on/off switch automatable, too. Right now this is not possible because Kontakt does not allow for automation of buttons (so we need to replace it).

Cheers

Tobias

EDIT


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## Chriss Ons (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani (composition screencast)*

I have purchased all OT libraries so far and not a single one disappoints. 
With this one, however, a major selling point (for me at least) was the inclusion of the (four) different mallet types. I am rather astonished that (according to the articulations list on the product page) the cresc/dim rolls are available for the _medium mallets only_. While I realize that cost-reducing choices need to be made, I wonder why these aren't offered for at least the Baroque mallets, as well?


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## shakuman (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani (composition screencast)*

Awesome! =o


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani (composition screencast)*

Thanks guys for your comments!

I just made a short composition, featuring the Timpani pretty prominent.
Hope you like it...

Dark Kingdom
[mp3]http://www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/dark_kingdom.mp3[/mp3]

Best,
Hendrik

PS: We are pretty close to the target now. Tobias just finished the manual, the full articulation pdf will be ready later today.


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## Echoes in the Attic (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*

Can rolls be controlled by modwheel for crescendo etc.?


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*

sure, we´ve recorded a modwheel controllable rolls patch as well :D


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## StrezovSampling (Jun 21, 2013)

I had the pleasure to play with this beauty on NAMM. Good luck, Hendrick and gang! 

All the best from Bulgaria,
George


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## BenG (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani (composition screencast)*



Hendrik-Schwarzer @ Fri Jun 21 said:


> Thanks guys for your comments!
> 
> I just made a short composition, featuring the Timpani pretty prominent.
> Hope you like it...
> ...



Wow, amazing piece!! Really enjoyed it and the timpani sounds great!


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 21, 2013)

Thanks George and BenG!

BTW George, really love what you´ve done with StormChoir.

Best, Hendrik


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## matolen (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*

Will this do glissandos?


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## MarkS_Comp (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani (composition screencast)*



Hendrik-Schwarzer @ Fri Jun 21 said:


> Thanks guys for your comments!
> 
> I just made a short composition, featuring the Timpani pretty prominent.
> Hope you like it...
> ...



WOW - awesome peice. Sounds real.... save for the tymp, those were real players, right?


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*

We haven´t made glisses sofar.

@MarkS_Comp: It´s all samples. Glad you like it  

Best,
Hendrik


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## MarkS_Comp (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*



Hendrik-Schwarzer @ Fri Jun 21 said:


> We haven´t made glisses sofar.
> 
> @MarkS_Comp: It´s all samples. Glad you like it
> 
> ...



Really? Wow. Could you let us on which libraries were used - esp the brass? Thank you!


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## noxtenebrae17 (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*



MarkS_Comp @ Fri Jun 21 said:


> Hendrik-Schwarzer @ Fri Jun 21 said:
> 
> 
> > We haven´t made glisses sofar.
> ...



+1

I have a feeling the brass is a private library. But boy, if that's a future Berlin Brass, I would pick it up in a heartbeat! Sounds fantastic! (as does the timpani. Congrats Hendrik!)


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## EastWest Lurker (Jun 21, 2013)

I have heard other timpani libraries that sound almost as good as this but the level of control it provides is just sick.

Congrats Hendrik and your team!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jun 21, 2013)

Excellent, and excellent demo piece.


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## Steve Steele (Jun 21, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*

Very nice Hendrik! I will be picking this up!


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 23, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*



noxtenebrae17 @ 21st June said:


> I have a feeling the brass is a private library. But boy, if that's a future Berlin Brass, I would pick it up in a heartbeat! Sounds fantastic! (as does the timpani. Congrats Hendrik!)



Thank you guys! It´s indeed a custom library project recorded at Teldex some time ago. But for me it was also a test to find out how it sounds in that room and to get some experiences in brass sampling for the later Berlin Brass production.

Here is the full articulation chart of The Timpani. We really took care about the micing to avoid any kind of bad resonances or an unbalanced timbre. That was the most important advantage for us to get the timpani later as good as possible into the orchestral context and your mix.

http://orchestraltools.com/downloads/the_timpani_articulations.pdf (http://orchestraltools.com/downloads/th ... ations.pdf)

All the best,
Hendrik


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## Steve Steele (Jun 23, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*

Count me in! I've been needing a Tympani only lib. I wouldn't mind some simple head scrapes/fx. But this looks great. That photo in the manual says it all! Looking forward to good playability. 

Need a deposit to cover mastering or anything? 

Steve


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## BenG (Jun 23, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*

Berlin Brass?!?! Please take my money already


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani ("Dark Kingdom" Demo added)*

Hey Guys,

we´re pretty happy to announce that "The Timpani" is released today!
The library can be downloaded directly after purchasing.

We have an introduction offer for you until July 10th, where you can get The Timpani for *€ 99.- (outside EU orders) instead of €125.-* (for EU customers: €117.80 istead of €149.-).

*The Timpani product site:*
http://www.orchestraltools.com/page10/index.php

All the best,
Hendrik


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## vrocko (Jun 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

Great Timing, downloading now.

Wow the Continuata downloader is screaming fast too.


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 24, 2013)

Great to hear


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## Enyak (Jun 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

The thought of a thorough Berlin Brass lib in the style of BWW - that's quite something!


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

My dream is a full Teldex Orchestra at my fingertips :D


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## Enyak (Jun 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

Hope I am not derailing this Timpani thread, but...

A Berlin brass lib would almost have to be even bigger (in terms of amount of samples) than BWW: Recording ensembles for all instruments is a must, since we can't properly simulate the ensemble brass sound with solo instruments yet. (Why not? Damn you technology.)

However for choir writing you really also want smaller sizes since now the large ensemble patches are less than ideal.

A tough library to do properly... It almost sounds like you'd want to do 2 1/2 libs. 
- Ensemble Brass
- Solo Brass
- Solo Bass Brass Expansion


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## vrocko (Jun 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

First off the sound is amazing and so easy to play all dynamics. 

In a post above you mentioned that the damping control can be turned off via CC, while I can set the release level to a CC, I can't seem to set it to turn on or off. I have to check the box manually, is this normal or am I missing something?

Thank you in advance for the help.


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## Ganvai (Jun 24, 2013)

The demos are all samples? 

F***. Does anyone want my pc, I'm goign back to kindergarten playing in the sandbox :lol:

This Timpani sounds great guys. Thank you Hendrik and team.


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## playz123 (Jun 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

Since currently you only accept payment via PayPal, will the introductory offers for the BWW extension and for Timpani be extended until such time as you offer a payment by credit card option?


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## playz123 (Jun 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*



vrocko @ Mon Jun 24 said:


> In a post above you mentioned that the damping control can be turned off via CC, while I can set the release level to a CC, I can't seem to set it to turn on or off. I have to check the box manually, is this normal or am I missing something?



That was one of the reasons I posted a question originally (see above). I noted in the video that the mouse was used to turn damping on and off, and wondered if that could also be done by MIDI CC. I wasn't referring to only the release level. In other words your question and mine remain valid.


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## benmrx (Jun 24, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

Timpani...... Yes. 


Berlin Brass...?!?!?!?! FU(K yes!!


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## vrocko (Jun 25, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*



playz123 @ Mon Jun 24 said:


> That was one of the reasons I posted a question originally (see above). I noted in the video that the mouse was used to turn damping on and off, and wondered if that could also be done by MIDI CC. I wasn't referring to only the release level. In other words your question and mine remain valid.



I got an email from Tobias about automating the damper on off with a CC, as of now you are not able to assign a CC to turn it ON/OFF but they are working on it for the next update. A workaround that works great and sounds very natural is to hold the sustain pedal down for ringing and as soon as you let go it dampens.


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## synergy543 (Jun 26, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

Hendrick - Great sound (and totally killer demo too!) - Congratulations.

As it is right now, The Timpani has many different patches that can be loaded into Kontakt. However, do you have plans to combine these into a single playable patch? For example, it would seem that one patch could contain soft, normal and impact and allow you to switch between them by either crossfading or keyswitching. This would seem like a desirable addition. Please consider adding this. 

In the meantime, can you tell me how you are using the existing patches? Yes, I read the fine manual. Do you have several different patches each on a different channel? (The channels really add up fast when all instruments require multiple channels) I'm trying to understand the best work flow. 

Well, thanks for the great sounding instruments!


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 26, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*



vrocko @ 24th June said:


> In a post above you mentioned that the damping control can be turned off via CC, while I can set the release level to a CC, I can't seem to set it to turn on or off. I have to check the box manually, is this normal or am I missing something?
> Thank you in advance for the help.



Hi vrocko, sorry for confusion! Just updated the script and it should work now, that you can activate or deactivate the damping control via CC.
Please just re-download the "timpani_instrument_files.zip" via the manual download links and unpack it into the timpani folder.
All new customers should get the new files automatically now.

@synergy543: Thank you so much! To answer your question, I never use keyswitches or combined patches. We really took care about the natural volume balance between all the different patches and it is pretty easy to move specific notes from one track to another. Using different tracks for different articulations is the most flexible way for me (I know I don´t share this opinion with many users here  ).

Best, Hendrik


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## vrocko (Jun 26, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

Thanks Hendrik, I just downloaded and it work great.

Tobias was very helpful earlier, he recommended using the sustain pedal and I am really liking that approach as well. Now with the option to control via CC makes even more functional.


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## playz123 (Jun 26, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

Okay, I'll try posting my question to OT one more time. 


"Since currently you only accept payment via PayPal, will the introductory offers for the BWW extension and for Timpani be extended until such time as you offer a 'payment by credit card only' option?"

Thanks.


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## wcreed51 (Jun 26, 2013)

Why not just setup a Paypal account?


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## Igor (Jun 26, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

It's pretty good. But there are definitely some issues...

1.) pitch bend control doesn't appear to work on it. Kind of annoying. I prefer to write in my own pitch-bend rolls than use pre-existing ones.

2.) there appears to be some weird phasing happening when you play single-hits quickly from note to note and don't dampen.

3.) I can actually hear some talking on the stage at the end of one of the 1/4 note crescendos (or maybe half note... can't remember). I think it was on the low E. Not sure.


Anyway, pretty good product. But not quite there yet. I'd definitely want the pitch-bend implementation to happen soon, or some instruction on how to implement it myself in the kontakt patch from within.

Congrats on a nice sound.


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## playz123 (Jun 26, 2013)

wcreed51 @ Wed Jun 26 said:


> Why not just setup a Paypal account?




http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32086


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## Igor (Jun 26, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

nm about the pitch bend. Figured out how to implement it myself. Just go into the Source Modulator, and make sure you've selected all Groups.
cheers.

(still surprised this instrument was released without implementing this simple feature.  seems pretty basic for a Timp virtual instrument.)


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## Echoes in the Attic (Jun 26, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

Is there a patch list or a user manual anywhere to look at? I'm happy to have mallets in different instrument patches, but I like as much as possible otherwise to be included in each patch, like articulations.

thanks


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## synergy543 (Jun 26, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*



Hendrik-Schwarzer @ Wed Jun 26 said:


> @synergy543: Thank you so much! To answer your question, I never use keyswitches or combined patches. We really took care about the natural volume balance between all the different patches and it is pretty easy to move specific notes from one track to another. Using different tracks for different articulations is the most flexible way for me (I know I don´t share this opinion with many users here  ).
> 
> Best, Hendrik


Hendrik, as other users are also requesting this, why can't we have it both ways? This would be a great option to have that would add tremendous value for many Timpani users.


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jun 26, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

Thanks guys. We can think about that for the next 1.1 update.


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## lucky909091 (Jun 27, 2013)

This is really wonderful.

The demos are incredible. Hendrik, this is so much work and your compositions are really good.

And Sascha Knorr is the "hero of demoing". His compositions to present VSTis are always fantastic.


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## Echoes in the Attic (Jun 27, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*

I'm on board with different patches for different mallets but I have one important question: Is it possible to play the hits at the same time as rolls and flams? I find it very important to have rolls available at the same time as hits, even if they are in different patches but over a different key range, then at least you can load a multi and play them together. That's not ideal because then you have to change the microphone settings in both simultaneously to keep them in the same place.

Is this possible to have access simultaneously to rolls and hits?

thanks


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## Echoes in the Attic (Jun 27, 2013)

*Re: OrchestralTools - THE Timpani RELEASED!*



Sascha Knorr @ Thu Jun 27 said:


> Hey Echoes,
> 
> the keyranges for rolls and hits are layed out the same. With the hits you also have the right hand of course (2octaves above the left hand). So there should be no problem to play them together. Actually exactly this is one of the reasons, why Keyswitch patches are so inflexible... You cannot layer articulations, you cannot easily drag the parts arround the articulations, you always have to remember keyswtiches for every library... disadvantages over disadvantage and only one advantage: I have to load only one patch. When you have everything separated, the inital setup takes longer, but after that everything goes faster and easier - at least in my experience.



I agree, I'm not that into keyswitches. But full use of sustain pedal, cc's, lots of keys etc. are important.

I'm confused by the fact that the rolls and hits are over the same keyrange, then wouldn't you be triggering them at the same time always? Can you change the keyrange so they don't overlap? That's what I mean by being able to play them together. In the same keyboard setup but not triggering them both at the same time, that would be useless.

cheers


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jul 10, 2013)

Hey Guys, 
last chance to get THE Timpani at the introductory price for just 99.- Euro.
Special will end today.

Best, Hendrik


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