# Orchestral tools announces soloists series / nocturne violin released



## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jul 27, 2015)

Hey Guys,

we're proud to announce the introduction of Orchestral Tools' Soloists Series.
A series of beautiful sounds from selected artists from Berlin which we captured with a solo-style dynamic range and a variety of lyrical expressions.

What started with the Soloists for Berlin Woodwinds will now form the basis which we'll expand with additional instruments and newly developed techniques. The former Soloists Expansions will now be part of the new Soloists Series.

Because we recorded all these beauties in the Teldex Solo Booth, they will perfectly fit to the Berlin Series. The specific acoustic properties of this room lead to a more intimate and direct sound to enable you to place your Solo Instruments as close ups in front of the orchestra.

The Nocturne Violin will be the first Solo Strings installment of this Series and will offer a depth of expression and detail you never heard before. Months of development and test recordings led us to new aproaches in legato and articulation sampling and with CAPSULE this instrument will be playable in a very intuitive way.

Each Soloists Collection offers a very unique character, because we recorded each of them with a specific sound and expression in mind.







The following Collections will be released over the following months:

Nocturne Violin

Nocturne Cello

Virtuoso Violin

You can check the production status of the libraries in our Observatory:
http://www.orchestraltools.com/observatory/index.html

The following Collections will be part of the Soloists Series soon:

Woodwinds I (former BWW EXP B)

Woodwinds II (former BWW EXP C)


*A new screencast about the upcoming Nocturne Violin:*



*Remembering* - a demo composition to give you an inside into the sounds and expressions of the Orchestral Tools Nocturne Violin.




We have prepared two short tech demos to show the Nocturne Violin in an isolated fashion.

http://www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/nocturne_violin_tech_demo1.mp3 (www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/nocturne_violin_tech_demo1.mp3)

http://www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/nocturne_violin_tech_demo2.mp3 (www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/nocturne_violin_tech_demo2.mp3)

Here is a new demo by Sascha Knorr, showing the Nocturne Violin in a more hybrid and modern context. It blends really well with Berlin Strings here, as well as with all of the synth instruments going on.



Here a new demo by Benny Oschmann, showing the Nocturne Violin playing a more agile virtuoso style.



Here is a new demo composition by Benjamin Botkin, showing the Nocturne Violin in a beautiful, romantic soundtrack context.


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## JW (Jul 27, 2015)

Great news!! Awesome! Looking forward to this!


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## muziksculp (Jul 27, 2015)

Hi Hendrik,

Thanks for the update info. regarding your upcoming soloist line. 

I'm happy to see you are making a lot of progress in your library development, and look forward to purchasing a good number of your libraries in the near future.

Q. Have you considered doing a _Bundle Discount offer_ ? I think that will be very cool.

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## constaneum (Jul 27, 2015)

Been looking forward to this for quite some time. Soloist wise, there's no Viola & Bass? Just curious. What's the difference between Nocturne & Virtuoso Violin ? Kinda curious. Oh yeah, there's some typo in your observatory. Soloist II is suppose to be Nocturne Cello but your product title is still named as "Soloist II : Nocturne Violin". =D


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## Mahlon (Jul 29, 2015)

Great news!


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## FriFlo (Jul 29, 2015)

constaneum said:


> Been looking forward to this for quite some time. Soloist wise, there's no Viola & Bass? Just curious. What's the difference between Nocturne & Virtuoso Violin ? Kinda curious. Oh yeah, there's some typo in your observatory. Soloist II is suppose to be Nocturne Cello but your product title is still named as "Soloist II : Nocturne Violin". =D


I suppose, Nocturn will be a more lyrical version of legato and other articulations, that go well with this kind of playing (smooth staccatos and portato), while virtuoso sounds to me like an agile legato and spiccatos/staccatos that go all the way up to very harsh sounding. Just guessing, but the names certainly suggest that!


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## wpc982 (Jul 29, 2015)

I hope they end up calling it "solo violin" followed by "solo viola" and "solo 'cello"!. Too much of all the hyped names, reminds me of certain makers of dramatic names (from whom I will never buy anything again)


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## Zhao Shen (Jul 29, 2015)

Ooooo interested to see how this turns out!


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## constaneum (Jul 29, 2015)

Hopefully by lyrical, it doesnt mean that it won't be able to do slightly agile melody lines. It's mentioned that Virtuoso is slightly more concerto sounding. Since Nocturne is already in beta status, i'm so eager to looking forward to the demos soon. Wonder what articulations are offered. Hehehe


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jul 30, 2015)

Hey Guys, thanks for all the great feedback.

There will be two different stylistic directions for our upcoming Solo Violins which differ in sound and expression. The Nocturne Violin is conceptualized with a lyrical and emotive Solo Violin sound with lots of different expressions and legato types.
The Virtuoso Violin will have a more violin concerto character instead with a dedicated dynamic range and sound. So those names are not chosen just to sound nice, but for a contentual reason.

Anyway you´ll be able to perform both Solo Violins in slow as well as very quick and agile passages convincingly. The difference between both Solo Violins is more related to sound and expression. To be honest these two styles differ so much that we simply does´nt wanted to make a compromise between them by trying to merge them into one instrument.

Creating a Solo Violin is really another game as there are so much details you have to build into a playable instrument. We´re just working on a video where the new sampling approach will be explained.

Best,
Hendrik


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## constaneum (Jul 30, 2015)

Looking forward to the video on the explanation. =D


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jul 31, 2015)

There is a new Video. We talked about the concept and the ideas of the upcoming Nocturne Violin.



More infos and demos soon.

Best,
Hendrik


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## FriFlo (Jul 31, 2015)

Sounds good! Hope You will Release ist soon, have a good price, possibly a solo strings bundle and I am in! Now, pease start recording those brass modules! I really need some proper brass equvalent to my Berlin strings!


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## Jonathan Moray (Jul 31, 2015)

I think the concept, as with the solo woodwinds, is great. In my opinion you don't need a bunch of dynamic layers for solo instruments. With some smart EQing and some convolution magic you can definitely get good results.

One thing I really miss in most string libraries is same note legato repetition (re-bowing?), with a least a couple of RRs. I want to be able to control when the player re-bows myself. Most libraries have bake in re-bowing which sometimes forces me to write music that fits the library instead of the other way around.

I have no idea if this is something you're planning on doing, but I would love to see it in the library. Even if you're not planning on doing this I still believe this series will be some of the best solo instruments available at the moment.


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## FriFlo (Jul 31, 2015)

Jonathan Moray said:


> I think the concept, as with the solo woodwinds, is great. In my opinion you don't need a bunch of dynamic layers for solo instruments. With some smart EQing and some convolution magic you can definitely get good results.
> 
> One thing I really miss in most string libraries is same note legato repetition (re-bowing?), with a least a couple of RRs. I want to be able to control when the player re-bows myself. Most libraries have bake in re-bowing which sometimes forces me to write music that fits the library instead of the other way around.
> 
> I have no idea if this is something you're planning on doing, but I would love to see it in the library. Even if you're not planning on doing this I still believe this series will be some of the best solo instruments available at the moment.


Actually, the only way to have flexible rebowing sound good would be to record different tempi and time stretch the tempi in between. Also, there are different ways to do it, that sound quite unique. It is impossible to record a sustain and a rebow-legato of the same note and expect that to sound really natural. This kind of works better with ensemble strings, but with a dry soloist, you will hear something odd. I think, in this case, the 8dio approach yields the best results for soloists.


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jul 31, 2015)

Since Berlin Strings legato repetitions or rebowing on the same note is absolutely standard.
Our solo woodwinds and the Nocturne Violin have that as well.


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## prodigalson (Jul 31, 2015)

very interesting. definitely looking forward to hearing this.

Is the music in the video nocturne violin??


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## muziksculp (Jul 31, 2015)

How does a violinist play a 'same note legato repetition' ? I'm a bit confused regarding what this translates to ?

If it is re-bowing of the same note, do you mean bowing the same note several times, without playing it detache, i.e the bow stays on the string, so you don't here the bow attack with every repetition ? i.e. just slowing down the bowing action, in the same direction, then speeding up, multiple time, to get a legato repeated note feel ? if this is not what it means, can you explain it in terms of violin playing technique ?


Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Jul 31, 2015)

no, there is a rebowing (detaché) which will be triggered if you play the same note again.


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## muziksculp (Jul 31, 2015)

Hendrik-Schwarzer said:


> no, there is a rebowing (detaché) which will be triggered if you play the same note again.



Hi Hendrik,

OK, I understand a Detache - Rebowing, which does not make it Legato. Correct ?


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## Jonathan Moray (Aug 1, 2015)

@muziksculp, sorry if I confused you, my terms might not be correct, I'm not a Violinist. That's why I put the "?" after re-bowing because I was not sure if it was the same thing. But what Hendrik is talking about is the exact same thing I was wondering about. It will not be legato per-se but it will be a recorded re-bowing, not just the same sample playing from the start again. This will "connect" the two strokes but it will not be legato.

In my defence from what I've heard some developers call it a same note legato, but maybe I just misheard, or they are talking about something else.


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Aug 6, 2015)

Hey Guys, 

over a year ago we made the first test recordings to prove our new concept concerning a next generation virtual Solo Violin. We had a lot of ideas and decided to extend our Adaptive Legato Concept to a maximum with 14 Legato Types and 12 different lengths and styles of long notes to make this Solo Violin playable at a degree of realism and variety of expression never heard before.
With CAPSULE this instrument will be usable in a very intuitive way.

We're very close to the release of the Nocturne Violin which will take place on August, 18. 
There is a new Screencast and a very first demo I composed.
More demos will follow over the next few days.





Because we recorded this exceptional beauty in the Teldex Solo Booth, it will perfectly fit to the Berlin Series.
The specific acoustic properties of this room lead to a more intimate and direct sound to enable you to place the Nocturne Solo Violin close up in front of the orchestra.
With an extended version of our innovative Adaptive Legato System, the Nocturne Violin will be playable and will shine at every tempo and works just as great for slow emotional legato lines as for quick and very fast detaché Runs.

A single velocity layer
for the highest expressiveness
==============================
Instead of recording fixed p, mf, f layers, we told the musicians to feel free to choose the best dynamic for a solo part.
We took care about lively, dynamic long notes in many different expressions.
By using a single velocity layer, we reduced any phasing effect to a minimum to preserve this intimate sound of our wonderfully captured Nocturne Solo Violin.

Highlights
==========
- 14 different True Legato sets at different speeds, expressions and techniques
- Choose between slurred or detaché playing in any legato patch
- Many different long notes with a variety of different lengths, dynamics and expressions
for a maximum of realism
- Single Dynamic Layer Concept
to reduce phasing to a minimum
- Trills Orchestrator with Trills up to a 5th
- Recorded at the Teldex Solo Booth

Soloists I: Nocturne Violin is based on CAPSULE for the NI Kontakt 5 Full version sampler.
Pre-Order Special
==============
199.- Euro + VAT
(normal pricing 249.- Euro + VAT)
Special ends with the release on August, 18
http://orchestraltools.com/soloists_series/libraries/nocturne_violin.php


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## feck (Aug 6, 2015)

Damn, Hendrik. Great composition and programming as usual. What a great sounding product - you guys are killing it!


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## tomaslobosk (Aug 6, 2015)

Hey Hendrik, if there are any developers whom I trust the most in terms of sound quality and scripting then it's Orchestral Tools, but I'm afraid that soloist series doesn't sound perfect to me. IMHO The scripting approach in your solo instruments shouldn't be the same of your ensemble instruments.
IMHO pre sustain + legato + post sustain scripting aproach doesn't work with solo instruments, a lot of phasing/doubling effects occurs when crossfading from legato to post sustain samples, and this makes everything to sound very unnatural.
Cinesamples' new scripting approach of solo instruments (Tina Guo's library) is the same than the old VSL instruments: pre sustain + legato only, and IMHO it sounds amazing.
I'm not an expert on sampling or scripting, but hope you take the criticism as constructive.
Greetings!


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## jamwerks (Aug 6, 2015)

I don't agree at all with the above @tomilobos. Please point out where you hear the phasing in the Video! I don't hear any at all...

To me seems Hendrick has raised the bar again. Congrats!


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## Jonathan Moray (Aug 6, 2015)

I'm at a loss for words... Sounds really, really good. Is "14 different True Legato sets" a typo or are you guys crazy? 

Very much looking forward to the Cello.

@jamweks I agree, I can't hear any distinct phasing either. Not in the demo or in the screencast.


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## tomaslobosk (Aug 6, 2015)

jamwerks said:


> I don't agree at all with the above @tomilobos. Please point out where you hear the phasing in the Video! I don't hear any at all...
> 
> To me seems Hendrick has raised the bar again. Congrats!



It's very subtle, I definitely can hear it in every transition. If Hendrik confirms what I said in my earlier post, then my point is made, if not, I'm out of here 
BTW, please don't take this the wrong way!


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## wpc982 (Aug 6, 2015)

The demo  does not impress me, sorry to say. Reminds me a bit of the folks who use sample modeling to make an instrument. Please work on the basic articulations, from REAL RECORDED VIOLIN.

This is from a fan of the OT's Berlin Strings, but even there one could hope for better simple recording of ordinary articulations ... it would be great to have chromatic sampling of basic sustains, with three or four timbres subtlely different ... like a real player.


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## samphony (Aug 6, 2015)

Awesome stuff!


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## wpc982 (Aug 6, 2015)

Commenting on a sentence from TomiLobosK : the old VSL approach was pretty good, but after months and years of using the samples, one might really really really really wish for a variable first sound ... in Kontakt terms, a round-robin for the initial note of a legato passage. When I 'roll my own' that's one of the first things I do ... find different sustain sounds that are slightly different, and merge them for a legato first note.


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## wpc982 (Aug 6, 2015)

I should say, early on in VSL's career, I asked for trills to include a large whole step and a small whole step (204 cents and 192 cents) and did not get satisfied. So some of your customers have very arcane, even if real to them, needs!

And I have a very strong suspicion that what the "nocturne violin" is, is the 'concertmaster' microphone position from the Berlin Strings? 

If so, please, developer, stay noble, don't go this route. Invest in true value, not in hype.


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## tomaslobosk (Aug 6, 2015)

wpc982 said:


> Commenting on a sentence from TomiLobosK : the old VSL approach was pretty good, but after months and years of using the samples, one might really really really really wish for a variable first sound.



Don't get me wrong, I'm talking about the scripting of legato articulations, nothing more, nothing less.


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## Jonathan Moray (Aug 6, 2015)

@TomiLobosK
Just because I can't hear it doesn't mean it's not there.  I'm not in the studio so I can't listen to it probably, only my home monitors at my disposal. But Henrik and the guys are very good at updates so if one could show them the problem or they find it themselves there's a big chance they will try and correct it in the future.

Edit:
Just wanna say that you're absolutely correct in that if you use the "sustain + legato + sustain" approach (which I believe they did) you will need some really good programing and crossfading to avoid phasing and other artifacts. But imo they did a really good job on this one.


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## Zhao Shen (Aug 6, 2015)

Huge fan of Orchestral Tools. Berlin Woodwinds has completely erased all other orchestral woodwind libraries from my memory. And after hearing how gorgeous the BWW soloist expansions sounded, I was extremely excited for the new Soloist Series. That being said, the Nocturne Violin sounds exceptionally good for certain passages, and fairly mediocre for others. Some of the transitions sound very abrupt. Not sure if that's due to the library or the composer's own programming. Whatever the case, it still seems to be a promising instrument, and I'll stay tuned to see how it turns out.


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## jamwerks (Aug 6, 2015)

Man, this place is full of 10 year old dicks. No wonder developers leave.

@wpc WTF! He stated that it's recorded in the isolation booth. If you had any clue to what BS is, or what was showcased in the video, you wouldn't say such bullshit.

For the info, this is "commercial announcements". Adult musicians only!


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## tomaslobosk (Aug 6, 2015)

Jonathan Moray said:


> @TomiLobosK
> Just because I can't hear it doesn't mean it's not there. .


Point made. 



Jonathan Moray said:


> But Henrik and the guys are very good at updates so if one could show them the problem or they find it themselves there's a big chance they will try and correct it in the future.


Of course, they really listen to their costumers.
But I'm afraid that this is one of the things you can't solve with an update.
When a sample library is conceived you must decide how you will record the samples, this is based on how you will script them in the future.


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## tomaslobosk (Aug 6, 2015)

jamwerks said:


> Man, this place is full of 10 year old dicks. No wonder developers leave.!



Dude, relax, nobody is insulting anyone here.


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## Craig Sharmat (Aug 6, 2015)

jamwerks said:


> Man, this place is full of 10 year old dicks. No wonder developers leave.
> 
> @wpc WTF! He stated that it's recorded in the isolation booth. If you had any clue to what BS is, or what was showcased in the video, you wouldn't say such bullshit.
> 
> For the info, this is "commercial announcements". Adult musicians only!



OT is possibly my favorite Orchestral sampler developer, they really get and create unique tools others have not thought of, I wish them the best of luck with this and I can hear uses for this right off the bat. The various vibratos will be nice for emotive scoring.

That said Tomas did nothing more than give his opinion with no malice and should be given the same consideration we would all want, to mention something he thinks could be better or wishes was better. It is one of the reasons this forum works, we generally get to say what we want and just maybe something improves because of it.


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## antoniopandrade (Aug 6, 2015)

I agree with others here, a bit disappointed with this initial showing, but let's wait to draw conclusions, after all it is just a beta.


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## constaneum (Aug 6, 2015)

Even though i have to say I kinda agree with some statements by others, I still think this is a really wonderful library. I'm very particular with the portamento feature as well as ability to play faster passage (really amaze with it) and on that part, I'm giving a thumbs up for that. Even so, I'll still rate this library 9/10.

_*Some questions for Hendrik*_
1) How many MIC positions offered for this?Is it the same like the Woodwinds Exp B? Close I and II only?

2) What's the size of this library? Nothing is mentioned on this. Judging from the amount of legato articulations and other basic articulations, i'm suspecting 15GB++? Need to know this before deciding to purchase or not as i'm running really low space on my current SSD. Perhaps you can give us a rough estimation on the library size?

3) Please do compose some faster passage music for the Violin as we will like to hear it in action (even though it's quite convincing on the video). Really wonder how it'll sound with that kind of Vannessa Mae style and fast playability. Perhaps do some kind of mix hybrid or non-orchestral demo? Really curious.


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## OT_Tobias (Aug 7, 2015)

Hey folks,

happy to answer some questions that popped up here:

- Yes, there really are 14 Legato transitions. No typo.
- Nocturne Violin does of course not reuse any samples from anywhere else, certainly not BST's Concertmaster. BST actually was recorded in the Teldex Scoring Stage, while Nocturne Violin was recorded in the solo booth. It would not even be possible to reuse samples.
- Nocturne Violin has the same Close I and II positions as the Woodwind Soloists
- The library is roughly 6.5 GB in size.

Hope that helps - keep the questions coming and I will do my best to answer


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Aug 7, 2015)

Hi everybody,

we have prepared two short tech demos to show the Nocturne Violin in an isolated fashion.

http://www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/nocturne_violin_tech_demo1.mp3 (www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/nocturne_violin_tech_demo1.mp3)

This is a little improvisation on the keyboard, by just using one Single Patch from the Nocturne Violin – no articulation keyswitches or dynamic CC used here. It shows both the lyrical and agile qualities of the instrument and the broad selection of legato transitions available. You not only have the adaptive legato tempo here, but different expressions (selected via velocity) as well as the choice between fingered/slurred legato and detaché just by pressing the sustain pedal (or any assigned CC). Especially the quick movements from slow to fast playing and the multitude of transitions show how powerful our 3D Legato System turned out and how beautiful the instruments adapts to your performance. Also the attacks of the sustains react to velocity, just like they do in the Berlin Strings Main Library - so you get a soft crescendo note on very low velocites, an intermediate attack on the mid levels and a stronger attack with decrescendo on the highest values.

The Nocturne Violin becomes even more versatile, expressive and also customizable, when the full feature set of CAPSULE and the Multi Patch are called into action. But at the same time you can get great results, by just performing the factory patches right out-of-the-box.

http://www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/nocturne_violin_tech_demo2.mp3 (www.orchestraltools.com/downloads/nocturne_violin_tech_demo2.mp3)

Here we have borrowed a passage from the Etudé No. 4 of Chopin op.10 to show the playable detaché runs legato in an exposed fashion. This is the first time, you can get a really convincingly sounding fast and agile performance out of a virtual solo violin.

*Please note, that those demos are rendered with a default Single Patch with no special setup or external processing - performed in one pass on the keyboard. You hear the dry Violin samples together with the supplied Teldex Custom IR Reverb.*


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## rottoy (Aug 7, 2015)

Hendrik-Schwarzer said:


> Hi everybody,
> 
> we have prepared two short tech demos to show the Nocturne Violin in an isolated fashion.
> 
> ...


Wow, that sounded WAY BETTER than the first examples posted!
I tip my hat to the continued brilliance of Orchestral Tools. :D


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## constaneum (Aug 7, 2015)

I'm gonna purchase this!! I'm convinced with the demoes. And the library file size isn't too big, phew !!


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## Smikes77 (Aug 7, 2015)

How does this compare with Embertone`s violin?


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## Jonathan Moray (Aug 7, 2015)

Smikes77 said:


> How does this compare with Embertone`s violin?



What? In what aspects? It's a very hard question to answer just like that.

Embertone has true vibrato control. (LFO vibrato)
Nocturne has 14(!) different legatos.
Both are recorded dry. But Nocturn has two mics.
I believe embertone gives you more control. Spiccato length, Legato/Portamento speed, (Then again Nocturn has 14 different legatos so you will probably find one that suits your melody without any tweaking), ensemble mode.

There's a lot of aspects to consider if you want to compare the two. But if you want to get an overview of the basic differences look at the walkthroughs of both instruments and read through the manuals.


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## FriFlo (Aug 7, 2015)

I think this is the best sampled Violin for what it does, I have heared so far. The only doubt I have: Will it be very versatile or rather specialized ... For 249€ + Vat I would expect a versatile instrument, one that can give me good results on all kinds of mock ups I would want to create. Since it is a one velocity layer instrument, I am not sure, if it will give me those breathy pp(p) sounds or harsh fff. Those (especially the ppp) do not matter much in an orchestral context, but they do in studio recordings and film music. And what about all those special bowings, like sul tasto, sul ponticello, con sordino, etc. Since this is not an ensemble recording, I would expect at least the same amount of articulations included, as berlin strings with its expansions has, given the price. We have not seen all content, so far, so there still is room for suprises. It already looks quite promising, but IMO there is some room left, concerning the content of this library.
That being said, I really don't understand some remarks here, that people were not content with the sound. In the first demo, sometimes the bow noise was a little to prominent for my taste, but I think that has to do with mic options and maybe eqing a little. I was suprised by how natural some of the more agile lines sounded and in the latest tech demos you can clearly hear, that those are indeed very good and IMO a new benchmark on the solo violin.


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## Zhao Shen (Aug 7, 2015)

Smikes77 said:


> How does this compare with Embertone`s violin?


The Friedlander Violin sounds a lot less orchestral to my ears. This Nocturne Violin sounds like it'd blend in very well with an orchestra after minor tweaking (additional reverb, etc). I see Embertone's product as a more modern, "featured violinist" type deal, instead of a classical solo violinist. Almost (and I hesitate to make this comparison as it's not perfect) like Lindsey Stirling vs. Paganini in terms of tone.


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## Lawson. (Aug 7, 2015)

Oh, wow. As a violinist, I'm scared, and as a composer, I'm thrilled! Great job, OT!


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## TintoL (Aug 7, 2015)

Wow, I am amazed at Hendrik's composition. I am surprised you can get such great sound with a single patch.
I am currently using vsl solo strings as my main solo library. It's a lot of articulations it has, but a lot of work to put together. I think that if I can really get such a great sound so fast, I wouldn't hesitate to add this library to my template.


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## prodigalson (Aug 7, 2015)

if the nocturne violin is this agile and flexible, I'm very curious to see what the Virtuoso violin will be like.


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## wpc982 (Aug 7, 2015)

In the new demo #1, right at 0:20 and 0:24 for an example, there are extraneous sounds in the sound? And alas, you have the same sound at the same position on a B5 and then on an A#5 ... clearly another sampled-by-whole steps library, and another library with noise artifacts that follow the transposition in a very fake way. That kind of thing, as a user, drives me crazy. The Berlin Strings library is mostly very clean, so I use it all the time; the Adagio strings has such noise very prominently, so I never use that library any more. 

So while the noise thing can be great and real-seeming heard once, libraries with a lot of that become very hard to tolerate when you are using the same note with the same click at the same position over and over. 

It is not intended that this comment be very critical, since one hopes you are still working on it and can perhaps tweak such things a bit still, removing any such noise where possible, or keeping it to certain instrument choices only.

This btw is another argument for allowing a user to edit the instruments (different thread, cog vs wrench) ... I have frequently enough shifted a sample start forward for particularly annoying sounds in some libraries, and made a new envelope to replace the 'real' but bad one.


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## kurtvanzo (Aug 7, 2015)

I own the Embertone violin and even though it is very playable I don't use it often because the sound is thin IMHO. This violin, especially combined with capsule, is heads and shoulders above Embertone. A warmer, richer sound, amazing versatility (Hendricks last video was amazing) and so much variation available it really seems to be the one to beat at the moment. I also wish there were more dynamic layers (or other dynamic patches to avoid the phasing Hendricks talks about) but after hearing his last video I really can't complain. Both fast and slow passages sound excellent and although there are cases where softer or harder bowing might come in useful, I have to admit the "artificial" dynamics that are there would cover 90 percent of most solo violin parts. And being able to lock articulations and customize patches and CC control with capsule puts it over the top IMHO. I just wish Cinesamples would release Solo Strings already so we could see how it measures up (even The Emotional Violin would be a good contender when released). I still feel like I could use a warmer sound (if that's possible), but a little EQ could end my search for the perfect solo violin, thanks Hendricks! Will the Virtuoso Violin be a louder dynamic to cut through in an orchestral setting? I wish I could hear that one before the Aug 18th cutoff.


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## wpc982 (Aug 7, 2015)

As I was listening, and despite my reservations, it seemed that perhaps three different solo violins are needed! Having an 'orchestral solo' violin sounds like a great thing, makes me want to get writing another violin concerto, this one sounds pretty good as a solo - solo violin, but I'm wondering if it will work as a chamber music solo violin ... which, incidentally, imo the Embertone violin does not do well. How about a simple violin duo as another demo, please?


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## wpc982 (Aug 7, 2015)

Picking up on an earlier diversion:

Jonathan Moraty


FriFlo said:


> Actually, the only way to have flexible rebowing sound good would be to record different tempi and time stretch the tempi in between. Also, there are different ways to do it, that sound quite unique. It is impossible to record a sustain and a rebow-legato of the same note and expect that to sound really natural. This kind of works better with ensemble strings,



There may be many ways to do this --- but I've been very happy with a fairly straightforward modification of the Berlin Strings instruments called "Repetitions_16th" ... I duplicated the kontakt group a few times, assigned a Key Switch for each group, used K5 'Time Machine 2' to time stretch by percent and locked in the repetitions at a few known tempi within a range of about 80 to 150, then assigned a midi controller to increase these known tempi by finer gradations. This works for me because I always know what tempo is needed, and can key-switch the right version to a tempo close to what's needed, and then adjust with the CC to be very close to the correct tempo for the piece involved. I also broke out the instruments into three versions for the three different dynamic levels, since repeated notes are generally going to be all the same (crescendi, accents, are different)


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## antoniopandrade (Aug 7, 2015)

Nice, the tech demo shows true promise.


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## ryst (Aug 7, 2015)

I was wondering if some here actually watched the whole 12 min video and not just listened to the soundcloud track (Remembering). Personally, Remembering wasn't my cup of tea but when Hendrick showed off the violin in the vid on it's own, I could hear it's potential much better. And then the 2 new solo demos posted confirmed what I was hearing.

I think this sounds great and cannot wait to get it!


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## constaneum (Aug 7, 2015)

Yup. Watched the whole video. Really smart legato scripting. Easy to use for composers as well and product quality assurance is there too!!


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## jamwerks (Aug 8, 2015)

Hendrik-Schwarzer said:


> Hi everybody, we have prepared two short tech demos to show the Nocturne Violin in an isolated fashion.


Sounds awesome. Some of the best legato scripting around !!


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## BenG (Aug 8, 2015)

Both tech demos are stunning!


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## constaneum (Aug 9, 2015)

I've noticed there's a Con Sordino function in the video. Wondering any audio demo on the Con Sordino sound. Just curious.


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Aug 10, 2015)

Hey Guys,

thanks so much for your interest and comments about our new virtual instrument! Please note, that the Nocturne Violin is - despite of its flexibility and variety in expression and playing speed - designed and recorded to evoke a certain sonic character and tone color. All the articulations, the dynamics and expressions are tailored to that sound concept. We truly believe in this highly specialized approach of sampling, when it comes to solo instruments (especially strings), instead of trying to create a "general solo violin". In our opinion, that general approach would not work or at least will not be able to fully satisfy a composers need. The focus on a certain style and sound enabled us to maximize the outcome in terms of performance capabilities and believability in sound.

Here is a new demo by Sascha Knorr, showing the Nocturne Violin in a more hybrid and modern context. It blends really well with Berlin Strings here, as well as with all of the synth instruments going on.



More demos coming soon!


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## kurtvanzo (Aug 10, 2015)

Thank you Hendrik, good info. Can you tell us what sonic character and tone color the Virtuoso Violin will have? Or how it compares to the Nocturne? -Appreciate your input.


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## Zhao Shen (Aug 10, 2015)

Possibly the first time I've heard an epic hybrid piece from Mr. Knorr... Very well done! Though nothing has beaten good ol' "Berlin Stories" yet for me


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Aug 12, 2015)

Hi Guys,

here a new demo by Benny Oschmann, showing the Nocturne Violin playing a more agile virtuoso style.


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## Brendon Williams (Aug 12, 2015)

Fa


Hendrik-Schwarzer said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> here a new demo by Benny Oschmann, showing the Nocturne Violin playing a more agile virtuoso style.




Fantastic demo! I always love hearing new music by Benny Oschmann.


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## JW (Aug 12, 2015)

Hendrik-Schwarzer said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> here a new demo by Benny Oschmann, showing the Nocturne Violin playing a more agile virtuoso style.



Impressive demo, and lovely sound! Great job!


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## Assa (Aug 12, 2015)

Very impressive mockup! And a great composition as usual


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## benmrx (Aug 12, 2015)

Loving the sound of this!


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## feck (Aug 12, 2015)

As if I wasn't already going to pre-order, I'm going to right now!


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## DocMidi657 (Aug 12, 2015)

Can one of the Orchestral Tool's guys tells us what libraries were used in the making of the excellent demo of the Nocturne Violin by Benny Oschmann? (Violin Fantasy)
And also details on whether the Violin was played in or tweaked/programmed after the fact?
Awesome job guys!


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## BenG (Aug 12, 2015)

Amazing demo, Benny! Really lovely writing.


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## kurtvanzo (Aug 12, 2015)

Orchestral Tools rarely has sales or discounts, and I think that is to give people who preorder an advantage for their faith, and to maintain the perceived value of thier instruments. Many composers buy it at full price and feel fine about it because the prices rarely fluctuate. The prices are a bit high for me, but perhaps time will bring some changes to draw in the bundle fans and the sale fanatics


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## ModalRealist (Aug 13, 2015)

Personally, I think OT's stuff is _very _competitively priced for what you get. Their support is also the best I've received, all-round. I'm just an amateur, and no developer has been as open and helpful in getting me up to speed on using their products musically as OT has. So irregardless of anything in the future, I am very satisfied with my (for me not inconsiderable) investment.

Also this violin sounds absolutely and completely wonderful. I have been waiting for the day that someone would do a really compelling detache and I think this might be it for me.


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## bennyoschmann (Aug 13, 2015)

Thanks for the kind words, guys! I'm glad that you're enjoying my little demo 



DocMidi657 said:


> Can one of the Orchestral Tool's guys tells us what libraries were used in the making of the excellent demo of the Nocturne Violin by Benny Oschmann? (Violin Fantasy)
> And also details on whether the Violin was played in or tweaked/programmed after the fact?
> Awesome job guys!



Many thanks! Actually the Violin part is programmed, but just because of my modest keyboard playing skills  I think I did almost 80% of the Violin part only with the Marcato patch (plus the applied Legato transitions). Soundwise (EQ, reverb etc.) I even didn't tweak anything at all, so the sound is 100% out of the box.

Here are the other libraries I used for the demo:
Woodwinds: OT Berlin Woodwinds
Brass: CS CineBrass & EW Hollywood Brass
Percussion: CS CinePerc
Strings: EW Hollywood Strings & CS CineStrings


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## DocMidi657 (Aug 13, 2015)

Thank you Bennie for the information and your outstanding music!


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Aug 13, 2015)

Hi Folks,

here is a new demo composition by Benjamin Botkin, showing the Nocturne Violin in a beautiful, romantic soundtrack context.


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Aug 17, 2015)

Hi Guys,

our Nocturne Violin Pre-Order Special ends tomorrow.

Last day to get our upcoming Solo Violin for € 199.- (excl. VAT) instead of € 249.-

More infos on our product site:
http://orchestraltools.com/soloists_series/libraries/nocturne_violin.php

All the best from the OT Office!


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## feck (Aug 17, 2015)

Ordered. Psyched to try this!


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Aug 18, 2015)

Hi Guys,

today is the official release of the Nocturne Violin.
Everyone that purchased in the pre-order will receive a download link today!

Find all information, demos and a screencast about the Nocturne Violin on our product site:
http://orchestraltools.com/soloists_series/libraries/nocturne_violin.php

A great day to you all!


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## constaneum (Aug 18, 2015)

Congrats on official release. Happily downloading it. Can't wait to test out !


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## kurtvanzo (Aug 18, 2015)

Love this violin Hendrik! Great sound and flexibility. So nice to have all the adjustments including volume range on each part. My only suggestion is to add a readout to the settings so they can be duplicated across different parts without saving it as a default. With a readout I could know my favorite setting is 85, and just set my others without testing every part. If you want to keep the clean look, then perhaps have the readout pop up when the mouse hovers over it (though personally I prefer to always see the readouts- one less step). It's a small thing, but so helpful for setting up a new instrument quickly,would be great for an update. Thank you again for a wonderful instrument and congratulations on getting this and capsule to such an amazing level.


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## feck (Aug 18, 2015)

This is simply excellent. The best solo string sample set I've yet used.


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## feck (Aug 19, 2015)

Here's a silly one pass demo of the default patch - no keyswitching or edits, only occasional modwheel movements. Running through 2C Audio B2 reverb. The expression, sound and playability of this is just so far ahead of anything else.

[AUDIOPLUS=http://vi-control.net/community/attachments/violin-demo-mp3.4167/][/AUDIOPLUS]

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/violin-demo-mp3.4167/][/AUDIOPLUS]


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## Assa (Aug 19, 2015)

So is someone brave enough to have a go on the Schindler's List theme ? That would be interesting for me!


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## kurtvanzo (Aug 19, 2015)

This is a quick run of Schindler's theme- just the violin- using Nocturne Violin. I only used one patch and learned the piece in about 20 minutes using a youtube clip as a guide.



It's not perfect, but it give you an idea of the sound and what can be done quickly.  

Here's the guide I used for comparison...


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## Inceptic (Dec 28, 2015)

How much disk space is needed for this library? Can't find any system requirements on the website...


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## Inceptic (Dec 28, 2015)

jieff said:


> Hi ! It takes around 10GB. And I think it's REALLY worth it... A hell of a library !
> 
> Here are some examples of things I couldn't do before buying it... I know other libraries could pull that off, but I LOVE the tone of Nocturne.
> 
> ...




Thanks! Sounds really good!


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## mickeyl (Apr 14, 2016)

The Cello is approaching...


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## N.Caffrey (Apr 14, 2016)

one of the best VST I've heard so far, love it!


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## mickeyl (Apr 14, 2016)

This sets the bar up pretty high.


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## jacobthestupendous (Apr 14, 2016)

!!!


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## prodigalson (Apr 14, 2016)




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## muziksculp (Apr 14, 2016)

Wow !!! 

Nocturne Cello sounds Superb. One of the best I have heard coming out of samples, great timbre, and very expressive. 

A Big round of applause to the OT Team.(Bravo). I'm looking forward to the release of Noc.Cello. 

I also plan to purchase (OT-Berlin Strings, Woodwinds, and Noc. Violin, and Cello), which should have a major impact on both my Credit Card, and SSDs. But, I can't help it, got to keep on movin.. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## muziksculp (Apr 15, 2016)

Oh.. I'm also curious to know what will be the major difference between the _Nocturnal Violin_, and _Virtuoso Violin_ (which has not been released yet) ?

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## reids (Apr 15, 2016)

muziksculp said:


> Oh.. I'm also curious to know what will be the major difference between the _Nocturnal Violin_, and _Virtuoso Violin_ (which has not been released yet) ?
> 
> With the Bohemian Violin and OT Nocturnal violin, do these violin libraries have features for manual control over vibrato? I dont like to use baked in vibrato and prefer full manual control. I think the bar is set high when this is actually implemented....sighs. Thanks.


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## reids (Apr 15, 2016)

With the Bohemian Violin and OT Nocturnal violin, do these violin libraries have features for manual control over vibrato? I dont like to use baked in vibrato and prefer full manual control. I think the bar is set high when this is actually implemented.... Thanks.


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## Lassi Tani (Apr 15, 2016)

reids said:


> With the Bohemian Violin and OT Nocturnal violin, do these violin libraries have features for manual control over vibrato? I dont like to use baked in vibrato and prefer full manual control. I think the bar is set high when this is actually implemented.... Thanks.



I think they don't have. In my opinion baked in vibrato is a good solution, because full manual control isn't always realistic.


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## reids (Apr 15, 2016)

I understand your perspective but I also find that baked in vibrato can start to sound unnatural when improvising as the vibrato comes in at the exact moment every time you play the same note and come back to it... with manual control, there is a perceived sense of realism that you are playing and you can develop your style but share with the tone of the player with which it was recorded.


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## Hendrik-Schwarzer (Apr 15, 2016)

@reids:
Within CAPSULE you're always able to xfade between the different long notes by using polyphonic keyswitching.
So *it is possible to control vibrato* by blending over from non vibrato to e.g. romantic vibrato.

Anyway the Nocturne Cello has a lot of different expressions, lengths and styles of sustains to be able to create variety and a very natural and expressive phrasing.

BTW all sustains can be combined with Adaptive Legato.

Best,
Hendrik


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## Silence-is-Golden (Apr 15, 2016)

Hendrik-Schwarzer said:


> So *it is possible to control vibrato* by blending over from non vibrato to e.g. romantic vibrato.


Hopefully you are willing to demonstrate this within a walkthrough or demo.
This is to me always one of the essential issue's for expression, so if that is possible with this cello and it(*) sounds convincing I would be very eager to get this one.

Edit: (*)it= the transition between non-to vibrato. Because in general this cello sounds good to my ears.


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## ModalRealist (Apr 15, 2016)

Frankly I think the demo video of the Nocturne Cello is incredibly impressive. The inclusion of so many different forms of transition (and especially doubling them all for detache too) for me is such an important inclusion. Thanks to OT for being one of the only groups seriously pursuing that variety within the sound of note transitions.


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## Lassi Tani (Apr 15, 2016)

reids said:


> I understand your perspective but I also find that baked in vibrato can start to sound unnatural when improvising as the vibrato comes in at the exact moment every time you play the same note and come back to it... with manual control, there is a perceived sense of realism that you are playing and you can develop your style but share with the tone of the player with which it was recorded.



True. If it doesn't make it sound synthy, it would be great to have full control of vibrato.



Hendrik-Schwarzer said:


> @reids:
> Within CAPSULE you're always able to xfade between the different long notes by using polyphonic keyswitching.
> So *it is possible to control vibrato* by blending over from non vibrato to e.g. romantic vibrato.



I totally forgot the abilities of Capsule. And shame on me, I haven't really used Capsule to the fullest. I should. Hendrik, could you share a simple walkthrough, how the transition between non-vibrato to vibrato sounds with the Cello?


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