# Fiddle Virtual Instrument



## dflood (Dec 14, 2017)

Before I purchase any more violin libraries, does anyone know if there is a decent fiddle VI out there, or a violin library capable of playing in a credible fiddle style? I’m looking for one in which it is possible to create the ornamentations and articulations associated with playing country, bluegrass, Irish, Celtic etc. So far I have tried:


Embertone Joshua Bell Violin - absolutely beautiful but inappropriate
Misfit Fiddle - seems useless as a real fiddle
Swam violin - tons of CC settings but difficult to play in a fiddle style
Kontakt Fiddle - the tone of the samples seems decent in isolation but not very playable
Some typical ornamentations that define fiddling in these styles include:

*Bowhand:*
scratch triplets
slurs
dynamics
doublestops
shuffle patterns

*Fingering:*
cut notes
rolls
hammer-ons
slides
vibrato

*Combinations:*
chromatic scratch triplets
fingered doublestops

So far, I can only recreate a few of these articulations. I know there has to be a market for something like this. Is this the last nut to crack in the VI world?


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## Sears Poncho (Dec 14, 2017)

Most of that is technique. Anything with vibrato control/lack of vibrato would be a good place to start. EQ work will help as well. Maybe even running something through Guitar Rig with a clean setting and 10% wet would be a help.


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## dzilizzi (Dec 14, 2017)

There was another post on this. I think the poster liked the Bohemian Violin. I could have sworn I saw something like what you are looking for, but maybe it was 8Dio's product 

Anyway, link to the post: https://vi-control.net/community/threads/best-solo-violin-for-country-bluegrass.54687/


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## Polkasound (Dec 14, 2017)

There is a market for virtual fiddles, but my guess is that it's barely a fraction of the size of the market for concert violins. In my own quest for a fiddle, I recently bought the SWAM Violin, and so far that's the best option I've found. Even though all the desired articulations still aren't there, the modeling allows for nice dynamics, colors, and fluid slurs. But the SWAM violin's neatest feature is when you set the Bow Gesture to _Bowed_ and then "play" the violin with the expression pedal -- talk about porch-fiddlin'!


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## dflood (Dec 14, 2017)

There’s no doubt that I could improve my own live playing and note editing techniques within the limits of any sampled instrument. However, I just haven’t heard _any_ convincing VI fiddle demos, particularly for Irish or ‘Celtic’ fiddling. I’d love to own both the Bohemian Violin and Chris Hein Solo Violins someday, but I don’t want to just buy them hoping that they can _maybe_ pull off a credible fiddle performance.

I am experimenting with the SWAM violin and I even have a Roli keyboard which is great for taking advantage of it’s multi parameter expression capabilities. I guess what I’m hoping for someday is something as focused and playable as the Indiginus Mandolin or the Resonator, but for the fiddle. I think there would be a surprising number of buyers considering it would be the only dedicated ‘pro level’ fiddle VI out there. After all, there are at least a couple of dedicated VIs out there for uilleann pipes and mountain dulcimers. I’m guessing the fiddle is just hard to do well.


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## Polkasound (Dec 14, 2017)

dflood said:


> I’m guessing the fiddle is just hard to do well.



I think that's a big part of it. A deeply sampled fiddle would take time and money to make. And since it could never be repurposed as a concert violin, would sales be large enough to justify the resources expended on development? That's a tough question. It's probably one of the reasons why the only pedal steel guitar out there is as old as Kontakt 2 and apparently abandoned -- even when you have no competition, you still need customers.


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## dflood (Dec 14, 2017)

Polkasound said:


> A deeply sampled fiddle would take time and money to make. And since it could never be repurposed as a concert violin, would sales be large enough to justify the resources expended on development?



Sigh... maybe we need a Kickstarter campaign to make it happen. I’d commit to a pre-purchase from a trusted developer.


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## Eptesicus (Dec 15, 2017)

Cinestrings solo violin 1 has a lovely folk like quality to it. I just briefly did the brave theme with it a while ago and sound very realistic in my opinion.

This is literally just playing it quickly in on the keyboard using the true legato patch.

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/brave-mp3.10823/][/AUDIOPLUS]


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## Sears Poncho (Dec 15, 2017)

Eptesicus said:


> Cinestrings solo violin 1 has a lovely folk like quality to it. I just briefly did the brave theme with it a while ago and sound very realistic in my opinion.
> 
> This is literally just playing it quickly in on the keyboard using the true legato patch.
> 
> [AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/brave-mp3.10823/][/AUDIOPLUS]


Nice job. The only non-fiddle aspect is the decidedly classical slides.

The main characteristic of "fiddle" is open strings. I don't know which, if any, sample libraries let one choose between a fingered note and an open string note. That would be a start.
For double-stops with slides on one note, I'd probably use two instances, especially if one has the open string.
The shuffle pattern is often a matter of accents that are strategically placed.


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## rrichard63 (Dec 15, 2017)

I don't know whether this will help anyone, but it might. A bluegrass/country fiddle player told me that fiddlers use a different kind of bow than violinists use. So, in addition to the differences in technique, there's a difference in timbre. Does that suggest experimenting with various kinds of EQ (or something) to match the tone?


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## Rob Elliott (Dec 15, 2017)

Eptesicus said:


> Cinestrings solo violin 1 has a lovely folk like quality to it. I just briefly did the brave theme with it a while ago and sound very realistic in my opinion.
> 
> This is literally just playing it quickly in on the keyboard using the true legato patch.
> 
> [AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/brave-mp3.10823/][/AUDIOPLUS]


I have all he suspects for fiddle gigs (mentioned above) and have a project coming up in the style of Ken Burns docs (more of a lyrical fiddle) and totally forgot about the Cinestrings vln1 - that is PERFECT. I think it will cover it just fine.

I do agree that a legit full-on 'fiddle' is needed. So hoping.


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## rrichard63 (Dec 15, 2017)

Rob Elliott said:


> ... I do agree that a legit full-on 'fiddle' is needed. So hoping.


Are Greg Schlaepfer and Tracy Collins (among others) listening to us?


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## dflood (Dec 15, 2017)

Here's a master class of Cape Breton fiddling (basically Scottish or Irish fiddle tunes) by two of the best in the business. I think they show off pretty well every ornamentation there is for that style. I agree that ringing open strings, alone and as drones are a big part of the 'sound' as are the many types of grace notes and triple bows that get slipped in to the basic melody. Scottish fiddling often tries to emulate the odd noises that come out of bagpipes, usually as rhythmic punctuations.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/RzP_kIXsuvA


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## ism (Dec 15, 2017)

Check out Embertone Friedlander violin. Unlike the Joshua Bell, it has the right tone for folk , but it also has much greater control of vibrato and such. For instance, Ashton's review composes a demo with a kind folksy quartet on the embertone instruments at the centre:



Although these really are solo instruments and not really showcased deep within a mix.

I have Blakus cello , which it's a beautiful performable instrument, more so that the JB in some ways, but extrapolating its performability to the Friedlander, I'd be willing to bet it could pull off a fiddle performance - although it might take some playing around to find just the right touch OSC template that would best lend itself to performing in that style. In general I find these instruments enormously "playable", but what's hard is find the best approach, midi controls etc to playing in a particular performance style.


I also have the virharmonic cello which, while also superb in its own right, it doesn't strike me as something that would lend itself to playable in a folk style. It has a rather focused artistic vision baked into it that doesn't say "folk" to me at all. Curious is the Bohemian violin might be any different. (For instanance, you just don't have the control on the attack and such that you have with the Blakus)

Also, I do have the 8dio solo strings, and while the demos always sound great, I would personally avoid them. Especially the violin.

It's an interesting question - I'd be curious to know if you find anything that works well.


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## reddognoyz (Dec 15, 2017)

sample model violin has bow pressure control, and double stops. For fiddle I would would take a look at this.


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## Polkasound (Dec 15, 2017)

I own the Friedlander Violin. I've used it successfully as a fiddle for slower, lyrical parts, but that's all I could get from it fiddle-wise. Dfloods conundrum, which we all share, is that repurposing concert violins as fiddles can only go so far and no farther.


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## Rob Elliott (Dec 15, 2017)

What about Virharmonic's Vln (the newer gypsy style samples)?


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## Heizenhaus (Dec 15, 2017)

Take a look at Impact Soundworks' Stroh Violin: https://impactsoundworks.com/product/the-stroh-violin/

It doesn't offer all that many articulations and/or ornaments, but I actually like it's sound. And it's free.


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## dflood (Dec 15, 2017)

I think that we now have a wealth of excellent solo concert violin choices, and I’d love to own more of them. Honestly, they sound so good I could just sit and play them all day long. Many will work quite well for slow legato passages (airs and strathspeys), but the wheels fall off when you try to reproduce the tone, sharp attack, and mordants of traditional fiddle playing. The closest instrument I have heard is the Ilya Efimov treatment of Uilean pipes:

http://www.ilyaefimov.com/products/ethnic-winds/uillean-pipes.html

This is how I imagine a dedicated fiddle style could be sampled, where the major ornamentations are deep sampled or scripted.


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## dflood (Dec 15, 2017)

Heizenhaus said:


> Take a look at Impact Soundworks' Stroh Violin: https://impactsoundworks.com/product/the-stroh-violin/
> 
> It doesn't offer all that many articulations and/or ornaments, but I actually like it's sound. And it's free.



Thanks! That’s one I hadn’t heard of.


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## PerryD (Dec 15, 2017)

I have done some experiments with the SWAM violin for fiddle playing. This is pre-version 2.


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## SoNowWhat? (Dec 27, 2017)

Does anyone know Mean Mary?
Might get some Banjo samples too (to go with Realibanjo of course Mike)


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## mventura (Jan 30, 2018)

I can vouch that embertone's JB violin can absolutely pull off the fiddle sound quit astonishingly. I can post a demo if you like. Its actually pretty easy. Just play 4 quarter at high velocity (above 118) set at a slow tempo. You'll get a sweet portamento across all 4 notes that will make your heart melt. Of course you can set different velocity thresholds to trigger portamento at lower velocities. The tone of the JB violin also fits the Appalachian fiddle feel.


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## Robo Rivard (Jan 30, 2018)

I guess there will be a fiddle included in the next release of Eduardo Tarilonte: ERA Celtic.


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## Paul Grymaud (Jan 30, 2018)

mventura said:


> I can post a demo if you like



Yeah ! Something between Byron Berline or Stuart Duncan. I'm looking for such a fiddle. I've already the banjo & mando (Boulder sound, Realitone banjo is really useful too) and bass (Trilian). Not convinced with any acoustic steel guitar for the flat picking bluegrass style (accompaniment and solo). But if the fiddle sounds good, I'm in !


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## mventura (Jan 30, 2018)

Paul Grymaud said:


> Yeah ! Something between Byron Berline or Stuart Duncan. I'm looking for such a fiddle. I've already the banjo & mando (Boulder sound, Realitone banjo is really useful too) and bass (Trilian). Not convinced with any acoustic steel guitar for the flat picking bluegrass style (accompaniment and solo). But if the fiddle sounds good, I'm in !


You got a midi file?


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## mventura (Jan 30, 2018)

Ok here is an excerpt from Arkansas Traveler. I pulled the midi file from the web. No tweaks. Straight out of the box set to "warm" and very little reverb. I would not say this sounds amazing but with some tweaks it could sound pretty good. Slower styles work better with JB than the fast tempo style. As I said the slower portamentos sound so sweet.

One big advantage of JB is the amazing legato and round robins. They make a world of difference. I haven't even bothered to set up keyswitches yet because the thing sounds so darn good out of the box!

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/fiddle-mp3.11563/][/AUDIOPLUS]


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## Paul Grymaud (Jan 31, 2018)

Hey M !

Okay, tonight or tomorrow I'll write something via midi and I'll post it here. It's important to keep in mind how to play the fiddle (playability). For example, I'm a bluegrass banjo player. So, I can write with a keyboard a whole tune because I know *how to play it*. And, I just need the good sound, it's to say the good VST. In this case Bolder sound.

Here's an example where I use the banjo and also the VST mandolin (I don't play the mando). So, I'm convinced that if we got the right VST fiddle there'll be no problem at all to realize something acceptable. What I try to explain is that if I cannot play the banjo, I cannot play such a tune on the keyboard. Seems evident. And, logically, it's the same with other instruments (I'm mean, in general).



Now, let me tell You something: there's is a big difference between the fiddle played in bluegrass style than in the irish style (gig, rag...). So, I'll write both and I'm pretty sure I'll be easier to adapt the VST fiddle to the irish tune. Ok, that's my opinion. We'll see...


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## tcollins (Jan 31, 2018)

rrichard63 said:


> Are Greg Schlaepfer and Tracy Collins (among others) listening to us?


Yes.


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## dflood (Jan 31, 2018)

Paul Grymaud said:


> Now, let me tell You something: there's is a big difference between the fiddle played in bluegrass style than in the irish style (gig, rag...). So, I'll write both and I'm pretty sure I'll be easier to adapt the VST fiddle to the irish tune. Ok, that's my opinion. We'll see...



Yes! The classic country/bluegrass fiddle sound is mainly achieved with lots of sliding up to double stops:

Irish/Celtic Fiddle is more about the liberal use of crisp mordents and other ornamentations with sharp accents on the beat, particularly for jigs and reels.


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## Paul Grymaud (Jan 31, 2018)

Okay,

Here's a little test (irish music). With a fiddle I 've found in an old lib. Quite sure we can do (find) better !

The midi (mini) tune to test other fiddles follows ! Don't know where I just put it !

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/test-irish-fiddle-mp3.11570/][/AUDIOPLUS]


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## Paul Grymaud (Jan 31, 2018)

By the way, here's a flamenco accompaniment I've made with the Indiginus renaixxance guitar. So, if we got the good VST it's possible to create something not too bad. Maybe am I wrong...


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## Paul Grymaud (Jan 31, 2018)

Can't upload the midi file... Any idea ? So we can test fidlle from different libs. Thanks


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## mventura (Jan 31, 2018)

Click on the upload file button below the text box.


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## Paul Grymaud (Jan 31, 2018)

Doesn't work 

*"The uploaded file does not have an allowed extension."*
test irish fiddle.mid


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## mventura (Jan 31, 2018)

Hmm. Try zipping it and uploading.


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## Paul Grymaud (Jan 31, 2018)

Great ! Thanks a lot


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## mventura (Jan 31, 2018)

Here you go. No reverb. Small room.

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/irish-mp3.11574/][/AUDIOPLUS]


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## Paul Grymaud (Jan 31, 2018)

Nice ! I used Auddict violin + kirk hunter. What's your lib ?
Generally, I have no prob to use a single violin in a classical way but, as rrichard63 said above, in other words, we cannot compare a violin to a fiddle. Same aspect but fundamentaly different.


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## mventura (Jan 31, 2018)

Paul Grymaud said:


> Nice ! I used Auddict violin + kirk hunter. What's your lib ?
> Generally, I have no prob to use a single violin in a classical way but, as rrichard63 said above, in other words, we cannot compare a violin to a fiddle. Same aspect but fundamentaly different.


Joshua Bell violin. The rooms come with the instrument. I also posted a bluegrass JB demo above if you missed that.


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## Sears Poncho (Jan 31, 2018)

A lot of those sound "chorused". They don't sound bad, just not like a solo fiddle. 

I don't know if any sample libraries offer control over what string is used. If so, use as many open strings as humanly possible. That's a big part of the "fiddle sound". There's a delicious irony in it all of course, trying to get a megabucks violin like Josh has to sound like a relatively cheap one.


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## dflood (Jan 31, 2018)

Sears Poncho said:


> A lot of those sound "chorused". They don't sound bad, just not like a solo fiddle.



I agree, and yes, open ringing strings can figure prominently in some fiddle styles. I’ve tried the Joshua Bell violin and Audio Modeling SWAM strings, and both can make some nice fiddle-like sounds but nothing that I’d want to feature in a solo. Perhaps with a great deal of hand tweaking of articulations and note by note editing...

I think it’s going to take a dedicated ‘country fiddle’ instrument, and possibly a separate ‘Irish/Celtic fiddle’ instrument. There are actually a relatively small number of specific ornamentations used in both these styles, but they are used so extensively, they really define the ‘fiddle’ sound. I posted a couple of links to some You-Tube videos earlier in this thread that demonstrate both. If I had a fiddle instrument that sounded as good and was as playable as the Indiginus Resonator Guitar, that would be fantastic.


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## YaniDee (Feb 1, 2018)

The Kontakt Factory Library has a fiddle with velocity based slides ( Under World /Strings)..Sounds pretty 
"General Midi"..


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## Ronald Wilson (Feb 1, 2018)

Paul Grymaud said:


> Nice ! I used Auddict violin + kirk hunter. What's your lib ?
> Generally, I have no prob to use a single violin in a classical way but, as rrichard63 said above, in other words, we cannot compare a violin to a fiddle. Same aspect but fundamentaly different.



I like the sound you're getting. That layered, you mean? Or is there another demo I'm missing and only seeing the one of them? Also which Auddict and KH? That Virtuosic Violin?

Cheers, Ron

----

I use this older sforzando library "Lofberg folk violin" a lot for quicker stuff esp w/doubling at the melody line. Good Staccato (you'd probably call it Spiccato though if you're classically trained) samples. The problem with many violin libraries is the classical-sounding continuous vibrato, IMO


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jul 31, 2018)

People often talk about the absence of a sampled fiddle library. Well, Insanity Samples is working on one.


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## dflood (Jul 31, 2018)

TigerTheFrog said:


> People often talk about the absence of a sampled fiddle library. Well, Insanity Samples is working on one.



Well that got my attention. I like what I hear so far!


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## Rob Elliott (Jul 31, 2018)

I'd buy that without hearing ANYTHING more!!!!!! Freaking finally!!!! When????


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## SoNowWhat? (Jul 31, 2018)

Woot!
I hope that there fiddle can handle some fast paced set my strings on fire type fiddlin' too.


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## Rob Elliott (Jul 31, 2018)

It's hard or we would have seen a truly playable, realistic one released years ago. Here's a hoping and a wishin'.


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## HBen (Jul 31, 2018)

TigerTheFrog said:


> People often talk about the absence of a sampled fiddle library. Well, Insanity Samples is working on one.




Sounds great!!!!!! When!!!!!!!!! I'd like to grab it, too!!!


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## Rob Elliott (Aug 1, 2018)

Sure hope it is not vaporware OR - 12-18 months out. :(


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## procreative (Aug 1, 2018)

Well I would say the tone of Friedlander Violin sounds quite folky to me. Its quite scrapy sounding, never quite liked it for classical stuff, but for that Ripper Street type vibe I reckon it would work great.


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## Rob Elliott (Aug 1, 2018)

procreative said:


> Well I would say the tone of Friedlander Violin sounds quite folky to me. Its quite scrapy sounding, never quite liked it for classical stuff, but for that Ripper Street type vibe I reckon it would work great.


It's close and I have used it often...BUT...we need something that gets us ALL THE WAY THERE.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Aug 1, 2018)

Based on Insanity Sample's https://www.kontakthub.com/label/Insanity-Samples/ (instruments), which all sell for £30 on KontaktHub, I'm not holding my breath for a deeply multi-sampled instrument with complex scripting. I'm cautious with my expectations at this point. I don't own Bombay Glassware, Offensive Drums, or Offensive Guitar though.

However, it's nice to see that somebody has recognized the desire for something like this and is trying to do something. Even if it's not what everybody here is hoping for, hopefully it will be of some use, perhaps combined with other violin libraries.

And if people like it, maybe a company like Embertone will get into the act. It's definitely an area that needs to be addressed, and something that could be well-served by an MPE controller like a ROLI.

This video just turned up on my Facebook feed yesterday, so I don't know what that means about when it will come out.


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## procreative (Aug 1, 2018)

Shouldnt forget the fiddles in ERA Medieval Legends too...


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## Rob Elliott (Aug 1, 2018)

I have that and for sure am a FAN BOY of Tari's work. But that instrument in the larger library can only get me so far (it's good for sure and PUBLICLY encourage Tari to do a full on 'Fiddle' library.) Using Tari's Epic World as we speak on a cue.


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## Heizenhaus (Aug 1, 2018)

Rob Elliott said:


> Sure hope it is not vaporware OR - 12-18 months out. :(


They seem to release relatively fast after announcing a new product, if you care to take a look at their Facebook page. So, fingers crossed.


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## dflood (Aug 1, 2018)

procreative said:


> Shouldnt forget the fiddles in ERA Medieval Legends too...


I have Celtic ERA and its included fiddle, and while it fits in quite well with the rest of the library, I wouldn’t say it serves as a solo or feature instrument, although it does have several nice articulations typical of Celtic/Irish playing. Don’t get me wrong, I really love that library! But what I hope to see someday is a library that will deliver the kind of tone featured in that Insanity Samples teaser along with a practical method for reproducing the various drones, double stops, slurs, triplets and other articulations that define ‘fiddle’ styles. Since there are several quite different styles of fiddling, including country/western, Celtic, gypsy, klezmer, etc., I’m not sure these could all be accomplished in a single library. But that’s OK, I would buy them all!

Some talented folks on this thread have already demonstrated how they have approximated various fiddle styles using existing violin libraries. But I am lazy. I’m still hoping for a dedicated library as nice sounding and easy to play as the Indiginus resonator guitar.

To me, the Insanity Samples teaser sounds like an actual recorded fiddle performance (complete with the ambient noise track). If it’s really performed with ‘single-note” samples and articulations then I am impressed. We’ll see...


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## NYC Composer (Aug 2, 2018)

Give you 3 to 1 it’s a phrase library.


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## Rob Elliott (Aug 2, 2018)

NYC Composer said:


> Give you 3 to 1 it’s a phrase library.


so hope you are wrong. :( But I have a sneaking suspicion that it will at least be in part (hopefully a small part.)


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## ptram (Aug 2, 2018)

There is something also in the Best Service Ethno World and the UVI World Suite collections. I don't have the needed competence to understand how good they are.

Paolo


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## Red Room Audio (Aug 2, 2018)

I've been biting my tongue watching this thread but can't do it any longer.  Red Room Audio is currently working on 2 deep-sampled fiddle libraries recorded by 2 award-winning fiddlers in different parts of the world. Each fiddler specializes in a different folk style and we captured an ample selection of genre-specific articulations and ornaments. Both fiddles are recorded & edited and being scripted now. Stay tuned for more details coming asap.


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Aug 3, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> I've been biting my tongue watching this thread but can't do it any longer.  Red Room Audio is currently working on 2 deep-sampled fiddle libraries recorded by 2 award-winning fiddlers in different parts of the world. Each fiddler specializes in a different folk style and we captured an ample selection of genre-specific articulations and ornaments. Both fiddles are recorded & edited and being scripted now. Stay tuned for more details coming asap.


Boom. Watch out everyone


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## Rob Elliott (Aug 3, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> I've been biting my tongue watching this thread but can't do it any longer.  Red Room Audio is currently working on 2 deep-sampled fiddle libraries recorded by 2 award-winning fiddlers in different parts of the world. Each fiddler specializes in a different folk style and we captured an ample selection of genre-specific articulations and ornaments. Both fiddles are recorded & edited and being scripted now. Stay tuned for more details coming asap.


Really cool. Are we looking at weeks or months from release?


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## HBen (Aug 3, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> I've been biting my tongue watching this thread but can't do it any longer.  Red Room Audio is currently working on 2 deep-sampled fiddle libraries recorded by 2 award-winning fiddlers in different parts of the world. Each fiddler specializes in a different folk style and we captured an ample selection of genre-specific articulations and ornaments. Both fiddles are recorded & edited and being scripted now. Stay tuned for more details coming asap.



Oh man, you bombarded me with such a good news! More fiddle libraries that we can expect for! Feel itching to place orders!!


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## Red Room Audio (Aug 3, 2018)

Rob Elliott said:


> Really cool. Are we looking at weeks or months from release?


Hi @Rob Elliott. We've just begun scripting and will then go through the normal beta testing and demo writing periods. I'm guessing they'll be ready by late September/early October. We're really excited about these!


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## Rob Elliott (Aug 3, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> Hi @Rob Elliott. We've just begun scripting and will then go through the normal beta testing and demo writing periods. I'm guessing they'll be ready by late September/early October. We're really excited about these!


Ok thanks for that. Since these samples are just not available in great numbers I'll probably pick up both the referenced library to this thread AND yours in Oct. Options will be key me thinks - to cover just the right vibe/project.


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## SoNowWhat? (Aug 9, 2018)

Insanity Samples Fiddle is out (see commercial announcements tier 2 for more info).


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## SoNowWhat? (Aug 9, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> I've been biting my tongue watching this thread but can't do it any longer.  Red Room Audio is currently working on 2 deep-sampled fiddle libraries recorded by 2 award-winning fiddlers in different parts of the world. Each fiddler specializes in a different folk style and we captured an ample selection of genre-specific articulations and ornaments. Both fiddles are recorded & edited and being scripted now. Stay tuned for more details coming asap.


Brilliant! I lost this thread for the last few days and have only just seen this.


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## Sid Francis (Aug 9, 2018)

The fiddle is offered now...and no phrases....nevertheless it will be a lot of work to patchwork a convincing fiddle performance out of it....


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## dflood (Aug 10, 2018)

Sid Francis said:


> The fiddle is offered now...and no phrases....nevertheless it will be a lot of work to patchwork a convincing fiddle performance out of it....



I can confirm this. Had to purchase it anyway just to find out. While I do like the tone of the samples it is at best a very simple library with just a few key articulations and almost no tweakability. I could certainly create some nice passages with it, working within its limitations, but would have a hard time recreating many traditional fiddle tunes owing to it’s lack of flexibility. As it has just been released, I did come across a couple of mistakes in the GUI that I’m sure the developers will fix. Red Room and hopefully others can take heart that a full featured fiddle VI has yet to be released.


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## Lode_Runner (Aug 13, 2018)

Really looking forward to hearing what Red Room do with this. 

And slightly off-topic, there's an interesting teaser on Soniccouture's website. Although it's not going to be the JBV of hardanger fiddles I've been longing for, they have said something about a Nyckelharpa


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## IdealSequenceG (Sep 6, 2018)

At least I want a Fiddle Library that will give this feeling of playing.


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## Lode_Runner (Sep 12, 2018)

It's raining fiddles. Just got an email from Bolder Sounds who've just released a fiddle library.


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## Vovique (Sep 12, 2018)

Lode_Runner said:


> It's raining fiddles. Just got an email from Bolder Sounds who've just released a fiddle library.


Great news, listened to the demos - a must buy in my opinion!


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## rrichard63 (Sep 12, 2018)

Vovique said:


> Great news, listened to the demos - a must buy in my opinion!


I will check this out carefully. Many of Bolder Sound's libraries are near-instant buys for me.


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## Illico (Sep 12, 2018)

I recently used the JB Violin for celtic's style piece I shared here: https://vi-control.net/community/threads/celtic-circassian-circle.74408/




dflood said:


> ...The closest instrument I have heard is the Ilya Efimov treatment of Uilean pipes:
> http://www.ilyaefimov.com/products/ethnic-winds/uillean-pipes.html
> This is how I imagine a dedicated fiddle style could be sampled, where the major ornamentations are deep sampled or scripted.


+1

Now, I'll waiting for RedRoomAudio library.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Sep 12, 2018)

My VI:Control thread on *fiddle!* the new Bolder Sounds Fiddle Library is HERE


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## paularthur (Sep 14, 2018)

Can the E. Friendlander suffice for fiddle responsibilities?


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## Rob Elliott (Sep 15, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> Hi @Rob Elliott. We've just begun scripting and will then go through the normal beta testing and demo writing periods. I'm guessing they'll be ready by late September/early October. We're really excited about these!


I have to say I am a bit disappointed with all the recent releases and looking forward to this possible. Keeping my fingers crossed.


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## Polkasound (Sep 16, 2018)

The Bolder Sounds fiddle helps fill a gap in the virtual instruments market, and the Insanity Samples fiddle sounds as good as a fiddle can get, but I have to be honest... you could have ten different $50 fiddles from ten different developers, but none would be able to do what a $200 fiddle could do, and that's what I need -- a fiddle with the depth and power of the best concert violins out there.



paularthur said:


> Can the E. Friendlander suffice for fiddle responsibilities?



I used it for a slow fiddle part once, and it worked well. But I found it a little too unwieldy for upbeat fiddle music.


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## SoNowWhat? (Sep 18, 2018)

Polkasound said:


> The Bolder Sounds fiddle helps fill a gap in the virtual instruments market, and the Insanity Samples fiddle sounds as good as a fiddle can get, but I have to be honest... you could have ten different $50 fiddles from ten different developers, but none would be able to do what a $200 fiddle could do, and that's what I need -- a fiddle with the depth and power of the best concert violins out there.
> 
> 
> 
> I used it for a slow fiddle part once, and it worked well. But I found it a little too unwieldy for upbeat fiddle music.


Seeing as the metaphor was made earlier I’ll use it again but, yes if there was a JBV fiddle (your $200 version for example), I’d be in. That instrument is so amazing to play. I have no idea how achievable that is or if it’s pie in the sky. I like the Bolder one (from the small amount I’ve listened to) but there’s a couple of passages of legato/sustain notes that sounded a bit odd. The faster parts sounded great to my ear. I’m still intrigued to see what RedRoom come up with as well and then who knows what other surprises might drop from unexpected sources. Both the Insanity and Bolder instruments were unexpected, at this end at least.


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## Polkasound (Sep 18, 2018)

SoNowWhat? said:


> I’m still intrigued to see what RedRoom come up with as well and then who knows what other surprises might drop from unexpected sources.



That's pretty much where I'm at, too. I still might buy the Bolder Sounds fiddle because Dennis is a solid developer and his instruments are always a good value, but I'm not crazy about the tone of that particular fiddle. For the music I'd create, I'd prefer a fiddle with a touch more boxiness and grit to it. But Bolder is hinting at more than one fiddle library, so I'm anxious to hear what's next.


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## Red Room Audio (Sep 18, 2018)

I personally own a few Bolder Sounds libraries and they're great. You can't go wrong with Dennis' products. I think there's enough room on the hard drive for a few fiddle libraries so it's great to have all these new choices! Our pending contribution will be two-fold: a Celtic (recorded in Ireland) and a Bluegrass (recorded in Kentucky), two separate products releasing at the same time. Each has a plethora of genre-specific ornaments and techniques in addition to core articulations and two types of true legato. Scripting is underway and I'll share a GUI shot or two soon. In the meantime go fiddle around with the Bolder fiddle. Fiddles for everyone! (aw, fiddlesticks)


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## dflood (Sep 18, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> I personally own a few Bolder Sounds libraries and they're great. You can't go wrong with Dennis' products. I think there's enough room on the hard drive for a few fiddle libraries so it's great to have all these new choices! Our pending contribution will be two-fold: a Celtic and a Bluegrass, two separate products releasing at the same time. Each has a plethora of genre-specific ornaments and techniques in addition to core articulations and two types of true legato. Scripting is underway and I'll share a GUI shot or two soon. In the meantime go fiddle around with the Bolder fiddle. Fiddles for everyone! (aw, fiddlesticks)


This is exactly what I’m looking for. I would certainly be interested in both products and separating them makes a lot of sense. And yes, there is plenty of room for more than one good fiddle library.


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## Rob Elliott (Sep 18, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> I personally own a few Bolder Sounds libraries and they're great. You can't go wrong with Dennis' products. I think there's enough room on the hard drive for a few fiddle libraries so it's great to have all these new choices! Our pending contribution will be two-fold: a Celtic (recorded in Ireland) and a Bluegrass (recorded in Kentucky), two separate products releasing at the same time. Each has a plethora of genre-specific ornaments and techniques in addition to core articulations and two types of true legato. Scripting is underway and I'll share a GUI shot or two soon. In the meantime go fiddle around with the Bolder fiddle. Fiddles for everyone! (aw, fiddlesticks)


Trying hard not to 'over hype' this in my mind. Sounds like exactly what I need (the two styles) GREAT idea!


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## Vovique (Sep 18, 2018)

Here comes the time that many of us have been waiting for for a really long time, so tired of trying to "melodyne" sampled violin phrases


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## Lode_Runner (Sep 19, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> I personally own a few Bolder Sounds libraries and they're great. You can't go wrong with Dennis' products. I think there's enough room on the hard drive for a few fiddle libraries so it's great to have all these new choices! In the meantime go fiddle around with the Bolder fiddle. Fiddles for everyone! (aw, fiddlesticks)


Wonderful attitude towards competition 



Red Room Audio said:


> Our pending contribution will be two-fold: a Celtic (recorded in Ireland) and a Bluegrass (recorded in Kentucky), two separate products releasing at the same time. Each has a plethora of genre-specific ornaments and techniques in addition to core articulations and two types of true legato. Scripting is underway and I'll share a GUI shot or two soon.


So no Hardanger (recorded in Norway)? Do I dare to dream that may come to be one day?


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## Red Room Audio (Sep 19, 2018)

Lode_Runner said:


> So no Hardanger (recorded in Norway)? Do I dare to dream that may come to be one day?



@Lode_Runner that's a very strong possibility! These fiddles will mark the debut of our Traveler Series; traditional regional instruments recorded on location around the world. Several more are already recorded and in production. We're totally up for a trip to Norway!


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## rrichard63 (Sep 19, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> ... our Traveler Series; traditional regional instruments recorded on location around the world ...


My wallet says "ouch!". I will no doubt say "resistance is futile" when the time comes.


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## dflood (Sep 19, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> traditional regional instruments recorded on location around the world. Several more are already recorded and in production.



Wow! In that case, may I direct your attention to my clawhammer banjo thread... https://vi-control.net/community/threads/clawhammer-banjo.74944/#post-4280214


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## SoNowWhat? (Sep 19, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> @Lode_Runner that's a very strong possibility! These fiddles will mark the debut of our Traveler Series; traditional regional instruments recorded on location around the world. Several more are already recorded and in production. We're totally up for a trip to Norway!


Wow. This is very exciting news. Trying to follow @Rob Elliott above and not get overhyped...but, it’s not working.

And +1 for the clawhammer Ban-Joe.


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## Sid Francis (Sep 19, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> @Lode_Runner that's a very strong possibility! These fiddles will mark the debut of our Traveler Series; traditional regional instruments recorded on location around the world. Several more are already recorded and in production. We're totally up for a trip to Norway!


That sounds exciting except for my wallet crying  Then I would like to point your attention to the Nyckelharpa which, for the same reasons as the Hardanger fiddle, is seldom sampled because of the sympathetic strings that define the instrument and make sampled transitions harder I think.


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## Red Room Audio (Sep 25, 2018)




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## paularthur (Sep 25, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


>




that Celtic Fiddle nails the sailor-vibe i'm looking for! <3


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## Rob Elliott (Sep 25, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


>



Ok nice LIVE recording but now show us the multisampled library.   WOW!!!!!


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## Sid Francis (Sep 25, 2018)

Was that really the instrument? I cannot believe.....


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## dflood (Sep 25, 2018)

Sid Francis said:


> Was that really the instrument? I cannot believe.....


My thoughts exactly


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## SoNowWhat? (Sep 26, 2018)

Alright, sounds good ...great ...fantastic! . I'm especially digging the Celtic right now but can see the attraction of both.


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## Paul Grymaud (Sep 26, 2018)

*Yeehaw ! That's exactly what we were waiting for. Thanks 
Price, availability, Kontakt ? *


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## rrichard63 (Sep 26, 2018)

Can the bluegrass fiddle play Orange Blossom Special?


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## Rob Elliott (Sep 26, 2018)

Celtic one is also my favorite but both will be regularly used. Excellent. Can't wait for the walkthrough vids.


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## Red Room Audio (Sep 26, 2018)

Hi all! So excited that you're excited, so are we! Just to clarify, the instruments aren't quite playable yet. What you're hearing is our amazing fiddlers jamming away during the sessions. We wanted to include some raw sound recordings in our video announcements (the Bluegrass audio is actually straight from my phone!). It's our goal that you'll be able to create lines like this with the final products and we'll post examples asap, as well as articulations lists.

To answer a few questions:
1. Our fiddles will require the full version of Kontakt 5.6.8 and above.
2. We're shooting for mid-October release to allow time for testing and demo writing.
3. Price TBD - would love to hear your thoughts!
4. An "Orange Blossom Special" demo? We should totally try it!

Here's an early screenshot of the Celtic (Bluegrass is almost identical). Note that there are multiple pages of ornaments, 2 flavors of sustains and both slurred and normal legato. We're also including our powerful TACT (Total Articulation Control Technology, developed by our sister company Impact Soundworks), which allows you to customize how all your articulations are triggered with up to 3 rules (e.g., keyswitch, velocity, CC, etc). Of course we'll include presets for maximum playability out of the box. We're also debuting our brand new FX rack. More details soon! In the meantime feel free to post more questions here.


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## rrichard63 (Sep 26, 2018)

Are you at liberty to tell us who the fiddlers are?


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## Rob Elliott (Sep 26, 2018)

Looks great. For those of us who don't use a second keyboard - please consider starting your KS's on A-1 (or C0) ...up and THEN maybe ornaments ABOVE the upper range of the instrument (it may help keep it straight in our brains as well.).


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## KarlHeinz (Sep 26, 2018)

> TACT (Total Articulation Control Technology, developed by our sister company Impact Soundworks), which allows you to customize how all your articulations are triggered with up to 3 rules (e.g., keyswitch, *velocity*, CC, etc). Of course we'll include presets for maximum *playability out of the box*


Love this  (I hate keyswitches). Prize is really hard to say something cause I am afraid between what it will be worth (at least what I can imagine so far) and what a poor hobby musician could spent will be big difference (sigh....).
Maybe when you produce a whole series single instrument might be a little cheaper . I really would love to see this (at least the intro sales prize) < 100 bucks but I am afraid it wont :-(.


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## Red Room Audio (Sep 26, 2018)

@Rob Elliott The trigger values (keyswitches) shown are determined by your own TACT settings, so you'll be able to set everything up any way you like!

@rrichard63 Absolutely! Our Celtic fiddler is the amazing, award-winning *Naill Murphy*. Niall has a long list of credits including names like Sinead O'Connor, Van Morrison, The Chieftans, The Dubliners and currently performs in several touring groups. You can read all about him here - https://www.niallmurphymusic.com/
Our Bluegrass fiddler is the extremely talented Bluegrass veteran and multi-instrumentalist *Ronnie Stewart*, who has performed and recorded with pretty much everyone in the genre and appears on hundreds of records. Read about him here - http://www.ronniestewart.com/about


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Sep 26, 2018)

Can't wait.


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## Lode_Runner (Sep 26, 2018)

Red Room Audio said:


> Just to clarify, the instruments aren't quite playable yet. What you're hearing is our amazing fiddlers jamming away during the sessions. We wanted to include some raw sound recordings in our video announcements (the Bluegrass audio is actually straight from my phone!). It's our goal that you'll be able to create lines like this with the final products and we'll post examples asap, as well as articulations lists.


You probably should mention that in the video itself so that noone's mislead to think it's the library they're hearing.
Re price I'm hoping for a bundle deal as I'm going to want both (and there's lots of other upcoming releases I'm trying to save for)
Beautiful interface.
Looking forward to hearing more.


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## Paul Grymaud (Sep 26, 2018)

Hum... let's say 149$ per fiddle, 249 $ for them both, full price.
99 $ per fiddle, 199 $ both, Introductory offer.


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## Sid Francis (Sep 26, 2018)

That sounds reasonable


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