# "Solo Opera" by Organic Samples | Solo Vocals VST for Kontakt



## Maxime Luft (Jun 3, 2017)

​

https://www.organic-samples.com/organic-voices-vol-1-solo-opera
_

Live walkthrough:_

















*Organic Voices Vol. 1: Solo Opera is out now.*

*By Organic Samples.*

*
*​

*Extensive true legato sampling, no synthetic half steps for enhanced realism*

*3 microphone positions (Close, Main stereo, Surround)*

*Pre-mixed solo opera soprano patches for an instant full sound out-of-the-box *

*Speed by velocity functionality and custom legato patch for enhanced control*

*Recorded in a medium-sized room, ideal to get some natural reflections but a still intimate sounding performance*

*Same note repetition samples, slow and fast attacks for the sustains*

*Exclusive "Tension builds" patch to make chords from which all notes end up going to the same note*


*4.55 GB of uncompressed .WAV samples *
*32 bit / 48KHz sample resolution *
*1527 samples*
*Works with full version of Kontakt 5.5.1 and above*





​
_For more demos, pictures and purchase, please visit the product page at:_

https://www.organic-samples.com/organic-voices-vol-1-solo-opera (<span style="font-size: 15px">https://www.organic-samples.com/organic-voices-vol-1-solo-opera</span>)​




Many thanks from me and Ekaterina.​


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## P.N. (Jun 3, 2017)

Hi, Maxime.

I'd recommend the piano having stereo close mics and the vocals - close mono. You probably already have all the know-how regarding phase, etc.

This is, of course, how i'd personally do it. Not a rule.

Cheers,

P.N.


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## jamwerks (Jun 3, 2017)

Mono spot mic for vox makes sense. No reason to do that stereo imo.


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## LHall (Jun 3, 2017)

Agree - solo vocal just mono close mic. Spend the resources instead on scripting and playability. Plenty of verbs out there to put them in a room.


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## alexballmusic (Jun 3, 2017)

For a vocal, I'd find a mono close mic most useful. I'm imagining you'll have stereo room mics if you're recording in a hall or stage?

On the piano - I always find it useful to have a true mono mic option on libraries. So you can also do more vintage / character sounds. I remember years ago having the Reason add on libraries (pianos, drums, hammond, harmonium, celeste, bass etc). They recorded the big stereo sound, but also stuck a loan ribbon on everything if you wanted it. And those were often really useful.


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## Maxime Luft (Jun 24, 2017)

quick update:

thanks a lot for your help!
Here a midi test I just did very quickly, we have now recorded / cut nearly 80% of the samples and basically still a lot of work! Here it's just the 2nd mic position (out of three), the close one has been recorded in mono (seems obvious now but I had to make sure before recording all those intervals!)


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## imagegod (Jun 24, 2017)

Wow, I've never heard a vocal library without kind of transition. Are you sure it's a legato and not a glissando or portamento? I'm a composer, and definitely not a musician, so I have no idea...I do know it's a very powerful transition...very interesting and useful. Incredibly natural sounding (IMHO).

Can you do down/short up/down transitions (rather than just straight up/down)? Can you/do you want to change the timing of the transition? Can you/do you want to change vibrato? You could get some incredible musical effects if all that's possible.

In any case, keep up the good work!


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## LHall (Jun 25, 2017)

My initial feedback would be to really make a study of natural legato transitions. And perhaps you have - I understand this is a quick rough. While vocalists do slide from note to note at times, it is somewhat more of the exceptions rather than the norm. The slides in this rough seem pretty far overdone, especially the first and the last. For instance, if a singer is going from C to G, you may hear him/her slide to the G from an F# or F, but unless it's a special effect they would not slide all the way from the C. So you'll need different variations of the transition to a G: as coming from an F, coming from D, from Ab, etc. They would all sound a bit different.


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## Phillip (Jun 25, 2017)

Before addressing micing, stereo and legato transitions - do you like this voice? If you like it, do you think your prospective customers will like it?

You will not get decent sales if you have perfect Legato but the voice itself is unattractive. When you sample, quality of the instrument is the very first concern.

All the best with your project.


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## Maxime Luft (Jun 26, 2017)

@imagegod Glad to read that! Well we focused on an expressive kind of legato, sometimes the intervals are clearly underlined so I set up a velocity-attack function which will shorten up the transitions (works good for i.e. fast passages) and may be turned off via the UI. 

Although you will be able to achieve quite a lot with that library, this one will be particularly well suited to slow melodic arrangements requiring a powerful trained voice over the top 

@LHall Thank you for your comment! I will talk with her about it before our next session.

@Phillip I know she has a polarizing voice, especially in her lower register (which is mainly featured there) but for me it's an honour to capture these performances and to make an inspiring tool out of it. 

I hope it may inspire those at the other pole! Thanks a lot for your comment.


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## Maxime Luft (Jul 5, 2017)

Here the latest example of the library after having recorded nearly everything (just 8 samples are a bit strange, we'll redo them tomorrow) featuring nothing but the 2nd mic position (Mains AB Stereo). The close mics definitely make the sound fuller but I first gotta edit all of them... 



Most of you probably know where the soundtrack I used here comes from... I hope there is no problem with that, I just did it to test the library in an orchestral context. 
It's a bit of a mess because of all that sound design stuff etc. but I may upload the naked vocals part in a few without any reverb. I hope this may interest some of you! Thanks for listening.


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## LHall (Jul 6, 2017)

Sounds like you're on the right track. I wouldn't use that particular track to put my music against though - definitely on the edge of copyright infringement there. Vocal is sounding nice though.


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## Maxime Luft (Aug 9, 2017)

We managed to program the library until we were a bit satisfied and are releasing it today!

So I just updated the website and uploaded a short excerpt from a longer track (available on https://www.organic-samples.com/organic-voices-vol-1-solo-opera ) on YouTube:



Thanks for all of your tips and support.


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## Niah2 (Aug 10, 2017)

Sounds really great !


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## EgM (Aug 11, 2017)

Really does!


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## Robo Rivard (Aug 11, 2017)

PayPal payment only...


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## EgM (Aug 11, 2017)

Gonna make a demo off this in the next few days


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## EgM (Aug 11, 2017)

@Maxime Luft

Played with it a little, it sounds amazing! But I have issues with the volume, it's incredibly low! I'm using Logic/Kontakt both latest versions, is there something I'm missing? 

Edit: I should say it's mostly in the lower registers
Edit2: Seems CC1 and Kontakt Volume CC7 keep being reset when restarting song for some reason even though controllers (cc1/cc7) are set at the beginning of the song.
Edit3: Ok, if I ride CC1 throughout the song it's fine. But it will not work if I set CC1 to 127 at the beginning of an existing track. No biggie, but a hassle if you just want to punch it in on an existing midi track.


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## thov72 (Aug 12, 2017)

Nice. ....the only vocal lib with such a strong legato that I know of is Shevannai.


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## Maxime Luft (Aug 16, 2017)

For those who asked, a live walkthrough is now online. Also in order to show how playable it is:



@EgM I'd recommend to use CC1 to get more control over the volumes and make sure that everything's working properly. I nonetheless get the best results when playing with it as few as possible (take a look at 1:10 in my walkthrough). 



Robo Rivard said:


> PayPal payment only...



Since today, you may also pay securely with a credit card without going through paypal.


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## MA-Simon (Aug 16, 2017)

Just wanted to say, the voice and style of legato sounds absolutely amazing! All the best with your new release.


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## eli0s (Aug 17, 2017)

Hello, the library sounds very promising in the walkthrough!

I would like to know if I can buy the library while the reduced price is still on, but download the files after 28 of August.

Thank you


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## Maxime Luft (Aug 17, 2017)

eli0s said:


> Hello, the library sounds very promising in the walkthrough!
> 
> I would like to know if I can buy the library while the reduced price is still on, but download the files after 28 of August.
> 
> Thank you



Hi @eli0s, of course you can! I'll make sure to send the corresponding links personally once you want to download the library.

Just drop me a line here via PM or to [email protected]


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## eli0s (Aug 18, 2017)

Maxime Luft said:


> Hi @eli0s, of course you can! I'll make sure to send the corresponding links personally once you want to download the library.
> 
> Just drop me a line here via PM or to [email protected]


Thank you very much, I will!

Elias


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## eli0s (Aug 18, 2017)

Thank you very much, I bought the library, I'll pm you in a few days!

Elias


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## jamieboo (Aug 28, 2017)

Nice!
But similarly to what someone mentioned earlier, it's incredibly quiet!
Even with the volume slider raised in Kontakt, slider in Cubase at max, and CC1 and CC11 hovering around max, it's way too quiet.
Anyone else noticed this? Anything I can do?
Thanks.


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## Maxime Luft (Aug 28, 2017)

jamieboo said:


> Nice!
> But similarly to what someone mentioned earlier, it's incredibly quiet!
> Even with the volume slider raised in Kontakt, slider in Cubase at max, and CC1 and CC11 hovering around max, it's way too quiet.
> Anyone else noticed this? Anything I can do?
> Thanks.



Hi @jamieboo, I'm sorry to read that.

I would recommend you click on the edit button of the instrument and add a gainer or an inverter in the insert effects, then raise the volume knob up.

I uploaded a png file to show how I would do that, hope it helps.


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## jamieboo (Aug 28, 2017)

I will try that - thank you Maxime!
But isn't that a work around for a problem that shouldn't be there in the first place?
Can't the program itself be fixed/patched so the volume is at a natural level?
Or am I the only one having this issue?


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## Maxime Luft (Aug 28, 2017)

Well the problem is... the volumes are nearly at their natural levels. Most of sample library developers tend to adjust the levels at the processing stage with higher gains. 

I didn't do it as much as others do as I like to have some low levels first to make sure nothing peaks in Kontakt, and put a gainer afterwards.
Again, I sincerely hope it doesn't bother you that much and that you're still satisfied with the tone of the library


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## handz (Aug 28, 2017)

Sounds really great, what a nice little library


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## sostenuto (Aug 28, 2017)

Today is Aug 28, but Library is now @ $49. Too bad !!


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## jamieboo (Aug 28, 2017)

Maxime Luft said:


> Well the problem is... the volumes are nearly at their natural levels. Most of sample library developers tend to adjust the levels at the processing stage with higher gains.
> 
> I didn't do it as much as others do as I like to have some low levels first to make sure nothing peaks in Kontakt, and put a gainer afterwards.
> Again, I sincerely hope it doesn't bother you that much and that you're still satisfied with the tone of the library



Thanks for the explanation, Maxime.
It certainly doesn't bother me too much. As others have said, it's a great little library!


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## eli0s (Aug 29, 2017)

Cool! This sounds GREAT! It's a no-brainer if someone wants a lyrical solo female voice line! It's a full voice, more on the Alto side, but the quality of the voice is beautiful (if you don't mind a strong developing vibrato) and the legato script works very well (although not for fast passed coloraturas). Slow, lyrical or even dramatic passages: CHECK!

Bravo, well done!!!


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## Maxime Luft (Oct 16, 2017)

Just made a free demo version from the library, just so you might get used to its interface and playability before purchasing:

bit.ly/SoloOperaLegato (download times via Wi-Fi for me: less than a minute)

Limited range of C#4 to F4, no "Custom Legato" nor "Tension Builds" patches, only "Close" and "Mains stereo" mics.

The full version gives you access to the full soprano register (A2-G#4), both "Custom Legato" & "Tension Builds" patches and a 24/7 customer support service.


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## midi-et-quart (Oct 13, 2018)

There is a flash sale at the moment at organic samples, -40% off every single product and -60% off the complete bundle!
I wrote to one of the support guys about their upcoming libraries and they seem to be focusing on male vocals now, so actually... why not?


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## rrichard63 (Oct 13, 2018)

midi-et-quart said:


> ... they seem to be focusing on male vocals now ...


Excellent news. I have many female vocalist libraries but few male ones.


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## organic-samples (Oct 13, 2018)

midi-et-quart said:


> There is a flash sale at the moment at organic samples, -40% off every single product and -60% off the complete bundle!
> I wrote to one of the support guys about their upcoming libraries and they seem to be focusing on male vocals now, so actually... why not?



Hi midi-et-quart, yes indeed, we are currently working on such a library. And it's probably me who told you the info, right?

We keep the same methods we had for Solo Opera and Ethnic Inspiration, but this time we are also recording different legato techniques to combine them into one patch. There will also be some experimental sustains with some cool subharmonics and other types of unique singing techniques.

Best,
Frank


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## Niah2 (Oct 13, 2018)

organic-samples said:


> Hi midi-et-quart, yes indeed, we are currently working on such a library. And it's probably me who told you the info, right?
> 
> We keep the same methods we had for Solo Opera and Ethnic Inspiration, but this time we are also recording different legato techniques to combine them into one patch. There will also be some experimental sustains with some cool subharmonics and other types of unique singing techniques.
> 
> ...



That is great news.

Have you thought about a library dedicated to throat singing?

Here is a cool video:


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## c t (Oct 13, 2018)

Will there be 24bit downloads for the Opera samples the way there is for the Middle Eastern ones?


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## axb312 (Oct 13, 2018)

organic-samples said:


> Hi midi-et-quart, yes indeed, we are currently working on such a library. And it's probably me who told you the info, right?
> 
> We keep the same methods we had for Solo Opera and Ethnic Inspiration, but this time we are also recording different legato techniques to combine them into one patch. There will also be some experimental sustains with some cool subharmonics and other types of unique singing techniques.
> 
> ...


Hey Frank ,

Dirk Ehlert did a demo with your library some time ago. Was never able to watch it though.

Do you have a link to the demo? I believe you need some more demos and/ or review on the site....


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## organic-samples (Oct 14, 2018)

c t said:


> Will there be 24bit downloads for the Opera samples the way there is for the Middle Eastern ones?



Hi @c t , currently there is only a 24bit version available for Solo Opera as you get the download links. We may also add a lighter 16bit version if we get it requested.



axb312 said:


> Hey Frank ,
> 
> Dirk Ehlert did a demo with your library some time ago. Was never able to watch it though.
> 
> Do you have a link to the demo? I believe you need some more demos and/ or review on the site....



Hello @axb312 , I think I downloaded the video as it was still available on Twitch, here the link to the demo:



We will definitely add a review section and more demos. Lots of composers have been using our libraries over the past months and we should indeed feature them on our website. Obviously, I will need to send them a kind of formal request first before doing so.


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## Shredoverdrive (Oct 14, 2018)

Just bought your bundle and started testing the vocal libraries for now. I will probably only use the solo opera one in the near future but both are very playable and sound very good. Amazing work! I would be interested by a 16 bit version of the solo opera library by the way.


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## Wolf68 (Oct 14, 2018)

wow that demo from dirk ehlert is amazing. especially these deep tones in the beginning cought me. bought.


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## c t (Oct 14, 2018)

organic-samples said:


> Hi @c t , currently there is only a 24bit version available for Solo Opera as you get the download links. We may also add a lighter 16bit version if we get it requested.



It's still the 32bit samples. I just redownloaded it to check, and samples are still 32; was hoping to get 24bit like the vol. 2.


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## organic-samples (Oct 14, 2018)

c t said:


> It's still the 32bit samples. I just redownloaded it to check, and samples are still 32; was hoping to get 24bit like the vol. 2.



Ok, thank you for reporting this issue.
I will update the zip file as soon as I come back to our office so this problem should be solved within the next 24 hours. 

Best, 
Frank


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## axb312 (Oct 14, 2018)

organic-samples said:


> Hi @c t , currently there is only a 24bit version available for Solo Opera as you get the download links. We may also add a lighter 16bit version if we get it requested.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thank you. How many dynamic layers do these libraries have (Solo Opera and Ethnic inspiration)? Also, are there different vowels at different dynamics or the same sound/ vowel throughout? Any plans to add additional sounds/ vowels in the future?


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## LandWaterSky (Oct 14, 2018)

Niah2 said:


> That is great news.
> 
> Have you thought about a library dedicated to throat singing?



It's not throat singing exactly, but it would be wonderful to have some Sami yoik singing!


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## organic-samples (Oct 14, 2018)

axb312 said:


> Thank you. How many dynamic layers do these libraries have (Solo Opera and Ethnic inspiration)? Also, are there different vowels at different dynamics or the same sound/ vowel throughout? Any plans to add additional sounds/ vowels in the future?



We will definitely expand our techniques for more deep-sampled instruments and vocals. Currently there is only one legato technique with one single dynamic layer. The performer was able to particularly focus on each interval and there were lots of retakes...

For us, it's really about a musical performance which has been recorded. And then to make a playable instrument out of it.


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## axb312 (Oct 15, 2018)

organic-samples said:


> We will definitely expand our techniques for more deep-sampled instruments and vocals. Currently there is only one legato technique with one single dynamic layer. The performer was able to particularly focus on each interval and there were lots of retakes...
> 
> For us, it's really about a musical performance which has been recorded. And then to make a playable instrument out of it.



I honestly feel, and perhaps I'm totally wrong about this, but dynamics are perhaps one of the most important things about singing. How a singer sounds when singing softly vs how they sound when they sing loudly are very different.

The lack of dynamic layers (and possibly vibrato control) looks like a big gap to me, and unless these are promised in a free future update, I'm skipping this for now as it seems incomplete.


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## axb312 (Nov 19, 2018)

axb312 said:


> I honestly feel, and perhaps I'm totally wrong about this, but dynamics are perhaps one of the most important things about singing. How a singer sounds when singing softly vs how they sound when they sing loudly are very different.
> 
> The lack of dynamic layers (and possibly vibrato control) looks like a big gap to me, and unless these are promised in a free future update, I'm skipping this for now as it seems incomplete.



@organic-samples Would appreciate a response to this...


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## organic-samples (Nov 19, 2018)

Hey @axb312 , sorry for not having answered your question yet.

As both libraries were our first public releases (we've been, and are still making custom libs), we wanted to offer a consistent library that, of course, isn't the most complete but which tries to show that sometimes, "less is more"

Sure, it's not a kind of deep sampled library, but the reason for that is also because of how we make those libs:
By recording everything in a few days in a row and not skipping any semitone, so as to get the most natural result. 
It quickly becomes quite boring when you're the singer and sometimes, it's just a bit much to ask for 5 times more work by adding piano and forte layers, as well as vib / non-vib for each dynamic.

_But_ we also plan to expand these libraries by recording some of those missing layers, this is something we plan to do in 2019.


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## axb312 (Nov 19, 2018)

organic-samples said:


> Hey @axb312 , sorry for not having answered your question yet.
> 
> As both libraries were our first public releases (we've been, and are still making custom libs), we wanted to offer a consistent library that, of course, isn't the most complete but which tries to show that sometimes, "less is more"
> 
> ...



Thank you for the response. Would this be a free update or...?

Also, when are we likely to see some more demos and perhaps videos of creation of a track or two with these vocal libraries?


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## Paul Grymaud (Nov 19, 2018)

Hi Maxime !

Very good job that probably needs a few adjustments. I agree with the musicians who says that, for a voice, mono is better than stereo. I have to say that the voice in itself is beautiful. A real lyrical voice. Vibrato is correct. BUT, in my opinion there's a problem about the vowels. Let me explain that point. Sometimes I hear a "O" and sometimes an "A". I know (I'm a lyrical tenor) that in the High notes we have to "cover" the sound and an "A" becomes an "O" or preferably we sing a sound between "O" and "an". Now, here it cannot be realistic because the singer is "vocalizing" ! You see what I mean ?
To be clear as possible, this is a melody I initialy wrote for a solo violin but I tought it could be nice with a solo voice.
The voice starts at 1'12


Now, below is the voice part without accompaniment.
Do You hear the A/O/O/A/O/O and so on instead of A/A/A/A/A/A or O/O/O/O/O ? Can You do something about that ? It's not tragic but just annoying. Otherwise, teh voice is beautiful. Of course I should use a bend or something like that to work on the intensity. I know, it's my fault. But, can You fix that problem ? Many thanks, Paul

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/tristesse-voce-mp3.16482/][/AUDIOPLUS]


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## Casiquire (Nov 20, 2018)

This is the first I've ever heard of this library but wow, it sounds fantastic! I'm definitely going to buy this.


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## organic-samples (Nov 20, 2018)

Paul Grymaud said:


> Hi Maxime !
> 
> Very good job that probably needs a few adjustments. I agree with the musicians who says that, for a voice, mono is better than stereo. I have to say that the voice in itself is beautiful. A real lyrical voice. Vibrato is correct. BUT, in my opinion there's a problem about the vowels. Let me explain that point. Sometimes I hear a "O" and sometimes an "A". I know (I'm a lyrical tenor) that in the High notes we have to "cover" the sound and an "A" becomes an "O" or preferably we sing a sound between "O" and "an". Now, here it cannot be realistic because the singer is "vocalizing" ! You see what I mean ?
> To be clear as possible, this is a melody I initialy wrote for a solo violin but I tought it could be nice with a solo voice.
> ...




Hi Paul, I just forwarded your message to Maxime so he can take a look at it. Maybe that with a formant correction audio application it might be enhanced.

What many don't know about this library is that initially we had our set of samples but re-recorded nearly half of them because of the problem you mentioned. It's actually not that easy to maintain such a vowel during an entire session. But this is what I meant previously when saying that we "offer a _consistent_ library".

Best,
Frank


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## axb312 (Nov 20, 2018)

axb312 said:


> Thank you for the response. Would this be a free update or...?
> 
> Also, when are we likely to see some more demos and perhaps videos of creation of a track or two with these vocal libraries?



@organic-samples Can I ask you for a response as well?


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## EgM (Nov 21, 2018)

Casiquire said:


> This is the first I've ever heard of this library but wow, it sounds fantastic! I'm definitely going to buy this.



I got it when it released, like @organic-samples said, it's not a deep sampled library by any means, but it really does sound good.

Just control your cc1 and you can make it sound awesome and real.


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## Casiquire (Nov 21, 2018)

EgM said:


> I got it when it released, like @organic-samples said, it's not a deep sampled library by any means, but it really does sound good.
> 
> Just control your cc1 and you can make it sound awesome and real.



I watched the walkthroughs, I can tell it's not what you'd call "deep sampled" but it seems more than fair for the price point and sounds really great.


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