# Chris Hein solo violin



## reddognoyz (Apr 4, 2016)

Check the demo at best service. I don't know guys, this might be the next level. At least for me. They have a borrowed a demo style from another developer.....


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## AllanH (Apr 4, 2016)

is there pricing yet?
That sounds incredible.


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## Quasar (Apr 4, 2016)

Yeah the demo is mind-blowing... Got a letter from Best Service today, and the price I received is $179 US.


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## Sid Francis (Apr 4, 2016)

Why don´t you also insert a link? I searched on the site of best service and get no hit with Chris Hein Violin :-(


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## Silence-is-Golden (Apr 5, 2016)

As per your request: 

http://www.bestservice.de/news.html


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## Sid Francis (Apr 5, 2016)

Thank you so much. Just wondering, because there are no demos to click. However I found them on Chris´ site


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## Raindog (Apr 5, 2016)

I could already betatest the violin. It´s a great instrument. The legato transitions (slured and portamento) especially are wonderful (as you can hear in the demo). I also like the possibility to modify the note heads via velocity or midi controller. This already worked pretty well with the brasses and winds and does an excellent job with the violin as well.

Sampling a violin always leaves some desires left, it´s a well known difficult task but Chris did a very good job (I might even retire my Embertone violin, but maybe having 2 violins is not an awful mistake  )

Regards
Raindog


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## Sid Francis (Apr 5, 2016)

Thanks for your experiences. I saw in the given Best Service link, that "Try Sound 2.0" is also on the way and this will probably provide the possibility to test the instruments over the net with a much shorter latency than now. I will definitly try Chris´ Violin then.


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## Smikes77 (Apr 5, 2016)

how usable is this going to be though? Think it would take hours and hours to get a performance sounding right?


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## Rob Elliott (Apr 5, 2016)

Smikes77 said:


> how usable is this going to be though? Think it would take hours and hours to get a performance sounding right?


+1. I would love to also know this.


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## Chris Hein (Apr 5, 2016)

Thanks all for your interest.
More info about the Solo-Violin is here: http://www.chrishein.net/web/CH-Violin_Overview.html



Smikes77 said:


> how usable is this going to be though? Think it would take hours and hours to get a performance sounding right?


Thats a really good question. The short answer is of course: It depends.
The detailed answer is a bit longer: 
If you have an instrument with only a few functions, you won't spend much time because there is simply no way to edit.
You can spend hours with a solo violin track, but you don't have to.

I thinks, especially the "False Valse" video shows that it is possible to get pretty realistic results.
Now, how much effort so you have to spend to achieve this?
Naomi, the violin player, and I spend weeks in the studio to study what is going on the real instrument and how we can re-create that the with the sampled instrument.
There are many details in attack shapes, articulations, dynamic, special efx, etc. we discussed.
In addition I tried to implement the many functions so that its easy to access all the nuances.
Note-Heads, Hot-Keys, Blending, Sustain pedal for portamento or runs, are functions which work in realtime.
All in all I spent a whole year for the development of CH-Solo Violin.
Honestly, I was surprised myself how good this all works. The Solo-Violin is the best instrument I ever made.

However, back to the topic:
There are many function to design an exposed solo track in detail, but you don't have to use them.
If you play a lyrical phrase without much extras, you probably don't have to touch any button at all.
The dynamic and legato engine do a great job in the background. There are enough sustained articulation to find the right sound.

From here you can start to fine-tune the performance.
The time you'll need for this only depend on the degree of quality and variations you'd like to include.

Let me give you only a few examples:

*Dynamic.*
You can play the up to 8 dynamic layers velocity sensitive without any editing.
You can ride CC11 to play the dynamic changes, thanks to the phase-aligned samples this works smooth over all dynamic layers.

*Attack shapes / NoteHeads:*
The Note-Heads let you switch through the 12 short articulations in realtime with a MIDI CC. 
Its also really easy to edit them in your DAW. Higher value = faster attack. Done with a few clicks.
The note-heads are a real timesaver. Instead of switching articulations to get an accent at the beginning of a note,
simply move the fader or paint it in your DAW.
Note-Heads are perfect for these little grace notes, up or down which happen permanently on a violin.

*Trills:*
There are several ways to throw in a trill on the fly:
Play them manually (The legato engine works fast enough), use the blending CC, use a Hot-Key to trigger the trill.
All done in realtime or easy to edit in your DAW. Choose the method which works best for you.

*Portamento / Runs:*
Simply press the sustain pedal to switch from Legato to portamento or a playable run.
Assign different key-switches to portamento or Glide-Mode to access both.

*Vibrato:*
Beside the vibrato articulations, the intelligent LFO Vibrato you can play the vibrato manually in realtime using the vibrato Hot-Key.

I could continue for hours, but these are the basic functions you may need for a detailed performance.

*An example for the workflow:*
The Paganini demo was done using an existing MIDI file. (Thats why it sound a bit too much quantized)

All in all I spent 5 hours to edit the MIDI track. I didn't change articulation very much, I mostly used the Note-Heads with its 8 dynamic layers and edit CC2 and velocity to vary the notes.
Its was really fun to edit that and see how it works, a lower Note-Heads works for softer phrases, the higher ones provide that ricochet like attack.
The fact that the Note-Heads also play legato by overlapping notes avoids some more articulation changes too.
The flageolet articulation from 1:38 worked very well, because we also recorded short flageolets with a better attack.

OK, enough talking.
I wish you could just try and feel how intuitive this instrument plays.

There will be much more videos in the near future going through all the details.

Chris Hein


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## Rob Elliott (Apr 5, 2016)

Thanks Chris for the details. Your demos at the bottom of your linked page are not active - coming up soon?


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## Chris Hein (Apr 5, 2016)

Thanks for the hint Rob, but Idon't exactly know what you mean.
Could you send me a screenshot to [email protected] ?

The buy button saying "Coming 3/2016" is wrong. Do you mean that?
It leads you to the Harmonica, which is a mistake. 
Although, see it as a suggestion and get the Harmonica while you wait for the Violin. 

The CH-Solo Violin is at NI for encoding now.
I really hope we can release the beast within the next two weeks.

Chris Hein


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## airflamesred (Apr 5, 2016)

Smikes77 said:


> how usable is this going to be though? Think it would take hours and hours to get a performance sounding right?


Unlike the acoustic counterpart then!?
I don't have this, but do have both the winds and brass librarys and can say that the note-heads are a time saver in themselves in just general workflow. I'm certainly no keyboard player but have found a set up (velocity and CC based) that suits me and I think there is versatility enough to have one to suit you.


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## Silence-is-Golden (Apr 5, 2016)

I am still looking for a playable violin that can also do some eastern playing styles.
Do you think that is achievable in what you have included in the samples & bowings? ( I can send you a link with some examples if you want)

Related questions:
I see the sustains and sustain vibrato, so that means the first one is non-vibrato?
And this is also the 8 layered dynamics? And if this is the non-vibrato patch then most likely I can use with that the key/ artificial vibrato?

Btw: There is a flutter tongue parameter in the gui visible in the blending section. Is this a perticular technique I don't know about with a violin?


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## Chris Hein (Apr 5, 2016)

Silence-is-Golden said:


> I am still looking for a playable violin that can also do some eastern playing styles.
> Do you think that is achievable in what you have included in the samples & bowings? ( I can send you a link with some examples if you want)


Yes, examples would be cool. MIDI files would be even better.
I have no idea if this would work. How far east do you want to go?
Middle eastern violins are hard to re-create because of the permanent strange tuning changes.
A micro-tuner is build in, but that alone won't do the job.
Far Eastern violins are different in timbre. An Erhu sounds completely different.

Related questions:


Silence-is-Golden said:


> I see the sustains and sustain vibrato, so that means the first one is non-vibrato?


Yes, sustain is straight notes without any vibrato. The Lyrical vibrato has a progressive vibrato which is also good to use the manual vibrato, at least for the first second before the vibrato comes in.



Silence-is-Golden said:


> And this is also the 8 layered dynamics? And if this is the non-vibrato patch then most likely I can use with that the key/ artificial vibrato?


The sustained articulations have 6 dynamics, the shorts have 8, the specials have between 3-8.
Yes, the key-vibrato makes most sense on the straight sustain articulation.



Silence-is-Golden said:


> Btw: There is a flutter tongue parameter in the gui visible in the blending section. Is this a particular technique I don't know about with a violin?


Thats because the videos were done with the beta version where the graphics haven't beeb finished.
In the final version it says "Tremolo" and lets you blend into the tremolo articulation.
Flutter tongue on a violin, haha, great. I could imagine a Jimi Hendriks style violin performance. 

Chris Hein


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## Przemek K. (Apr 5, 2016)

I've had this lib for several months now, so I did spend a lot of time with it creating demos and testing it.
I may be biased but from a users point of view I can say for sure it's very playable out of the box.
I figured that some of you may be a bit scared (don't be) when watching my Valse demo video where I used so many keyswitches and cc data, but thats's my preferred method. (This matching was also more of a test for me personally to see how far I could push this lib). The thing is, that in the original version of this demo I used less keyswitches and cc data, and only later on after Naomi 
performed my piece on her Violin, I thought of trying to match her performance as close as possible I could do at that point of time (early beta).

The thing is, it depends on the piece of music you want to write. If you mostly write lets say lyrical/flowing type of music, just use 1 or 2 articulations, namely sustain expression long and/or short, that's it. If you want to do some really complex stuff you can do that too, but you will have to put more work in it. For creating fast sketches, you just stack one short articulation on top of the sustains and you can play most stuff in realtime.
Having said that, it's a really versatile lib, extremely agile if you want it to be too.

But the best thing is always to try a library if possible, and as Chris mentioned it will be possible to do that with Try Sound 2.0


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## Smikes77 (Apr 5, 2016)

Thanks Chris and Przemek K. I`m really excited about this release. The only small thing that`s holding me back is the tone of the instrument. Maybe just from where I`m listening to it, so I want to have a listen on my better system later. It does look incredible though.


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## chimuelo (Apr 5, 2016)

Impressive artistry and engineering.
Another CH for my palette...


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## Silence-is-Golden (Apr 6, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Yes, examples would be cool. MIDI files would be even better.
> I have no idea if this would work. How far east do you want to go?
> Middle eastern violins are hard to re-create because of the permanent strange tuning changes.
> A micro-tuner is build in, but that alone won't do the job.
> ...


Thank you kindly for your answer Chris Hein.

unfortunately I have no midi files of the examples, nor do they exist, also not from myself. I could put up some notes off course, but since it will involve various cc commande and/ or keyswitches it seems too remote for a midifile.
Nevertheless I could try and play something in later today so you have got something to fiddle with .

The links to some examples are:

( this is a favourite of mine)


Both fantastic players!
Ps: nice to see how in different cultures musicianship gets treated differently, the first vid the violin player receives some "appreciative money" in an unusual way 

And I know and understand that the particular violins and playing techniques they use will not be achievable without actually having sampled it( like the overtones shift used).
But I do hope, since you have an extended range implemented in your library that some of the bowings might actually be possible.

And your option with a seperste vibrato depth and rate is welcomed since they use a slower vibrato then western / classical styles .

I am interested if you think its possible to some degree, and if you indeed would like a midi file I can send you something later today.

Thanks so far.


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## Chris Hein (Apr 6, 2016)

I would say, forget it. These harmonics are changing all the time, thats not a simple articulation change.
But if you send me a MIDI file, I can try.

However, for this kind of performance its actually not even worth trying to re-create it.
Sometimes we sample freaks forget that there are still real musicians, desperately waiting for a studio job.
I have no idea how much this bill is the guys got (both got money btw.) But I'm sure its less than I would charge to re-create it. 

Chris Hein


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## Ashermusic (Apr 6, 2016)

Well stated, Chris.


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## Silence-is-Golden (Apr 6, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> I would say, forget it. These harmonics are changing all the time, thats not a simple articulation change.
> But if you send me a MIDI file, I can try.
> 
> However, for this kind of performance its actually not even worth trying to re-create it.
> ...


Yeah I know, ......I have become a sample freak.

still I hope one day......

But just to make sure: Working with real musicians is also the only way real music gets transferred and (re) created. I absobloodylutely agree on that.
I just cannot find somebody in my network that can play like the two gentleman in the video's. So I have to find ways to get the music in my head into a form that fits with what I hear.

When the audition 2.0 funtionality is active at bestservice I am still going to try and play around with your vi violin and see how far I may get. ( although I think that the latency in playing via internet may interfere)

Thank you again very much for taking time to respond to my requests.
Enjoy the musicmesse!


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## Quasar (Apr 6, 2016)

Do Chris Hein instruments just use the standard NI Service Center for activating, so we can do this offline? Without any other fuss?


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## Raindog (Apr 6, 2016)

Tugboat said:


> Do Chris Hein instruments just use the standard NI Service Center for activating, so we can do this offline? Without any other fuss?


 
Yes, it's the standard NI activation process. Absolutely painless
Best regards
Raindog


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## Quasar (Apr 6, 2016)

Raindog said:


> Yes, it's the standard NI activation process. Absolutely painless
> Best regards
> Raindog



Thank you. This is probably a deal clincher for me. After listening/watching to what demos I could find, to my strictly amateur ear this is the best solo violin library I have heard.


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## Monkberry (Apr 7, 2016)

I'm looking forward to this release. Even if it takes more work to achieve more-realistic results, I welcome the options. The alternative is less options / less-realistic results or pay a violinist who is somewhat accomplished. I typically don't have the budget for that. Great job Chris and Naomi!


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## wcreed51 (Apr 7, 2016)

Forgive me if it says somewhere in this thread, but are there plans for the rest of the solo strings to be done in turn?


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## Chris Hein (Apr 7, 2016)

wcreed51 said:


> Forgive me if it says somewhere in this thread, but are there plans for the rest of the solo strings to be done in turn?


I haven't decided yet. To be honest, it depends on the selling.
You won't believe how much time and money I spent in this single instrument.

Chris Hein


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## wcreed51 (Apr 7, 2016)

It must be staggering! Hard to believe you could ever make back the investment. But, I'd think that having done the first, the others would go much faster. Holding out hope, at least


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## paoling (Apr 7, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> I haven't decided yet. To be honest, it depends on the selling.
> You won't believe how much time and money I spent in this single instrument.
> Chris Hein



Definitively it's one of the toughest challenges in this job. Congrats Chris it sounds great!


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## Mystic (Apr 7, 2016)

Very lovely sound. Can't wait to see how it performs.


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## trotamusicos (Apr 8, 2016)

Are there plans for Chris Hein Strings?


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## Chris Hein (Apr 8, 2016)

trotamusicos said:


> Are there plans for Chris Hein Strings?


Aren't there enough great string libraries available? 
No plans yet.

Chris Hein


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## trotamusicos (Apr 9, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Aren't there enough great string libraries available?
> No plans yet.
> 
> Chris Hein



I bought yesterday CH Brass Complete and CH Winds Complete. I'm speechless.
Thanks.


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## fratveno (Apr 10, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Aren't there enough great string libraries available?
> Chris Hein



Not really... please go ahead!


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## higgs (Apr 10, 2016)

Great stuff - can't wait! I sense an impending duet with Bohemian Violin.


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## Aeonata (Apr 12, 2016)

For me the most flexible violin library on the market. Peroid.


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## airflamesred (Apr 16, 2016)

trotamusicos said:


> Are there plans for Chris Hein Strings?





Chris Hein said:


> Aren't there enough great string libraries available?
> No plans yet.
> Chris Hein


I would have thought that with your vast programming knowledge that the aleatoric/fx type thing might suit.


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## Jono (Apr 18, 2016)

Is this available yet? I need a good solo violin pronto...


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## higgs (Apr 18, 2016)

Jono said:


> Is this available yet? I need a good solo violin pronto...


Doesn't seem to be available yet. If you need something right away you might want to check out the VirHarmonic Bohemian Violin. It seems to be a local favorite right now. It runs in the free UVI Player, not Kontakt FYI.


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## Chris Hein (Apr 18, 2016)

higgs said:


> Doesn't seem to be available yet. If you need something right away you might want to check out the VirHarmonic Bohemian Violin. It seems to be a local favorite right now. It runs in the free UVI Player, not Kontakt FYI.


Yeah, if you need it today, get the Bohemian Violin, its a great instrument.
We'll be ready next week. Definitely!
The Instrument just come back from encoding at NI today.

Chris Hein


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## higgs (Apr 18, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Yeah, if you need it today, get the Bohemian Violin, its a great instrument.
> We'll be ready next week. Definitely!
> The Instrument just come back from encoding at NI today.
> 
> Chris Hein


Congrats, sir. Can't wait to lose myself for however long I get lost jammin' on the violin!


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## Jono (Apr 18, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Yeah, if you need it today, get the Bohemian Violin, its a great instrument.
> We'll be ready next week. Definitely!
> The Instrument just come back from encoding at NI today.
> 
> Chris Hein


I started writing a cue today which I'll be using it for. Expecting a locked picture tomorrow with a deadline of next week so I'll hold off just now...


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## muziksculp (Apr 18, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Yeah, if you need it today, get the Bohemian Violin, its a great instrument.
> We'll be ready next week. Definitely!
> The Instrument just come back from encoding at NI today.
> 
> Chris Hein



Hi Chris,

_Congratulations ! _

I'm looking forward to the official release of this great sounding Violin Library, and would also appreciate it if you put out some video tutorials, walkthroughs, showcasing this library in-depth, and how best to use it's features. 

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## AllanH (Apr 18, 2016)

do you have an American distributor yet, or do I buy through Best Service?


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## emasters (Apr 19, 2016)

AllanH said:


> do you have an American distributor yet, or do I buy through Best Service?



I'm in the US and purchasing via Best Service works great. If it's download, no problem. If it's delivery, I'm amazed how fast the product has arrived - just a couple of days for me from Europe to the West coast. Wouldn't hesitate to purchase from Best Service in the US.


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## Chris Hein (Apr 19, 2016)

The library just arrived back from the NI encoding today.
Finally end of this or beginning of next week we can start the release.

You can purchase the violin through my online shop as direct download (3GB), access through my website.
BestService is my exclusive distributor. They do a fantastic service and support.
Distribution partner in US is BigFish, in Japan its Crypton. The violin is also available at many re-sellers worldwide.
So, there are many option, purchase should not be a problem.

Here is a new demo by Maestro Przemek.
Its a re-creation of a Stephane Grappelli arrangement of Stardust, showing the Violin in a Jazz style.


The original is here: It has a completely different sound, but listen to the details of the performance:


Chris Hein


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## Maximvs (Apr 19, 2016)

Congratulation Chris, this violin sounds amazing!

Best Regards,

Max


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## airflamesred (Apr 19, 2016)

What can one say?


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## Lassi Tani (Apr 19, 2016)

Very beautiful! I'll shop in summer


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## muziksculp (Apr 19, 2016)

The _Stardust_ demo sounds amazing, and so real. 

Q. How long did it take to produce with CH-Violin ? 

With so many articulations, I guess having a custom Lemur for iPad, key-switching matrix setup, would be very helpful to speed up workflow. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## chimuelo (Apr 19, 2016)

The last metaphoric lick was awesome.
Hope it's not a loop......

Sounds fantastic.


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## Raindog (Apr 20, 2016)

Amazing demo (but what else did I expect from Przemek). I have tested this violin and I already knew it´s a very fine sampling library but Prem went one step further. Congrats to both of you
Raindog


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## higgs (Apr 20, 2016)

Wow.


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## higgs (Apr 20, 2016)

I mean...wow.


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## Phryq (Apr 20, 2016)

Silence-is-Golden said:


> Thank you kindly for your answer Chris Hein.
> 
> unfortunately I have no midi files of the examples, nor do they exist, also not from myself. I could put up some notes off course, but since it will involve various cc commande and/ or keyswitches it seems too remote for a midifile.
> Nevertheless I could try and play something in later today so you have got something to fiddle with .
> ...




I think this might be possible with the Embertone Violin, using the 'colour' setting. It's an algorithm (or phase aligned samples? Not sure).


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## Przemek K. (Apr 20, 2016)

Hi everyone, 

well what can I say, thanks for the nice words, glad you like my Stardust mockup
It was real fun to do this. I also experimented with a more retro/vintage sounding mix with crackles and noise and what not.
So for those of you who like that kind of stuff here is the vintage mix: https://www.dropbox.com/s/if72fq9l1... vintage mix - by Przemyslaw Kopczyk.mp3?dl=0

@muziksculp _*"Q. How long did it take to produce with CH-Violin ?"*_
Well, it took me longer to do this compared to the False Valse demo, because it was the first time for me to do a piece in
this genre, so lots of time went for analyzing Stefane Grappellis performance of this piece, and setting up CHV to do the things I needed it to do.
Now I could do it way faster. It always depends on different factors, like time (deadline), details and so on.
But you have also to bear in mind that this is a demo for I which I didn't had a deadline, so I took the extra time to dive in deep and see how far I could push CHV.
The cool thing is, that you can work fast with it if needed, its completely customizable, to suit your needs. I could go on
Who knows, maybe I will share some of my settings for the CHV in the future.

Today there will be a final demo from me in an electronic/dubstep setting, which will be posted either today or in the next few days. Depends on how fast Chris is.


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## muziksculp (Apr 20, 2016)

Przemek K. said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> well what can I say, thanks for the nice words, glad you like my Stardust mockup
> It was real fun to do this. I also experimented with a more retro/vintage sounding mix with crackles and noise and what not.
> ...



Hi _Przemyslaw K.,
_
Thanks for the feedback. and a big round of applause for the great work you have done in emulating a complex solo violin performance using CH-Violin. This is quite a challenge, and you were very successful at it. (Bravo). 

I love the Vintage Mix performance you linked to, very well done ! 

I'm also curious to know if you used any HW-Controller for Switching between the various articulations in realtime when you were writing these pieces, or did you just use your mouse, and key-editor to tweak things in a more surgical manner after the notes were input ? basically what was your general workflow procedure for making these demos when using the CH-Violin ? 

I would also like to see some video tutorials, and walkthroughs of CH-Violin, and maybe tips on how to best go about using it in various scenarios. 

I'm guessing that spending a good amount of time with CH-Violin to discover how to manage all these articulations, and trigger them when suitable would take some getting used to, and experimenting is an important, and key factor here. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## TGV (Apr 20, 2016)

That Grapelli demo certainly sounded convincing, like a real performance. Nice.


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## Chris Hein (Apr 20, 2016)

ok, the release date is fixed now: *CH-Solo Violin will be available Friday april 22, 5pm CET.*
Count down is up and running: http://www.chrishein.net/web/CH-Violin_Overview.html

Here is the requested overview video:


Chris Hein


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## muziksculp (Apr 20, 2016)

Awesome ! 

No Price Info yet ? 

Thanks.


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## playz123 (Apr 20, 2016)

muziksculp said:


> Awesome !
> 
> No Price Info yet ?
> 
> Thanks.



179 Euros or $179 US


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## muziksculp (Apr 20, 2016)

playz123 said:


> 179 Euros or $179 US



Thanks ! 

For some reason I couldn't find the price on the CH-Violin Product page. Did I miss it ?


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## muziksculp (Apr 20, 2016)

Another Question : 

Can one use TouchOSC for iPad to control VSTs/DAW/..etc. on a PC ? and is there any reason one would use TouchOSC instead of Lemur for iPad to send CC#s to Instruments/Libraries/DAWs, ..etc. ? 

Since I have Lemur app. for the iPad (I have an iPad Air 2, and the Alesis io Dock2 for midi instead of a wifi based network). So, I'm just wondering if I can use TouchOSC to control CH-Violin running in Cubase Pro 8.5 on my PC, and if TouchOSC is easier, faster, or has any advantages over Lemur ? 

Any feedback on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## Chris Hein (Apr 20, 2016)

Hi Muziksculp,
Thanks for the hint, the price is included on the website now.

I just finished a TouchOSC iPad remote controller for the Violin today.
The TouchOSC file is included in the downloads.
There will be a video showing the realtime controls in detail soon.

It will work pretty much the same as the TouchOSC remote for CH-Horns which you can see here:
http://www.chrishein.net/web/CHH_Overview_Real_time_Controller.html

Chris Hein


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## muziksculp (Apr 20, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Hi Muziksculp,
> Thanks for the hint, the price is included on the website now.
> 
> I just finished a TouchOSC iPad remote controller for the Violin today.
> ...




Hi Chris,

You are Welcome. and Thanks for the info. regarding TouchOSC. 

I will buy TouchOSC for my iPad 2 Air, and see how I get along. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Przemek K. (Apr 20, 2016)

muziksculp said:


> Hi _Przemyslaw K.,
> _
> Thanks for the feedback. and a big round of applause for the great work you have done in emulating a complex solo violin performance using CH-Violin. This is quite a challenge, and you were very successful at it. (Bravo).
> 
> ...



You are too kind, thanks for the compliment.

Now to answer your questions. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned, and although I have and use hardware midi controllers, I mostly prefer keyswitches and tweak CC data afterwards. This, especially if
a certain piece or part is to be played either fast or is more complex. So most of the time I select a articulation which is not too slow or too fast (attack) and I can just play away.
The other method would be when I use the stack mode, I stack one of the shorts on top of the sustain and play away. Depending on the part I want to play in I mostly choose a short articulation which is more in between regarding the attack when stacked, so that when I play I get the right feeling to perform a certain part. Tweaking afterwards is easy.
For slower parts I do sometimes use the HW controller, but personally for me it doesn't change much, because I always tweak afterwards.

So, what was the general procedure for creating my demos? Good question. I'd say, at the beginning there is always a bit of experimentation, to get an idea of sorts.
Ok lets split this up, this will be a longer answer I guess:

_*1) False Valse Demo: originally ( before I mocked up Naomis performance):*_ 
I fiddled around with the different sustain articulations to see which suits better for playing/recording it into my sequencer. In the end I was set on two or 3 different articulations which I keyswitched during performing the piece ( mostly the Accent Vibrato which is more pronounced, but can be used very well as a short articulation, and the 2 dynamic expression sustains). After everything was recorded in the sequencer I started tweaking the notes, CC's , added some additional keyswitches and so on. And there it was.
Now, mocking up Naomis performance was a different beast so to speak. Lots of analyzing, listening, relistening and configuring/customizing the CHV, like different legato settings, deactivating the 2nd convolution reverb, different eq settings, fiddling with the different release samples on certain parts of the piece. After that I started recording again and tweaked every parameter from part to part, sometimes note to note, re-listening to Naomis performance several times during this procedure. Then I took a day off ( yeah, its nice sometimes not to have any deadlines) to get a new perspective on it, and re-tweaked a few things here and there. And finished it was. It was a great exercise.

_*2) Stardust mockup:*_
This was a first for me genrewise. So it felt more difficult. But the procedure was quite similar to what I was doing with the False Valse mockup. 
I did start with the same template I had created for the False Valse demo, so it already saved me some time. But since this piece was so different in how Stephne Grapelli performed on his violin
I had to re customize the CHV, like loading some of the articulations ( Triller, measured repetitions...) into the TM Pro mode (speed mode in CHV), loading other additional articulations and so on.
I did this as I went on with the piece part by part sometimes note by note. Did I mention the listening and re-listening the original performance again and again part? lol
Anyway,it was fun and now I know CHV inside out.

_*3) Rundown + No Return demos:*_
Especially the Rundown demo was more experimental one. Here I wanted to show how CHV can be used in a electronic (dnb) kind of setting. So lots of fx were used, like distortion, delays,filter and more. Here I used also the FX articulation which include some percussive stuff and aleatoric fx.
The No Return demo, went through a similar approach but was more easy, more flowing, less tweaking.

It's always a good idea to exercise a mockup and get familiar with a virtual instrument, because that way, you not only learn how to use it, but what its strengths and weaknesses are,
or how it can inspire you to be/get more creative with certain feature sets for example. As with a real instrument, you practice and then you practice more and more.

Having said that, I'm glad that CHV is easy to use. It saves me time so I can be lazy from time to time

Maybe there will be more tutorial videos/walkthroughs with more specific scenarios. Lets see.


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## AllanH (Apr 20, 2016)

I really like the manual hot-key vibrato. Can that be controlled via after-touch?
That would be awesome.


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## 5Lives (Apr 21, 2016)

Really looks like a very playable instrument! Lot's of flexibility. How is the tweakability of the raw sound? The real violin in the False Valse comparison sounds warmer, thicker, richer compared to the sample library. Maybe just a matter of EQ?


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## muziksculp (Apr 21, 2016)

Hi _Przemyslaw K.,
_
Thank You Very Much for taking the time to explain some of your experiences/workflow and techniques used for producing the CH-Violin demos. 

This type of info. is very valuable, and gives me a better insight about the way/s one can go about using this library. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Reactor.UK (Apr 22, 2016)

Just a heads up. 6 minutes left on the counter.


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## Chris Hein (Apr 22, 2016)

10 - 9 - 8 - 7 -...
Allright, here it is: http://www.chris-hein-shop.com/chris-hein-solo-violin-48-0.html

Say hello to the new Solo Violin.
I'll open a beer now. Cheers! 

Chris Hein


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## Reactor.UK (Apr 22, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Say hello to the new Solo Violin.


Chris,

May I ask is this a promotional price or the default price.

BTW, congratulations with the awesome articulation control from what I've seen in the video's.

Kind regards, Reactor.UK


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## jacobthestupendous (Apr 22, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> ok, the release date is fixed now: *CH-Solo Violin will be available Friday april 22, 5pm CET.*
> Count down is up and running: http://www.chrishein.net/web/CH-Violin_Overview.html
> 
> Here is the requested overview video:
> ...




Great looking demo! What's with the gratuitous cat video at the end?


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## higgs (Apr 22, 2016)

Done - 'twill be a fun Friday me thinks


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## Sid Francis (Apr 22, 2016)

Congratulations Chris!! I just checked, whether it is already available at Try Sound since I can´t wait to try it out but didn´t find it yet . Any clues when it might be ready to be tested there?


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## higgs (Apr 22, 2016)

Sid Francis said:


> Congratulations Chris!! I just checked, whether it is already available at Try Sound since I can´t wait to try it out but didn´t find it yet . Any clues when it might be ready to be tested there?


fyi - it was/is immediately available at Best Service just in case.


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## Sid Francis (Apr 22, 2016)

ready to be tested, Higgs,...not bought


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## higgs (Apr 22, 2016)

Ah yes, gotcha Mr. Sid.


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## marcotronic (Apr 23, 2016)

Holy sh*t! I have a bunch of solo violins already but this baby is the first one that sounds like a real one! Will definitely get this as soon as I can afford! Awesome demos!

Marco


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## muziksculp (Apr 23, 2016)

marcotronic said:


> Holy sh*t! I have a bunch of solo violins already but this baby is the first one that sounds like a real one! Will definitely get this as soon as I can afford! Awesome demos!
> 
> Marco



Yes ! imho. the CH-Violin has raised the bar to the next level of realism as far as solo violin sample libraries are concerned. I have not heard this level of realism from any other Solo-Violin Sample library.

This is a big step forward ! 

A must buy.


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## higgs (Apr 23, 2016)

muziksculp said:


> This is a big step forward !



And a tremendous undertaking. I can't imagine what the process was like to achieve this level of control and realism. However, I can imagine that it was challenging, tedious, and must have been frustrating at times to inch it forward.

Excellent work CH.


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## higgs (Apr 23, 2016)

I noticed in the three patches that all long G2 articulations (except the proper "Sustain" articulation) exhibit the same subtle but audible looping sonics as the notes that are presented in the extended range - below G2. 

Is anyone else hearing this? I hope I'm explaining this understandably.


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## kavinsky (Apr 23, 2016)

I usually cringe when I see these promotional videos of a real player backed by a midi mockup (a trend amongst developers), but here it indeed sounds disturbingly convincing. I'd like to hear more user demos.


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## re-peat (Apr 24, 2016)

muziksculp said:


> A must buy.



I hope a different opinion won’t excite too much remark, but … if it had sounded good: yes. Unfortunately, I can’t say that it does. It’s that feline-in-distress sound again, a timbre which, more than anything, conjures up images of non-plussed veterinarians and weeping pet-owners, rather than competent engineers, skilled musicians and quality instruments.

At least, that’s what, to my ears, all the demos posted thus far seem to point at: not a good sound. (And I had hoped that the International Court in The Hague had the authority by now to forbid the public airing of demos like the Paganini.)
Personal opinion, of course.

On the plus-side: the technical innovations and performance possibilities seem indeed quite extra-ordinary. Put better samples, a bit less sample-filtering and much better-sounding IR’s in this engine — "if only"'s that also come to mind when working with the UniqHorn and the Woodwinds —, and the wave of enthusiasm for this library might begin to look a little more inviting.

_


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## AlexanderSchiborr (Apr 24, 2016)

re-peat said:


> I hope a different opinion won’t excite too much remark, but … if it had sounded good, yes. Unfortunately, I can’t say that it does. It’s that feline-in-distress sound again, a timbre which, more than anything, conjures up images of non-plussed veterinarians and weeping pet-owners, rather than competent engineers, skilled musicians and quality instruments.
> 
> At least, that’s what, to my ears, all the demos posted thus far seem to point at: not a good sound. (And I had hoped that the International Court in The Hague had the authority by now to forbid the public airing of demos like the Paganini.)
> Personal opinion, of course.
> ...



Unfortunately I have to agree here also at least from my view on the tone of the demos available. Whilst I find the Violin super expressive and detailed in its approach of programming and articulation and dynamics I don´t feel that its "tone and sonic room appearance" is something what I call good to my ears. A bummer for me personally because the rest is just great I have to say.


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## 5Lives (Apr 24, 2016)

I think the real vs. sampled False Valse demonstrates the sound / timbre difference between the samples and the real instrument. Perhaps it is just a matter of EQ, but the real instrument has a warmth and thickness to it that the samples lack. My 2 cents.


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## Hannes_F (Apr 24, 2016)

Perhaps somebody wanted to make the good even better and thus wandered into subjective-land. Have been there often.


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## muziksculp (Apr 24, 2016)

re-peat said:


> I hope a different opinion won’t excite too much remark, but … if it had sounded good: yes. Unfortunately, I can’t say that it does. It’s that feline-in-distress sound again, a timbre which, more than anything, conjures up images of non-plussed veterinarians and weeping pet-owners, rather than competent engineers, skilled musicians and quality instruments.
> 
> At least, that’s what, to my ears, all the demos posted thus far seem to point at: not a good sound. (And I had hoped that the International Court in The Hague had the authority by now to forbid the public airing of demos like the Paganini.)
> Personal opinion, of course.
> ...



Hi re-peat,

I'm guessing you can tweak the timbre/character of the CH-Violin to your taste via some DSP treatments, be it EQ, compression, filtering, use of different reverb types, ..etc. 

To my ears, the timbre/character that CH-Violin offers has a bit of that bow sound that some don't fancy, which I find very minimal, and maybe a positive thing, especially if you use that as a basis of the sound, and then subtract, or take away some of the key frequencies that are contributing to that more raw or harsh violin timbre, then you have more options to tweak it. It is easier to remove than to add frequencies to a complex sounding instrument like the Violin. 

I wonder what type of Mic/s were used for sampling the CH-Violin, (Ribbon, Tube, or Condenser), Ribbon seems to be a favorite for Violin since it kind of smooths out some of the higher edgy frequencies that the violin produces. I also think that the type of Reverb, and how the violin is treated with effects can change its sound dramatically. So, imho. many variables are going to influence the final sonic characteristic of the violin, be it sampled or played in real time by very good player. 

Let's also not forget, this is a very subjective area, some might really like a specific violin timbre/character others might hate it. So, it's not easy to please all ears. Just like our taste in gourmet cuisine.  

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Vlzmusic (Apr 24, 2016)

muziksculp said:


> Let's also not forget, this is a very subjective area, some might really like a specific violin timbre/character others might hate it. So, it's not easy to please all ears. Just like our taste in gourmet cuisine.



I would disagree on that, once sound engineering/mixing is concerned. While there is some subjectiveness and personal preferences on the "good sounding" part of the spectrum, with some perfectionism involved, personal "know how" etc. The "ain`t good" part of the spectrum, or borderline below which things stop being pleasantly sounding - is pretty objective, and universal among sound professionals.


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## sinkd (Apr 25, 2016)

Just listened to the "Stardust" demo. Color me very impressed. Well done, Chris!


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## Vovique (Apr 25, 2016)

sinkd said:


> Just listened to the "Stardust" demo. Color me very impressed. Well done, Chris!


Agreed)


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## muziksculp (Apr 25, 2016)

Vlzmusic said:


> I would disagree on that, once sound engineering/mixing is concerned. While there is some subjectiveness and personal preferences on the "good sounding" part of the spectrum, with some perfectionism involved, personal "know how" etc. The "ain`t good" part of the spectrum, or borderline below which things stop being pleasantly sounding - is pretty objective, and universal among sound professionals.



Well.... Just look at the reactions, and opinions about CH-Violin's demos on this forum, some of us like the sound a lot, some don't. So, it is very clear that It's a matter of taste. imho. it is that simple. Provided we are all experienced to a degree with what a violin is supposed to sound (some reference point, which is also a variable), and have some musical experience working with bowed strings, be it playing, or recording them.

i.e. I love the timbre of the Baroque (Gut Stringed) Violin, and find that it has a much smoother, warmer timbre when compared to the modern violin, but not everyone likes the sound of the Baroque Violin, and prefer the more edgy, (should I say, a bit harsher) sounding modern violin. Again it's all about taste.

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Jono (Apr 25, 2016)

I'm enjoying it...some of the faster stuff still sounds a little synthetic so if anyone's overcome this, I'm all ears....

I'll post a user demo soon...


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## Jono (Apr 30, 2016)

The DWTD intro makes use of CH violin


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## Chris Hein (May 2, 2016)

Hi Jono, the writing is good, but you are right, the faster passages don't sound right.
You should use the Note-Heads for the faster notes to tighten the attacks.
Its really simple. Just set them to "stack" and draw some MIDI CC2 data in you DAW's editor.

Chris Hein


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## Jono (May 2, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Hi Jono, the writing is good, but you are right, the faster passages don't sound right.
> You should use the Note-Heads for the faster notes to tighten the attacks.
> Its really simple. Just set them to "stack" and draw some MIDI CC2 data in you DAW's editor.
> 
> Chris Hein


Thanks Chris

I thought that might help wasn't sure how to to do it.

I'll go back in and figure it out


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## DocMidi657 (May 2, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Hi Jono, the writing is good, but you are right, the faster passages don't sound right.
> You should use the Note-Heads for the faster notes to tighten the attacks.
> Its really simple. Just set them to "stack" and draw some MIDI CC2 data in you DAW's editor.
> 
> Chris Hein


Chris excellent instrument you have created! Most playable solo Violin I have!!!
I have one quick question... I am using CC1 mod wheel to switch between the shorts in NOTEHEAD and it works really well except I accidentally switch to some unintended shorts of the 8 available when playing a phrase within the heat of inspiration. What would be great is if there was a way to select or deselect which note heads you do or don’t want... so you let’s say you choose 1 and 7 and the others are off (2,3,4,5,6,8). Then you could ride the mod wheel and compose and not worry and know which ones you are getting. 

Is this possible currently?


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## muziksculp (May 2, 2016)

Hi Chris,

How much SSD Space does it occupy ? 

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## DocMidi657 (May 2, 2016)

muziksculp said:


> Hi Chris,
> 
> How much SSD Space does it occupy ?
> 
> ...


2.93 gigs on my hard drive


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## muziksculp (May 2, 2016)

DocMidi657 said:


> 2.93 gigs on my hard drive



Thanks !


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## Chris Hein (May 3, 2016)

DocMidi657 said:


> Chris excellent instrument you have created! Most playable solo Violin I have!!!
> I have one quick question... I am using CC1 mod wheel to switch between the shorts in NOTEHEAD and it works really well except I accidentally switch to some unintended shorts of the 8 available when playing a phrase within the heat of inspiration. What would be great is if there was a way to select or deselect which note heads you do or don’t want... so you let’s say you choose 1 and 7 and the others are off (2,3,4,5,6,8). Then you could ride the mod wheel and compose and not worry and know which ones you are getting.
> 
> Is this possible currently?


Hi Doc,

This is actually a good idea.
We have made some test on your request already and it would work.
Only problem is the graphics.
If I introduce buttons to select only a few of the Note-Heads, the displayed graphics might be wrong.
But I'm sure we will find a way to include that in the next update.
Thanks for the constructive feedback.

I'd love to hear more ideas like this from users to help me to improve the Violin.

Chris Hein


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## DocMidi657 (May 3, 2016)

Chris Hein said:


> Hi Doc,
> 
> This is actually a good idea.
> We have made some test on your request already and it would work.
> ...


Thanks Chris!


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## SchnookyPants (Mar 29, 2017)

Sure was difficult to find an *English User Manual!* Chris - You might want to check on this.

After logging in @ BestService, I found the _*German language manual only, *_even at the English BestService site*.*_ (and my_ _German's not so good_.)

After hunting around I finally found the English version 2/3 down *this* page.

Why not just include pdf's of all language versions of manual in the download files?


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