What's new

Articulate Presets for the Vienna Symphonic Library: NEW unprecedented DAW integration

symphonic riot

New Member
Symphonic Riot just released Articulate Presets for the Vienna Symphonic Library. These are extensive presets for Vienna Instruments Pro, that allow you to tap the full potential of a growing list of VSL libraries - including the full Symphonic Cube.
9c133d_20979faef7264c22b1912f2e52e92edf~mv2_d_3865_2576_s_4_2.jpg


Turn your library into an instrument!

Articulate Presets are complete, consistent across the entire orchestra and give you unprecedented control over your sounds.
  • Completeness: Articulate Presets include all articulations of VSL libraries and arrange them in over 100 matrices per preset, accessible by program change messages.
  • Consistency: All Presets have the same layout, including controller assignments, so you can move sequences from one instrument to another and they play as expected.
  • Control: Articulate Presets give you unprecedented control over your music and allow you to shape the nuances of the performance in an up to 3D sound-space ...

9c133d_aab87882d698471eafea51576d800986~mv2_d_6250_6250_s_4_2.jpg

Parameters that can be continuously controlled depend on the available sampled versions for a given articulation and include:
  • Section size
  • Attack behavior
  • Vibrato intensity
  • Legato performance
  • Tremolo intensity
  • Mute strength
  • Bowing position
  • Harmonic content
Learn more ...

Introductory price: 25% off until end of December
 
The list of Articulate Presets for VSL is growing: already 14 full collections are supported (including 71 individual instrument libraries), which cover most of the orchestral sounds in the VI Super Package!

9c133d_627324a10f32462683a6bec486c9572a~mv2.jpg

We have just released “Articulate Presets for Strings L”, giving you complete control over the full content of the epic Appassionata Strings Libraries (as well as Orchestral Strings).

Check out all the great features of Articulate Presets at ...

www.articulate-preset.com
 
Thanks for the suggestion! A video should be online in the next days.

Articulate Presets for Synchron Strings, that are compatible with those of the Vienna Instruments libraries, may follow in the future.
 
Thanks for the suggestion! A video should be online in the next days.

Articulate Presets for Synchron Strings, that are compatible with those of the Vienna Instruments libraries, may follow in the future.
hey thanks looking Forward to it. I bought the "L" Version of your Presets but I have to admit I am pretty at a loss to use it propperly. but I still love the vsl samples and see the potential that is in them!
 
Last edited:
Why is CC1 "wasted" for articulation selecting instead of using it for dynamics?
 
Articulate Presets are quite intuitive and easy to use. All presets have the same layout and react to the same control events:

- with program change (PC) messages you select the typically over 100 qualitatively different articulations of an instrument (e.g. sustained notes (PC1) or staccato (PC9))
- with the section controller (CC20) you can blend different section sizes (in particular in case of the Strings L, these are the Orchestral and Appassionata Strings; if you only own one of these libraries this controller has no effect and should be kept at a value of 0; in case you only own the Appassionata libraries please use the “inverted” versions, with an “i” in front of the name).
- with the vertical (CC1) and horizontal controller (CC3) you can select or continuously blend various different versions of a given articulation
- finally there is VSL’s A/B switch (CC4)

What the vertical and horizontal controllers do depends on the particular articulation. Once you have set up your Midi hardware to send these controllers, you can simple check it out - or see the large table III in the manual, where the effect of these controllers is listed in detail. E.g. for the sustained articulation (PC1), the horizontal controller (CC3) continuously dials the vibrato intensity and the vertical controller (CC1) the attack behavior.

Please contact us if you have further questions or experience problems.


We have followed the standard VSL convention, that Velocity X-fade is controlled by CC2. If you want to control it with your modwheel you could simply have your modwheel send CC2. However, we are listening, and in case this convention represents a major problem for many users, we will consider to release alternative versions of the presets where Velocity X-fade is controlled by CC1 and the vertical controller by CC2 instead.
 
I have just bought the Strings L presets and I have to say they are sounding very good. Over the years I have pretty much acquired the entire VSL librabry and working on Cubase and VEPRO. I have a question and am aware that I may sound extremely stupid. I am used to selecting a matrix with a key switch (usually from bottom C). However as you provide such a huge amount of matrix this is obviously not possible. How do you enter "an event" while playing a piece live? The only alternative I can think of is to choose a few matrix that I like and assign key switches to them but this rather defeats the whole object of the presets. Is there an easy way to enter a program change from a keyboard?
 
Thanks. As far as the sound is concerned, all the credit surely goes to the VSL team, but if you are referring to the additional sound capabilities owing to the continuous control then your comment is much appreciated :).

Your question is not stupid at all. For live playing key-switches are very convenient. Yet, as you mentioned, they come with the downside that keyboard keys are limited (and far from being sufficient for the huge VSL sound content) ... and above all key-switches mess up the score.

A main goal of Articulate Presets was to turn the Vienna Symphonic "Library", with dozens of folders and sub-folders of patches, into an "instrument" where all sounds are at your fingertips and you can quickly and easily access all the content by sending program change messages and continuous controllers from your master keyboard. Program change messages are an integral part of the MIDI standard and all master keyboards as well as many digital pianos can send them (many keyboards can also send program up/down commands that let you step through the list of articulations) - please see the documentation of your keyboard on how to do this.

When it comes to live playing, entering a program change number can take a bit too long in fast passages with lots of articulation changes (yet, depending on how efficiently program change messages are handled by your master keyboard, this can still work). There are several ways to overcome this:

Firstly, Articulate Presets try to minimize articulation switching by combining as many articulations as is possible (and musically reasonable) in a single matrix: try e.g. the universal interval matrix (PC24) for live playing, which includes most of the available performance interval patches (legato, marcato, spiccato, trill) and allows you to play very diverse musical lines while merely moving the modwheel.

Secondly, there is a wealth of (inexpensive) MIDI hardware and apps for smartphones and tablets that allow you to assign program change messages to a range of buttons, drum pads, ..., to quickly access different articulations. Moreover, in the dedicated VI pro App for tablets you get a scrollable list that allows you to select all matrices (and send the corresponding program change messages).

Finally, in Logic, which offers the required MIDI transformation capabilities, an advanced key-switching solution will be available soon. Key-switches are transformed into the appropriate program change messages before they enter the sequencer - and will thereby allow the user to quickly and conveniently select all 128 matrices by key-switches (via the novel concept of articulation banks). Here is a sneak peek showing the complete integration of Articulate Presets directly into Logic's main window:

sneak-peek.jpg

As far as I know, Cubase does not offer the required MIDI capabilities to implement something like this, so there are no such plans for Cubase at present. Maybe an external MIDI tool could offer a similar solution for other sequencers (including Cubase) in the future.

(Adding additional (ordinary) key-switches for your most often used articulations directly in VI pro is in principle also an option for fast articulation selection while playing. In this case program change messages still work and there are simply two alternative ways to select an articulation. As discussed above there are definitely better ways to select articulations, that don't affect the score, but I don't think that doing this would defeat the purpose of these presets.)
 
Thanks. As far as the sound is concerned, all the credit surely goes to the VSL team, but if you are referring to the additional sound capabilities owing to the continuous control then your comment is much appreciated :).

Your question is not stupid at all. For live playing key-switches are very convenient. Yet, as you mentioned, they come with the downside that keyboard keys are limited (and far from being sufficient for the huge VSL sound content) ... and above all key-switches mess up the score.

A main goal of Articulate Presets was to turn the Vienna Symphonic "Library", with dozens of folders and sub-folders of patches, into an "instrument" where all sounds are at your fingertips and you can quickly and easily access all the content by sending program change messages and continuous controllers from your master keyboard. Program change messages are an integral part of the MIDI standard and all master keyboards as well as many digital pianos can send them (many keyboards can also send program up/down commands that let you step through the list of articulations) - please see the documentation of your keyboard on how to do this.

When it comes to live playing, entering a program change number can take a bit too long in fast passages with lots of articulation changes (yet, depending on how efficiently program change messages are handled by your master keyboard, this can still work). There are several ways to overcome this:

Firstly, Articulate Presets try to minimize articulation switching by combining as many articulations as is possible (and musically reasonable) in a single matrix: try e.g. the universal interval matrix (PC24) for live playing, which includes most of the available performance interval patches (legato, marcato, spiccato, trill) and allows you to play very diverse musical lines while merely moving the modwheel.

Secondly, there is a wealth of (inexpensive) MIDI hardware and apps for smartphones and tablets that allow you to assign program change messages to a range of buttons, drum pads, ..., to quickly access different articulations. Moreover, in the dedicated VI pro App for tablets you get a scrollable list that allows you to select all matrices (and send the corresponding program change messages).

Finally, in Logic, which offers the required MIDI transformation capabilities, an advanced key-switching solution will be available soon. Key-switches are transformed into the appropriate program change messages before they enter the sequencer - and will thereby allow the user to quickly and conveniently select all 128 matrices by key-switches (via the novel concept of articulation banks). Here is a sneak peek showing the complete integration of Articulate Presets directly into Logic's main window:

sneak-peek.jpg

As far as I know, Cubase does not offer the required MIDI capabilities to implement something like this, so there are no such plans for Cubase at present. Maybe an external MIDI tool could offer a similar solution for other sequencers (including Cubase) in the future.

(Adding additional (ordinary) key-switches for your most often used articulations directly in VI pro is in principle also an option for fast articulation selection while playing. In this case program change messages still work and there are simply two alternative ways to select an articulation. As discussed above there are definitely better ways to select articulations, that don't affect the score, but I don't think that doing this would defeat the purpose of these presets.)
Thanks so much for responding and the further information. In fact, (as I think has been mentioned before), a couple of demo videos addressing this would be enormously helpful. Do keep up the excellent work, it is really worthwhile!
 
Hello,
I would like to know if one of your product can be used with VSL Symphonic Cube Standard (not full) please?
Another question I'm asking is: is it useful when using Sibelius with VSL Symphonic Cube Standard (through VEPro 6)?
Thanks for your answers!
Regards,
Gil.
 
Thanks for your interest. Yes, there are dedicated products for VSL Standard Libraries that are optimized for the smaller set of articulations. "Articulate Presets for Basic Orchestra Standard" cover the better part of the Standard version of the Symphonic Cube. The additional instruments in the Cube (and more) are covered by another package that will be released very soon.

However, these Presets are intended for the use in Digital Audio Workstations / Sequencers, like Logic or Cubase, since only these can handle the additional continuous controllers, that enable their advanced features, like 3D-Control. Notation programs like Sibelius require special settings and are not supported at this point.
 
Articulate Presets are getting better: the year starts with all new presets :)!

We have just released new versions of all Articulate Presets that allow you to use your modulation wheel (CC1) for Velocity X-fade in order to control the dynamics. This is in accordance with libraries of many other companies that you might use, like Spitfire or Orchestral Tools … yet these surely don't offer the same flexibility and all the advanced control features as the VSL when accessed via Articulate Presets in VI pro. The original versions of the presets—which follow the VSL convention that velocity X-fade is controlled by CC2 and the modulation wheel selects the most important variations of a given articulation—are surely still included. Thereby you have now complete freedom to choose how you want to control your orchestra!

A video is in the making and will be out soon, sorry for the delay ...
 
Thanks for your interest. Right now we are busy with other new features, but if there is sufficient interest in a Special Edition version (which would be more restricted due to the limited sample content in the SE) this could be a target in the future.
 
Articulate Presets are getting better all the time!

We have just released a comprehensive Logic Articulation Set for Articulate Presets, that allows you to select all articulations included in the VSL via Logic's convenient Articulation ID feature. The articulation ID stores the information, which articulation is to be played, directly in a note event and automatically sends the required MIDI messages to VI pro. Using the maximum number of 255 Articulation IDs, this Articulation Set is one of the most comprehensive sets ever created.

9c133d_66782adbf0ab4da280290d8756ae0804~mv2.png


The VSL is still unmatched when it comes to recorded dynamic transitions, phrases, ... . They can strongly increase the realism, but for most users they likely sit unused on their disk since up to now they required a significant effort. With Articulate Presets and the Logic Articulation Set, using them couldn't be simpler: for the most important ones (dynamics, trills, repetitions, grace notes, ...) you can simply select a note in Logic's Editors (Score, Piano Roll, Event) and directly assign the specific articulation version via its full name, e.g. muted medium decrescendo 2s, from the corresponding menu—everything else is done automatically and no additional control events are required. And due to the consistency of the VSL and of Articulate Presets all this still works even when you move the sequence from one instrument to another one.

9c133d_5267cc514402425491dbe2c8c1a0cdd7~mv2.png


There was never a more convenient way to tap the full potential of the VSL! But stay tuned, there is more to come ...
 
Top Bottom