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Why VSL (still) rocks

I agree VSL is heading in some strange directions in the pursuit of revenue, but a company does have to make revenue to stay in business, so hope they can find a way to do it without destroying the gorgeous library they created to begin with.

Stephen's video posted above is superb, one of the best tutorials I have seen for using the VSL libraries with nuance, I hope we can see some more like that.
 
That VSL tech (player, samples) still rocks, holds its own against the latest from any vendor, and is still sold. As for company direction, who knows, but another thread on that would be tedious. The video is about using a sample library and player to its fullest.
It really is an amazingly flexible piece of software and the samples are very well produced. I could imagine a future in 20 years where the VI series will be the JP-8 of the orchestral VI world. Sure, there will be considerably more realistic [modeled] VIs by then, but there's a way it did what it did so well, much of what follows will be (or is) a poor imitation.
 
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I think that the recent criticism on this forum is a bit overdramatized. Sometimes people have these irrational notions about change and stuff. I think the Synchron Player is being viewed with a kind of mistrust that I struggle to rationalize. Add in the fact that Synchron Strings wasn't quite the burner that many expected it to be (although even that library is over-bashed, and while it has serious shortcomings, it also sounds brilliant in other areas), and the quite extensive effort to move some of the major libraries to the new format, and all of a sudden there's some kind of diffuse paranoia and superstition going on.

I'm kind of warming up to the Synchron Player. It's obviously the better host for the multi-mic synchron libraries, and I'm coming to appreciate some of its functions for older libraries like Dimension Strings as well. There's still some odd quirks and some missing quality of life functionality, but that's normal for such a complex piece of software. VI Pro didn't fall from the sky in sublime and complete perfection from the get-go either.

I get that probably owners of the original VI line libraries might feel bewildered by the Synchron-isation of those products. But seriously, who cares. You got the VI version, you're happy with it, what's the problem.

Some of the latest business practices do seem to be more oriented towards a quicker turnaround. But on the other hand, it's all a tossup - some other manufacturers' stuff is notoriously overpriced, or they have a no-re-sell policy, some people get seriously riled up by the tone of some companies' marketing, whatever. To this day, no sample library developer ever manged to force me into buying something I didn't want to.

To me, it still comes down to world-class, unparelleled libraries like the VSL Woodwinds or the Dimension Strings and the brilliant spatialisation and hosting software, and that's why VSL is still a mainstay in my setup and in my projects. And if they follow up with new modern generation releases like the Synchron Percussion, I don't see that changing any time soon.
 
I just got the new Epic Orchestra 2.0 with VePro, and downloaded it for a play. I found the Oboe D'amour and the Cornet absolutely stunningly playable. Really surprised me.
These are so fun to play. Sometimes I put the App strings on the left side of the keyboard and a legato patch of the oboe or the cornet on the right side and just enjoy playing.
 
I just got the new Epic Orchestra 2.0 with VePro, and downloaded it for a play. I found the Oboe D'amour and the Cornet absolutely stunningly playable. Really surprised me.

What's nice is when they have a sale every month you can get more advanced versions of those. If it weren't for some of their odd policies I would buy more. It is one of the few developers where you can buy one piece at a time.
 
What's nice is when they have a sale every month you can get more advanced versions of those. If it weren't for some of their odd policies I would buy more. It is one of the few developers where you can buy one piece at a time.
I kinda have the opposite perspective. I have the full SE, which were among my first VI purchases. Those were 'good deals'. Yes, VSL updates their offers each month, but for me at least they have not had the sort of audacious sales that Spitfire, Steinberg, OT and others seem to have. I think in the VSL model (... this is just my opinion), I have not yet made the leap from dabbler to big-time spender on the full versions of their VI collections. Instead, I've been beguiled by the excellent demos and killer deals of other vendors in recent years. I suppose VSL is staying above the fray and letting the other developers slug it out in discount-land ... but hey, that's where the action is for us users. Even though you have lots of options to purchase individual VSL instruments, moving beyond the SE collection in any comprehensive fashion is quite expensive, even when other VI-C members are selling their VSL libraries at half-price. It's particularly problematic for Special Edition owners who already have a basic set of instruments and articulations.

I don't begrudge what VSL is doing, even if I don't seem to be their ideal customer - in fact I use their software every day. I haven't been using their libraries recently however, because I'm spending my time with Spitfire, OT and Cinematic Studio. I studied Rite of Spring very deeply many years ago and I appreciate what the mockup above represents. But it is safe to say a larger core of users are interested in Evos, Labs, textures, epic stuff, etc. That's where the momentum has been in recent years. [Maybe too much momentum] Upgrading with VSL to get one more dynamic layer, half-note sampling, and extra articulations, for each instrument one after another .... nope, not audacious enough.
 
I just hope they're not planning on making Vienna Instruments/Pro obsolete... They can milk their Synchron player all they want but it's not for me. VI/P is perfectly fine.
 
The latest VE Pro is really good (as are the previous ones), and the plug-ins that come with it are outstanding.

That exciter is by far the most transparent one I've used. It's worth it just for that.

To be honest, the Epic Orchestra doesn't knock me out, but I do like the Synchron player.
 
The latest VE Pro is really good (as are the previous ones), and the plug-ins that come with it are outstanding.

That exciter is by far the most transparent one I've used. It's worth it just for that.

To be honest, the Epic Orchestra doesn't knock me out, but I do like the Synchron player.

To be fair, I don't *hate* it. I just don't think it adds anything to all their libraries I already have using VI/P.
 
Really makes you wonder why they're investing so much time switching things over to Synchron.

My guess is because it's a lot easier to use, especially out of the box.

But the truth is that many of their original instruments from the Orchestral Cube still stand up.
 
To be fair, I don't *hate* it. I just don't think it adds anything to all their libraries I already have using VI/P.

It's something to get started if you buy VE Pro. On the other hand, their old Special Edition - which may or may not still be available? - was a pretty serious orchestra. A lot of it (and other VSL) is in my big template.

EDIT: I just looked, and the Special Edition is still available, only it's been expanded into other volumes. $350 for an orchestra of that quality is a very good deal.

EDIT A 2nd TIME: I see you're talking about Synchron libraries in general. My comment is just about the Epic Orchestra that comes with VE Pro 7.
 
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It's something to get started if you buy VE Pro. On the other hand, their old Special Edition - which may or may not still be available? - was a pretty serious orchestra. A lot of it (and other VSL) is in my big template.

I've had VEP since 5 came out though. I don't use SE much, since I have most of the full and extended libraries except brass.

What I meant in my previous comment: "I just hope they're not planning on making Vienna Instruments/Pro obsolete" was about making us buy the Synchronized versions and trying to shift us from using VI/P. I have no problems with VSL making new Synchron libraries, I just hope they keep VI/P up to date with OS updates, I have no plans to buy their Synchronized versions of VI since I already have them.
 
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