Typically, a newly installed VST is captured by Dorico when first opening while the Audio Engine is gathering its info. Vienna Ensemble Pro 8 also looks for and adds available VSTs per one’s settings upon startup. So, whenever I install a new VST, I always close and reboot Dorico.
As far as the wrong notes, if the VST, itself, has a sample rate, it needs to match whatever sample rate you are using in Dorico’s sound setup otherwise, it will play above or below the desired pitch dependent upon whether the VST’s sample rate is higher or lower than Dorico’s.
That is very good advice, thank you! I will keep that in mind upon my next try (99% focused on engraving, so audio is more of a seasoning which, when bad, ugh!)
has anyone made a playback template for XSamples?
I used to have XSamples back in the day (it was MUCH less expensive back then as well) when I used Finale. It had amazing playback.
I’d love to get some nice solo strings that I can mix with my NP orchestra, for example in my violin or viola concertos. The solo strings is the one thing I don’t like about NotePerformer.
I’ve always been curious why no sample library developer has figured out solo strings yet. There are some reasonably good orchestral strings, and SWAM does fairly well as a Noteperformer replacement if you’re willing to spend some time programming Expression Maps, but with any sampled instruments, even in demos that have been performed/edited in a DAW, solo strings seem pretty problematic. Maybe just that sample libraries are made for film music and there’s very little use of solo strings there? I don’t know.
I wonder if the sampling process of multiple strings (e.g. 12 violins) is considered sufficient by the sound library producers to extract a single, best sounding violin, for example from those 12 in their recording samples, to be their solo choice. While there are similarities between group play and solo play, the ability to capture the particular artistry of a soloist may be too complex for them either to recognize or to understand.
Not necessarily, some of the newer libraries are comprehensively sampled solo players. For example I think the VSL Synchron Solo Strings are the newest offering from a big industry name, and seem to have a lot of potential, but they sound very bright, reverberant and harsh, sort of like the NotePerformer solo strings actually (although those sound much more compressed and lossy). I suspect this is partly because the players are recorded in orchestral seating positions in concert halls/scoring stages designed for large orchestras, although sample editing may also play a role.
As someone who admittedly can’t afford the VSL solo strings bundles right now I have similarly noticed this problem when transcribing music into a DAW using the Native Instruments Cremona Quartet and the Cinematic Studio Solo Strings. The latter may actually be the most well-balanced and best-sounding for classical music purposes, at least if you use them with 0% reverb and don’t mind prerecorded vibrato, but probably won’t work well in notation software because the start positions of notes don’t line up with the barlines.
I think those characteristics are common to the VSL instruments in general. I’ve moved away from them for that very reason. There are often odd harmonics that don’t seem natural to me but may be perfectly normal in the environments in which they were sample.
Cinematic Studio are among the most expressive of all in my experience and I like using them particularly together with piano. Still, some complain with some justification that they actually sound like several players, such is the richness of sound. Although I myself have often claimed that VSL can be rather cool and sterile, nevertheless they are an order of magnitude better than the NotePerformer solo strings which I couldn’t imagine using in any context. Different libraries have different strengths. XSamples mentioned earlier are particularly useful for more contemporary music due to the rich diversity of articulations though some find it harder to get good results in a more romantic repertoire.
I think we’re all more or less agreed that there is currently no ideal solo cello or other solo strings – it’s a matter of finding the right compromises for the right music.
I used to own XSamples string library, when it used the Kontakt player, in Finale.
I found it incredibly effective, light years ahead of anything the Garritan libraries offered.
But at some point I think they sold the company? or got bought out?
I can’t register the disk I have for my old XSamples anymore.
If the new - and considerably more expensive - XSamples were as easy to use as the old version, then I’d happily put money aside over the next few months to purchase it.
I remember in Finale having invisible markings that triggered certain playing techniques in the XSample library. I presume this could work as well in Dorico.
You should be able to do so through Native Access (Native Instruments handles the authentication). You install Xsamples, then tell Native Access where they are…
My problem was that the XSample installer no longer loads on Windows. I did manage it once, but can’t recall the process (sorry). It remains on my to-do list to try and get it on my current PC.
I’m also considering re-investing in the latest Xsamples (solo strings), which appears to have a Dorico expression map and quite a lot of info on how to tweak things.
Sounds like a remarkably rich process and one that would be instructive to watch, in the event you ever felt like recording it on YT. It would also be wonderful to hear some of your results in even a brief audio file.
For me, it is a mix between VSL and Xsample. If the writing is mostly traditional, I go with the VSL Studio Solo Strings. If it contains more contemporary techniques, I may directly go for Xsample (either the old Acoustic Library or the more recent Contemporary Solo Strings).
The company is a single man, still maintaining the library. Support is a very direct thing, unfortunately not always the easiest to follow. You should contact him and explain your situation.
in the last few days, a new option has become available. Dreamtonics have released Instrument X to partner their AI assisted vocal synth. And although this doesn’t look like working for orchestral music (where there are decent sample libraries anyway) for some solo instruments, particularly solo strings, it’s looking most encouraging to me from my tests for lyrical music at any rate – some faster stuff seem to challenge it rather more. I’d urge downloading the trial of the cello. If I decide to invest in the string quartet instruments, I’ll be sure to post an example.
