I used to have the old Xsamples Chamber Ensemble, with its stand-alone Kontakt Player.
I hadn’t used it in ages, then learned that the library had migrated to a new company (I think?) and been upgraded.
so now, there’s XSample Compact
It names a few notation programs, but not Dorico.
Has anyone created the playing techniques file (or whatever it’s called) to allow Xsamples to work in Dorico?
I’m wondering if the investment is worth it. It’s not terribly expensive, and from my previous experience with the older XSamples library, the sounds were pretty good.
For classically trained ears Xsample, timbrewise, is spot on! Xsample was, and still is, the brainchild of composer Hans Josef Winkler. I also used it a lot in the past, and have been following the development on and off through the years…
Compared to more massive libraries, like VSL or Spitfire, Xsample have fewer dynamic layers, meaning that dynamics/balance will rely more on volume adjustments. Not necessarily a drawback… (purists may disagree ) One of its absolute strengths is the abundance of special/contemporary articulations (playing techniques)
I’m not familiar with the Compact Edition, but Xsample used to be very well documented, meaning that producing Expression Maps for Dorico is a pretty easy undertaking. I still don’t see any mention of Notation programs apart from Finale, Notion and Sibelius, but I don’t think there is anything in Xsample preventing it working just as well with Dorico.
I remember doing a recording of a viola sonata with XSamples, in Finale, and having a string player ask me who the performer was. So at least PART of that recording was convincing enough to fool a real string player.
Absolutely! And Finale’s Human Playback system is well underrated. Xsample made good use of it…
(As BTW does NotePerformer - producing much better legati than with Dorico for instance)
And let me know if you need help with Xsample Expressions Maps for Dorico…
a number of the libraries have Cubase Expression Maps which would be a good starting point, though the Compact library doesn’t seem to be among them. Nevertheless, the XSample stuff is designed to be easily programmable within notation software and the documentation seems clear enough. I was strongly considering getting the newish Contemporary Solo Strings and I do think that for modern techniques and sound, it is likely the best library to get but I decided in the meantime instead to go for the Chris Hein (though I certainly won’t rule out getting something from that source in the future). I think one of the bundles would be a good buy if you want to use the instruments individually or in small ensembles – I very much doubt the XSample is suitable for full orchestral mockups as there are no string section recordings for instance.
the first XSamples library I had purchased had an option within its player that let you layer up to 6 soloists to create a small ensemble patch. The result was quite nice. I don’t know if they kept that aspect with the new version.
You could build a whole string section from simply 5 (technically 4, since there was no separate 2nd violin) samples:
make a single violin, then adjust the function for it to layer on itself.
then make a 2nd violin, same process.
I think that viola cello and bass didn’t go up to 6 layers, however, maybe a few less.
Although I occasionally might test things out in Cubase, I now do all my mock-ups in Dorico (as well as the actual composing). And unlike many libraries, XSample was designed with notation at least as a possible use. Mind you, most libraries work fine in Dorico even if they’re not officially supported.
If you do get something from XSamples, let us know how you get on. I wasn’t far away from investing myself and it’s far from unlikely I will get something in due course.
) One of its absolute strengths is the abundance of special/contemporary articulations (playing techniques)