Hi, I’m wondering if anyone has had any experience with the very recently released VSL Synchron Solo Violin and Solo Cello, and their accompanying expression maps? It’s still during an intro sale, so I might bite, but maybe not – for me using mostly NP with NPPEs for all my strings, I generally prefer that route since it’s all-round more useable and less of a headache in my experiences. I actually own the other Synchron Strings (SY Pro and Elite) + Synchron NPPE, and it’s become my workhorse string section, so obviously the solo instruments would mix well – but having tried VSL’s own maps I’ve found they are more problematic with timing & dynamics than if I run them from NPPE. So for the solo instruments if the expression maps don’t work well I might just wait until Arne updates the NPPE to support them and perhaps the next VSL sale.
If anyone has already created any mockups or demos using these new strings in Dorico, I’d love to hear the results!
Hi, reading your thread I had to think at a piano sonate of Mozart (KV 330). It is one of the pieces that I’m preparing for a recital in september.
To give you an idea how the Synchron Solo violin sounds in Dorico with the expression map of VSL, I copied the music of the first part of the first movement of the piece, complete with slurs, staccato’s, dynamic signs, trills in Dorico. Most grace notes I wrote in normal notes. In some places I wrote an extra staccato at the end of a slur.
The right hand is played for this occasion by the violin, the left hand by the piano (the Steinway of VSL).
Normally I should work a lot at the performance, but in this case I didn’t do that, so that you get an impression how the expression map works. The only thing I did, was making a number of staccato notes softer (adjusting velocity).
I hope you get an idea by this example.
(I used the violin just as it start, so no microphone adjustments).
Thanks so much for doing that! It’s very helpful, especially since I frequently write with varying techniques in the same phrase (alternating with slurs, staccato, trills etc).
It sounds very good, although it’s definitely struggling with the very fast slurs – an issue I’ve recognized with other expression maps such as for my SY Pro and Elite strings and other libraries, where several fast notes under a slur can tend to lag and it sounds like the player gets a little behind the beat. Of course this is frequently common with legato & performance patches so it doesn’t surprise me, and I am sure it can be adjusted with enough patience. Fortunately, compared to other examples I’ve heard, the dynamics are generally feeling balanced between the various articulations.
I might definitely go for it – and I know whenever Wallander updates the NPPE it will be even better!
Have you also tried the Cello? I’m curious, on this I am particularly fussy since I am a cellist (just an amateur, but still!).
It was not so much work to replace the violin by the violoncello. I transposed all notes for the violin one octave lower. I kept all staccato volume adjustments.
until I heard Guy Bacos “Whispers of Nostalgia”, I wasn’t as convinced by the sound of the cello as the violin. Even the experts seem to have some problems with slurring faster legato, though that’s not my biggest concern. I suspect I will eventually go for this library but I’d like to hear it complete and will probably wait for NPPE support as well (although I’m perfectly happy with my own maps in the Synchron_ized solo strings)
I am since a long time writing a string quartet using Dorico and have been experimenting a lot with the best libraries to use. Till now I tried SA Sacconi quartet, solo strings, and ARO2. as well as the Native Instruments Cremona instruments. I now have a version with violin 1 and cello from the SY solo strings and violin 2 and viola from SA solo strings which is surprisingly well balanced.
In the EM provided by VSL I deleted the natural with note length ==short as it activated detaché for ⅛ notes which gave too aggressive attacks on the first notes of ⅛ note succesions.
Considering the complexity of the passage with the fast slurs, it’s pretty good! A few funny moments here and there but all in all sounds great, very useable, and seems like it can handle a lot of technique variation which is a good sign. I like that the short notes for both cello & violin have a crisp bite. I could see this library working rather well for slower, lyrical romantic-style solos.
I still might end up waiting until the next sale and NPPE implementation (and ideally they will complete the series with viola and bass), but I still have about a week to mull it over…
I think instruments built for live performance work best in dorico. While I think nothing can beat the sound of VSL, they really don’t play well in fast passages.
This is an example of the same piece in dorico with such an performance instrument and my expression map. Except one or two portamentos I didn’t change anything in the score I found on Muescore.
I actually ended up buying both the violin and cello. I will say with the VSL maps I am pretty impressed. They aren’t perfect, but they sound very good for the most part, and the maps and patches are well done so that alternating between shorts and longs and fast slurs hasn’t presented any noticeable problems. Yesterday with the violin I managed to execute a run covering 2 bars of 16th septuplets under a single slur, across 2 octaves (which would involve multiple string crossings), at a moderate tempo. I was impressed how agile and tight it sounded. For the record, none of my other solo violin libraries that I’ve used in Dorico would be able to do such a run without very noticeable and awkward issues (whether natively or via NPPE, such as BBC, SSO, and CineStrings).
Vibrato and other expressive qualities are nicely dialed out of the box. And the shorts are delightful, with a lovely crispness and character. I like shorts that can bite.
I am sure there will be some things it doesn’t execute perfectly for me but it’s a happy addition to my arsenal, and I look forward to as soon as NPPE supports it too, to make my setup even easier!
After our conversation about VSL Synchron Solo Violin and Violoncello, I felt the need to make a performance with Dorico, where I could use more articulations of the Solo Violin, and not only the basic articulations, that Dorico uses with the expression map of VSL.
Here is the result for whom is interested. I can’t say it is perfect, but I think it is better than the first mockup. Piano sonate KV 330 Mozart for violin and piano
If anyone is interested, I ended up buying both the violin and cello while it was on sale and have been very pleased with the result using VSL’s own maps.
The only issue I have found is that several notes under a slur can be significantly quieter than detached shorts in particular - this mainly poses a problem on a passage where you might alternate between slurs and shorts very quickly, where the slurs definitely drop in volume. I’ll probably end up tinkering with the maps and instruments myself to find the right balance, but will probably also mention this to VSL to see if they might improve the maps on their end.
In any case I wanted to share this random composition I made which I think nicely highlights various techniques and fantastic agility at high virtuostic speeds!
Obviously this piece would be very hard to play, but for me that was part of the point of really pushing the instruments to their limits! So every time the basic pattern goes around a cycle I introduce a different type of bowing and I think VSL handles both the slurs and staccato with both character and sparkling agility. Two violins are both VSL but panned slightly apart with mic adjustments inside the instruments. Piano is BOZ Master Keys.
I highly recommend the instruments, I think my favorite solo strings I’ve heard in a long time and I’m really excited for whenever they hopefully release a viola, bass, and perhaps even an actual 2nd violin to create a perfect in situ quintet.
I decided to wait for the full library release, though I do believe in some respects this will be a clear advance on the original solo strings which have been used more often than any others in my chamber works despite some reservations about the somewhat nasal legato tone. I’d also like to see NotePerformer support before finally committing
Solo strings are, together with choirs, the main area in sample libraries without an entirely satisfactory solution and perhaps this release will bring this that bit closer
