Thanks Mike, great info - much appreciated.

@mboc said:

. If you're getting MIR, VSL is definitely best. The instrument profiles make life much easier,

Mboc, 

Can you elaborate on what the instrument profiles are and how you use them? I have not been able to find anything on this feature. Is it simialr to the presets in Vienna Suite?

thx!

ds

An instrument profile is sort of like an uber-preset that refers to a specific VSL instrument within MIR. They are located at the top right of your MIR Pro/VEP5 GUI, in the instrument section. Once you load an instrument (say, OR Violins) select the appropriate profile from the pull down list or right click the icon on the MIR stage and select from the context menu. . They do a lot of the work for you, making mixing much easier. Here's a detailed explanation from the manual (preliminary manual pp22-23).

Thanks for spreading the word, Mike, and thanks for quoting the manual.

For everybody who's interested in some (easy to understand) technical and "philosophical" background, there's an add-on available for the manual, called "Think MIR!":

-> http://dl.vsl.co.at/downloader.aspx?ID=7629

Kind regards,

PS:

@mboc said:

[...] On a side note, I've found the plug Decapitator by Soundtoys to be very helpful in creating harmonic distortion, taking the edge off, coloring (esp when used in parallel). If I could afford a Culture Vulture or a Fatso I would get them but the plug is quite good at emulating. This is just my own personal taste, but the demo is worth trying.

+1!

Another great source for nice harmonic distortion are UAD's Ampex and Revox emulations.

Yes, thank you so much Mike. That was very helpful. And thank you Dietz. Very cool stuff.

Mike, do you use the instrument EQ presets from VSL Suite alongside the MIR instrument pofiles?

Now I just wish UAD was 64 bit (though I suppose VEP5 would take care of that!).

@Another User said:

Now I just wish UAD was 64 bit (though I suppose VEP5 would take care of that!).

You could either use VE Pro as a 32bit application, or wrap the plugins using a utility like jBridge -> http://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/

HTH,

Thank you very much for this reply, Dietz. You have really added to my understanding of what MIR does.

A few follow up questions to your reply...

Does MIR have a Compressor  or is the compressor only found in the Vienna Suite?And, if MIR does have the compressor, does the compressor have the presets from the Vienna Suite?

Does MIR include an EQ that can be dedicated to each track or just to the master out?

Does the MIR Pro's own EQ have presets for for Vienna instruments like one can find in the Vienna Suite?

I know that MIR comes with the algorithymic reverb found in the Suite's Hyrbid rever, but does it come with Suite's convolution reverb presets as well? And if not, can one 

Thanks, Dietz!

Arghh .... I just wrote an extensive reply to your question, but I inadvertently closed the browser-window before I sent the message .... *sigh* ... hold on a second, I will write it again ... [st]

Vienna Suite and MIR Pro are different products which complement each other nicely.

@Another User said:

I know that MIR comes with the algorithymic reverb found in the Suite's Hyrbid rever, but does it come with Suite's convolution reverb presets as well?

MIRacle - the algorithmic reverb add-on that comes with MIR Pro - is of course related to Vienna Suite's Hybrid Reverb, but it's a different plugin. For obvious reasons it has no convolution reverb section, and it is fully surround compatible. Therefore the presets aren't interchangeable.

HTH,

Thanks Dietz. That really helps.

I just wish you guys offered a complete software bundle: MIR Pro, VEP5, Vienna Suite and VIP2.  Any chance?[:)]

d.

I'm just an audio guy, but I will make your suggestion known to our marketing team. [H]

@mboc said:

On a side note, I've found the plug Decapitator by Soundtoys to be very helpful in creating harmonic distortion, taking the edge off, coloring (esp when used in parallel).

Mike-

I have noticed the same thing. What settings do you apply on the Decapitator? One has to be very careful with that plug!

thx.

ds

I tend to use it in parallel, with the mix at about 50% and slight drive. I use it mainly to add some darkness and mix it accordingly. Sometimes you lose depth of field and have to roll it back.  I usually prefer the Vulture Culture settings.

Mike

Thanks Mike!

Where do you insert it? Before or after your other effects? 

Appreciate the help.

I typically run it in parallel, like you would with a compressor. The wet/dry mix allows you to do this as an insert, or you can dedicate a bus to it depending on your needs. I like to place it before effects on its own bus, but it can be used anyway you see fit. I've had good results using it after effects and even at the mastering or mix bus level. I personally like the T setting for strings, emulating the respective "saturation/warmth" setting on the Culture Vulture. Saving my pennies to get the real thing. The P setting is more for distortion and less for saturation, but has its own merits. Ever hear a rock bass through one (the real one)? Pretty sure Radiohead uses it on the bass on "Bodysnatchers."

Mike

Just wanted to post that i decided to start a new thread for tape saturation/ ahrmonic distoprtion and VSL if anyone can/ wants to contribute. (didn't want to hijack this thread).