They are exactly the same.

Bill answered your original question, but the Extended samples have some more types of articulations.  (Again the Download Instrument Extended has exactly the same samples as the Instrument Collection Extended, but it sounds like you don't have the Extended versions of either yet.)  Have you read through those to see if any sound more suited to your needs?  Also even though you're looking for shorts with more bite, some of the dynamic patches may be sufficient, like sforzando for example.

Thanks Casiquire. In fact I have worked only with instruments from the Standard library so far and it has gone very well. I am just starting to feel the need to have some more expressivenes, and bite regarding the sfz. Actually some of these articulations I need are indeed short sfz.

In any case I read through both manuals (Standard and Extended) and it seems the pp and ff layers are missing in the Standard.

I saw your VI-control post too :oP but I'm not seeing anything in the manual about the standard collection having less dynamic layers than the extended for the same articulations.  Where do you see that?

Hi,

I was meaning only the Download instruments, I guess the Collection Standard is offered with all layers.

I found it on page 4 in the Standard manual, Flute 1 for example: "Single notes: Staccato 3 velocity layers: 0–55 p; 56–108 mf; 109–127 f 2 Alternations" while in the  (p. 8) "Staccato 5 velocity layers". From this I assumed the Standard might lack the pp and the ff, at least for the staccato patch.

Correct me if I am wrong...

Alessandro

Ooh, I see, and I the single instruments pages confirm it:

"The Standard Library of the Download Instrument contains all of the Flute 1 samples of the Vienna Special Edition Volume 1 and of the Special Edition Volume 1 PLUS as well as some additional articulations. TheFull Library offers the complete articulations on par with the ones of the big Collection Woodwinds I Extended Library."

So the standard Download Instruments have less samples than standard Instrument Collections.

That's right, the Special Edition instruments contain fewer dynamic layers than the full collections. Standard / extended doesn't come into it - for more layers, buy the full collections!

We're not talking about the Special Editions, but the Standard Edition single instruments.  They are missing some layers.

Sorry for the confusion. Special Edition instruments have fewer velocity layers than the full collections. The Standard Library of the Download Instruments is based on the Special Edition version, so has fewer velocity layers; the Full Library of the Download instrument contains all the velocity layers found in the fully-fledged Vienna Instruments collections.

Aah I see.  I suppose that makes sense, but coming in from the outside, it seems more logical to assume that the Download Instrument Standard is just like the full Instrument Collection instrument, Standard.  The way the articulations are laid out is identical.  I guess this is an example of things being a little bit non-intuitive on the site.

Yeah, it's a bit complicated. Like most sound companies, VSL sell budget-priced, slightly slimmed-down versions of their instruments. This policy started with the Special Edition and continued with the single instrument downloads; the saving grace of the system is that anyone who buys a download Standard Library can upgrade to the full Instrument Collection version by buying the download Full Library. :)

Yes, that's what I plan to do, buying the download Full coming from the download Standard. Even if sometimes it is the thought alone of having less layers that bothers me more than the actual expressiveness of the set...