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After spending some time researching the most authentic sounding orchetral software I've decided to go with Vienna, but I'm SO confused on what to get first, most importantly what I actually need to get making music!
I want to start with some basic so I can learn the software and at a later date look into getting the more advanced stuff. Where should I start?
Many thanks.
It would probably make sense to start with the Special Edition Volume 1.
It contains all the basic typical instruments of the orchestra and their most important and commonly used articulations. I think it's remarkable value for money. It's quite a comprehensive collection of instruments, and they all sound great and very authentic.
Musically, this can already get you quite far, and it's also a good way to get the hang of the software, before deciding how and in which direction to upgrade and expand your collection.
So at what point would I need to think about running a salve machine? Is it essential at this stage? I've just purchased SPECIAL EDITION Vol. 1 btw
Agreed, SE1 is fairly light on the system. I run a combination of SE 1/2/1+/2+ sections along with the Appassionata Strings and various download instruments with Vienna Instruments Pro + MIRx loaded all across the board. All of that is saved as a template containing 5 Vienna Ensemble instances hosting 16 VE Pro instruments each, and I also have several instances of Kontakt loaded alongside that. It think it's probably somewhere around 100 instruments all in all.
Fully orchestrated, my pieces typically end up using somewhere between 30 and 50 tracks. It's all on a single Win7 machine with an Intel i7 processor, an SSD drive and currently 16GB RAM, and it plays back without any hickups. You definitely won't need a slave computer for any of the Special Edition stuff as long as your hardware is up to the task for sampled music.
After spending some time researching the most authentic sounding orchetral software I've decided to go with Vienna, but I'm SO confused on what to get first, most importantly what I actually need to get making music!
I want to start with some basic so I can learn the software and at a later date look into getting the more advanced stuff. Where should I start?
Many thanks.
SE 1, 1 Plus, SE 2, and 2 Plus combined will work quite well with just 8 gigs of RAM. Adding the + portions of the SE libraries will provide helpful additional articulations. Also, once you get familiar with the free VI player, consider adding VI Pro. The features of VI Pro - particularly the stretch function - will enable you to create additional variations of the articulations. That can help fill in some of the gaps in the SE libraries.
Eventually, as finances allow, consider adding full VSL libraries. Note that the computer requirements for the full libraries are higher than for the SE libraries. One common combination has already been mentioned: SE libraries coupled with AP strings. A couple of the main advantages of the full libraries (standard + extended) are the wealth of articulations provided compared to SE, and half-tone sampling compared to whole-tone.
Thanks for you input guys, just getting my head round it all.
I use a Mac Book Pro, 2.6HGhz i7 with 16Gb ram, so should be ok.
I'm just getting my head round how the additonal software works, would be helpful if there was some kind of diagram/list to explain what order you should add the software/plugins. It's slightly confusing knowing for example if you buy one SE1, then SE2, will you paying for part of something you already have?
Sorry, I'm a newbie and really am like a caveman when it comes to understanding the workings of Vienna.
Hello Dudley,
Special Edition Volume 1 and Special Edition Volume 2 contain completely different content...
You can check that on the product pages of the Special Editions, with the instrument lists. Right now, you´re always better off when you purchase bundle, e.g, the Special Edition CORE Bundle.
It´s a modular system, you can pick and mix as you like.
Best,
Paul
