Overture 5, Anyone using it with VSL?

[Paul McGraw]

Now that Dorico has been released and we find that it has nothing to offer us concerning the use of VSL libraries, I am once again looking at Overture 5. The latest update would seem to have solved most, if not all of the issues with the program.

Are there any VSL users who can share experiences with using Overture 5?

[dbudde]

Good luck if you go with Overture.  I've tried various versions and never was able to figure out how to make it work.  The developer over promises and under delivers.  The interface is very confusing and keeps changing.

In 5 minutes with Dorico, I was able to get VE Pro 6 working with VI Pro 2.  Seemed to be stable and intuitive Admittedly there is not yet support for key switching or expression maps.  But I'd be willing to bet that this will be available before long.  

[Paul McGraw]

I hope you are right. Being able to use the Cubse Expression maps within a notation based application is my ideal software. Now I write in Sibelius, then export an XML or MIDI to Cubase. Cubase is a great program I'm sure, but I don't want to work with a piano roll. I want to work with notation.

Was your Overture experience with the 5.1 version?

[dbudde]

I tried every release of version 5 including 5.1, so yes.

[Bill]

I love Overture, and it's made great progress. The VSL sound maps are yet to be functional, though there are other ways to work with it, just as there is with Dorico.

[Paul McGraw]

@Bill said:

I love Overture, and it's made great progress. The VSL sound maps are yet to be functional, though there are other ways to work with it, just as there is with Dorico.

Thanks for sharing your experience Bill. From reading the Overture 5 website, it seems that users can create sound maps. Is that not true?

[Bill]

We will be able to, and there will be a sound map editor, but it's not in place yet, at least for the VSL

[Tensivity]

I've used Overture, and the 5.1.0 release version has improved greatly over the betas.

The midi editing is very powerful, the ability to edit a piano roll or notation and have it be interactive is a real plus. You can also draw MIDI CC curves, and tempo maps, and they work very well to control any VI or VIPro parameter that you select.

Selection of VST instruments is easy, and the use of Vienna Ensemble and Ensemble Pro is also easy to do.  Assignment of techniques to VSL patches is super easy as well.  Just double click a technique, enter a keyswitch and off you go.  

The one drawback is that there is currently no way (as Bill Reed says) to create expression maps.  I think that feature is coming.

There's a free demo, can't hurt to try it out.