SE Dimension Strings... WOW!! Upcoming SE Dim Brass inc?

[littlewierdo]

I bought a license for the SE dimension strings, as a student who does music writing purely for a hobby, the full library is way out of my price range.

Currently, Im using Cubase 10.3 Pro, Ensemble 7 Pro, Instruments Pro, have all the MIRx rooms, the Syncron SE complete bundle (including the newly released Dimension strings SE), and the VI SE complete bundle (including the newly released Dimension strings SE).

I can see why this is so popular. Trying to wrap my head around the concept of having explicit control over each player, more specifically, how this lets me be even more creative. This is I suppose where my first question comes in...

What do you find this kind of control really useful for? Im trying to get some ideas on how best to utilize this library.

Obviously, you could layer this library with other libraries, I tried a bit of that with Orchestral Tools's string library and there was something very magical about it that I cant place my finger on exactly, but I have a sneaky idea of why. See, Orchestral Tools libraries are very mechanical, I dont want to say cold, but they are missing the human element that Vienna recreates so well. If you are looking for a studio, prestine and perfect sound, Orchestral Tools libraries are the best library on the market for that (and primarily the main reason I bought licenses for their strings, brass, and woodwind libraries). Layering Vienna Dimension strings with Orchestral Tools's string library makes strings come to life, almost magical. The little imperfections that, what I suspect is the humanize functionality that Vienna brings, adds a musical "Sparkle" that is just magical.

On the other hand, cinematic strings, another library (https://www.cinematicstrings.com/), Dimension strings is not so good for layering because this library tries to include the humanize element in their library, but not nearly as well as Vienna, primarily because the effect is not random.

However, what about composition? I was thinking about something like a call and response sort of thing, where one section plays a musical "question" and another section "answers"?

I have barely scratched the surface, so this might be wrong here, but is it possible to have a split where say the first four violins are playing something completely different than the last four violins, at the same time? I suppose to do this, you would need to load each violin as a separate midi track?

Oh, and before this gets too long, I did have a few more questions about the technical aspects of this library.

I noticed that there is a violins 1 (8 players) and violins 2 (8 players). Are these two groups the same 8 players or are we talking about 16 different players?

The reverb used in Synchron, when I load say all 8 violins all at once, there are 3 reverb settings loaded by default. Each instrument has its own associated reverb. Then there is a master reverb on the far right channel. Then there is the reverb button over to the lower right just above the keyboard. What are the specific differences between these and how do they interact with each other? I know the reverb in the lower right is the Synchron stage IR reverb and the master room reverb FX is a convolution reverb, I am assuming the individual players are also using IR from the Synchron Stage? If you have all three enabled, are you basically layering 3 reverbs? Im trying to figure out how best to use this...

Does the full Dimension Strings libary offer non-vibrato options and more importantly, the ability to control how much vibrato is being used on the fly? That is the huge thing I am missing from my Vienna SE solo violin libraries that I was hoping dimension strings might offer...

The next question is one I havent seen asked much, when can we expect SE Dimension brass? Not looking for a release date, but knowing which month(s) to keep an eye out for it would be nice...

Finally, I know woodwinds are out of vogue right now. I dont know why, many scoring composers dont use woodwinds and frankly, I think it is because many composers dont know how to use them effectively (they require much more finesse than strings or brass in my opinion). I digress from the question, Dimension winds? Yes? SE Dimension winds? Is this in the works?

Oh, and a MIR Pro question, why do you not have IR's for Synchron stage yet? Would love to be able to use some of my other non Vienna libraries with the Synchron libraries, or even the VI libraries with the Synchron libraries...

[bbelius]

Hi,

"What do you find this kind of control really useful for? Im trying to get some ideas on how best to utilize this library."

so many things you can do with the Dimension libraries... Here are some things I do:
- layering with other string libraries (Orchestral and Appassionata will sound so much more vivid. And you have much more control over the sound characteristics)
- divisi sounds more realistic
- using different articulations at the same time with the different players to avoid static sounding long notes, getting more inperfectioons in the shorts or just creating the sound you want (don't know how good this works with the SE because limited articulations, but there is always the upgrade path to the Full library (September Student Discount ;) )).
- different humanization-levels to simulate better and less good players (if you use the same midi-data for all players, activate the humanization delay!)
- shrink the size to get a small chamber sound, even smaller then the Chamber library.

"is it possible to have a split where say the first four violins are playing something completely different than the last four violins, at the same time?"

Yes, with VI Pro you can use the auto-divisi, Synchron Player has not this feature yet. I personally prefere separat midi tracks to have full control, so I can use different articulations at the same time, add some manual imperfections in timing, velocity, velocity-crossfade, expression...

"I noticed that there is a violins 1 (8 players) and violins 2 (8 players). Are these two groups the same 8 players or are we talking about 16 different players?"

Yes, they are the same 8 players. They are processed with differnt panning (IR-reverb) to prevent phasing issues (I think they are also using a transposition trick, but I am not sure).

"The reverb used in Synchron, when I load say all 8 violins all at once, there are 3 reverb settings loaded by default. Each instrument has its own associated reverb. Then there is a master reverb on the far right channel. Then there is the reverb button over to the lower right just above the keyboard. What are the specific differences between these and how do they interact with each other?"

In short: there is the IR-reverb (the small button next to the panning in the mixer). This adds panning, room-information and reverb to the samples. The other reverb(s) are supposed to sweeten the sound. The reverb in the right corner is a simple algorithmic reverb, and in the fx you have a algorithmic room- and plate-reverb to add more characteristics the the reverb sound.

"Does the full Dimension Strings libary offer non-vibrato options and more importantly, the ability to control how much vibrato is being used on the fly?"

Yes, this is one of the big features of the Full library. I often use 1-2 players that play the same articulations but without vibrato. To control the amount of vibrato I use a cross-fade between the vibrato- and non-vibrato articulations.

"Dimension winds? Is this in the works?"

I don't see the need for a Dimension Woodwind library, because solo winds blend fine with each other. Not so Strings and Brass, the sound is changing when multiple instruments are playing.
If I need multiple flutes playing the same notes, I use the 3-Flutes ensemble and add a "first chari" solo flute. When used in the background of the orchestra this works great, when more exposed I rather use the two flutes (1 + 2).
But that is my opinion, no idea what VSL thinks about this.

"why do you not have IR's for Synchron stage yet?"

Roompack 6: https://www.vsl.co.at/de/Vienna_MIR_RoomPack_Bundle/RoomPack_6
I think you miss the MIRx of the Synchron Stage, and yes, there is none. I think we will see more Synchronized instruments what makes the Synchron MIRx obsolete. (Also would be great to be able to use the other MIRx in the Synchron player.)

Hope I could help :)

Best, Ben