Best way to match VI Synchron stage with Synchron instruments

[Nessein]

Hi there,

What is the easiest and most straightforward way to match VI instruments to the baked in reverb of the Synchron stage in Synchron instruments? I am using duality strings together with my VI instruments

I have MIR3D with the Synchron stage pack so one would naturally think the Synchron stage would be the venue choice.

But are there any nuances / tips? Eg there is the Synchron Stage and the Synchron Stage wide presets. Which orientation is most accurate as to how duality strings was recorded?

to be fair, I haven't had much issue with blending the two, however I have a few pieces that will require quite a few instruments and also audio tracks getting pumped into MIR together with using the Synchron player for DS. It would be great to get a solid "baseline" to achieve a cohesive sound.

many thanks as always VSL family for any feedback you can offer. It's always appreciated.

Kind regards,

Lee

[Dietz]

In short - this is where you should start:

:-)

😊

HTH,

[Beat Kaufmann]

To add to Dietz's comment: Finally, you should listen to the whole thing to hear how it really sounds. When mixing different libraries and therefore different treatments, you should pay particular attention to where the instruments sound when listening. Let's take an oboe from the SYNCHRON library (with its preset) and one from the VI library (via MIR) as an example. It is probably best to use MIR to correct the position of the VI oboe until both fit together perfectly and until it sounds as if it is the same library. - Again, this is simply meant as an example.
So if you are a perfectionist, you will probably not be able to avoid such "fine-tuning". At times like this, it also helps to have some kind of plan of where individual instruments should play (example) to avoid a certain amount of randomness. By positioning VI instruments more carefully in this way, you prevent individual instruments from masking each other in the sound.

Another idea to try out: Switch off the additional reverb plug-ins in the SYNCHRON libraries and in MIR, each of which provides an additional tail. Then install such a tail reverb plug-in only once at the very end in the output channel. As a rule, this "procedure" brings all instruments under one roof even better. This is also known as "gluing the mix together".

If you want to learn more about reverb and mixing >>> click here for an article on my website.

Have fun & good luck!
Beat

[Nessein]

Thanks both. Invaluable assistance as always

kind regards,

Lee

[nick.halliwell]

I'm combining Duality and Elite Strings (the Synchron libraries I have so far) with dozens of VI and Synchron-ised series libraries in MIR. I bring the Synchron stuff into MIR for positioning. As I'm not making classical music, I don't always use 'standard' orchestral positioning. I turn off Dry Signal Handling for the Synchron libraries and sometimes for almost everything, on a horses-for-courses basis. I'd also echo what Beat said about turning off individual reverbs, delays, etc. and just doing this once at the very end of the chain in your DAW.

The way I think of it is this: MIR is actually not so much a reverb for me as my studio live room. In a traditional studio you'd place the musicians in a great-sounding space, with its own sound (inc. natural reverb), but then elsewhere in the building there'd probably be reverb chambers, and/or reverb plates and you'd feed some of your signal there - but FROM the live room, and you'd be feeding everything mostly to one reverb, perhaps a couple. So, inside my DAW, I have an Aux buss with a chamber reverb, maybe delay, etc. and I have sends going from other busses (returns from MIR and elsewhere) to it. This makes sense in my head because it's the way I learned about recording as a young man in a world of tape.

Anyway, I recommend reading Beat's articles, he's very good on this stuff. Then experiment a bit, find your own way of doing things. MIR is fantastic because, once I'd got my head around it - which took a while - I realised this was actually the way of recording that I'd always known.

It is a fascinating subject and I'd like to see more information on how other people are doing it. Strictly speaking Synchron products aren't designed for use with MIR, which is best with dry sources, but... I don't know about you but as soon as I see "not designed for..." it makes me want to try it. 😜

Nick

[Dietz]

@nick-halliwell said:
I realised this was actually the way of recording that I'd always known.

... which was indeed always the basic idea: Put yourself in the shoes of an engineer, producer or conductor who asks the musicians to take a seat in a room of your choice and place your microphones in front of them. That's about it. 😊

[nick.halliwell]

@Dietz said:

@nick-halliwell said:
I realised this was actually the way of recording that I'd always known.

... which was indeed always the basic idea: Put yourself in the shoes of an engineer, producer or conductor who asks the musicians to take a seat in a room of your choice and place your microphones in front of them. That's about it. 😊

It took a little while to realise this - MIR shows up as a reverb plugin so initially that was how I thought of it - but once I'd spent a little time with it the penny dropped. Of course, in a more traditional studio you'd probably have different people playing the roles of producer, engineer and conductor. I was going to say this way there are fewer arguments but actually it's more that they take place inside my own head... 😀

I must admit that when I got my first Synchron library I spent a lot of time scratching my head, as volume levels went all over the shop, but once I'd thought it through a bit it began to make sense: first while you can't get Synchron products as dry as VI/Synchron-ised (the latter come with MIR-ready mixer presets), there's a lot you can do to get something workable: turn off Dry Signal Processing for them in MIR, turn off any reverb/delay/etc. plugins in the SP, use closer mics where possible and, with Duality Strings, make use of the smaller, drier B ensembles. Works well for me, you have to make some allowances - but you often have to do that in real studios, it's part of the process.

Nick

[Beat Kaufmann]

A small additional delivery:
Because the VI instruments were recorded quite dry in the Silent Stage, they are ideal for using as solo instruments together with the SYNCHRON libraries...
Possible procedure:
- Select a desired preset for SYNCHRON libraries (Classic?)
- Switch off the additional reverb for all SYNCHRON instruments.
- Add a compressor or maximizer to the VI solo instrument.
- Mix everything to the output channel and set up the "Reverb over All" there.
- Balance the VI solo with the SYNCHRON orchestra level...

Voilà >>> Example with two VI recorders (BTW: MIR is not necessary for such an example. An common reverb tool for a bit of tail is enough).

Have fun

Beat