Don't say that! As a matter of fact, Martin Tichy, the VSL's Marketing Director, used to be a very accomplished player.

Did you try the new 'Zigane' samples in the Solo Violin Vienna instrument? Wrong culture obviously, but the slides, grace notes and more outgoing playing style are at least a step towards a more folk-orientated violin sound.

i have been using the solo violin in a more celtic folk style context, which sounded great

I agree with the country fiddle as an additional instrument, as the "Heartland" samples are close to the only thing available. And it is a great sound that is very distinct, being from the American tradition of fiddle playing which is under-represented. Though VSL has their hands full sampling every other musical instrument in creation!

Any of these types of styles that really dig into an instrument and utilize a lot of inflections, mid-note tonal quality shifts and multiple notes are really hard to accomplish with sampling technology. The VSL folks are wizards, but I wouldn't hold my breath for this. It would be faster to just buy a violin and start practicing. [:D]

Well, Broadway Big Band is able to switch from a standard sax tone to substitute fingerings in the middle of a note very well, and that's not entirely different. I suspect it could be done.

@Nick Batzdorf said:

Well, Broadway Big Band is able to switch from a standard sax tone to substitute fingerings in the middle of a note very well, and that's not entirely different. I suspect it could be done.

Hmmm... I can't say I'm overly impressed with BBB. The demos sound OK, but I'm thinking that that's mainly because a really good job was done doing a demo that incorporated a lot of the bigger performance snippets (which really boosts the reality factor). Upon hearing the demos, I think some people would like to jump to the conclusion: "Wow, this library really can really do anything and sound like real musicians!" The problem is, it's the larger performance gestures that sound real. You only get so many of them, and using the library ultimately gets to be an exercise of making your composition fit the available resources. I'd predict that the individual gestures would get very familiar quite quickly.

A country violin library done that way would suffer the same fate. By nature, it would be very limiting because all the multi-note inflections would require an enormous amount of time to sample. The BBB instruments are all monophonic.

Well, I have BBB (I reviewed it in our current issue) and I can tell you I'm VERY impressed with it. Very - and that's in spite of all the pre-release quirks in the version I worked with...at least some but possibly all of which are gone in the current version I just installed yesterday.

You really have to try it to form an opinion, because it's very difficult to see all that's going on in the demos. Of course it's a sample library, and like all sample libraries - or any other method of doing emulations - it has more limitations than capabilities! But if you focus on what it can do rather than what it can't you'll be pretty surprised at how subtle it is. There's a Kurt Weil-ish demo that shows some of this, and it's not bombastic with large gestures. You'll hear that it can do convincing solo lines with lots of character in the performances.

There's a lot happening in that library, from legato transition samples to a pretty sophisticated sample alternation scheme to small details like hi-hats that close with transition samples. And the perforrmance interface with its system of keyswitches and modifier keyswitches - using a custom utility program that intercepts the notes à la VSL Performance Tool - is very well thought out. Some of the keyswitches are temporary, others are live so you can change in the middle of a sustained note (e.g. the alternative sax fingerings), others are like regular keyswitches.

It fills a big hole. And I really like that a couple of young guys have been able to undertake such a huge project and pull it off. I also like that they're advancing the art of sampling, incorporating some of VSL's ideas as well as others (for example multiple mic positions) and adding their own ideas to come up with a unique library.

@Another User said:

The BBB instruments are all monophonic.

Well, sometimes when everything's stereo then nothing is stereo. [[:)]]

@Nick Batzdorf said:

There's a Kurt Weil-ish demo that shows some of this, and it's not bombastic with large gestures. You'll hear that it can do convincing solo lines with lots of character in the performances.

Well, Nick, I'll take your word that it's an impressive product. Interesting that you bring up the Kurt Weil-ish demo. Upon hearing the demos that are up, my initial reaction was that the library really had kind of an intimate Borscht Belt cabaret band feel to it. I got that impression from the three demos I've heard so far. To my ears, at least, it doesn't sound convincing enough for using in a finished product.

I don't know. Maybe in the right hands, it could do Stan Kenton, Count Basie, Maynard Ferguson and a nice, slurpy saxed Billy May, but I'd like to hear it first before purchasing it. It's too expensive to just take a chance on it.

I've really remained optimistic about the possibility of jazz/big band stuff being realized with sampling tools for many, many years, and have spent a fortune on sample libraries. I still remain hopeful.

Know what, though? At my advanced age, I recently bought my first soprano, alto and tenor sax (and I'm looking for a bari). I've begun to implement plan B. [:D]

I first read that as you're looking for a bar! [[:)]]

Anyway, BBB is good for pop, Latin, or anything else that uses horns (and rhythm). Or Klezmer, if you can stand it. [[:)]] The name is rather bad I think, because it makes you think of...well, big bands.