O.K., I admit I find this company's stuff interesting, even though it is synful.

Two other observations: the VSL legato is head and shoulders over those synthesized legatos. Hardly "disconnected notes." Right now I am working on an orchestral set up which is nearly all legato instruments. So almost no notes are "disconnected."

The other is a simple fact that is nevertheless an aesthetic principle - just hearing a straight, pure tone coming right from a great musician or group of musicians is what I am after. As soon as somebody tampers with it, even in a slight way, it is no longer what I am looking for. (Unless of course I am doing music which doesn't involve those acoustic instruments.)

In conclusion, we need to exorcise these synners.

"The power of VSL compels you!... The power of VSL compels you!

Like many here, I have listened to the guy's demos and read his material. It's worth pointing out that what he's doing is really something like a fancier version of the VSL perf. tool.

I don't really think one needs to take sides; if it sounds good, I'll use it!

His examples do have nice phrasing, but his sounds are clearly not as good as VSL's to start with. What he's doing does require some sample input and analysis, wherever he gets it from.

He is not alone, btw: There are other serious developers working along similar lines.

If past experience is any guide, I expect VSL to continue developping the Perf. tool AND adding to the sample library. And let's not forget that the the more comprehensive the library, the better the data available for analysis and resynthesis.

I think the next 2-3 years are going to see very interesting developments for those of us working in the field of orchestral simulation...

Alan

I too had an e-mail and was,er, COMPELLED to hear the demos.My take is this:the solo strings are really quite astonishing,the woodwind,slightly less so.The brass was surprisingly poor:the Copland demo,with tutti brass,sounded like a synthesiser (in the worst sense) to my ears.The are no ensemble strings (they'll have a hard time cracking that nut,I think) and no percussion at all!.There's a l-o-n-g way to go with this technology,but it's very promising.

The claim to have rendered sample libraries redundant (as of now) is wild hype,but I believe,in time,it will mature into a serious composition tool.The interface reminded me of the VSL's somewhat (flattery,etc...)

@Another User said:

things are certainly moving in the direction of some sort of hybrid

Gary Garritan has said that it's coming, but other than that, how is it obvious? I'm not asking rhetorically, I'm curious to know whether I've missed anything!

My uneducated guess is that most musicians will be using a hybrid of hybrids, at least for the next few years. Syn obviously does some things very well (violin), although the demos make me wonder whether some subtle nuances aren't missing - nuances that aren't missing from VSL (especially its winds, which to me are staggeringly good). I use a Yamaha VL1, which is a modelling synthesizer (no samples), for some things. VSL has carried "the new sampling" (meaning Giga and later) farther than anyone thought it could go. If I may be excused [;)], I also feel the multiple mic position idea has something to offer as well.

As a matter of fact, there are a couple - literally a couple [:)] - of DX-7 patches that I still use.

And so on.

I just found out about Eric a few days ago and would like to offer the idea that he, along with VSL, is just raising the bar which is exciting and respectable. Of course he will apply some degree of salesmanship (as have VSL) if he is to succeed. All this is perfectly ethical and rather obvious. What isn't obvious is Eric's background and credentials. Whatever we may think of a particular marketing approach, this man has done his homework and can only contribute to the art IMHO. Is he is listening in, I hope we can make him feel welcome even if some of us disagree.

Technically, isn't this what the VSL Performance tool does? It's a piece of software designed to "synthesize" legato performance created from stringing hard coded samples together. I've been doing this in some form or another for 15 years, I don't care how user friendly or real the sounds, samplers or synthesizers get, you WILL have to take time to get the mix to sound perfect in your mind..... Unless someone creates a Holo-deck like on the enterprise....Thats different.

-Ben

Nick,

Maybe "obvious" is a bit of an overstatement. But if you've been following the progress of acoustic instrument "synthesis" (including sampling), then you will have seen a vast number of technologies being investigated over the last few years. The majority of them are closing in on some form of synthesis by analysis, which is already a hybrid. Some do the resythesis through granulation, others through additive synthesis, formant synthesis, phase vocoding, and so on... But all of them are invariably finding ways of resynthesizing the original sample, so that it can be "unlocked" with regard to frequency/time. That's the nut. Samples are locked, and the only way to break that is through some form of resynthesis (at least as far as I know!).

J.

[ps - by "following the progress" I'm not thinking of commercially available programs, but rather of various competing theories. There are .pdfs all over the web following this area of research if you look around. Pretty fascinating stuff, even if the math leaves me in the dark much of the time... I concentrate my attention on the "abstract" and the "conclusion"! [;)]]

I don't know if Synful is in it's complete stage yet, but I listened to some of the samples and they sound Synthesized. The Brass sounds pretty "synthy" but interesting, the solo violin sounds quite nice. It may be worth it just to buy it for that!

-Ben

@Another User said:

The majority of them are closing in on some form of synthesis by analysis, which is already a hybrid.

Do you have any juicy links, jbm?

hmmm... I don't really...

I found a couple of .pdfs I downloaded, at some point -- try these:

http://rubato-music.com/Media/Serra_SMS_97.pdf

http://rubato-music.com/Media/cardle_CMPC.pdf

I don't know if I can really leave these up, since I don't have any rights over them. But they were freely available when I downloaded them, so it shouldn't be a problem. It's funny... you'll notice that the first one is from way back in 97, and actually outlines the general type of synthesis used in Synful.

Anyway, there's much more out there... just Google!

J.

ps - check out this little bit of madness, while you're at it:

http://www.rubato-music.com/Media/leven.mp3

no... there's no Synful-ness in there, just pure VSL!

...actually, glancing over the second one, it's not really about instrument synthesis, but I remember being very interested in it at the time, and thinking that it could very well do the job!

J.

Thanks jbm, I'll check them out.

And your piece sounds very real.

I'll add my 2cents worth here... [:)]

At the end of the day, these are all musical tools and have the capability to produce similar results for which ever tool you choose to use.

To keep up with the latest libraries etc, is the same as trying to keep up with the latest PC Hardware. As soon as you purchase the latest and greatest, something else pops up....

I think its all part of the technological evolution...

And I think 2005 will see some more awesome releases of libraries...

You can spend thousands and thousands of $$$$ just trying to keep up.

Have a safe new years eve and a fantastic new year!! [:D]

Regards, Max.

Have

What the people posting here do not understand is the distinction I'm making. If somebody can fake something more or less o.k. it is all the same to them.

20 years ago similar people tried to use analog synthesizers to fake an orchestra. It was a musical grotesquerie. Instead of using great analog synthesizers like the Moog for what they can do, which are their own timbre - these people ignored everything characteristic of that sound and crudely attempted to force an orchestra out of it.

Samples are not the same principle as this synthesized, deconstructed waveform. Samples are reality. A precise, perfected form of pure recording of orchestral tones.

If someone records a violinist playing, note by note, that is a musically useable sound. It is not artificial at all, it is simply fragmented. And then the composer puts together the fragments.

But this tampering with the waveform to produce sound that is like the original violin but now can be played in a different way - it is disgusting. Because the people "playing" this violin cannot play that instrument, know nothing of the difficulties involved, and simply tap like chimps at a keyboard, and smile as they hear the fakery.

I am disgusted by this vulgar distortion of sound and acoustics. It is the opposite of what the VSL stands for - a precise and complete representation of every sound that an orchestra makes with scrupulous and respectful attention paid to every characteristic of the instruments.

So I guess you're a bit of a purist then eh William? I respect your POV but I guess I'm more liberal minded about Synful. I just did a little demo of it and posted it, with others, at V.I. Control Index. I think this program has merits. I like how it can duplicate the expressiveness of an acoustic instrument. Is it as good as VSL legato instruments? Um, nope. They are warmer, richer and sound more organic. But I do respect what Eric is trying to do with Synful Orchestra which is move closer toward more expressiveness in the performance of a MIDI instrument. I think he needs to work on it more to get it to a point where someone like me would part with $700 (Canadian) for it though....

I am one of those "Old World" synth players who is "guilty as charged." The weekest part was the percussion, followed by reeds. I did get good results for 1980's standards.

I love the new world order in regards to VSL and EWQL. Give me another year to learn and it will have changed again by then. So I keep my Prophet 10 close by just in case it goes full circle. Raise the bar. Pull the string.

about that epitaph...

Zenzilla
[[:|]]

@Another User said:

At the end of the day, these are all musical tools and have the capability to produce similar results for which ever tool you choose to use.

In some ways, but overall I'm not so sure. You tend to respond to the programs under your fingertips. Or I should say that most people do; William would consider that vulgar.

In fact, William would probably consider the way I write vulgar: using a combination of playing and scribbling. But I have no problem admitting that my fingers find things my brain wouldn't, and v.v.

William, you'd really hate the Yamaha VL1. [:)]

@William said:

Because the people "playing" this violin cannot play that instrument, know nothing of the difficulties involved, and simply tap like chimps at a keyboard, and smile as they hear the fakery.

I am disgusted by this vulgar distortion of sound and acoustics.

So do you consider it vulgar to use samples of instrument unless one can play that instrument ? Can you play every instrument in the orchestra, or do you just restrict your use of samples just to the ones that you can play, for fear of being vulgar ?

"Disgusted" is a pretty strong word, and I don't think you really mean it. You might not like the sound or the idea ... but you're not disgusted.[/b]

Well, I have to say that I am very impressed with what I've heard from synful and am considering using it instead of VSL performance/pro. Why? Not because I think it sounds quite as good yet... but because it is *SO* much easier to compose using. I can do without the most convincing representation if I can compose easily.
THis is something I've been after for years... virtual instruments played by virtual players who apply their own skill to your piece without you having to micro-manage them.
I am very excited about this technology and hope - selfishly - that it doesn take off. These sample libraries are getting stupidly large now...

@jbm said:

hmmm... I don't really...

I found a couple of .pdfs I downloaded, at some point -- try these:

http://rubato-music.com/Media/Serra_SMS_97.pdf

http://rubato-music.com/Media/cardle_CMPC.pdf

I don't know if I can really leave these up, since I don't have any rights over them. But they were freely available when I downloaded them, so it shouldn't be a problem. It's funny... you'll notice that the first one is from way back in 97, and actually outlines the general type of synthesis used in Synful.

Anyway, there's much more out there... just Google!

J.

ps - check out this little bit of madness, while you're at it:

http://www.rubato-music.com/Media/leven.mp3

no... there's no Synful-ness in there, just pure VSL!

I have to say this piece sounds more fake than the pieces on the synful site...