congratulations, VSL. This looks really great. I think the idea of basic articulations for solo strings is perfect, as this allows you to layer in a solo string with the section for that added bit of realism. And for that, you don't need the full articulation set, so this is very thoughtful.

Muted trumpet, horns, and trombones! Yah! Their absence was something that bothered me about Opus 1, so this is great. And Epic Horns to boot!

I'm not 100% sure what the string run articulations are. Are those complete runs in one sample, in all the variations mentioned? or individual notes appropriate for such runs?

Is there and upgrade price from 1st Ed? Or is that the fixed price regardless?

Thanks,

Hello to Woodland Hills from Tarzana

There is no upgrade price from the First Edition either because Opus 2 contains all new material for Opus 1 and First Edition users.
(dpcon, normally you'd be only a few miles away, but I'm in Vienna currently. Give the 101 a big hug from me [;)]

Yes, the string runs are complete fast runs in one sample.

To be precise: nearly no equal stuff for 1st Ed. users,
only the string runs are part of 1st edition Perf-set.

best
herb

which means Cube is out of horizon...

@Abel said:

which means Cube is out of horizon...

Not at all!!
Why do you think so? At Musikmesse Frankfurt we'll be celebrating 1.5 million samples, what for do you think we're recording these? [:D]

@Martin said:

(dpcon, normally you'd be only a few miles away, but I'm in Vienna currently. Give the 101 a big hug from me [;)]

Wasn't getting along with the 101 freeway today. I will hug Burbank Blvd. instead. [[;)]]

Dave Connor

@Another User said:

At Musikmesse Frankfurt we'll be celebrating 1.5 million samples, what for do you think we're recording these?

Insane... in a good way [[:D]]

- When is this MM?
- When will these samples be available for us mortals? [:)]
- When will we hear some more about the Cube and future projects?
- When will the computer industry actually catch up with you guys? [[:D]]

@Another User said:

[...]
- When will the computer industry actually catch up with you guys? [:D]

Good question! [:D]

All the best,

/Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library

I know $500 is EXTREMELY cheep for this library, but being a poor college student, $500 is still a nice chunk of change. So I have to ask, is there any student pricing? If not now, do you expect any in the future?

/em looks at the front page of vsl.com
/em looks at the date
/em looks at front page again..

hmmmm I better come back and look again tomorrow lol

Martin, I can't find the detailed articulation list for Opus2. All that I'm getting on the product page is a picture of the box and prices/formats info.

Thanks,

Scott

P.S.

@Martin said:

(dpcon, normally you'd be only a few miles away, but I'm in Vienna currently. Give the 101 a big hug from me [;)]

Hurry back Martin. Spring has sprung. As for the 101, well, you'll be happy to know that it is still hell on earth.

It's not there yet. Just wait a bit longer... [[;)]] Musikmesse is still a week away and they already released the news as that german magazine was too fast for them [[;)]]

I currently own Opus 1, Chamber strings, solo strings, and woodwind ensembles.

Does the "never pay for the same sample twice" principle hold, since some of Opus 2 content comes from solo str. and woodwind ensembles?

Thank you,

Alan Belkin

@belkina said:

I currently own Opus 1, Chamber strings, solo strings, and woodwind ensembles.

Does the "never pay for the same sample twice" principle hold, since some of Opus 2 content comes from solo str. and woodwind ensembles?

Thank you,

Alan Belkin

Same here....
At first I was thrilled when reading about an Opus 2. Then, looking at the contents, came disapointment. I think this package is not intended for people who bought the abovementioned libraries (solo strings, woodwinds, chamberstrings),because for about 500€, they only get flautando strings, a few runs, a couple of perf-leg, and basic articulations of Epic Horns.
IMO, a clever -and fair- attitude from VSL would be to offer significant and cumulative discounts for people who purchased and registered those horizon libraries.

Well, the Opus 2 looks pretty cool -- definitely missed the B Cl and C Bsn perf-leg instruments in Opus 1 -- but it doesn't seem to be too great a jump for those of us travelling the slow road to the complete orchestral package... But then again, the price is pretty good, and probably worth it, if only for the extra perf-leg instruments and the muted brass stuff. Next time I have some dough to play with I'll probably be picking this one up!

One thing I'm genuinely curious about, though, is whether Opus 2 will properly 'complete' the winds and brass in Opus 1? As it stands, the B Cl, and C Bsn (and also the C Tb) are all basically 'keyboard splits' with the Cl, Bsn and Tb, respectively -- even for the articulations represented, these instruments are not there in a complete range, but rather share their upper registers with the higher-range instruments. Will Opus 2 "fill out" these low-register instruments, or will they remain pretty much unchanged?

All-in-all it's pretty nice, but I'd rather it were closer in price to Opus 1 but contained more of the Pro Edition content (e.g., the proper cre and dim samples, to fill-out Opus 1's pfps, and so on), and no "bonuses". The bonuses are kind of cool, but don't really add any value, in my case. I'm kind of old school that way -- I don't want bits and pieces, just fully integrated instruments.

J.

I agree,
in fact the more I think of it, and the more I think that Opus 2 has somehow "missed the boat", at least in my opinion.
Of course there are interesting things in it, but the "bonus strategy" is just frustrating, because :
- either you only have a taste, and the only way to really get the whole thing is to buy the whole libraries,
- or you already have the libraries and you just pay the same samples twice.
So I do think that a "real" Opus 2 should have been to align with the Pro package, by applying the same politics (half the samples, but as many articulations as possible)

This looks jummy... [:O] I was on the fence about Opus 1... but now I have made my decision. The BUNDLE it will be.

(first... let's check if my creditcard will accept further big buys...)

I'm learning Giga... will be a VSL user soon... and am very happy with this all.

@sirbellog said:

I[...] "bonus strategy" [...] you just pay the same samples twice. [...]

Uh - a "bonus" is just that: additional material for free; you don't pay for it. Opus 2 wouldn't be cheaper without them. We just thought some of our customers would find it interesting and (hopefully) usefull.

/Dietz

dietz,

some of your customers definitively do [:D] !

@sirbellog said:

I agree,
- either you only have a taste, and the only way to really get the whole thing is to buy the whole libraries,

I don't agree with this. if indeed the basic single note articulations of all these libraries are included, that's extremely nice and useful and in my opinion much more than a "bonus". actually, like in opus 1 i would rather consider part of the rest (runs and fast repetitions) as "bonus files".

since opus 2 is also announced as an addition to the the first edition, i wonder whether the chromatic sampling concept is still fully retained (hopefully)?