@Lee Blaske said:

It would be interesting to know what percentage of VSL users are purists. I'd bet not many. [...]

Maybe _that's_ the mistake [;)]

No, but seriously (... I bet my marketing people will hate me for that): It was never said that the MIR will be for everybody. - It was just said that it will be the solution for every problem ;-D ... as far as the authentic virtual realisation of orchestral music is concerned.

****

Lee - what we have here is the typical ebb and tide between high expectations and conservative imagination, when it comes to a new way of approaching an old problem. There are the ones who expect you to square the circle, while at the same time you are urged to "keep everything as it has been before". I'd say we try to complete the MIR according to our initial plans, see how it works for you and everybody else, and then we think about additional features and/or solutions.

All the best,

does this tell you true user figures, or which platform need the tutorials more! Only joking...as it happens, i am on mac and I have several times perused your excellent tutorials. I am glad you are there!

Now, let me think.
Another Wish List.

Can we please have 'in front of' Mir, a good, easy to use, Sequencer, with reduced CPU use and up to 4000 tracks. (Just in case.)
Several options for plugins, including,

Chair noises for horns, when they roll their instrument over, and empty the spittle. (Perhaps a dribble sound hitting the brand new million pound stage would be an optional extra).

The sound of pages being turned e.g Last movement of Beethoven 9th when the strings are trying to saw their instruments in half with a tremolo only Ludwig could write.)

A percussion bottle sound, when the players are having a quiet drink during long periods of inactivity.

A slurping sound, spatially conducive to W/W, as the clarinet players try to dry their reeds, with the optional blowing noise unique to double reed players, as they spatter spittle over the music.

And before the sequencer?

A superb notation package, completely integrated, with instant no latency response to notes, instruments, and all articulations and markings.
PLEASE!

Regards to you all,

Alex!

[H]

don't forget empathetic exhalations from the conductor as he lays down a long deep down beat for unison celli to soar from... Bernstein style!

But ... YOU are the conductor! [[:|]] That's the basic idea behind all our efforts, actually.

Ok. Is there time for an appointment with everyone here to let them stop by and sample their breath? [:P]

Now all we need is smell.

The scent of resin for the strings, the aroma of shelac for the woodwinds, the whiff of oil from the brass, the fragrance of beer from the percussion, and ...............

the stench of Lavender from the first three rows of the audience!


Regards,


Alex.
[H]

Wow! Convoluted halitosis.

Always wanted to say that. Now I can go find a life.

Clark

Macs will have a difficult transition of about six months from the introduction of the ifrst intel machines, after that, it will get better and better. I would stay with Mac if you already have one, and don't use MIR until it comes out for Mac, unless you are a professional making the kind of money that justifies buying a standalone PC to run MIR - in that case, what's the problem, if you're just running one application you're ultimately only going to be dealing with the MIR interface, which will be identical on both platforms (more or less) and very little with the windows platform itself. Just buy from a decent PC company that has good builds and good support I doubt you would have any problems with the PC itself. If you really love Macs, you can buy one of those to replace it later on. You are not going to be able to run MIR on your existing Mac anyway, not practically - another computer will be required if you want to maintain your sequencing and audio abilities as they are presently so either way, it don't think it's bad MIR won't be out for Mac with PC, in fact, it's a smart move, I would avoid the PPC platform for MIR altogether - by the time it comes out, the intel transition will be halfway through anyway, and most people will not use existing machines for MIR but keep their existing machines to sequence and run audio, and buy another machine for MIR be it PC or Mac, and this comes from a die hard Mac fan.

JMO,
Miklos.

I made the comment about lashing mac and pc together in all seriousness, and a picture (at least for me) is starting to develop.

3 computers (Mac, Pc, take your pick.)

computer 1. Samples only (optional computer 4, splitting the samples)

computer 2. Sequencer and red hot notation program. [H]

computer 3. Mir, and effects.

Given the price of boxes is coming down, the specs are going up, and soon we'll all be in slavery to intel, i have some more questions with optimism for the future.

How will this effect latency?
Will Midioverlan (for Midi) and good audio cards between three (or 4) boxes get the latency down to under three days?

The sequencer machine has to deal with signal out and in for the other two (or 3).
I wonder what minimum spec will be for the 'workhorse' in the herd, given the multitasking it will have to do? (We'll call this computer 'shirley', because women can multitask allegedly)

Given Dietz words about Mir being a Mixer of sorts (this has got me excited. Samples/Notation/Sequencer/Mir. Easy) Shirley will only have to take hold of the samples computers, and can shovel the signal out to MIR, satisfied with a job well done, and not complaining about overwork.
So once the siganl gets to MIR, do we then have to route the signal back to Shirley to record? (She's not going to like that, getting it both ways. Too much to do at once.)

Although i've injected some humour in this (because it's more civilised than complaining), i'm asking if this is possible, and if any of you currently use more than two computers at once, and importantly, what the effect of adding a third will do, in terms of setup, and performance.

May as well think about the future instead of today, then i'm not surprised, and ready to go, when everything comes together.

Regards to you all,

Alex.


[H]

Being an owner of multiple VSL libraries I already pine for a few giga machines with a mac sequencer front end. Having a PC "mixer box" seems quite logical. For about the same price as a good digital board you could get the hardware at least so hopefully the price point for the software won't put the whole thing too far out of reach.

At this point my one computer (mac) is elegant from the standpoint that the mix is just a bounce away, but a bear considering I practically drag the computer to its knees with these sounds, etc. Having more machines would be great but as Lee pointed out this lands you in elite gear territory with extra interfaces and so on. In addition, having multiple computers makes the whole simplicity thing a moot point from a hardware perspective. Here's hoping that VSL has very specific recommendations/requirements for interfaces, etc. PolarBear's suggestion on including a part list for the MIR machine at the VSL labs is right on the money, IMHO. I have had some terrible luck with hardware in the past so eventually having to deal with all these boxes makes me very nervous.

Lee makes another point that I would like to address: if only the pro user is the intended customer, does this mean that the "separate mixing team" concept is already changing? With the stuff I do the scale is much smaller so I become the ADR team, foley team and the mix team besides being the composer. Is there a "trickle up" phenomenon happening here like the home studio thing of the last 15 years or so?

Clark

Clark,
Thanks for the info.
I have the perception that Shirley will groan and complain loaded with with 3 sound cards connected for audio in, and positively whinge about a further card for audio out to MIR.
Then there's the interface route. 3 Audio ins (six for stereo?) then into Shirley.
How will she cope with all the audio? even now you've said your Mac groans when you load up more than few sounds. With an orchestra's worth of noise, will any 'modern' sequencer housed in your version of Shirley be able to cope?
These are questions to ponder, and more.
Do the sample computers effectively take the strain? With 3 pc's, one would think you can configure the system, so the sequencer computer only has to accept the sounds, and not have to push that hard, playing the sound from the combined efforts of three sets of processors, and wizz bang hard drives. Is this really so, or does the three into one configuration really mean your Shirley is the one who still has to do all the work?
I've written many times about the notation/host/multiple sampler setup. Is this better?
Will multiple VST/AU instruments sit in Shirley, or can you share them out between the three sample PC's, using their processors instead of belting the digital daylights out of her?
Even without considering MIR, one computer for samples and DAW seems to be inadequate judging by comments here.
Is it possible to house everything on a server, and simply have one computer wired into it, for the working interface? Would this be reliable, relatively latency free, and capable of playing all the sounds at once without Bouncing, Freezing, Pausing, Sweating, Drinking or anything else?
Whatever the answers to these questions and more, there remains a basic fact.
The sample base (VSL) is light years ahead of the software and hardware, and it's the day a Soft/hard company builds a computer and programs capable of coping with everything easily is the day we take another step forward.
Of course by then, Herb and the team will have recorded 25 million samples, house on 63 Dvd's, and it will take a month to load them all!
(Perf-Leg Oriental leftlegged bone claves in 7 different dynamics, and 27 different articulations!)

If anyone has any light to shed on possible setups, please contribute, no matter the budget potential. At least if we know what we're facing we can choose our own options.
I DO want all the VSL samples, and MIR, and a good notation playback program WITHOUT compromises, or a degree in astrophysics. It's just a matter of how much it will cost, and which way is the best to go.

Regards to all you esteemed ladies and gentlemen,

Alex.
[[:|]]

We're all going to need an extra screen to see what Mir's doing.

Aren't we?

Regards,

Alex.

Hopefully it can be set up for a template once, and you only have to look at it if something needs adjusting or is boke

@hermitage59 said:

We're all going to need an extra screen to see what Mir's doing. Aren't we?

I use a Belkin switcher which allows for a single screen, keyboard and mouse to control 4 PC's. They also make them to control 8 PC's and even MAC and PC. Still plenty of other things to think about but I wouldn't worry about extra screens.

My guess is that MIR is going to be so perfect for us VSL guys that it will be a must-buy whatever the considerations.

Dave Connor

@hermitage59 said:

We're all going to need an extra screen to see what Mir's doing.

Aren't we?

Regards,

Alex.

If you use XP Pro maybe you can use Remote Desktop.

DG

@clarkcontrol said:

[...] Lee makes another point that I would like to address: if only the pro user is the intended customer, does this mean that the "separate mixing team" concept is already changing? [...]
Clark

From my totally subjective, extremely biased point of view: A good planer doesn't make you a good carpenter.

Of course, new tools are meant to make life easier and to broaden our creative possibilities. But in the end, it all depends on your creative vision, your knowledge, your experience, and - in our case - a pair of decent ears, to make use of a new tool to its full extent. - You know, the GIGO-principle: Garbage in, garbage out.

[+o(]

All the best,

@hermitage59 said:

[...] (Perf-Leg Oriental leftlegged bone claves in 7 different dynamics, and 27 different articulations!)[...]
Alex.

[:D] So you already know about that ...?

Dave,
you've made mention of a belkin switcher to control 4 PC's. Even with my limited tech knowledge (Spartacus move over) I understand that process.

And i think from memory you're on PC, not Mac, so how have you lashed everything together, both audio and midi? And how do you have your samples allocated?

Regards,

Alex.

p.s. Just listened to Ludwig's Triple Concerto again. That fella can shore rite!
[H]

Dietz,
I've known about it since i got out of bed one morning and fell over.

[H]