@jbm said:
Well... my tool doesn't win hands-down against anything as far as the big public is concerned, since it isn't actually available! Also, I really don't want to go up against VSL -- I wrote this as a tool for myself, as it seemed clear that it would be possible to do. I've had ideas to do something like this since before I even knew about VSL, and I finallly managed to build something that works.
There are many great things about the Vienna Instruments (a high degree of flexibility of user-configuration, for one), and I seriously doubt that I can get my tool to perform at as high a level as far as polyphony goes... (Not certain about this, since I haven't done that much stress-testing.) That said, so far my app is working very well (in fact, a little better than I expected!), and certainly makes my life much easier.
It doesn't use the Performance Tool, as it performs this function itself. And yes, it is a sampler, of sorts -- a sample player, with intelligent interpretation.
And yes, buffering is done on the fly, so there's no pre-loading of samples -- one thing it definitely IS is RAM-friendly!
I have two commissions that need to be done over the next month, or so, so I'll be pressed for time, but I'm also putting a strong push on getting it out into the world.
Windows is a problem primarily because the licencing for MaxMSP (the primary platform upon which the app is built) requires me to pay $1000 up front to even offer Windows support. Lame, but unavoidable. If it looks like there will be some demand, and I have some spare dough, I may thrown down for the licencing... we'll see.
As far as Herb and an announcement goes, I do remember quite a while ago that cm was quite supportive, and gave me the "okay" to post an announcement. Obviously, things are different now that the VIs are out...
Personally, I don't think they should really mind. I mean, it is going to be donate-ware (at least for now), and any money I make is pretty much going straight into Herb's pockets! (There's still a few thousand dollars worth of VSL I'm really dying to have!). (And yes, that DOES include a few Vienna Instruments!)
cheers,
J.
jbm, that is pretty exciting!
My biggest problem is the constant 'harassment' of ram limits. If your tool can solve that, it would be great.
I for one wouldn't regard this as 'going up against VSL', since such a tool would stand to benefit VSL users most of all (due to the generally large size libraries - and I love each and every one of them, each and every last detailed little articulation [[;)]] ).
Take a real life example - right now I'm debating whether I should get the chamber strings during the winter sale - one of my biggest concerns (apart from my own poverty, heh) is how I am going to incorporate these samples into my already overburdened setup (to make use of them as actual divisi). A tool like yours has the potential to eliminate such a problem, and would be nothing but an encouragement to freely add more libraries to my arsenal.
I'm sorry to hear about the licencing issue for Windows, but I do urge you to make the move. I am but a poor composer, but I guarantee that I would donate something within my means to the creator of something so useful - something that I can say without exageration has the potential to genuinely improve my quality of life on a daily basis, heh. [:)]
And I really do not doubt that there will be many others out there who will feel the same way.
Do keep us posted regarding further developments, and details of how it all works!