I know, I know, the whole Second Violins debate has probably been done to death on these forums, but as a relatively new Symphonic Cube owner (plus Extended Editions, plus various VI II instruments), perhaps you'll humour me ...
I recently discovered that when I tried to program large-sounding unison violin lines, I couldn't get the 'power' I was looking for from the existing violin articulations. The main reason was that I couldn't use the same articulations for both 1st and 2nd violin parts, as this introduced phasing, becasue there are no actual Second Violins in the VI Cube. So I raised the issue with VSL via email.
Their response was that the scenario I described was exactly what Appassionata Strings were intended for.
I know it's perhaps considered bad form to complain publicy, but I have a small moral issue with spending $10,000 of my hard-earned on the ultimate orchestral library, only to discover that in order to have fully flexible 1st and 2nd Violin sections available, I have to spend another $1,200 on the Appassionata Strings. Perhaps I'm being unreasonable.
I also asked VSL if, given this scenario, there might be a small discount available to users who have bought the full Symphonic Cube, perhaps to demonstrate some minor appreciation of the level of investment made (buying this library was a huge deal financially for me), and the fact that no Second Violins are included. I was given a pretty unconvincing argument about a "no-discount" policy, and when I pursued the issue, stopped receiving responses.
I have now bought Appassionata Strings, and am about to purchase the Extended Version, as it seems I have little choice, but the purchase was made somewhat begrudgingly.
I originally had no intention of publicly airing my grievances, and am still very much a fan of these great products. I hope it's fair game for users to post when they feel things might be done differently, (perhaps better), as well as to praise the library's undoubted achievements. I have to admit that my enthusiasm for the whole VSL concept has been somewhat sapped, and I'm left with a rather bitter taste in my mouth. I can't help feeling that a little more understanding on the part of the developer might have resulted in a very different outcome.
Thanks for reading and my apologies for the public gripe.
Jules
I recently discovered that when I tried to program large-sounding unison violin lines, I couldn't get the 'power' I was looking for from the existing violin articulations. The main reason was that I couldn't use the same articulations for both 1st and 2nd violin parts, as this introduced phasing, becasue there are no actual Second Violins in the VI Cube. So I raised the issue with VSL via email.
Their response was that the scenario I described was exactly what Appassionata Strings were intended for.
I know it's perhaps considered bad form to complain publicy, but I have a small moral issue with spending $10,000 of my hard-earned on the ultimate orchestral library, only to discover that in order to have fully flexible 1st and 2nd Violin sections available, I have to spend another $1,200 on the Appassionata Strings. Perhaps I'm being unreasonable.
I also asked VSL if, given this scenario, there might be a small discount available to users who have bought the full Symphonic Cube, perhaps to demonstrate some minor appreciation of the level of investment made (buying this library was a huge deal financially for me), and the fact that no Second Violins are included. I was given a pretty unconvincing argument about a "no-discount" policy, and when I pursued the issue, stopped receiving responses.
I have now bought Appassionata Strings, and am about to purchase the Extended Version, as it seems I have little choice, but the purchase was made somewhat begrudgingly.
I originally had no intention of publicly airing my grievances, and am still very much a fan of these great products. I hope it's fair game for users to post when they feel things might be done differently, (perhaps better), as well as to praise the library's undoubted achievements. I have to admit that my enthusiasm for the whole VSL concept has been somewhat sapped, and I'm left with a rather bitter taste in my mouth. I can't help feeling that a little more understanding on the part of the developer might have resulted in a very different outcome.
Thanks for reading and my apologies for the public gripe.
Jules
