Hi Vincent,

I'm hesitating to answer this question, because chances are that you might not like some parts of what I will be writing. 8-]

One part of the answer is that VSL would have made their instruments sound like EWQL if this is what they were aiming for, really. Obviously they didn't. 😉

Another part of of the answer is that more or less everybody who is into "that Hollywood sound" will tell you that A) it is a moving target and B) it is to be found more in the arrangement of a piece than the "sound". The "trick" here is to write properly and to know what _defines_ the sound you're calling "Hollywood".

That said, of course MIR and MIR Pro are mighty tools to change and sculpt the sound of single instruments, big ensembles as well as whole orchestras. Different halls ("Venues") have different colors, not just different reverb lengths. Especially the "Studios and Soundstages"-RoomPack might be what you're looking for.

In addition, we have built-in lots of "wisdom" about Vienna Instruments into MIR, like the individual, hand-made "Character Presets" for almost each and every instrument we ever released. I have chosen descriptive names for them, so "Lushness" or "Warmth" is actually one of the MIR-instrument-presets for many of our string sections.

.. the easiest way for you to know wether MIR is what you're after (or not) would be to download the demo version of Vienna MIR right now. MIR Pro will just add to its underlying concept, not take away from it. 😉

Kind regards,

Totally agree with Dietz. Vincent please also note that VSL is recorded dry, to give you total creative freedom. The major difference between an orchestra sounding like "mozart" and an orchestra sounding like "Hans Zimmer", is in the mix. The instruments are all the same. In my humble opinion I think that the VSL collections include all the possible playing techniques, capturing every single nuance, and are the finest. The engine's programming abilties are very flexible and simply uninque, especially with Vienna Instruments PRO. MIR is what gives breath and life to the samples, among placing and further mixing control just like a scoring stage with a control room. In order to get a more "Hollywood" sound I like to use Vienna suite as well. With plugins like these you can isolate unwanted frequencies, bring out new harmonics, get more punch, make certain performances sound smoother, etc.. etc... I hope this helps a bit. :)

Also you can listen to some demos in link below. The orchestral sounds are all from VSL, inside MIR and with Vienna Suite plugins inserted.

http://soundcloud.com/damian-mizzi

Thank you very much guys for your answers,  very appreciated!  =)

@Dietz said:

I'm working on the manual already. 8-]

I'm really looking forward to MIR pro as well as I'm afraid of the new workflow, specially about the audio over network. (I've never used VE Pro over network, only for seperate using of 32bit vst instruments on the same computer. Until now the connection between mac and pc happens automatically, but I'm unshure if this setup will working for audio...)

Since the manual for MIR now is one of the fondly written, easy and well explained (with some very good links inside), here I want to admit my request for a good advice again, in this case for a proper network setup, even for a connection of mac and pc.

I know there has been a thread sometimes ago about this subject (for VE Pro), maybe we could get a static link to this...?

MIR Pro uses (the upcoming next version of) VE Pro as underlying host. Everything that can (and has to) be done with VE Pro will also be available (and/or necessary) with MIR Pro.

All documentation of VE Pro is available here: -> http://www.vsl.co.at/en/68/428/1739/1365.htm

Understanding Vienna MIR and VE Pro in there actual versions will allow for a very smooth upgrade to MIR Pro and a flat learning curve. :-)

HTH,

@Dietz said:

hopefully the world is ready for its new approach to mixing in general, and spatialization in particular.

Oh... We're ready! lol

I may have to sell my soul to pay for it, but I gladly give in for VSL! [:D] I've been very back and forth about buying VE now or waiting... But I'm leaning on now. HOWEVER, I can't even grasp whether I feel like Vienna Suite or MIR Pro will be my next step. Any advice on that? Anyone?

-Sean

Sean, as my funds are rather limited, I ended up going with MIR SE first (for what I am doing it offers enough, and requires less computer power to run), based on advice from Dietz and others in the forum.  I have no regrets going with MIR SE first, and have found it to be a wonderful tool, especially as mixing is not a personal strength.  The design of the soundstage is extremely helpful.  MIR Pro will doubtlessly be even better.  The Suite is on the future purchase list, but that is quite a ways off yet.  Nevertheless, what was the best choice for my situation, may not necessarily be the best for you.

Hello,

Will MIR Pro greatly improve the overall quality of VSL sample libraries, especially VSL's Strings ?  What about the Vienna Suite's functionality or interaction, from a production perspective, when used alongside MIR Pro, does it add more quality, and sound sculpting capabilities to VSL Instruments, when used with MIR Pro ?

Looking forward to use MIR Pro !

Thanks,

Muziksculp

Ah ... I wonder if MIR Pro will be available in time for my birthday on October 2nd?

I also wonder if my wife will be able to affort to buy it for me as a present - or whether I'll have to wait until Christmas!

Ah .... questions, questions ...

[^]

As MIR Pro requires VEP 5, and that hasn't been released yet, I doubt that MIR Pro will be available until November, at the very earliest. However, I would suggest that you buy VEP 5, when it is released, so that you can familiarise yourself with part of the software, before MIR arrives.

DG

@DG said:

As MIR Pro requires VEP 5, and that hasn't been released yet, I doubt that MIR Pro will be available until November, at the very earliest. However, I would suggest that you buy VEP 5, when it is released, so that you can familiarise yourself with part of the software, before MIR arrives.

Very good advice. That's exactly what I would suggest to do.

@DG said:

As MIR Pro requires VEP 5

Oh dear - does that mean we need to buy TWO expensive pieces of software Dietz?  I am not sure I need the networking capabilities of VEP really.  I do hope this new software isn't out of my reach financially.....

If you think VEP is expensive, I would respectfully suggest that you forget about MIR Pro altogether. Currently MIR is around £690 and VEP is £170. I know nothing about pricing, but i wouldn't expect MIR Pro to be less expensive than MIR.

It doesn't matter whether or not you need the networking capabilities of VEP. MIR Pro is hosted in VEP, so you will need both in order to use MIR Pro. However, I think that it would be useful for prospective customers to know whether the price of MIR Pro includes VEP, or not. I'm sure that you would agree with me on that one. [;)]

DG

I already have MIR SE and love it.  I would love to have the facilities MIR Pro offers, and know how much the present MIR costs, but VEPro on top of that is a bit of a stretch.  I used VE standard a while ago and didn't really like it - lets just hope that VSL come up with an attractive pricing strategy for both the products.....

MIR Pro relies on VE Pro as the underlying host. Without VE Pro the new MIR Pro engine won't work.

As a rule of thumb, MIR Pro will cost as much as "legacy" Vienna MIR and VE Pro 5 together. There will be attractive up- and cross-grade offerings for all owners of VE Pro, MIR and MIR SE licenses.

Wether a "MIR Pro SE" will be released or not is not decided yet.

Kind regards,

@Dietz said:

As a rule of thumb, MIR Pro will cost as much as "legacy" Vienna MIR and VE Pro 5 together. There will be attractive up- and cross-grade offerings for all owners of VE Pro, MIR and MIR SE licenses.

Thanks for clearing that up Dietz. I'm sure that will help a lot of prospective users to budget.

DG

Is that just me, or did I hear someone just announce the price of MIR Pro as being 995€ ? [H]

BTW - I'm testing a pretty advanced beta-version of MIR Pro right now, and I just wrote a fanboy-like e-mail to our developers because the thing is SO F*****G AMAZING that I can hardly believe my ears. 8-)

I'm so glad to hear this. Although most people including myself are feeling so jealous right now for not laying our hands on it:)