ADSR in Vienna Instruments

[plowman]

We've got the "A" and the "R."

Might we ever see Decay and Sustain parameters in VI? Yeah, it's old school. 

Alternately, how might a user build in a decay to the envelope of a VI instrument? Apologies in advance if it's obvious. 

[Paul]

Hi plowman,

Please check the Advanced page of your Vienna Instruments PRO. You will be surprised what you find in the "Edit" tab right under the Slot Rack.

More videos that show how to make the most out of Vienna Instruments PRO are available here!

Best,

Paul

[plowman]

Thanks Paul. 

Yes, I've spent some time in the deeper end of a Vienna instrument, and I do know about the slot editor. In a basic ADSR, the decay (not delay) graduates the envelope down to a sustain level once the attack is played out. I don't think that exists in a VI. 

I sometimes cross-envelope crescendo and diminuendo sounds so that the volume stays somewhat steadier. (That is, the envelope closes down on the crescendo, or opens up on the diminuendo. Delay is very helpful to this end.) The timbre still evolves, and the resulting sound can be a surprisingly "alive" for stacking strings, particularly cross-enveloped solos under sustained ensemble. I did this quite a bit with my EXS Vienna instruments, with the help of Keymap. 

It has its limits, as by definition, the cres/dim patches just stop sounding after they're played through and the sustains continue. But it has been a mainstay in my arsenal, and I have yet to find a way to mimic this in VE Pro. This is the only reason I'm holding on to EXS Vienna patches. 

[DG]

@plowman said:

It has its limits, as by definition, the cres/dim patches just stop sounding after they're played through and the sustains continue. But it has been a mainstay in my arsenal, and I have yet to find a way to mimic this in VE Pro. This is the only reason I'm holding on to EXS Vienna patches. 

 

I just put a sustain in the 2nd slot and xFade into it after the diminuendo or the crescendo. You can even be really clever and do the cresc/dim by velocity and the sus by velocity xFade in order to match timbre.

DG

[plowman]

NOTE: In the third paragraph of my second post, I meant "DeCay" (not "Delay") "is very helpful to this end."

Thanks DG. What you're describing is a good way to crescendo into a sustain or hold a quieter sustain after a louder entrance of the note. I cross-envelope to add life underneath a sustain. In this illusion, you can't really hear the cresc/dim coming or going. Optimally, it just sounds like a sustain wth more life, like individuals making different but concerted choices.

With the use of a velocity driven attack parameter, I can approximate a gradual attack into a diminuendo. As the sample grows quieter, the attack unfolds, and the final effect is not unlike what I get in EXS. This has the extra benefit of acting like an added attack, since a harder velocity opens the attack envelope more quickly, and you hear the bite of the opening diminuendo. 

But a crescendo sample is trickier to cross-envelope. I had been using a decay in an ADSR for that. (Needless to say, I'm talking about a default playback, not MIDI modulating each note.) 

You know, it occurs to me that I could try one or more Vienna Suite limiters to achieve a similar effect.  

I'd like to stress that these sounds don't fare so well by themselves. Salt is vital to a recipe, but it's not a good meal. These sounds that I'm describing can provide body and evolving timbre underneath a sustain. With MIR, they also can be placed about the stage and wet/dryed to taste. I've always liked detailed strings, where we can just make out a stray solo player here and there. 

Cheers.