It really is a good idea to build your own matrices.  You can set them up to exactly fit your specific workflow and style.  It does take time, and considerable thought when first setting them up, but once set up, you are there, and long-term, it can really streamline things.  Depending on the complexity of any given composition and one's computer limitations you can set up full/moderate/minimum matrices as needed.  In my own situation, my computer resources simply do not allow for the loading of completely full sets of every articulations for every needed instrument, in many situations.

Yes - as Herb mentioned, if you open VI Pro's General Settings (the little cog next to the version number) and make sure the 'Force Enable Cells' box is unticked, matrices will automatically load with all cells disabled. You can see all the cells, but they're greyed-out - just double-click on the ones you need and their samples will load.

This saves a lot of time and avoids overloading your system each time you load an 'All Violins' matrix.

OK. I've been trying to work with the suggestions offered but now I can't see the Logic Arrange page at all. Instead, I get only †he particular Vienna Instrument or Instrument Pro plug-in depending on the channel strip I've chosen. That it plays more or less okay is strange and if I try to make that window disappear, it asks if I want to save it.

How do I get the Arrange window back?

Hi Edward, I don't use VI PRO with Logic so this is a guess: it sounds as though VI PRO's screen is obscuring the Arrange page, there should be a little button somewhere on the VI PRO screen (probably in the top left corner) which turns off the VI PRO display, allowing you to view the Arrange page again. (This won't remove the VI plug-in BTW, it just turns off its screen.)

You could also try hitting F9 on your computer keypad - in Logic 7, that shows small versions of all windows that are currently open, and you can click on the one you want to bring to the front. Unfortunately, Logic excels in hiding open windows behind other windows, it drives me crazy. [:(]

Window problem solved. In Logic 9, under Window menu you need only click on Arrange and it comes right back up. I was just being panacky as well as dense.

But I suppose my question now would be how to load tremolo violins on the same cell with a normal vibrato. I think for this purpose, maybe this would also help to solve the balance problem since the first violins always seem to be overbalanced by the rest and I think I'd prefer the combo sound.

>how to load tremolo violins on the same cell with a normal vibrato

Start from scratch with one empty cell. Put Violin Player 1's 'RE sus Vib' patch in Cell slot 1a and its 'RE tremolo patch' in slot 1b. Repeat the procedure for Violin Players 2-8 in slots 2-8. You can adjust the sus / trem balance with the mixer.

It would be the equivalent of half the strings in the same section playing a non-tremolo and half playing a tremolo on the same notes.

OK - to divide the violins 4:4 as with a real life group, you could put Players 1-4 'RE sus Vib' patches in Cell slots 1a-4a and Players 5-8 'RE tremolo' patches in slots 5a-8a. Play one note, and you'll hear a proper 'div trem'!

Yes, I get that idea but am not sure where to start. Which set (Large?) would I load in this case? Would I go to Patch, Matrix or Preset?

Since I have to get going I can't do this right now but it would help to know how to start. I can spend some time later and especially morning trying to dope this out.

To create the 'div trem' set-up you described it would be best to start from scratch and load patches one at a time into empty slots, as I described above. When you're happy with the result you can save it as a user matrix.