Understanding products and how they fit together

[shelfos]

I'm not completely new to VSL.  About 10 years ago a friend of mine had a small recording studio where he had VSL sounds in GigaStudio and Cubase as the sequencer.  GigaStudio and Cubase seemed somewhat glitchy to me then (I believe he had 2 machines: Cubase on the master and Gigastudio on the slave).  After a couple years he had to fold up shop, unfortunately.

Fast forward a bit and I'm now in a position to put together a modest home studio and am just trying to understand how all the pieces fit together.  I'm a visual person and would love to see a diagram of this, but alas, I've searched the forums and haven't yet seen such a thing.

I know the following 4 software products are available (not to mention the actual sound libraries):

• Vienna Instruments PRO - sample player
• Vienna Suite PRO - audio processing
• Vienna Ensemble PRO - MIDI and audio hosting
• Vienna MIR PRO - mixing and reverberation engine

I've read all the descriptions of each of these but I'm trying to wrap my brain around how they fit together. I've considered getting Cubase (I really liked it despite some glitchiness as mentioned above).  According to the descriptions I assume the Vienna products all work with Cubase, but would I even need it?  Could it be done without it?  How do they all tie in together (with or without Cubase)?  I imagine Instruments PRO being set up as an instrument within Cubase for the playback of the MIDI and the Suite PRO as a plugin within Cubase for audio processing, but not sure if that's right.  And anyway, wouldn't the Ensemble PRO perform the same function as Cubase?  If so, why use both, or could you even use both together?  Then, what about the MIR PRO?

I'm just trying to make sense of it all.

Thanks for any feedback.

[Paul]

Hi Shelfos,

Thanks for your interest!

Yes, you will need Cubase (or another sequencer), this is where you record MIDI and audio.
All our products work with all major platforms (VST, AU, RTAS, AAX, MAS).

Vienna Ensemble PRO is a HOST for virtual instruments, that can also use multiple computers in a network.

MIR PRO is an advanced mixing and reverberation engine.

Here´s my advice: Get the Special Edition Volumes you can afford, they will give you a great start and a good overview, and they come, like all our products, with Vienna Instruments and Vienna Ensemble (non-PRO).

Here are a few videos that show you how to get started with Vienna Instruments.
And what you can achieve with the Special Editions.

And now the great part: You can get DEMO LICENSES of all the additional software, so that you can get to know the features and decide whether you need those or not.

Finally, here´s a link to all Software Video Tutorials (for later).

Hope that helps!

Best,
Paul

[Tyler]

I'd like to add my voice as interested in more guidance on these questions. I appreciate Paul's response, but it only clarifies whether or not you still need your DAW app, and I don't really want to put my toes in the water with demos and trials while I slowly figure this stuff out for myself: I want to DIVE IN!

My situation is very similar to Shelfos'. I've been watching VSL for years, seen demos, dabbled, but never had the time or money to invest in it - until now. I'd like to dive in with full commitment to a high-end, deep, no-boundaries setup, but I do find it a bit confusing how all the pieces fit together, and the workflow between various 3rd party software and computers (hosts/slaves) to make an ideal configuration. I'm very computer and software savvy, so I'm not intimidated by setting these things up, but it's the specifics to VSL as well as known-good setups that I would love to have some more clarity on so I don't HAVE to do so much R&D myself to find out. 

What is needed is a primer, that walks you through "If you want to setup the ultimate VSL rig and workflow with maxium capability, this is how to do it...". 

[jasensmith]

@Tyler said:

What is needed is a primer, that walks you through "If you want to setup the ultimate VSL rig and workflow with maxium capability, this is how to do it...". 

 

The problem with this is that everybody has different needs with different setups.  Some people use notation software while others use sequencers.  Some people use slaves while others keep it all on one machine.  Some use the remote app while others have no need for it, etc.

As Paul mentioned, the SE series is really the springboard (or primer) for those who are virgins to the VSL world.  Take advantage of the DEMO licenses and "dive In" with those but be patient because learning VSL is like learning an instrument.

Also, if you haven't invested in a system yet have your system built professionally by companies like adkproaudio or Sweetwater or the others recommended by VSL.  Tell them what you want and your budget. 

  

[Tyler]

It doesn't seem like the varaiances are so great that there couldn't be a guide to two or three of the most relevant workflows and configurations. I don't care about specs for computers and stuff like that, just how the VSL parts fit together and the workflow for them. I get that there are variances and choices, but it's not so many to make the primer idea impractical. 

Here's an example, though not the best one (it's pretty hardware focused):

http://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/DaVinciResolve/20150911-5823e9/DaVinci_Resolve_12_Configuration_Guide.pdf

[Paul]

Hi Tyler, 

Please contact me directly at support@vsl.co.at and tell me a bit about your wishes (OS, sequencers, existing setup) and of course your budget. 

The most relevant workflow is the one that works for you. 

Best, 
Paul