The End

[Francesco Pirrone]

Don't worry: it's just the name of the track! 😎

Feedback welcome (on mixing matters as well), please.

Best regards

Francesco

The End

[Acclarion]

Francesco, Not in my studio, so was only able to listen in my iPad (I know, gasp!) but you've created a moody, atmospheric piece, well mixed, even through my iPad. It could definitely underscore a scene in a film/tv show. Well done! Dave

[Jos Wylin]

Hi Francesco,

Very nice piece. Indeed, it could very well function as an atmospheric film score. You've caught the right feel. Only the string attacks at some places are a bit strange (too hard?) since you mainly use sustain-like strings. A little softer attacks and releases could do the thing.

I like the piece a lot!

Jos

[Francesco Pirrone]

@Dave thank you very much for your kind words, I am glad you liked it! 😊

@Jos many thanks! I am pleased to hear you like the track, I do find those attacks a bit harsh sometimes.....it's maily legato patches from the Special Edition......the thing is, can I change the attack/release on VI (non pro)?

[Jos Wylin]

Hi Francesco,

It is possible to tweak the attacks, even with VI (non pro). In the VI-instance you have the edit window (right side). There you'll find the velocity curve and an attack slider (these are per-articulaton editors). Moving the vel. curve a bit down and to the right can already help, but moving the attack slider up to let's say 22 the attacks will be a lot softer. Do some experimenting here and you'lle find a solution for many articulations. The advantage is that you only deal with one articulation at the time. The attack slider (in the left bottom) deals with all the articulations, in fact with the whole VI-instance. 63 for this slider is a good avarage. A major change can be done with a CC22-change in a lane in your DAW (providid you work with a DAW). Some notation programs like Overture can do that as well, but not all of them.

I hope this might help you a bit.

Cheers,

Jos

[Francesco Pirrone]

Hi Jos, of course I do map my velocities to the mod wheel and play with it all the time (in Cubase) ;-) that's at least what I do with sus/leg/trem patches... What happens though is that as soon as I engage the Vel-X-Fade I notice a diminished dynamic range towards the piano/pianissimo if that makes sense? And I don't like to go further down with the volume as it sounds fake to me...... And I agree with you 100% that sometimes I want my Strings to make a smoother "entrance" I will definitely play with the attack in VI and see what happens, hopefully that'll do the trick Thanks :-) Francesco

[Jos Wylin]

Hi Francesco,

I don't want to sound like an expert, because I'm nothing of the kind, but I want to share my experience with you.

VI has different sorts of volume: the main instrument volume (I see it as a preset and shouldn't change once set), the velXF-slider, the expression slider and next to that the mixer volume (in VE or MIR or your DAW or notation program). There is however one important thing you shouldn't forget: the Dyn Range (dynamic range) that regulates the dynamic capacity of your instrument. A good avarage is around 100 or less. It says how the instrument's volume range must be (pppp to ffff). If you put it to 5, hardly any difference between fff and ppp will occur, they will sound pretty much the same; if you set it to 127, all the volume nuances between 0 and 127 (pppp-ffff) are possible. Maybe your solution is to be found there. Perhaps you have also noticed that the note velocities stop when engaging VelXF. That slider takes over the function, which means that it is not interesting to use VelXF for short samples like stacc, spicc, detS. There is hardly any movement within the note duration, so XF-ing doesn't make any sense. (Some users never take advantage from VelXF and work only with volume (CC7) and Expression (CC11)).
If you have further questions, don't hasitate to ask the technical staff of VSL. They will surely help you further.

Lots of success!

Jos

[Francesco Pirrone]

@Another User said:

the Dyn Range (dynamic range) that regulates the dynamic capacity of your instrument. A good avarage is around 100 or less. It says how the instrument's volume range must be (pppp to ffff). If you put it to 5, hardly any difference between fff and ppp will occur, they will sound pretty much the same; if you set it to 127, all the volume nuances between 0 and 127 (pppp-ffff) are possible.

I wasn't aware of that, I have never played with it and it definitely sounds like that's a possible solution to my problem. 😉

I don't use the Vel X-Fade on the other articulations (Stacc, Pizz, etc....), as you said it wouldn't make much sense.

I was aware of the rest, but for some reason I have overlooked the Dyn Range all these years......😕 I'll check that out as soon as I open my DAW again.

Thanks ever so much for your help and the honest feedback, really appreciated, Jos.

Best regards

Francesco

[Francesco Pirrone]

Hi there,

quick update: my Dyn Range was already on 63 but I never moved the attack from zero.....that's why some of the legatos sound a bit harsh. 😮

The best thing about this friendly forum is that I learn something out of each and every thread I make! 🎉

Regards

Francesco

[William]

I like that piece and the dark low range tessitura at the beginning and end.  I haven't worked with the dynamic range slider much either, but thought it could be valuable in situations like violas disappearing in a tutti or basses getting boomy.  The paradox with using it is if you turn the slider down and reduce dynamic range it can have the effect of increasing the volume in general because it stays at a uniform level. So you have to turn down the overall volume.  But that uniformity can be good if you don't want to lose the bass or inner harmony.  All that is only my theory on it though, and I haven't ended up actually doing it in a complete mix, just experimenting.  

[Francesco Pirrone]

Hi William!

Thank you very much, I am glad you liked the track. 😊

Yes, that would be an interesting technique to use on specific instruments in order to make them more "steady" and present within the arrangement. I sometimes do the opposite also: keeping a low consistent dynamic and turn the volume up or/and use more soft layers......

[William]

On that I was actually thinking of using no change in dynamic range for more espressivo violins and cellos but the change with violas and basses.  Of course violas and basses would not like that idea.  😢

[Minardi]

Hello Francesco,

I listened to your piece this morning.  I like the feeling and the mood, and I thought there were a couple of suprises in the piece; you went to a slightly different feel at times I did not expect.

It seemed to me the mix was very good.  I agree with others about the strings.  I use the expression wheel alot when I record the strings.  Too much on the attack though and the strings sound like they playback backwards.  As far as I know, all of that can be taken care of in MIDI.  I don't record using MIDI; not because I am against recording that way.  It's probably a mortal sin to some not to use MIDI but I just was not set up for it when I started using VSL.  Any way I will stop rambling on here.

A nice piece Francesco.

John Minardi

http://www.broadjam.com/songs/johnminardi/composition-21

[Francesco Pirrone]

@William yes of course if would make sense to use a lower dynamic range for some instruments in order to make other instruments more expressive. 😊 Yes the violas might not like the idea as you mentioned 😕 😆

@John Hello and thanks for your comment! I am glad you liked the track and I'll take the feedback about the strings, 😊 I'll play a bit more with the above mentioned controllers and see what happens.

Francesco