Hi Chris,

many demos come with a complete set of "How To"-tutorial files. Just look out for those pieces with a red "Play" button. You'll see a "Download Tutorials"-link then just below the player.

HTH,

Hi Dietz,

That's great, I wasn't aware of this.  I will certainly take a look at some and see if I can reproduce.

Many thanks,

Chris

Hi Dietz,

Ok, so I have been trying some of these tutorials.  Some of them come with Vienna Instruments files with the extension .fxp.  How are these opened in Vienna Instruments?

Thanks!

The *.fxp-files are meant to be loaded by VST2 plug-ins.

HTH,

Hi Dietz,

I don't quite understand? :-0.  All my Vienna Instruments products are running ok.  I use Cakewalk SONAR X1 which is able to open VST2 plug-ins.  Are you referring to any specific plug-in?

Thanks,

Chris

Hi Chris,

AFAICS the *.fxp files are in there for historic reasons (pre-VST3), mostly. They are meant to get loaded into individual Vienna Instruments instances.

... if you have specific questions we would have to get you in contact with the creator of the tutorial. I don't have the production details at hand, in most cases.

Kind regards,

Hi Dietz,

Ok, one tutorial I was looking at is called "Prayer - Cello & Piano" by Ernest Bloch.  The programming is by Jay Bacal and the tutorial says there are midi files and Vienna Instruments preset files.  The preset file I presume is the .fxp file though I don't see any way of opening this file in Vienna Instruments.

Best Regards,
Chris

Hi Dietz,

Ok, I see how to open the .fxp file now via Cakewalk SONAR X1.  I cannot see a way to open them via VE though.  Presumably this is becausse VE is using VST3? 

Regards,

Chris

VE Pro is using a proprietary plug-in format for its "built-in" tools, like VI, MIR Pro, MIR EQ, panner etc. 

The tutorial you're referring to seems to be a quite old one, maybe released before the more recent versions of Vienna Ensemble ... I will ask Jay Bacal to chime in with the actual details! :-)

Kind regards,

Hi Chris,

The Bloch cello demo was created more than 10 years ago.   Sadly, the .fxb instrument preset file format seems no longer to be compatible with the current versions of the Vienna Instrument program.

You can still learn a little from the midi file.  Notably, the frequent switching of articulations via keyswitches and the shaping of phrases with the midi Expression controller.

More recent "tutorials" should use Vienna Ensemble compatible files.  I also included Cubase project files which will open the entire project.   No fuss, no muss.   You can download a free trial version of Steinberg's Cubase 10 from their website.

Finally, I recommend checking out VSL's MIRx software.   It will instantly give you a more professional sound.  It's like having a world-class mixing engineer (Dietz) in a single plug-in.

Happy experimenting and music making.

Best wishes,

Jay

Thanks, Jay!

@JBacal said:

[...] Sadly, the .fxb instrument preset file format seems no longer to be compatible with the current versions of the Vienna Instrument program. [...]

The workaround would be to use a VST2-host like Reaper or Cubase for loading the old .fxp-based settings and save them as Presets in the recent Vienna Instruments for further use. Cumbersome, no doubt, but doable. 😊

Hi Dietz & Jay,

I will try this workaround.  Looks like I should be able to do it through SONAR X1.

Regarding the MIRx mode for MIR Pro, I am only using the Synchron Stage venue.  Are MIRx presets now available for this venue?

Regards,

Chris

@Another User said:

Regarding the MIRx mode for MIR Pro, I am only using the Synchron Stage venue.  Are MIRx presets now available for this venue?

No, not yet - sorry to say so.

Kind regards,

Hi Dietz & Jay, I have another question about the preset and midi file, maybe you can help. The frequent switching via keyswitches I see is selecting the different articulations. However, for each articulation there appears to be only one or two keys that actually make a sound. Why is this? Best Regards, Chris

...However, for each articulation there appears to be only one or two keys that actually make a sound. Why is this? Best Regards, Chris...

Why do you want more keyswitches? I think it's great that we need only one command per articulation (tone outside the range of the instrument).

Even though you have obviously been using VSL samples for a long time, this link might answer your question:

• https://www.beat-kaufmann.com/vitutorials/vimidi/index.php

followed then by this one:

• https://www.beat-kaufmann.com/vitutorials/vibasicpresets/index.php

There are probably more tips on this site which could be helpfull on your way.

All the best

Beat

Hi all,

I have another question regarding the tutorials:  In demos that use Piano I see in most cases, that the midi is separated as right top, middle, bottom & left top, middle, bottom.  Why is this? 

Regards,

Chris

_{I see in most cases, that the midi is separated as right top, middle, bottom & left top, middle, bottom.  Why is this?} 

Most likely because it's been programmed from the score rather than played. Ease of organisation and dynamic control etc etc

Thanks Louis, I figured it would be some reason like this.