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  • Comprehensive Articulation Management System for VSL Libraries (for REAPER users)

    S
    S
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    (UPDATED: June 22, 2020)

    Hello REAPER users,

    I've created a comprehensive set of Reaticulate banks and matching presets for a wealth of VSL's libraries.

    For those unfamiliar with Reaticulate, it's a brilliant articulation management system for VSTs created for use in REAPER. With this brilliant little script, you can make the process of programming the hundreds of articulations on offer in VSL's libraries extremely straightforward and efficient. The files I have included should help you do just that!

    To learn more about Reaticulate, check out this website.

    WHAT'S ATTACHED TO THIS POST:

    There are two sets of files you'll need:

    1. Custom presets for the VI/Synchron VSTs
    2. The Reaticulate.reabank text file that contains the data Reaticulate uses to load the articulation lists.

    HOW TO USE THIS STUFF:

    1. Extract the custom presets to the folders where you keep your presets for VI or Synchron. The presets I've created have (RT) after their names to help keep them distinguished from other presets you might have.
    2. Do one of two things:
      1. If you don't have any other Reaticulate banks set up, simply drag and drop the Reaticulate.reabank file included into the /Data/ folder of your Reaper directory.
      2. If you DO have other Reaticulate banks, open up the one I've attached and copy and paste whatever you need from my reabank file to yours.
    3. In REAPER, load up whatever instruments you need and then load up the corresponding Reaticulate bank in the Reaticulate plugin window. To illustrate what I mean, I'll give you an example. Let's say you want to load up Bassoon I:
      1. Make sure you load up the correct preset (the custom RT preset).
      2. Make sure you load up the bank with the same name.
      3. Make some music! Open the Bank/Program Select CC lane in the midi editor, select whatever notes you want to "map" the articulation to, and right click on the articulation. Here's what it might look like.

    (Note: I won't go into the details of how to set up Reaticulate on this post. You can find that info on Reaticulate's website. However, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!)

    HOW THE ARTICULATIONS ARE ORGANIZED

    You'll notice a "Sketch" bank available in the VSL - GENERAL folder. I've set up all the presets so that their common articulations that are shared across all instruments will correspond with this articulation list. This way, you can quickly sketch basic melodies or rhythms and switch instruments in and out. (NOTE: Only works with the VI libraries!)

    The lists are enormous, since there are tons of articulations. I didn't include EVERY articulation, but I tried to be as thorough as possible. The most useful and flexible articulations (like the performance intervals) are located at the top of the lists, while the pre-recorded phrases are located at the bottom so as to minimize the amount of scrolling needed. As much as I could manage, the icons, colors, and naming conventions are consistent across all instruments.

    Since these are presets I made mainly for my own use, the controller mappings are tailored to my specific set-up. However, it should be relatively simple for you to change them to your liking by copying and pasting controller mappings as needed. If you need help or advice on how to do this, let me know and I'd be happy to help!

    LIBRARIES COVERED BY THESE PRESETS/BANK FILES

    (Note: The presets and banks are designed to work with the Full version of the VI libraries, but that doesn't mean these presets can't work with the Standard versions; certain articulations simply won't activate.)

    VI LIBRARIES (Full):

    • STRINGS - Solo Strings I & II, Chamber Strings I & II, Orchestral Strings I & II, Appassionata Strings I & II, Solo Violin II, Solo Cello II
    • BRASS - All Solo Instruments, All Ensembles (EXCEPT Dimension Brass)
    • WOODWINDS - All Solo Instruments, All Ensembles, Recorders
    • KEYBOARDS - Konzerthaus Organ, Prepared Piano, Harmonium, Harpsichord
    • PERCUSSION - Percussion (Full), Elements
    • VOICES - Vienna Whistler

    SYNCHRON LIBRARIES:

    • SYN-zed DIMENSION STRINGS - Vols I-III
    • SYN-zed DIMENSION BRASS - Vols I-II
    • SYN-zed Appassionata Strings
    • SYN-zed Solo Strings

    ---------

    I hope these presets and articulation lists help all of you as much as they've helped me.

    Enjoy!

    - Sam

    VSL_Reaticulate_BanksAndPresets_June2020.rar-1696283890998-x0hbq.rar
  • C
    C

    This is fantastic! Thanks for your hard work in putting these together. Much appreciated!
  • S
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    @cjul said:

    This is fantastic! Thanks for your hard work in putting these together. Much appreciated!

    You're welcome.  I hope it helps you as much as it's helping me!
  • D
    D

    You are indeed a gentalmen

    I have no clue wdf you are talking about, but once i open vsl software for christmas, I shall THANK YOU a ton
  • S
    S

    Goodness! Thank you so much for doing this!!! Setting it up right now and it works brilliantly.
  • Fabio BiolcatiF
    Fabio BiolcatiF

    Yeah! Thank you Sam!
    I'll test it soon.
    Though a SE user, I'm sure the basic shall work the same.

    VI Special Edition 1-3, Reaper, MuseScore 3, Notion 3 (collecting dust), vst flotsam and jetsam
  • C
    C

    I haven't installed these yet, but I just wanted to say many thanks for sharing this! 
  • M
    M
    Who's awesome? You are!
  • S
    S

    To everyone who's commented and downloaded:

    I'm glad you find these files useful!  REATICULATE makes complicated programming with VSL (and any VST, really) in REAPER so damn easy.  

    Over the next week or so, I will be going through, cleaning up, and updating these files.  I've a few new libraries to add (like SYN-zed Solo Strings) and some changes to how the articulations are organized in the presets based on new updates to Reaticulate and personal tweaks I've made over months of use.  I'll post the updates to this thread and the SYN forum as well when I've finished!

    - Sam
  • S
    S

    I've finished re-doing and expanding the presets and banks.  As such, I've updated the original post.  Scroll up and take a look!
  • K
    K

    You're the Master! Thank You for making Reaper and Synchron-ized libraries easier to use. I'm kind of new to Reaper (was using Logic Pro before) and just downloaded Synchron-ized Special Edition 1. Are you planning of also developing this managment for the mentioned library in the near future? If not, where can I learn how to do it? I would obviously share it with the community! Thanks in advance!
  • S
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    @KITO said:

    You're the Master! Thank You for making Reaper and Synchron-ized libraries easier to use. I'm kind of new to Reaper (was using Logic Pro before) and just downloaded Synchron-ized Special Edition 1. Are you planning of also developing this managment for the mentioned library in the near future? If not, where can I learn how to do it? I would obviously share it with the community! Thanks in advance!

    You're too kind šŸŗ

    I would totally make articulation banks for the SYN-zed Special Editions, but I don't have them (I have some of the VI versions) and I have no justifiable reason to spend money on them.

    That said, thank you for asking me about this because it reminded me of something on my to-do list: to create a brief tutorial on my website about making custom REATICULATE banks.  So...gimme a few days (at most) and I'll post the link here for you (and anyone else interested) when it's ready!  Also, if you don't want to wait that long, the necessary (albeit slightly...opaque...) information on making custom banks is available on the Reaticulate website itself.  

    - Sam

    (P.S. If you're new to REAPER, you may not be aware of the SWS extension: https://www.sws-extension.org/.  These are amazing add-ons (and free) and will make REAPER all kinds of amazing.)
  • S
    S

    KITO (and anyone else interested):

    Here you go:

    https://seventhsam.com/music/blog/how-to-create-custom-reaticulate-banks-for-your-sample-libraries

    Hope that helps!

    - Sam
  • S
    S

    Did anyone already create banks for Synchronized Woodwinds?
  • S
    S
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    @Stevie said:

    Did anyone already create banks for Synchronized Woodwinds?

    Not to my knowledge.  If anyone does, I do hope they share!

    Speaking of which, in case you (or anyone else) wasn't aware, there's a repository for user-created Reaticulate banks here: https://github.com/jtackaberry/reaticulate/tree/master/userbanks

    I'm planning on uploading these to that as soon as my brain can un-scatter itself enough to remember to do so šŸ˜Š

    - Sam
  • S
    S
    Thanks, yes Iā€™m aware šŸ˜ I contributed the BBC bank šŸ˜œ I might do the synchronized woodwinds in the next few days.
  • F
    F

    Hello,

    I've just uploaded 2 reabanks for the complete Special Edition, volumes 1, 2, 1 plus, 2 plus and 6.

    Hope this can help users of Reaper with VSL SYN-zed SE.

    This is here : https://github.com/jtackaberry/reaticulate/issues/150

    Enjoy !
  • M
    M

    Just a huge THANK YOU to Seventh Sam and anyone else who has contributed to the Reaticulate development and documentation. I have just got this up and running this morning, with just one instrument so far, and it works well. Gosh there are a lot of hoops to jump through! šŸ˜…

    I just need to decide on whether to stick with the already created articulation matrices that SS has created or create my own... Anyway this should hopefully speed up my workflow - I was using Sibelius previously with the VSL soundsets and although that system works well it's pretty laborious.