Vienna Symphonic Library Forum
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  • When will we get a DAW integrated performance tool?

    Now I know this doesn't bother some people, but I'm really fed up with the performance tool being this stand-alone, unintegrated application.
    I know VSL looked into integrating this into DAWs using midifx... is there any more news on this? I run my entire orchestral template inside SX3 on a single machine, running with 0.2 second pre-load using Halion3. This set-up works great. But the performance tool does not fit well into this at all as I have to route midi for each track out to the external tool and then back in... why can't I just select a performance patch and then plug-in a legato midi-fx plug-in?
    Hope there are some answers on this?
    It seems like a lot of work is taking place on sampling obscure instruments that I'm not interested in, without focussing on some of the core problems.
    Many thanks.

  • Hi,

    sorry to hear your frustration. Believe us: We have tried, but there simply was no way to provide a sollution (out of many different reasons, both technically and strategically: The Performance Tool represents the only copy protection apart from the size of our library).

    And why shouldn´t we be interested in making life easier for our beloved users?

    It is sometimes hard to meet everybody´s needs, but please let us decide which instruments we record, we are still far from recording the really obscure ones...

    We are very much aware that in a perfect world there would be no need for a Performance Tool, on the other hand side: Now that the Performance Tool is available, the world seems to be a little bit better for many of us.

    Thanks for your understanding,

    Paul

    Paul Kopf Head of Product Marketing, Social Media and Support
  • Thanks for your reply and I don't mean to sound obtuse; I'm not, I just want to see VSL working even better for me.
    That said, I can't believe that it is copy protection that is the limitation? Can't you have copy protection built into the midi plugin if that was the case?

  • A MIDI plugin, depending on the platform, always has to fight with issues like very noticable delay.

    I am not a programmer myself, but we have tried and tested and it didn´t work reliably...

    Sorry that I can´t get more into detail, but sometimes things are more complicated than it seems.

    Best, Paul

    Paul Kopf Head of Product Marketing, Social Media and Support
  • Not to make this sound like a you should try Logic but it is the only one of the DAWs that has the tool integrated into the sampler. I love just being able to load the performance patch and the tool is all set up with it.
    Too bad this same method couldn't be applied to the other samplers as well although Kontakt 2's script will do if they ever get the copy-protection scheme finished.
    Chris

  • Yep, too bad. But there are reasons for it.

    Paul Kopf Head of Product Marketing, Social Media and Support
  • I'm sure there are technical reasons for it... although it does surprise me that the midi plugin interface is more unreliable than using some 3rd party midi wiring software to send midi to/from performance tool.

  • It's not only about reliability. Certain aspects of our concept are simply not supported by MIDI-plugins or scripting-options, as our solution is extremly timing-dependant, too.

    /Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library
  • ok - great shame however - I'm sure you guys would do it if you could... ah well...

  • Actually, no it is not ok... [:)] I've paid a lot of money for this library and this is the only real gripe...
    Does the above mean that you have no plans whatsoever to integrate the performance tool into any DAW, either via midi plugins or into the sampler itself?
    I suggest that this is a very bad move politically for your company as will greatly affect whether I personally would continue to use your product. If some other developer provided a simpler approach to this solution, I would move to that. With the market becoming more competetivive and all that...
    We should strive towards a simpler and simpler interface... look at how simple www.synful.com is as an interface?
    We shouldn't have to be routing midi all over the place anymore... or having to route audio out to hardware.
    I'm sorry, but I really do find this timing thing very hard to believe... I can understand if it is to prevent piracy... sort of. At the end of the day, the performance tool is little more than a midi-munger.
    If there really were any midi plugin timing issues, surely these could be disussed with steinberg/logic whoever?
    Even if there were a problem with midi plugins, surely a VST instrument wrapper would do the trick?
    I refuse to believe that there is not a better way to do this. I say this as a professional software developer myself.
    In fact, why not throw it my way and I'll write it? I'm being serious! I'd give it a go. It can't be that difficult.
    Select legato plugin.
    Midi in->send to VSL legato routine->midi out...

  • I use Logic 7.1 with Tiger 4.2, and on the whole, it's fantastic with VSL. Performance tool rocks and considering the limitations they were faced, I think they came up with a succesful solution that (most importantly) sounds great.

    Thanks VSL!
    Miklos.

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    paynterr, let me step into this rant (at least it sounds to me like such)

    as dietz already pointed out, there are unresolved issues regarding a performance tool as midi plugin. this is partly related to the functions of the performance tool and the need to interact with a GUI and manifests as synchronization problems between sequencer, perftool and sampler.

    of course we are in touch with steinberg (as we are with developers of all supported and some unsupported platforms), but also we have to accept sometimes that there are things which cannot be resoved.

    our successful and great collaboration with apple (formerly emagic) meanwhile lasts for many years and also there are still a few issues unresolved (which some of you may notice and some of you might not)

    furthermore a performance tool based on VST midi would rely on audio applications, which support this interface (i'm maybe not up to date, but the list of compatible sequencer/sampler combinations is imo far from complete)

    synful decided to choose another approach how to get realistic results, just as an example:

    @Another User said:

    Synful Orchestra does not currently support string sections or sections in general in an easy or natural way
    - so only this statement shows, we all are far from a *one shoe fits all* solution.

    you are right if you mention, that the performance tool is just a simple midi processor. there are lots of others out there and certain users (and even developers) have already tried to re-engeneer the performance tool with one or another script engine, you are welcome to join them ...

    christian

    ps: believe us, we do our best to make your life as easy as possible ...

    and remember: only a CRAY can run an endless loop in just three seconds.
  • thanks for your reply - I will investigate whether it is possible to talk to the performance tool via a midi plug in... e.g. whether there is a midi plug in that will send the incoming midi out to an external port (e.g. to performance) tool and then send midi out from performance tool to midi-out on the fx.
    I'll keep people posted on this forum of my efforts.
    Thanks for your reply (it wasn't a rant, merely a frustration - sorry if it sounded that way)

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    Well, let's see ...

    @paynterr said:

    [...] this is a very bad move politically for your company [...]

    Yep - sounds a little bit like ranting ... [;)]

    ***

    But seriously - no offense taken, Paynterr. You will see that we are _not_ done with our efforts.

    /Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library
  • ok - perhaps I was a bit grouchy this morning [;)]
    Sorry- bloody Brits! [:)]
    Anyway, back to my VSL composition for the deadline tomorrow...