CONFUSED: Cube, engine, Giga??...Help!!

[weslldeckers]

I've been bussy quite some time, and upon returning here I was washed over with many confusing things about the new Symphonic Cube, let alone almost a hundred different threads about it.

--I've seen various names being used, Vienna Instruments, Symphonic Cube... Do I understand it correctly that this is one and the same 'instrument'.

--I've read that the new Cube will not (yet) be available for the GigaStudio format. Not big deal, I've got plenty of Horizon and Opus sets left to keep me bussy for a few years.
--But: I've also read about an 'engine'. Does this mean the Cube is actually a standalone application? It doesn't need GigaStudio or any other application like that?


--I'm also a bit confused about the content of the product. But do I understand it correctly that the Cube features all ProEdition samples, and that new samples are added to that package? Or are also the Horizon samples included?

Anyway. It looks REALLY cool. Especially the part about real-time playing and getting the right articulations! That is just what I wished for.

--added Q: can the standalone Cube also receive MIDI from Sibelius or another notationapplication.

Thanks!

[hermitage59]

Wes, welcome back long time no see.
Yes there has been some discussion about various aspects of the package, however i'll give you sone facts without colouring them with my own view.

The symphonic Cube is an entirely new package from VSL.

The cube is comprised of Ten volumes, and if you go to the products section of the site, you will see the breakdown.

Each volume comes with a method of being played called the Vienna Instrument.

So Solo strings for example will be played by VI. You can call up an instance for each instrument or as many as you need, but as you will read further, due to automated articulation selelction, you can use one track, and importantly one midi channel for each instance. again example, in the strings section you can put the entire 1st violins on one track, and the automated articulation process will play all articulations you specift from patches.

The VI has been built for the cube, and is powered by a audio engine designed specifically for the purpose, in other words, you play the samples with the VI.
All samples have been remapped and configured to work with the VI at 24Bit, so you can't play them with another audio instrument.

Each Volume library is in two parts, Standard and Extended.
The standard section is your 'base' library. It contains the main articulations for each instrument. So the solo library will have 'standard' articulations for Violin, Viola, Cello, KB.
The extended part of each instrument contains many more articulations and playing methods. If you refer to 'solo strings' standard/extended button in the products section you will see a list of these. More articulation lists are following.

The VI has several interesting features, and i reccomend watching all the vidoes for a far better idea than i could give you. Prominent among these features are the Automation of articulation selection, Speed Control, and Ram optimising. However there many more features and again the vids will give you a far better idea.

The VI is available as VST/AU/STANDALONE.

For purchase purposes, if you wish to buy only standard libraries to start with you can. The extended version is already on disk(s) but you will need to unlock these with purchase and a code from VSL. THe extended editions are available as a demo for 30 days to give you an idea of what is available.

The current offers are listed in the shop and you can use a discount calulator that will give you prices according to the products you already own, It's a tick box arrangement, so even i can understand it.

This isn't all the info you asked for, but i hope this will give you a clearer idea.

Regards,


Alex.

[cwillsher]

Oh Wesli, you've got some catching up to do my friend. [:)]

First check out the Vienna Instruments forum and particularly the FAQ from Paul S, which you'll find as a sticky thread at the top of the page.

The Cube is a collection of 10x Vienna Instruments. Each one is a collection containing the player (which can be a VST or AU plugin, or standalone - but you get them all in the package), plus the relative sample content which is compressed 24-bit audio in a proprietary format - so no Giga or any other formats to concern yourself with, it should work directly in any VST or AU host or wrapper. My guess is the standalone version won't be particularly useful as it can only play one instrument at a time (though many articulations within that instrument).

The content will feature all of the Pro Ed and Horizon content (minus Overdrive, Concert Guitar, Saxophones I and Glass & stones - but no doubt these will become available in future VIs) and about as much again. BUT this is all split across the two versions (Standard - which everyone must pay for including VIPs; and Extended, where you will see some VIP discounts depending upon the material you already own - see the Discount Calculator). The content has been split up into more versions than before so users can buy into what they need (a bit like the Horizon series) and you can also upgrade any package to the Extended version at any time, and even just a single instrument at a time. This is because all of the content is provided with the Standard edition, available for 30 days preview and then locked until you buy the 'Extensions'.

Not sure if the Standalone version will work with Sibelius etc. but I know there are a couple of threads about that - they just weren't of interest to me.

Hope that gets you started anyway - clear as mud I suspect [:D]

Colin

[cwillsher]

Alex!

How did I know that was going to happen?

M..u..s..t......t..y..p..e.......f..a..s..t..e..r...

Colin [8-)]

[Paul]

Very good explanations both, thanks!
Further details will come in the near future.

[weslldeckers]

Yes thanks to you both! It has made things clearer already, altough it's such a big package I'm still numbed... [[;)]]
Guess I have to start making some money with my music... I'm still not sure wether the 'VI' can understand MIDI send from Sibelius and wether it can handle multiple channels at once.

However, a dream came true.

[Paul]

Vienna Instruments works on ONE MIDI Channel, but of course you can open many Vienna Instruments in your sequencer on different tracks.

And as Sibelius sends MIDI, the Vienna Instruments can read it, MIDI stays MIDI.

Best, Paul