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  4. Looking for a HARP for live performance only

  • Looking for a HARP for live performance only

    G
    G
    Hello All!

    First off, excuse my ignorance with all things VSL. The demos are wonderful, hence my curiosity.

    I have been using hardware to cover the harp parts with a local orchestra, and have long wished for a more realistic-sounding instrument.

    I have a MacBook, 2GHz, 2GB RAM, 5400rpm, which is currently being used as a recording device only (GarageBand). 53gigs available.

    So! Is it possible to do a custom install of the VSL Harp, to cover only the live performance demands of a typical harp score? No extensive midi editing on the horizon here. Also no need for any gliss or arpeggio features.

    From what I've read, these instruments are "intelligent" and respond to the player's input on the fly. Tell me now, if I've got that wrong. [:O]ops:

    If such an application would require the use of an external HD running at a faster speed, I think I'll have to pass. I really want to keep the setup as simple as possible.

    Thanks for any comments!
  • D
    D
    Hello,

    Vienna Harps is not so large a package - 21 GB, but in a compressed format, so they'll take less space on your harddisk. 2 Gigs of RAM also will allow you to load a fair number of samples. However, even though VI is pretty advanced with regard to "intelligence", it does not anticipate whether you'll want to play arpeggios or glissandi etc. Different articulations can be called up via keyswitches and the modulation wheel, or you can set up your own controllers. With a bit of practice, you can use this for live peformances, too.

    Kind regards,
    David
    VSL manuals
  • G
    G
    Thank you, David!

    I'm totally intrigued. A different articulation for a gliss, or an arpeggio. Hah, and I was hoping for simple sustained vs damped control at the keyboard. Ok!

    Wish me luck [[;)]]

    Sue

    BTW, I'd be playing through a singe Bose Pas. Any issues I should know about?
  • D
    D
    If you want to know more about the available articulations, have a look here:
    http://vsl.co.at/en-us/211/344/221.vsl">http://vsl.co.at/en-us/211/344/221.vsl

    Playing through what? Is that loudspeaker, amp, or else?

    Cheers,
    d.
  • G
    G
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    @Another User said:

    Playing through what? Is that loudspeaker, amp, or else?


    All of the above. A loudspeaker shaped like a flagpole, (kinda like a harp come to think of it), amplifier and mixer built in. Sub on the side. It's cool insofar as it's both monitor and PA in one. It's the best compromise for piano sounds that I've found so far.



    My concern is whether mono playback defeats the purpose of pursuing the best sampled harp I can find.
  • cmC
    VSL Team
    cmC
    welcome gangsu,
    bose pas is an interesting approach to *mimikry* an instrument - i have not found any numbers for *power* on their website, could you give me some range?

    regarding harps and powerbook: i don't want to sound too pessimistic, but harps ar fairly well known to use many voices, which samples' of course need to be streamed from the harddisk. i'm not so sure a 5.400 rpm notebook drive would be sufficient enough beyond a certain point.
    maybe you should take into consideration you might have to add a fast external drive or at least store a part of the harp-samples on a flash-disk
    christian
    and remember: only a CRAY can run an endless loop in just three seconds.
  • G
    G
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    @Another User said:

    maybe you should take into consideration you might have to add a fast external drive or at least store a part of the harp-samples on a flash-disk


    With that said, I wonder about the speed of the USB2, or FireWire400 connection. I instinctly feel more confident using the internal drive... but again, I know nothing.

    Many thanks for your time!
  • cmC
    VSL Team
    cmC
    gangsu, thanks for the detailed specs and the kind words, although you have to know i'm far away from beeing *one of the maestros* here, i'm just covering some technical aspects ...

    the performance of the 2GHz core duo is great and would sure be sufficient enough, i was just thinking on the internal drive. we have a macbook pro here for presentations (which shouldn't be too different) and i'll ask for some figures regarding voices possible to stream from the internal drive.

    neither firewire nor USB would be the bottleneck (although i personally would prefer FW wherever possible), it is always the harddisk. that's why we recommend *a fast seperate drive* where fast means 7.200 rpm.

    i think the ideal drivetype for you would be a 3 x 8 GB compact flash card reader just connected via firewire, unfortunately i have not seen such a 3-slot reader so far and don't know now if the macbook has a 6-pin FW (with power) or just 4-pin.
    christian
    and remember: only a CRAY can run an endless loop in just three seconds.
  • DietzD
    VSL Team
    DietzD
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    @cm said:

    gangsu, [...] you have to know i'm far away from beeing *one of the maestros* here, i'm just covering some technical aspects ... [...]
    christian

    Of course, he is understating! [:)]
    /Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library
  • G
    G
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    @cm said:

    gangsu, [...] you have to know i'm far away from beeing *one of the maestros* here, i'm just covering some technical aspects ... [...]
    christian

    Of course, he is understating! [:)]

    Greetings to you as well, Dietz. [H] Good thing we're not speaking in person, or I'd be completely tongue-tied. [[:|]]

    I went ahead and ordered the Basic Harp Library. At least I'll go down trying.

    The MacBook has a standard 6 pin firewire port. At the moment it's powering my PreSonus Inspire, a simple 4 channel audio interface.

    How cool it would be to store all the harp samples on a credit card sized flash drive. Not three, but one! When will the rest of the world catch up to you?? The thought of needing an external hard drive is a bit overwhelming ...

    I'll keep you posted, and thanks again to all!
  • D
    D
    Good luck! Hope we'll hear the outcome soon!

    Cheers,
    d.
  • M
    M
    You won't be disappointed - it's a beautiful library that will stand the test of time.

    Miklos.
  • G
    G
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    @mpower88 said:

    You won't be disappointed - it's a beautiful library that will stand the test of time.

    Miklos.


    You're definitely right about that. I'm sorry to be so long in putting in a good word. I've been having too much fun.

    First of all, David Ender! What a terrific manual. Thankyou! I followed the instructions, downloaded the latest drivers, got my license [:)] and haven't stopped playing the thing since.

    And to think I didn't want or need the glissandi.

    What astounds me is how you've put the control into the hands of the player. Truly I have nothing to fear taking this live. The entire library takes 75 seconds to load, and patches one sec to switch.

    My sincerest admiration and gratitude!! I'll never look back.

    Sue