Vienna Instruments Pro 2 on sale -- advice on whether or not to bite...

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I recently got some VSL libraries. Have not yet had time to install and get going. I see that AudioDeluxe has VIP 2 on sale. The specs sound as though the free version of Vienna Instruments pales in comparison. Enough features ot make your head spin etc. Certainly sounds great. Having said that, I'd be keen to hear from those who've used it re ...

-- learning curve / ease of use -- I'm not expecting to build Rome in a day, but don't want to feel as if I'm in grad school.

-- stability: I've got a W7 PC with an i7 2.66 cpu and 16 gb of RAM. Will be using Sonar Platinum as the DAW. Sounds sufficient?

-- my keyboard has only 61 keys. Simply can't afford 88 at the moment. Problematic?

Grateful for any advice...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tDj_Van ... uNbgY-4qFK

I'm not the Messiah. I'm not the Messiah!

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I've been drooling for the VIP for some time since buying VEP5, and took advantage of the savings before the sale expires.

First thing I realized was the learning curve will be quite steep, so be prepared to spend some time learning. The manual helps and there are some vids around.

IMHO your system is definitely enough to run this software.

Your keyboard is fine. The difference will be how you are able to access octave ranges on the 61 key board vs an 88 key board. Nothing to worry about.

To add, spend some time at their forum reviewing posts. There are a lot of knowledgeable people there. Jancivil is the resident guru here and may drop by to give you some more help.

Good luck lingyai!

Cheers!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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Cheers dsan. I've actually PM'd Jancivil to alert her to the topic. Hopefully she'll chime in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tDj_Van ... uNbgY-4qFK

I'm not the Messiah. I'm not the Messiah!

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Is VEP5 which is also on sale currently, worth alone? It seems functional and it includes Epic Orchestra, I assume that's great for a Zimmer sound? (that horn)

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In a word, YES.

But it really depends on how you plan to use it, that is, how it fits in your work flow.

For me, on a slave machine, it really helps. It took the load off my DAW computer and allows me to be able to do much more with RAM intensive libraries.

As for Epic Orchestra, if you do not have orchestral libraries, VSL are top notch. Having said that, you must work with their libraries to get a finished sound. They are not Project Sam or East West or similar that are ready from the box. But they are gorgeous instruments once you get to know them.

Bottom line, investigate fully before making the purchase. Be sure your system meets minimum requirements. Be sure you have a need for VEP5.

If all is good then you will be happy making that purchase :tu:

Cheers!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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dsan@mail.com wrote:In a word, YES.

But it really depends on how you plan to use it, that is, how it fits in your work flow.

For me, on a slave machine, it really helps. It took the load off my DAW computer and allows me to be able to do much more with RAM intensive libraries.

As for Epic Orchestra, if you do not have orchestral libraries, VSL are top notch. Having said that, you must work with their libraries to get a finished sound. They are not Project Sam or East West or similar that are ready from the box. But they are gorgeous instruments once you get to know them.

Bottom line, investigate fully before making the purchase. Be sure your system meets minimum requirements. Be sure you have a need for VEP5.

If all is good then you will be happy making that purchase :tu:

Cheers!
dsan
Cheers! I have a single computer-setup. I'm worried that extending my sonic palette much more, the RAM will hit the roof. VSTis like Reaktor are already really hitting the RAM even in single instance. Sound-wise I'm looking at something like Albion Loegria's (chamber+symphonic), great for Zimmer epic and for gothic ambient.

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Some do use VEP on a single machine. But IMHO you can't take advantage of the full power of VEP on a single machine.

VEP is not going to give you more RAM to use in this case. It will give you a lot more routing capability so if this is what you need then it may be a worthwhile purchase for you.

I think the wiser investment will be buying RAM to stick in your current machine, if that's possible. If you are maxing out RAM via Reacktor, then, yes, you need more RAM first. Especially if you will only have the one machine.

You can request a demo of VEP from VSL to see if it is right for you. You will likely miss the opportunity to buy during the sale though.

To demo, you will also need a VSL license key - same as a Steinberg eLicenser Key so no need to spend more for it through VSL. Steinberg charges less and if you go through Sweetwater or Guitar Center, or the likes of, you can pick it up for less than what Steinberg wants.

I don't own Loegria so can't comment on it. I do own Albion I and wouldn't trade it for anything although it does have its limitations. Most of these libraries do have limitations. I feel one compliments another, and one is not enough ;)

Good luck in your decision :tu:

Cheers!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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:dsan: re VEP
Would you say that the slave computer should be the one that is most powerful ram, processor, and ssd wise?
I bought it, and am now hesitating, because I've just got my main pc working so great, and am loath to take the daws etc off it and turn it into a mule for to carry the weight...

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Hi dredd i knight. Good to see you here! :) I hope everything is good there.

In my case I didn't have a suitable slave computer so I built another. As it turns out, it is more powerful than my DAW computer, but that was intentional.

I felt since I was to host VST's on the slave it would require more RAM (8 vs 32, master/slave). The cost between an i5 and an i7 was not that much difference so I decided to go with a 4790 i7.

I figured while I'm at it I may as well go ssd instead of my usual WD Black 1TB's. (Now I'm considering these ssd's for the master computer as well ;) )

But it isn't absolutely necessary, IMHO, that the slave computer be more powerful. I thought it to be more beneficial and effective.

As long as the slave meets the specs required, any computer should do; however, if memory serves me, you're running some large symphonic libraries, right?

In the case of large libraries, the more RAM you have available the better, of course. So to be most efficient I would think you will benefit more by having the slave be the more powerful machine.

I wouldn't hesitate installation of VEP. Even if you put it on to a less powerful machine you will greatly benefit from the advantages it offers. Then, down the road you can always change things if you decide to.

Cheers!
dsan
My DAW System:
W7, i5, x64, 8Gb Ram, Edirol FA-101

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lingyai wrote:Cheers dsan. I've actually PM'd Jancivil to alert her to the topic. Hopefully she'll chime in.
Hi. I upgraded to VIP2 almost at once, having used VSL for a couple, three yrs by then. I'm not the biggest power user on earth, such as someone that fully exploits the APP seq. etc, but fairly versed in their M.O. - which will be reflected in any substantial sample player engine - the advanced edit tab is pretty de rigeur AFAIC... I would recommend becoming conversant with the VIP basic before advising buy the thing outright. As far as VE Pro and the muscle to use it, I'm using a single MacPro 8-core w. 24gb RAM. I was at first with the belief I needed to run Cubase on its own machine but it wasn't as meaningful as it looks on paper... Where the goal is a full-on symphony and you're really, actually deploying 100 or something "players", one may tend to require the second, third etc machines; although using all VSL affords one of the VE Pro optimization and, say, 24gigs is a lot more RAM than it may look.

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duplicate
Last edited by jancivil on Wed Sep 02, 2015 12:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

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IE: the DAW, when not charged with the load of plugins, is not doing a terrific amount of work, it turns out. YMMV obviously, but I'm not seeing it here... It's the plugins that use the resources. So: the slave tends to seem more de rigeur than it is if the usage isn't insanely audio-heavy at the same time as the MIDI in real time demands; I'm hard-pressed to imagine the DAW, absent all the plugins handling (the whole point of VEP) tasking this "slave" computer to the extent assumed by DSan, I mean to where you've obviated a whole machine in this configuration. Again, I threw money needlessly at this assumption! ... the thing of slaves is when you run out of cycles and RAM because of the samples requirement, the DAW is not in itself a resources hog.

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@ jan thanks for your input, I appreciate the thought you put into your responses :)
@ dsan thanks for your too. Always good to see you! :)

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