Promoting Philharmonik

[Squids]

Thanks. Just playing around real quick there. It's fun. You realize that Miroslav Philharmonik's combi section could be one of the best writing tools for symphonic music because everything is real time and instant. You can feel the music faster playing it live and then after you put down some improvised pieces you can pick it apart and make multi-timbral arrangements from it. It's a different approach but one that I happen to like a lot.

[nexussynth]

Very impressive for live playing.

Miroslav is the only plug-in orchestra that can do things like that in real-time.

I will be getting this if the cross-grade price from ST2 holds.

[zai]

Very impressive for live playing.

Miroslav is the only plug-in orchestra that can do things like that in real-time.

I will be getting this if the cross-grade price from ST2 holds.

It should hold, you should email alex@esoundz.com to get your name on the list of people who would be getting it first when it comes out (at least that's how I understands it). Make sure you mentioned that you have purchased the GB of ST2 and SS2...and your user name in esoundz. Then it should be a painless process...when it's out, you'll get an email from them...then we go from there....

I'm on the list...just got reply from Alex.... Quick and easy....

Zai

[Rellik]

That demo was pretty cool, Squids . The sound was great, despite the fact that it wasn't really played flawlessly/optimally.

What I'm really wanting to hear right now is really "Plain" stuff - you know, perhaps 30 second clips made with individual patches (a flute ensemble demo, a solo violin demo, a cool brass thingy, percussion, a quartet, etc... to really get a sense for the quality of the sampleset, aside from the quality of the setup of the combis)

[Squids]

Yeah, that one was done real quick just for fun. I was going to just PLAY Star Wars but then I didn't want to get into any trouble (not that I would anyway but...).

Here's another live combi piece that is a little bit more original although it has a sort of John Williams vibe to it that made me want to do the other one. They're both just live, one take, one track with one combi. The playing is not flawless. I'm winging it big time. But, the idea is that it is real easy to just play one combi patch and get all of these different flavors out of it in real time. The swells, the different parts such as strings, winds, brass and timpani. They're all layers responding to different velocities, ranges on the keyboard, expression pedal and modwheel.

http://www.sonicreality.com/squidscorne ... oCombi.mp3

As for individual demo riffs to get an idea of the library, that is coming soon too! We're almost done with those. Enjoy!

[harmony gardens]

Very nicely done Squids. You know, for as humble and self effacing as you are about these little demo's, you have quite a knack for the dramatic and artistry in your own right. I almost hate to suggest this, because I love the products you're coming out with, but you really should devote some time to composition at some point. There's quite a bit to Squids, no doubt!

I wish I had had Philharmonik for my last project. Luckily I had the Symphony Strings, which gave me the colors I needed. I'm so excited about getting Philharmonik. Everything I've seen and read about it, or heard from it sounds marvelous. This is gonna be a winner for sure!!

I'm gonna take a stab at guessing what the secret product is... Could it be a choir/vocal set for Philharmonik?????????

[telebunke]

I'm gonna take a stab at guessing what the secret product is... Could it be a choir/vocal set for Philharmonik?????????

IIRC it has been mentioned already that choire stuff will be included.

tele

[Kim Lajoie]

I'm gonna take a stab at guessing what the secret product is... Could it be a choir/vocal set for Philharmonik?????????

IIRC it has been mentioned already that choire stuff will be included.

Telebunke is right. HG, you'll be pleased to know that Philharmonik is already going to come with some killer choir content in the box:

Male and Female classic choir with separate notes, ahs, ohs, uhs, mms, in staccato, glissando, portamento and more.

-Kim.

[TrekStar]

hi! would be nice if you could answer some questions

- is the library based on the nu ST engine? how high is the cpu usage increase of this engine?

- perhaps some more infos on playing/articulatin helpers: mod wheel switches, key switches...etc

- a demonstration of the advantage of the stretch engine would be cool. a solo violin doing slurs / pitches / true legato or sth like that.

thanks in advance

[Kim Lajoie]

hi! would be nice if you could answer some questions

I'm not on the development team, but I'll do my best.

- is the library based on the nu ST engine? how high is the cpu usage increase of this engine?

The Philharmonik plugin will very likely be based on the SampleTank2.1 engine. The CPU usage of the ST2.1 engine is not likely to be more than ST2.0 - in fact, some features (such as the PS/TS mode) will use less CPU.

- perhaps some more infos on playing/articulatin helpers: mod wheel switches, key switches...etc

There will be combination patches (like the ones Squids has been demonstrating in this thread, and in promo videos) with keyboard and velocity splits. As for performance features of individual instruments... only Squids is allowed to talk about that.

- a demonstration of the advantage of the stretch engine would be cool. a solo violin doing slurs / pitches / true legato or sth like that.

Stretch is good for several different things:

1) Realistic and controllable portamento. Performing wide pitch sweeps (try an octave!) in a regular sampler simply does not sound realistic. Some sample libraries address this by providing some portamento samples but these are fixed to a particular range, at a particular speed for each sample. It's also clumsy because you have to switch samples when you want to do that. Stretch resynthesises the original sample so that you can perform wide pitch sweeps at whatever speed and interval you like, in realtime.

2) Extending the range of sampled instruments. Stretch's unique pitch-shifting algorithm allows samples to be transposed far beyond usual while still maintaining a natural tone. Ever wanted to make that instrument play a few notes higher, but the high notes sounded squeaky like it was in a tape player at the wrong speed? That's usually because the top sample is being transposed too far, and you start to get "the chipmunk effect". Stretch solves that.

3) Changing the timbre of an instrument. Stretch can allow you to make adjustments to the timbre of an instrument, such as making a violin section darker or brighter, in a natural way. Regular samplers do this by adjusting a low-pass filter, but this can sometimes sound wrong (in extremely bad cases, it sounds like the instrument is processed through an electric synthesiser!). Stretch allows you to adjust the timbre in a way that often sounds more natural and more like an acoustic instrument.

4) Adjusting the speed of natural tremolo or vibrato. Regular samplers apply tremolo or vibrato by using LFOs to adjust the volume, pitch, or timbre of an instrument that was recorded totally flat (straight tone, not out of tune!). Often though, this does not sound natural because when an acoustic performer uses tremolo or vibrato, the sound of the instrument changes in complex ways. Recording the note flat (straight tone, not out of tune!) can also contribute to a lifeless overall vibe. On the other hand, Stretch takes the tremolo and/or vibrato naturally produced by the performer and uses that as a basis for adjustment. It doesn't add artificial modulation - it uses the performance that's already there. Of course, this approach results in sounds that are more natural and lifelike.

Hope that helps.

-Kim.

[smp]

Just curious here, but will there be a crossgrade from SS2 as well as ST2? I will admit that I'm a long way from affording Philharmonik anyway (just bought a house! ) but I am curious as to how much I will shell out when I do eventually buy it (and I will. How could I not? ). I'm sure it is more than worth MSRP, but it doesn't hurt to ask (and any discount adds up in Australian dollars )

-s

[Kim Lajoie]

Just curious here, but will there be a crossgrade from SS2 as well as ST2? I will admit that I'm a long way from affording Philharmonik anyway (just bought a house! ) but I am curious as to how much I will shell out when I do eventually buy it (and I will. How could I not? ). I'm sure it is more than worth MSRP, but it doesn't hurt to ask (and any discount adds up in Australian dollars )

-s

Not directly from SS2 to Philharmonik. There's a crossgrade from SS2 to ST2, and a crossgrade from ST2 to Philharmonik. It's designed so that ST2 becomes the core of your SampleTank library - because you can load ALL SampleTank instruments in ST2. If you only have Sonik Synth 2, then you can't load Philharmonik in the Sonik Synth 2 interface - you have to use them like two separate plugins. In that case, you're not buying an expander for your current setup, you're getting a completely separate package.

-Kim.

[smp]

Not directly from SS2 to Philharmonik. There's a crossgrade from SS2 to ST2, and a crossgrade from ST2 to Philharmonik. It's designed so that ST2 becomes the core of your SampleTank library - because you can load ALL SampleTank instruments in ST2. If you only have Sonik Synth 2, then you can't load Philharmonik in the Sonik Synth 2 interface - you have to use them like two separate plugins. In that case, you're not buying an expander for your current setup, you're getting a completely separate package.

-Kim.

Ah, so that's the logic behind the crossgrades. Fair enough too. ST2 isn't on my list of "must haves" so I guess I'll just have to settle for paying fair market price

-s

[Kim Lajoie]

ST2 isn't on my list of "must haves" so I guess I'll just have to settle for paying fair market price

-s

You should consider it though. Philharmonik on its own is going to retail at $499. The SS2->ST2XL crossgrade is $219 and the ST2->Philharmonik crossgrade is going to be $349... so you can get ST2XL and Philharmonik for $568. If you're going to get Philharmonik anyway, that's like adding ST2XL for only $69. If that's not a killer deal, I don't know what is.

-Kim.

[zai]

ST2 isn't on my list of "must haves" so I guess I'll just have to settle for paying fair market price

-s

You should consider it though. Philharmonik on its own is going to retail at $499. The SS2->ST2XL crossgrade is $219 and the ST2->Philharmonik crossgrade is going to be $349... so you can get ST2XL and Philharmonik for $568. If you're going to get Philharmonik anyway, that's like adding ST2XL for only $69. If that's not a killer deal, I don't know what is.

-Kim.

It is a GREAT deal...and of course...then you spend $99 more to get the ST2.1 upgrade as well...2 DVDs worth of new materials (right?) Will there be a brand new sampled Grand Piano? hehe...can't have TOO much of the piano here....

$667...ST2XL + Philharmonik + ST2.1

Great deal indeed...you're basically all set...and right, you have SS2 as well...now the collection is complete...wait, then there's Studiophonik coming...and that "soon-to-be-announced-drum-thingie". :p

I'm going to spending some money very soon...that's all I know....

Zai