KVR Audio

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:06 pm

VRSound seldom gets mentioned around here but I've had my eye on this soundware developer for a while now. I'm especially interested in the orchestral libraries. The developer is a bit stingy with mp3 demos but some of what's there sounds great. Some examples:

http://www.vrsound.com/GTO/Mr_Legato_Has_Lunch.mp3

http://www.vrsound.com/GTO/Superteaser.mp3

http://www.vrsound.com/GTO/Wolfgang_8_4.mp3

The string sections are rather small - clearly not geared towards the big Hollywood sound - but with a lot of character. The developer has used an interesting approach when sampling the strings. Blurb from the violins sample set:

A new concept of string sampling.
We sampled 2 x 2 chairs which can be mixed or used on their own. Chord voices can be split between chairs for more natural sounding harmonys. The ModWheel performs interesting crossfades between chairs and room positions. A feature that makes long sutained passages sound very real.

Here's a short passage where I think I can here this feature being used:

http://www.vrsound.com/GTO/Violins.mp3

Prices for the individual sample sets are reasonable but if you want to build a complete set of strings, brass and woodwinds it quickly adds up. I'd love to hear from anyone using these samples, what are your experiences concerning sound, useability a s o?

/Yoss

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:32 pm

Guess that's a "no", then. At least I got a few people to take a look.

Oh, well - I suppose I'll just have to buy them and be damned.

/Yoss

Lunatique · Post by **Lunatique** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:08 am

Just about all the examples sound like synth patches instead of an actual sample library. With the fiece competition among sample developers like VSL, EWQL, Garritan, Sonic Implants, Kirk Hunter..etc, this is almost...sad.

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 7:18 am

Lunatique wrote:Just about all the examples sound like synth patches instead of an actual sample library. With the fiece competition among sample developers like VSL, EWQL, Garritan, Sonic Implants, Kirk Hunter..etc, this is almost...sad.

Seriously?

I think that last violin section part sounds anything but ”synthy”. In fact, I think it sounds a lot more lively than most sampled string sections I’ve heard (and I’ve heard a lot) which is what made me interested in the first place.

I don’t think I’d use the VRSound libraries as my main source of orchestral samples but for layering with what I have I think it could be a very nice addition.

/Yoss

Götterfunke · Post by **Götterfunke** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:18 pm

I am a vrsound user. I have the piano 7, the saxes and the solo viola. Everything sounds a lot more lively than any of my other stuff. I use the piano for 2 years and it keeps delivering. I am still not bored with it. The solo viola is fantastic. I scored with it and the producer asked "who played the viola...?"
Lunatique what are you talking about?

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:54 pm

Thanks, Götterfunke – nice to hear from someone actually using these samples. Like I posted earlier, the “liveliness” of the mp3 demos is what attracted me in the first place so I was really surprised by Lunatique’s comment.

I was mostly looking at the string sections but if the solo strings are of the same quality I may go for the complete strings set. Not anytime soon, though - it doesn’t come cheap.

/Yoss

Lunatique · Post by **Lunatique** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:08 pm

Götterfunke wrote: Lunatique what are you talking about?

Have you guys ever listened to any of the example mp3's from the big boys of orchestral library development? Garritan Orchestral Strings? Vienna Symphonic Library? East West/Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Platinum/Gold? Sonic Implants Complete Orchestral Collections? The latest affordable library, Emerald, from Kirk Hunter? Miroslav Philharmonik? Or even Synful Orchestra? How about the small developers like Cosmo D's Soundbanks or Xsample?

I don't know about you, but to my ears, any of those libraries I mentioned sounds far, far superior to the example mp3's posted in this thread. There's no comparison at all in terms of expressiveness, lushness, realism, or sound quality. Even the MIDI sequencing techniques are far better. What I heard in the examples mp3's posted here sounded flat, drab, and synthy. It's just my humble personal opinion.

Yossarian · Post by **Yossarian** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 5:27 pm

Lunatique wrote: Have you guys ever listened to any of the example mp3's from the big boys of orchestral library development? Garritan Orchestral Strings? Vienna Symphonic Library? East West/Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Platinum/Gold? Sonic Implants Complete Orchestral Collections? The latest affordable library, Emerald, from Kirk Hunter? Miroslav Philharmonik? Or even Synful Orchestra? How about the small developers like Cosmo D's Soundbanks or Xsample?

I sure have - in fact, I own several of them.

I'm not looking to replace them with the VRSound samples but rather use them as an addition. I still don't get how you can find those violins flat, drab and synthy but I guess I'm not required to.

To my ears they are the exact opposite of flat and synthy, possibly because of the crossfade technique they've implemented which looks very interesting. Anyway, to each his own. I can definitely see these strings in my not too distant future.

/Yoss

Lunatique · Post by **Lunatique** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 4:31 am

Yossarian wrote: I still don't get how you can find those violins flat, drab and synthy but I guess I'm not required to.

It's probably a matter of personal taste, however, I think when a library is universally recognized and acclaimed for its quality, its name will get around, and will be mentioned in authoritative books like Paul Gilreath's Guide To MIDI Orchestration, major online sample library retailers, or even word of mouth between professional composers, but I haven't seen it mentioned in any of those situations, except for the first time in this thread. But anyway, it only matters that we use what we like, and that the results make us happy. It matters not what anyone else thinks.

Götterfunke · Post by **Götterfunke** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 9:27 pm

Most things in the artist community that are really exceptional are things created by outsiders. The main stream is not the always the best. But if you want your music to sounds like everybody elses you are welcome to use Garritan and such...
I do believe several big guys use vrsound. A firend of mine had the vrsound piano for a while and was reluctant to tell me what the piano was. I guess he didn't want to give away his "secret". It is very different from any other piano sample I have heard.

Lunatique · Post by **Lunatique** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 3:00 am

Götterfunke wrote: A firend of mine had the vrsound piano for a while and was reluctant to tell me what the piano was. I guess he didn't want to give away his "secret". It is very different from any other piano sample I have heard.

Although I understand his reasoning, I'm the type of person who'd rather help out the developer whose product I enjoy by spreading their name by word of mouth, than keeing it a secret thus indirectly keep their business down--which if everyone did that, could lead to them closing down. That would mean no more updates/new versions of products I enjoy. I think relying on your skill and talent to set yourself apart from the competition is much more important than withholding library names.

Debutante · Post by **Debutante** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 4:17 pm

VR Sound generally makes really good samples IMHO.

Anyone using VRSound orchestral sample libraries?