Here's a subject I think is worth discussing.

At Namm Gary Garritan was showing off his new Violin solo morphing product - makes it possible to go from vibrato to non-vibrato samples *within* a sustained note without the crossfade sounding like a chorus effect. The demo online is very impressive:

http://www.gpo-uploads.com/StradivariLarge.mpg

What is particulary useful about this is that instead of having to program it with a whole bunch of separate tracks in a sequencer, you can do it in real time under mod wheel (or whatever) control.

Part of this is a technical breakthrough, but part of it is also a smarter sort of performance tool.

So far I have not heard a better sample library than VSL overall, but it remains a big commitment to learn and use.

That's why I think there is room for improvement in the dept. of a smarter perf. tool. especialy for those of us who can already play an instrument seriously, it would be nice to use our already developed musical skills in a more direct manner.

Ideas that come to mind are:

The perf. tool does some analysis (à la Synful) to save the user having to switch patches manually.

The perf. tool responds to some midi controller or other, say to change from portamento mode to repetition mode, again without having to set up new tracks, etc.

It seems to me that the future lies in hybrid technology like this, based on sampling (where VSL is king) but making input easier, and more musically immediate.

I'd be interested to hear other ideas in this direction ...

Alan
http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/Belkin/e.index.html

All I can say at the moment is: We _do_ listen. We _don't_ sleep.

All the best,

Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library

I agree that if some sort of an external performance tool is necessary, it would be helpful if it was able to change modes within a single channel via command. The thing is, I'm not sure an external tool isn't already becoming obsolete. If i could avoid it now, I would (actually I already can but don't want to spend the time translating legato samples into iMIDI rules in GigaStudio). For all else, repetition and alternation, I've already converted those samples and no longer use the Performance Tool in those modes - precisely to keep instruments on a single staff (a.k.a. midi channel) for scoring.

The Garritan example seems like another case in point. It wasn't realy clear in the demo whether the vibrato is actually increasing in intensity as the modulation increases. If it isn't anything more than that, it can be done directly in GigaStudio now by setting up a patch where layers are triggered by the mod wheel but hard splice into each other rather than fade. Maybe not the greatest way to explain it, but more obvious in the crossfade editor in the GS Edit application.

Thanks for bearing with us.

/Dietz - Vienna Symphonic Library

Obviously the Perf Tool can use improvement, great though it is. In general, I strongly agree that the more it can be made to do WITHIN a single track the better. Using EXS24 means I have to have a separate track just to play a trill, for crying out loud. That whole separate trill track eats up one of the available EXS instances.

Now, I know that's not even a Perf Tool instrument (the trill), but I just use it as an example. I have not yet had an instrument (e.g., flute) that did not need to be split into repetition, legato, trill and dynamic layer tracks.

So, it may not just be the programming and features of the Perf Tool itself, but also the design of the EXS instruments. Perhaps they can be made to include many articulations in addition to those in performance-tool-only instruments.

Anyway, we're waiting with baited breath.

- Paul