Hi everybody,
For some time now, I've been experimenting with classical guitar. My current project is to create an accompaniment for a choir live performance of a few songs from Taizé. To do justice to these songs, the guitar should sound realistic (therefore my choice VSL) and very soft.
I would like to share my ideas and would like to get some feedback from the more experienced programmers.
- so far I have four different independent instances of VSL classical guitar. One each for the three strings G H and E and a forth for the three strings E A and D.
- The reason for having a separate instance for each of the three high strings (G, H and E) is twofold: it helps me to see what a true guitar can actually do and what it can't. Second, it allows me to use performance legato samples without worrying about polyphony (I don't use performance legato for the lower chords). For these strings, I am using either the slow repetition samples at velocity 1 to 55 (mainly because I like the soft sound of the repetition samples), alternatively, I am using the performance legato.
- For the strings E, A and D, I am using the sustain noVib samples, mainly velocity 55 and lower, occasionally at mf.
There are still some issues on which I would like to hear your opinion:
- in the legato samples, some notes (some intervals) sound more "harsh" than others, particularly in contrast to the soft repetition samples. Often the first "legato" note sounds softer than the following legato notes. Interestingly, some more uncommon scales (e.g. Eb major) sound more homogenous than the more common ones. Currently I am trying to adjust these "harsh" notes by applying a filter, but I am not happy with this workaround. Is there another workaround?
- I find it funny that - even for single notes - the repetition and the legato samples sound much better for the higher strings than the sustain samples, while, in turn, the sustain samples sound much better for the lower strings. Does this make sense? Is there an explanation for this or is this just a matter of taste?
- is it possible to obtain the sound characteristic of a guitar played at a higher fret?
- what is the purpose of the AB-switch? Probably I am doing something wrong, but I can't really tell the difference.
