Vienna Symphonic Library Forum
Forum Statistics

182,016 users have contributed to 42,199 threads and 254,649 posts.

In the past 24 hours, we have 3 new thread(s), 10 new post(s) and 50 new user(s).

  1. Home
  2. General & Hardware
  3. Is the Performance Set Obsolete?

  • Is the Performance Set Obsolete?

    M
    M
    Some of you may have seen my other posts asking questions about VIs vs. the Pro Edition Performance Set. I have decided to ask another more general question to help me, and perhaps others, to make a decision about which to buy.

    Given some drawbacks about using the VIs without upgrading to new computers and software, I am wondering if the Performance Set is still a good alternative or whether the sound quality of the 24-bit samples in the VIs has made the Perf Set obsolete.

    Opinions?

    Thanks,
    Mike
  • D
    D
    Perhaps you should investigate the upgrade path from the performance set to VI as it may just end up being the same basic cost to get it first than go to VI at some point.

    Fact is that VI is 10 x's easier to use not harder and indeed maximizes your investment. Anyone who now uses VI is not looking back on the older editions because it's better in every way. Yes it sounds better, is more musical, more expressive, more complete, more everything.

    If for example you don't have the apassionata strings that might be a good purchase when it comes out. Or the winds as you mentioned before. A single package (even a small one like harp) will clue you into the merits of VI. Remember VI uses less ram so that's a plus as well when comparing it to Pro Ed.

    All of us are faced with buying new computers etc., when trying to make use of this new technology but that is unavoidable with the musical goals many of us have.
  • M
    M
    hi dave - i (again) agree with what you said here. i think it bears clarity though that even as the v.i. are certainly more musical than the pro edition out of the box, direct access at the sample level in the pro edition leaves a potential for musicality that exceeds the musicianship and experience of the programmer that is locked into the vienna instruments.

    it seems likely that we both decided to, upgrade in your case, and not in mine, for similar reasons of musicality. this certainly doesn't suggest that those using one version or the other are any more or less musical than a pianist using a steinway or bosendorfer. the bos has a few more notes and the v.i. a few more samples, but i've yet to hear anyone set the bar any higher than andy blaney did with that pro edition debussey.
  • D
    D
    Good points Martin. Very true about Andy Blaney's work as well. I should have qualified my remarks that for people like me who are not editing samples or good at making things lke perf-repititions work, VI is much easier to use. Also more musical in the sense that there are more articulations and features at your fingertips allowing for more musicality in that way. Repititions are automatic with even regular staccato patches so you automatically avoid machine gun effect to a greater degree even with the tool in PE which once again is more musical out of the box so to speak.

    However your point that people can do things in a highly musical way with the PE is very true so I gladly amend my remarks to read that VI is more musical out of the box.
  • F
    F
    last edited
    last edited

    @dpcon said:

    However your point that people can do things in a highly musical way with the PE is very true so I gladly amend my remarks to read that VI is more musical out of the box.


    But are you implying that VI permanently removes options that were possible with previous editions, simply because it no longer exposes the individual samples?

    If so, are those possibilities ones that will be missed by more experienced (or unconventional) users?
  • M
    M
    last edited
    last edited

    @dpcon said:

    However your point that people can do things in a highly musical way with the PE is very true so I gladly amend my remarks to read that VI is more musical out of the box.


    But are you implying that VI permanently removes options that were possible with previous editions, simply because it no longer exposes the individual samples?

    If so, are those possibilities ones that will be missed by more experienced (or unconventional) users?

    EXCELLENT point! I am both an experienced user and a rather unconventional user as I do mostly non-commercial contemporary "classical" composition. I'd like to here what VI users have to say about that as well.

    Mike
  • D
    D
    last edited
    last edited

    @fcw said:

    But are you implying that VI permanently removes options that were possible with previous editions, simply because it no longer exposes the individual samples?


    The option of real editing of samples that you find in Gigastudio are in fact not an option in VI. However there are editing features that do allow for a certain level of advantageous editing or scuplting of the sample. Not hardcore editing in the scientific sense.

    The expressive features in VI which are many outstrip GS considerably. This combined with many new articulations fullfills what many conventional instrument composers are looking for and simply not available in GS. Your needs may be different so maybe you can't do without true editing as I cannot do without the numerous new articulations in VI.

    Researching the issue as you are will no doubt lead to the proper decision.