Not only does Guy's composition and arrangement and Roompack 7 sound amazing on this track, but I'm curious which libraries were used as it all gels so incredibly well.

Thanks, Robert

OK, so after a stroll around the kitchen and a coffee I sorted it. While MIR Pro 3D went through an iLok activation step after installation, the RoomPacks didn't. The need to activate the RoomPacks didn't show until I actually logged in (not just opened) to my iLok account and there they were highlighted awaiting activation. The eLicencer (vs iLok) error message wording was also a little distracting perhaps.

Anyway, like so many have already said, even in stereo this new version sounds SO much more open and sweeter!. I need to put aside some serious time to find my way around it.

HI,

I haven't seen this reported elsewhere so it's obviously me. I used Vienna Assistant to successfully update MIR Pro to 3D and my 3D RPs 1 and 2 (Win 10). Regardless of where I put these RoomPack folders and set Preferences locations accordingly, I get the same "Unavailable" message below (the message also references eLicenser not iLok?).

I also noticed that the path delimiters are correct when I select a folder (e.g. D:\VSL\RP1 MIR 3D Vienna Konzerthaus - ilok) in preferences, but they display in reverse (i.e. D:/VSL/RP1 MIR 3D Vienna Konzerthaus - ilok) when I go back in. Old projects however do seem to bring up a default venue anyway (?). Any assistance much appreciated, and apologies in advance for any RTFM feedback I may deserve..

-------------------------

No RoomPack Available

---------------------------

Vienna MIR Pro 3D cannot access RoomPacks. Please check the following:

- You have installed at least one RoomPack

- A valid license for the RoomPack(s) is available on your USB eLicenser

- The correct RoomPack Data Folder is set in Vienna MIR Pro 3D Preferences (Options -> Preferences -> Vienna MIR Pro).

---------------------------

Thanks,

Robert

I know this is an old thread but it just saved my sanity as I upgraded my Pro Tools rig from Win 7 to Win 10 today. Despite updating everyhing possible I had the same eLicenser error screen re service unreponsible appearing until I changed VE Pro to run as admin.

THANK YOU!

I enjoyed this immensely, both the composition and sound. Thanks for sharing!

Hi,

Apologies for my lack of detailed investigation notes on this but I've not used the Vienna Suite Analyzer for a while. I'm now on Pro Tools 11 and tried to add it to a master track (and tried it on other tracks as well) and while it loaded fine and all the controls appear to work, there is no response to the audio data displaying. I tried a few of the presets, still nothing. I know it did work at one stage but haven't tried it since moving to PT11. I could of course be having a stupid mental blank, but is there anything else obvious I should try? BTW, I'm on the very latest version of everything including Vienna Suite (just updated a few days ago).

Edit: next day. boot up, all fine. I have no idea what sequence of events led to the display disappearing but will try to identify a pattern if it happens again.

Thanks.

Since you're running a slave I assume we're talking VE Pro. PT11/VE Pro works just fine here at 512 (or even 256 at times), I do run some things from SSD and am not running a slave (modest i7 with 24Gb RAM). While you say "is there any way" they can work together, I say most definitely there is, and for most people they do play nice together - not sure what is unique about your set up. To say the software doesn't work is rather a stretch tbh

Thank you so much for doing that, you've just validated once again my investment in VSL

This functionality would be great but for different reasons in my case. I've built a small chamber ensemble that I use as the core of my template with Solo Strings taking the first chair spots. It would be great just to have the DS players I use on my SSD with the rest on my regular drive.

Thank you so much for doing this Beat! To my ears there isn't a huge difference between Chamber and DS here, but there is enough to validate my own decision to use Solo and DS as the core of my chamber ensemble template (rather than Chamber and Solo). The ability to flow in and out of divisi is of course an added flexibility with this configuration.

Thanks for posting the cello comparison Claude. I've agonised over this for ages as I have Solo, Chamber and Dimension Strings and looked for every way to get the best out of them all, singularly and in combination. More words I know, but I've settled on blending Solo and DS for a Chamber size template using Solo as the first chair. My reasoning:

1 I find the timbre of DS on their own to sound a little "squashed", particularly the Cellos. Putting Solo Strings in front of them restores some of the up front, raw sonic characteristic while DS provides the complexity and thickening. Note on MIR - Solo and DS seem to behave very differently in MIR, I need to set Solo much closer to the mic to get the blend.

2 With this combination I can build each section in two or three passes (Solo first chair then DS) to blur the attack and dynamics, a critical feature in giving the illusion of realism in my view.

3 With this set up I can move freely in and out of divisi as required.

There are parts of each library I particularly love (i.e.Chamber Cellos and Basses,  DS Violins, Violas and Basses, Solo Violin and Cello).

Thanks for a very interesting topic, if I can find some time to make an exposed track with my set up I'll do it.

Hmm, I just made the mistake (in a good way) of downloading the DS Basses preview for a listen. The pressure is on guys, these sound totally delicious!!

I know from the number of tracks you've posted that you've invested heavily with your time and enthusiasm to put these together with DS and I really commend you on that commitment. Having said that, and with the sincerest wish to respond constructively, I have to ask if you use "real" orchestral reference tracks to compare with as you're assembling these tracks and if you record/mix on decent monitors? To my ears this is a very long, long way from realism. You are well within your rights to say "OK, let's hear you do better" and I have nothing to counter that with, except to admit that I couldn't post anything like this and ask others to listen to it. Really, really, sincerely sorry.

While your question is perfectly reasonable, there are probably more appropriate "neutral" forums than this one to ask questions about competitor product comparisons. You are likely to get very biased opinions here

In general I think of most other strings libraries as "reasonable samples enhanced by great rooms", while I think of VSL as "great samples played in any room I like" (with MIR). It all depends in my view if you always want your strings to sound the same (I don't), or if you're prepared to buy numerous libaries from numerous companies, each for a unique purpose (I'm not).

Edit: Another thing to consider is quality, It seems that many strings libraries are released as buggy, incomplete products and they use paying customers to beta test them (they spin it as getting customers involved).

Just wanted to say thanks for a very fast and, as usual, a completely uneventful download and installation experience. Your commitment to excellence is superb!

Thanks

Robert

Has anyone got to the bottom of this and found the root cause? I'm on a Windows 7 PC and I've updated Pro Tools (now 11.1) and VE Pro, and every other plug-in, and all Windows updates to try to avoid Pro Tools hanging on close when VE Pro is open. The perplexing thing is the crash log sometimes shows Pro Tools as the app crash and at other time VE Pro. Not a big issue, but would be nice to get back to my old world where PT 10 and VE Pro didn't exhibit this behaviour. I can send some crash data in but if there is answer already available I didn't want to waste anyone's time.

Thanks

Robert

Thanks for the information Chuck, very much appreciated. TBH, I came across your track while considering one of the latest string libraries on the market to supplement my VSL strings. After hearing your track I thought "why would I bother, I already have all the tools I need, just need to get better at using them".

All the best,

Robert

Thanks for refreshing this thread, I totally missed this beautiful rendition the first time araound. Really lovely work Chuck, I'd be very interested to know which specific libraries and processing plug ins were involved in your rich string sound. It absolutely shines to my ears, even in the context of the "latest and greatest" competitor strings libraries now on the market.

While I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say William, I still believe a few more dedicated Orchestral Strings demos that illustrate similar material to that which recent competitors are presenting, would be worthwhile for potential customers. Sometimes, unfortunately, words are not enough.

I posted a similar query a while ago, and with a few new string libraries now on the market it would be great to get a sense of how Orchestral Strings (on its own or maybe mixed with DS) stands up in context, especially with MIR. I totally enjoy and appreciate the sound and flexibility (and lack of nasty surprises!) of the Solo, Chamber and DS strings that I have with VI Pro and MIR, and I get a good sense of Orchestral Strings capability with the SE version that I have. Given the price of the Orchestral Strings bundle, even with my SE discount, a few more recent demos would tip me over the line and keep me from potentially wasting my money on other products that I may potentially regret.

There are many very talented people on this forum and this track may be far too lightweight for most of you. But, having found my way back into music over the past couple of years I've finally managed to pull something together. It's not perfect, but hopefully not the worst thing you've ever heard. The reason for posting here is that apart from Omnisphere, Trilian and some Pro Tools instruments and percussion, everything else is VSL - including all the mixing and mastering plugins from Vienna Suite and MIR (and nothing else). I am totally in love with ORF Funkhaus Wien as my favourite MIR venue, and Vienna Suite's Hybrid Reverb Scoring Stage B for "glue". Strings are Solo, DS and Chamber Strings.

Anyway, for better or worse (especially on Soundcloud!), here is the first track I've written, performed and produced in over 15 years

https://soundcloud.com/robertcooksier/ice-breaker-1

How often we hear from fans of other developers "xx is about to be, or has just been, released and it is hands down the greatest thing since oxygen, omg, omg!!" - and then later - "I wish the legato was better, I wish there were more articulations, I wish it was more even in volume, I wish, I wish...." . I prefer "Do it once, do it right, and probably even - do it quietly and let it speak for itself". I don't have the time or the inclination to be a paying beta tester/customer or the victim of clever social media marketing strategy. I'll also put Spectrasonics in the same category as VSL - all class! Thank you, thank you - OK, just had to get that off my chest

I like to come here once in a while and just vent my praise for VSL, particularly after being on other forums and hearing the "latest and greatest" from competing products. I may indeed be deluded but, really, I still haven't heard anything that compares or that delivers even close to the same astonishing flexiblity. OK, feel better now....thanks.

William, that is one of most inspired posts I've read for quite some time - if only everyone could put away their "puffy chests" for a while and see things this way. Music is a human endeavour at all levels. I have sat listening to the most amateurish live music at times and watched the faces of so many in the audience who were thoroughly enjoying it. Who loses? Me, not them.