So far I've found that VSL's software is behaving perfectly normally in Big Sur; it's other aspects of this MacOS that lead me to getting annoyed, nervous and uncomfortable. It's hard to foresee myself doing anything creative in Big Sur any time soon - the muse just does not pay visits in those kinds of circumstances. (Remember when and why Macs were easily and by far the favoured choice of creatives? Man, I miss Steve Jobs.)

By all means upgrade now; but as Paul recommends, I too suggest upgrading into a partition (or external bootable drive), ensuring you can easily dual-boot between Big Sur and your current MacOS build. I'm certainly not suggesting this is necessary in case VSL software misbehaves in Big Sur; I've not found any evidence indicating it might. I'm advocating this approach so that users may avoid a possible risk of creative block lasting for, well, who knows how long? I'm much happier and more relaxed being able to dual-boot, not only because I can go back to High Sierra easily and get on with my work there, but also because I don't feel trapped in Big Sur - I can limit my time in there to small doses.

(Optimism alert!) Here's hoping MacOS Monterey turns out to be a far more congenial platform for our creative work and enjoyment.

[Edited 25/7]

Paolo, I have quite a collection of Logic versions; swapping 'backwards' between them has sometimes been a matter of necessity for me and rarely presented any serious problems - other than simply not being able to fulfil a more recent function (but that didn't usually bother me too much since I work chiefly in the Environment, which has hardly changed at all during the last 20 years).

(Oh and there's no need to pay any heed to the specious pest who mendaciously tries to smear and cry wolf at every opportunity; he's already been busted for doing that here and elsewhere).

Up until this new rule, opening a Logic project in an older Logic Pro version in some cases (as you mentioned) just flagged up a notification advising that the project was made in a later version; but generally it was ok. One big exception was the impossibility of opening a Logic Pro X project in Logic Pro 9 (in a MacOS capable of running Logic 9).

Logic was admirable in the old days (I have in mind LAP 3.5 F) for always making every effort to carry on manfully as best it could in the face of any sort of adversity; unlike Cubase which in those days tended to fall over at the slightest problem, often taking the computer down with it. (That was before Steinberg replaced huge chunks of Cubase's old code with pristine new code from Nuendo.) But nowadays Logic's behaviour is more like that of millennial 'script kiddies' - including some not as young but with similar gross lack of maturity, good sense, empathy, responsibility and intestinal fortitude.

Abnormality is the new normality. These 'script kiddies' in particular nowadays just do not seem to care - or even know - that they're incapable of reading anyone else's feelings. Their software code, and their posts in so-called 'social' media, reflect and ultimately betray their sociopathically narcissistic mentality. I wouldn't trust them to code a TV remote control device, let alone a DAW. Over the years I've known and worked with very many software professionals, many of them real adepts and a pleasure to work with. And I've had to deal with 'script kiddies'. I learnt to know the difference the long, hard way. These days however, it appears the proportion of adepts in that profession is alarmingly small.

So today we're already in, erm, "interesting times"; God only knows what lies ahead.

I have a happy dream that one day Apple will lose, big time, to a huge class-action lawsuit that calls out their fraudulent use of the word "Pro" in Logic Pro. Lolol.

Now I'd better shaddap and offer my apologies to VSL for veering so far off course from VSL topics.

In the Help files for Logic Pro 10.6.3 I came across this bombshell under the "Work with projects/Save projects" section:-

"Important: After a project is saved as a Logic Pro project, it can no longer be opened in earlier versions of Logic Pro."

At the very least, this means some professional content creators will have to keep and use multiple versions of the Logic Pro application in order to provide a Logic project deliverable that matches the Logic app version currently in use by a client.

Also, not yet sure how this rule may be accommodated in everday usage of Logic Pro, in terms of always being ready and able to roll back - without losing work - if new issues are encountered in a new version of Logic Pro.

Just another nightmare from those delightful masters of the universe in Cupertino.

What's it like being a godlike, perfect corporation, Apple?

Thanks for the helpful update, Paul. But I still have a big worry. Will the new iLok Licensing system let me dual-boot my computer?

If you'll indulge me, there's a bit of a back story to this.

Besides the pain of having just done a clean upgrade from High Sierra, I'm still reeling from my horror in discovering what Big Sur is about. Apple have pretty much dropped the last vestiges of their coy pretences and now their self-image is unmistakably on show in Big Sur:- they are our feudal lords; we are their bonded serfs. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos suddenly look like nice, warm-hearted philanthropists!

Long story short, I really need to win back some latitude.

To do that, I'm planning to use my iMac as a dual-boot system (perhaps "multi-boot" is a better description) for the foreseeable future: either to go back to High Sierra for serious work (I'm back there right now); or forwards to test my stuff in Big Sur, Monterey, etc (or else sideways into Windows using Boot Camp so I can enjoy time out with some great video games once more).

Will your iLok system allow us to move all our licenses back to the cloud temporarily, then reboot into a different OS on a different storage drive, then download our licenses back from the cloud into the current OS system drive, ready for use without further ado?

My big hope is in realising that those of your pro customers who travel and use several different computers, already have a similar need for conveniently 'mobile' VSL licenses.

Steve, a quick listening test I've just done with the  01 VA-PI_RE_fast-rep_140 patch suggests there are 2 layers: at velocities = 0 to 88, and 89 to 127. I don't know if that's true for all cases of every fast-rep patch.

It's a good question. Although I happen to have Dim Strings I in both VI and Synchronized versions, for my other Synchronized libraries I depend on the equivalent VI user manuals to give me an idea of how many velocity layers I might expect (since the Synchronised manuals are all way too simplistic). But in this particular case, as you've noticed, the VI manual is strangely silent on how many layers are in the RE fast-rep patches; I'm wondering why.

Quickest way to test how many layers is to set Velocity X-Fade On, Release samples Off, and play a single note on a single patch while looking at the Voices numerical readout. In our case here the number shown is 2, which means 2 layers because for X-Fade to work, all velocity layers must always be triggered by each Note-On, no matter what the note's velocity happens to be.

Of course it's also possible to find out how many layers - though involving much more faffing around -  by playing or programming single notes over a range of velocities and just listening closely (setting DynR=0 can make this much easier).

Paul, thanks for your elucidation on the thinking and practice that went into this great new library. My assumption about whole-tone sampling being the general rule has been duly updated. My faith, confidence and pleasure in VSL's general approach to the quality, sense, taste, care and craftsmanship put into the making of their libraries, are yet again reaffirmed.

TheModalRealist, much of my old audiophile attitude is still with me; I'm listening to a big mockup I'm working on through Sennheiser HD600 cans via a Focusrite Clarett audio interface and Neve headphone amp, with 64-bit summing enabled in Logic. I'm hearing a convincing full modern symphony orchestra, made of almost entirely VSL libraries, with 16-16-12-12-8 string sections - all SyDimension Strings - in which I've used the (whole-tone) transpose trick to reach this size (without phasing) whilst retaining the capability of going into 2, 3 or 4 part divisi. This means that in some cases a string sample can be re-pitched by 1, 2 or even 3 semitones from its recorded root pitch (as well as the microtuning introduced by my orchestral intonation subsystem). Am I hearing any unwelcome artifacts or effects because of that? No, not as far as I can tell. What I do know is, the magic is working for me and that's what matters to me above all. Hoping this may be a helpful perspective for you.

On listening extremely closely to a few of my new Synchron Brass instruments and ensembles (with Humanization off), here and there I've been able to spot a single sample per whole-tone zone, as I expected.

In the past I've investigated this by looking at recorded chromatic scales in Melodyne, where sample/zone usage can be seen clearly. But nowadays I'm fairly sure one sample per whole-tone zone is pretty much the industry standard for decent orchestral libraries. I don't know about VSL's extremely high quality piano libraries though.

I for one am happy that semitone zones are not the general rule - considering not only the amount of SSD I'd need, but also the prices that sample-library makers would have to charge to cover their editing staff's time spent on each library.

A lovely piece of US musical theatre (well perhaps I should write "theater", lol, cuz it's from an authentic American production).

Plenty of theatrical narrative here, and I could easliy imagine this performance coming from the orchestra pit in a beautifully ornate and intimate old theatre house. Very clearly articulated, your programming is exemplary. Your mix too is very attractive and appositely dramatic.

An all-round excellent job! Bravo!

Ah Jos, this darling little piece spoke directly and easily to my heart and lifted my spirits - just when I was in serious need of a lift (battling with dreadful technical problems in my work, internet keeps dropping to dial-up speeds, and my sleep was badly disrupted last night). 

Using such simple elements, you've created a tiny powerhouse of musical enjoyment. I've listened all through 4 times and it spoke freshly to me each time. It has the magic. It is something pretty special.

Wonderfully well done; thank you.

Blimey! Hadn't noticed Timbre Adjust is now a feature of the Synchron Player and works with all its libraries.

Had suspected that VSL used some degree of synthetic timbre adjustment in the BBO mega brass library I bought, and thought it might be a useful thing for other libraries too. Well I should have known VSL was of course already way ahead with that idea. Now it's here!

I've just tried it out in SyzDimStrings, SyzDimBrass and SyzWoodwinds and it seems to work very well and convincingly everywhere -  it's so very nicely and skilfully done.

One huge advantage for SyzDimStrings in particular is that voice count is greatly reduced when using Timbre Adjust, compared to Vel XF.

(Note that Vel XF must be off before Timbre Adjust can have full effect.)

Very well done and my thanks to all in VSL who brought us this lovely new feature!

Many thanks to you VSL, and most especially for the very attractive VI-to-Synchron crossgrade pricing in this launch!

I now have Appassionata Strings I & II in both VI and Synchron versions.

In the new SyzdAp Sordino I particularly like the "Ringing" and "Cut Release" dimension options for Fast Repetitions (measured); something that's easy to achieve in VI Pro by switching Release Samples on or off as required. [Feature Request: I do hope we may eventually see this same feature, or something functionally similar, in a future update of SyzdDim Strings I & II (whilst I appreciate it would be a much bigger editing task in those libraries of course) - ideally in both tremolo and measured fast repeats where release ringing can sometimes be more than a little unwelcome in quiet and muted passages.]

I'm presently also considering SyzChamber Strings Sordino. It would be a very welcome and useful addition to my SyzDim Strings (full) template - most especially for when the Va or Vc section is to play in 4-part divisi.

Thanks Konrad! A very welcome update. I've no doubt it will, for one thing, make the chores of obtaining and maintaining desired voice-balances much quicker and easier.

As for creative use of modulating note-by-note volume by means of velocity, I'd offer a word of caution.

During my early experiments with orchestral intonation I found out the hard way that the pianoforte is certainly not a suitable instrument for intoning in any way other than traditionally. Why? I'm convinced it's because we are all so deeply accustomed to the sound and tuning of the piano that even small departures from that tuning can be instantly noticeable - tending to stick out like sore thumbs and so causing unwelcome disruptions in the listening experience. Somewhat similarly, though for fewer people, we are not accustomed to hearing substantial note-by-note modulation of volume in pipe organ performances.

It's the old case of being mindful that the human organism is enormously adaptable - including our hearing - and that anyone can, in isolation as an individual, all too quickly become accustomed to almost anything within the vast scope of our adaptabilities. And yet in very large populations (which include our listeners), deeply embedded "normalities" tend to change only very slowly - except in the case of a dramatically successful innovation. Call it culture, call it what you will but it's something very real and worth treating with cautious respect.

That said, I'll certainly not stand in the way of attempted innovations in music. "Naturalisation" means the innovation is successfully internalised by many people, all the cultural gatekeeping has been satisfied and the world has duly changed for those people; it is inherently a democratic, distributed, cultural process, hence it is also - most especially in the case of music - beyond any individual's power to impose or prevent. Moreover, it's not without its own sanctions, positive and negative; so one might add, "careful with that axe, Eugene".

Until now I'd never really thought much about figured bass notation beyond the basics I'd learned from studying Rameau's wonderful treatise years ago. But thanks to your work and explanation it now appears to me (if you'll forgive my naïveté) that some composers would perhaps have used figured bass notation in order to reach out towards best possible universality, knowing that, as you say, musicians could easily improvise - in apposite ways - their own versions of full arrangements. And dance is perhaps the most universal of all musical genres.

I've no doubt musicians understand very well that we humans are all inclined to be parochial creatures at heart, in that we each tend to favour communications (verbal and non-verbal) couched in our own most familiar idiom. Hence in the case of working from no more than written melody & figured bass, an ensemble of players would naturally and intuitively improvise their arrangements as apposite to the natural idioms and ambiances of the milieux familiar to them in their performances.

Thus I suppose, in principle at least, one dance piece written using the shorthand of one or two lines of melody with figured bass (together with, as you said, a visual representation of the dance's 'configuration'), could be welcomed as warmly and enthusiastically in, say, an 18th century central European aristocrat's salon, as in a 21st century country dance gig somewhere in the North American continent - all depending on what the musicians make of it at the particular time and place. (But I do appreciate that mostly these pieces, as you noted, are already somewhat fitted for particular kinds or 'classes' of milieux.)

For me, fascinating as well as educational thoughts; and I thank you sincerely for that, Jos.

A high-accuracy fake; perhaps one of the very best out there of the Bond Theme in the the digital emulation game. You have my congratulations for that.

But alas, to be frank, in the context of the video it makes me uncomfortable and somewhat depressed. It reminds me inescapably that I'm also in the fakery game; yet even so, I'd really rather not associate myself (nor indeed VSL) in any way with knock-off watchmakers in China. I do hope you can understand that.

Anyway, well done for producing an excellent fake; great strings, great brass, good drums; and all very expressive. And very well done Richard Scorgie for nailing Vic Flick's original electric guitar part so well - hopefully a real element in the production. Can this mockup pass serious listening as the real thing? Nah, no chance, but that's more a reflection of the current technical state-of-the-art in digitally emulating real performances of music.

Many thanks, Jos; I found this piece very endearing.

That surprised me; my tastes are usually miles away from the salon tradition. But this music is, broadly speaking, one vital element of a very special, universal and practically timeless cultural feature: namely, dance. My imagination and curiosity were kindled, filling in various scenes and trying to capture something of how it might have felt to be dancing to this piece in various different settings - rich and not so rich. Altogether very enjoyable!

I found out that this particular genre of music and dance - the Contradance - has been very long-lived; a fine example of un idiome culturel de la noblesse, par la suite adopté et adapté par le peuple - and for the best of reasons. There is courtliness and courtesy in this piece, and yet it's also warmly affable and relaxed, with an easy-going and inclusive charm; no 'hierarchical' sycophancy or pretentiousness getting in the way. For me, the timeless breadth of humanity addressed and invoked by this music in its cultural context is what counts above all.

A nice job for the VSL libraries you mentioned. And very well arranged and executed by you, Jos.

I was feeling somewhat too limited by the Hammond Organ-style registration preset keys and the Banks matrix keys. Yes there can be a lot of presets as it stands, but - call me insatiable - I wanted even more leeway.

So I fixed that - in Logic with VEP7.

At any moment while playing, I'm now able to select any one of 16 complete Great Rieger Organs, each having its own registration presets and responding on its normal keyswitches accordingly, and each can respond to all 5 MIDI channels appropriately. To do this I built a simple MIDI-controlled instrument-chooser in Logic's Environment.

I suppose I could have put all 16 organs in Logic, but for convenience I've popped them into one VEP7 instance and used 16 cloned AU3 VEP client plugins in Logic - all clones connected to the one VEP instance, each routing to a different VEP port.

The "organ chooser" I built in the Environment is dead simple. Note Ons from multiple MIDI keyboards on any channel are routed via a MIDI-controlled Cable Switcher to one of the 16 VEP client plugin clones, one clone for each organ on its own VEP port. And as old hands with the Environment will know, the important trick with cable-switching MIDI notes is to prevent hanging notes; so I've used the old method of sending all Note Offs to all instruments all the time. Job done. Also, any incoming MIDI CCs on any channel are routed along with Note ons to the one organ selected by the Cable Switcher.

A pic of my simple organ-chooser mechanism in the Environment is attached below. A Transformer is used to split Note-Offs from Note Ons, using the "Condition splitter (true -> top cable)" Mode, the Condition being Status = Note, and Velocity = 0. Each of the 16 output Monitors is cabled to one of the 16 Instrument Strip clones that have one AU3 VEP plugin inserted for all 16 clones; each clone is set to All MIDI channels and its own port number.

My old but still not too shabby 4.2 GHz 7700K CPU is coping at around 45% usage. I guess I could knock that usage down a bit by not using the factory-loaded audio fx plugins in every individual organ. [Edit: it's around 23% straight after launch but then some while later after some varied use, for some unknown reason it roughly doubles CPU usage suddenly and stays there].

The number of preset registrations I can set up and use with great ease now is just bonkers and I'm loving it!

[Edit] Just looked into the Organ Player somewhat deeper and nope, it's nowhere near MPE functionality; it has its own ways and means, not all of which are immediately obvious or intuitive.

[Edit] Wondering if the new Organ Player is anywhere near to MPE functionality. If so it might help many users understand better and quicker what this Player will, won't, should and shouldn't do.

I second Fratveno's Feature Request for a stepper. He's said it all for me also.

I've bought this superb library and ... well ... like Pyre admitted, tears have been involved for me too, as well as thrills, joy, inspiration and profound satisfaction. Thank you so very much, VSL.

I have a 61-note MIDI controller keyboard stacked closely above my main 88-note keyboard, and a 17-note Studiologic MP-117 pedal keyboard on the floor. These are enabling me to have tremendous fun with the the Great Rieger. I also have a Yamaha MFC10 MIDI foot controller board which includes a swell-type pedal, but I don't (yet) have enough clear floorspace to place it alongside the MP-117 so I might buy a separate MIDI swell pedal for now.

Also I've been trying out lots of multi-channel spatialisations, special Fx, etc, by routing the Organ Player's mix channels out to various aux channles in my DAW and - oh man - getting some really stunning results with my plugins. [Edit: When all factory audio fx are switched off there's no audible baked-in hall reverb at all!! So the Gt. Rieger library is infinitely accommodating for the user's own spatialisation setups ... and I am now seriously spellbound!]

I'm sure it must be illegal these days to have this much enjoyment, lolol.

Btw, I know it's very late (perhaps too late) to be suggesting this, but for a musical opener in one of your Great Rieger promo videos, VSL, can there be a better and more instant attention-grabber than the opening of this astounding piece by Max Reger (especially when played with the dramatic flourish of Roberto Marini, as here at the St Florian Basilika in Austria)?

https://youtu.be/f0uSpha5Ucc

Steve, I don't know why Syncrosoft was mentioned as it was above; that was officially discontinued (i.e. shut down permanently) by Steinberg on July 25th 2011. It's therefore safe to say we can ignore the spurious and irrelevant reference to Syncrosoft in the context asserted above.

Maybe this could serve as a rough indication or maybe not, but Steinberg continued supporting their old (Syncrosoft) License Control Centre for nearly 2 years after introducing their new eLLC as a replacement in Septenber 2009. 

In any case I'll wait for a reply or guidance from VSL on this matter, since they're in a far better position than any of us to know about Steinberg's commitment to future support for our current eLLC dongle-based licenses. Like you and no doubt many others, I'm also keen to have some reliable indication of how long before I must switch over.

OMG I'm in!! 

Even a cursory survey of the seriously well sampled libraries of great European pipe organs shows that this one is very competetively priced. And at this introductory offer it's a no-brainer!

Thanks to the excellent intro videos I'm already very happy with the general feel of the stops (and delighted with the monster 32-foot pipes). Also I really love what I've seen so far of VSL's new Organ Player - just so sensible, clear and intuitive.

One huge advantage of this organ library is of course the relatively short reverb times of the Wien Konzerthaus compared to large churches and cathedrals - it's so easy to lengthen shorter reverb tails exactly as desired with plugins.

Thanks for giving it a listen, Paolo.

Wagner's taste for theatrical affectation has always been somewhat beyond me; but in certain circumstances I can at least see choral sounds as fair game for a bit of cosmetic hocus-pocus. And if Tricky Dicky was alive today and he approved, well I'd certainly not complain. lol.

I've attached an MP3 demo of Ymir performing a capella, using this super wide spatialisation trick. They're singing my keyboard reduction of the first 4 bars of a very famous aria by Wagner, entirely in Just Intonation here - although this is not quite representative of orchestral intonation in the actual piece (Isoldens Liebestod).

(The last top note is pitched a tad too uncertainly at first; I could have fixed it in Melodyne but didn't bother.)

Btw I wouldn't dream of involving Ymir in the later part of this aria where the intimations are exclusively adult.

Just bought Ymir and it's a delight! The singing voices of those wonderful kids definitely have a magic all their own. I've owned the full Mars and Venus choirs for years, and they're good, but I don't recall ever being quite as bowled over by their sound as I am by Ymir.

Here's a quick trick I've just put in place for using Ymir in my (mainly) VSL Dimension orchestra template. I have a very particular spatialisation regime that uses binaural panning and algorithmic reverbs throughout this template, chiefly because I don't have the computing horsepower to use convolution reverb everywhere.

Although all the room mics in Ymir, especially when combined in various ways, sound truly lovely - as we've come to expect from Synchron Stage recordings - in this case I'm using just the left and right "Main" (Decca Tree) mics. I send this Main audio pair to two buses, in each of which I use a binaural panning plugin in which I first extract one side of the Main audio, then pan it binaurally by 60º; so my 2 direct paths are now 120º apart, each originating from one side of the Decca Tree. Then I feed each of these to its own algo reverb and apply maximum width to both, so their stereo reverb coronas spread into the middle and also extend way beyond 60º each side.

The Decca Tree L and R mic feeds are mutually phase-incoherent enough that my phase meter across the sum of the binaurally panned pair hovers very healthily around a mean neutral, while the goniometer shows super width, with or without the reverbs. It's way more natural than pushing the old Mid-Side trick to extremes. This trick just sounds ridiculously good!

[I'm sorry but please don't ask me to spell it all out and serve it up on a plate for you here - I don't think that would be fair to VSL in this forum. But I'm sure those who know what they're doing with audio and have some relevant plugins would know how to get it done their way. And I'm pretty sure they'll find it's magical too.]

Many thanks Jacques for affording me that perspective on your noble and passionate mission concerning the works of Boccherini. And yes, I also lament the untold mischief and harm inflicted on the arts by the poor intellectual integrity of all too many modern academics.

Please disregard my (now deleted) comments regarding your technical production - I have absolutely no wish to impede or add to the already dauntingly colossal amount of effort involved in your mission.

I find it so rare these days to encounter such admirable and inspiring passion.

Wishing you all good fortune in your endeavour.