Being a user of Avid, Slate Drums, and UVI, I will prefer using the existing "zero downtime" service rather than paying for two different "protection" systems. Even though that I'll end up throwing out 4 eLicensers.

Though I do wish that there was an option for machine activation (like Adobe, DxO, CCC, Waves, etc.) -maybe there are piracy issues with this type of licensing. IDK...

Originally Posted by: SamFromOttawa

I ended up messing around with the EQ for a whole day and i found one that works really well to give the Steinway some warmth and mellowness without losing too much presence, the high shelf eq i tried first cut too much presence for my liking and it made the piano sound a little muffled so after a lot of trial and error i found that a Peak eq cut at 9k is the magic number, then you can change the GAIN/Q controls to choose how mellow you want it to sound, at the moment i'm running -11.5 gain and around 0.70 to 0.90 Q, i'll try to attach screen shots of both my old and new Eq if i can figure out how to do it on this post so that people can try them. 

Hi there. I'm doing something similar, EQ-wise. The middle up to ~C5 is always pretty bonky and strident. I think we're basically employing a de-esser effect. The other places these pianos need help is ~250 Hz and 700 Hz. It's all pretty manageable, including deactivating the close "condenser" mic and pulling the most distant "room" mics way down, using only the UAD Console to insert a plate reverb to keep the processing load outside of Synchron, VEP7, and the DAW.  What I can't fix is a few unisons that were out of tune when they were sampled.

Do you want to build a PC? I've had a lot of success with my Gigabyte Z390 Designare with an i9 9900KS, 64GB RAM, RX580, SATA SSDs for the system and general media and a Samsung 970 PCIe for the sample libraries. It's also super-quiet and air-cooled.

If I were building a new system, I'd either wait for the soon-to-be-released new stuff.

If I didn't need Thunderbolt (and I won't buy another Thunderbolt interface) I'd consider the AMD stuff.

If I were building another Intel system, I'd wait for the Alder Lake stuff. My next build's CPU will have at least 12 cores.

Originally Posted by: Falcowe

Originally Posted by: murphy761

Mine is only creating a new blank VEP7 slot next to the pre-loaded/preserved orchestra template. It only works with Pro Tools and Logic X when running everything on a single machine.

Hey Murphy, I would suggest to also try manually reconnecting the instances rather than relying on the automatic method. However in your case I might have some guesses as to why this is happening. First I would guess that the name of your instance has changed. And I would guess that you changed the name of your instance in VEPro after closing your session. If you changed the name of the instance after you closed/saved your DAW session then when the session is opened again from its last saved state it tries to find the instance it was last connected to but can’t since the name was changed. So instead it makes a new instance with the name it last remembers on the same IP address that it did successfully connect to VEPro on. I had a similar issue when I discovered a space at the end of one of my instances, removed it and then tried to open a session only to have a new instance show up with what looked like the same name. I was confused until I figured out the names for VEPro must be exactly the same on the DAW and VEPro side of things otherwise they will not reconnect properly. This actually is the only logical explanation I can think of why an instance wouldn’t reconnect if saved properly. Hopefully this helps you figure what is going on when your issues.  

Hello and thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, manual reconnection does not work. The VEP7 insert in Pro Tools always creates a blank new instance. Reinstalling the VEP7 software on the slave MacOS computer did the trick until it "degraded" again. After a few times of this, I'm now running everything from my main "brute force" DAW machine (VEP7 Server, Logic X, Pro Tools 2021.7, UAD). Doing this also improved the System Delay as reported in Pro Tools. I think there may be an issue with the most recent VEP7 release. Strange stuff.

Mine is only creating a new blank VEP7 slot next to the pre-loaded/preserved orchestra template. It only works with Pro Tools and Logic X when running everything on a single machine.

Same issue over here with Windows 10. I'm going to revert back a version and see if it makes a difference.

Also, ViennaEnsemblePro-macOS-7.0.1056 is not connecting to a known and good VEP7 instance on an identical system over ethernet, whether connected directly or over an unmanaged switch.

I too have noticed this. It was probably a compromise in order to allow for the different room mic variations. Personally, I'd take the Steinway D-274 dry-sampled in mono with an SM57 if I could get the full-length samples of the D-274. But that's up there with the "...why not 48KHz?" question.

Hello Paul.

Until this gets solved with improved multi-threaded processing (user-selectable thread counts) please indicate a link for the most stable version so that many of us can roll back. My earliest one saved is 1.1.1522. Please advise.

Hello Blatboy,

Please share your network settings for your ethernet card such as negotiation speed, duplex, and MTU settings. Thanks in advance.

I'm assuming you're using the IAC bus to use MIDI over ethernet with less latency.

Is it a latency issue? I think there's been a locked-in buffer increase in the last update. –At least that's how it's playing out in Pro Tools 2019.12 and the UAD Apollo 8 via Thunderbolt on a top-spec 2018 Mac Mini. The slave computer is via Gb ethernet with an i9 9900KS with 64GB RAM and 2x PCIe Samsung 970's.

I rolled back to VEP v7.0.926 because it would not respect my latency buffer settings:

My Pro Tools buffer is set to 128 on the Mini, yielding 3.36 ms at 24/44.1 KHz is useful to me.

The latest update locks me in at 14.46 ms @ 24/44.1 KHz and 14.46 ms  @ 24/96 KHz, even if I go into each VSL app and reset the buffer to 128. I've also disabled all VEP7 plugins except for the instruments. I don't even use the built-in reverb in the VI's and the Syncron Player apps.

If this is your issue too, back up your templates, clear all of those preferences, uninstall all traces of VSL apps and try rolling back. It was a PITA, but now I can work as I did before.

Is it across most of the velocity layers and is constant on that note in the headphones without the room monitors on? Could it be that when that key was struck/sampled, that it made a few extra aliquot strings "zing" more than usual? There a a lot of long-strung A notes on that Blüthner under a lot of tension and even a ton of overstringing felt past the bridge and under the strings next to the pinblock can't stop everything...

And that's why I check every note before I take down or move any mics, because I don't want to have to resample the entire instrument.

Eh, forget about it. No problem. No worries. Thanks.

Hi Paul,

I was asking if you'd like a link to Pro Tools 2019.6/VEP7 template/session that I created. It's one VEP7 plugin  instance inside a Pro Tools session for a full orchestra plus inactive stems and master tracks. Originally for use with a UAD Apoll, generic MIDI i/o and. VSL Special Editions 1 & 3, Epic Orchestras 1 & 2, and the Synchron Yamaha and Steinway pianos.

I'm running VEP7 and Pro Tools on the same machine: i7 8700k at 4.5 GHz, 64 GB RAM, with an RX-580: OS and Apps on a PCIe SSD and the sample libraries on a second PCIe SSD.

I'd place it in MyVSL<Personal files -but that doesn't seem to accept a zip file to protect the contents.

But I do have a Dropbox link. That's the best I can do from my end.

LMK = Let Me Know. 

Hi Paul, if you're interested in a Pro Tools 2019.6/VEP 7 session to build a template, LMK.

Matt,

I was just checking the mail. Did you ever get the template? I have a new one for dealing with VEP7 on one powerful machine, everything running locally to brute-force past the 6101 errors in Pro Tools 2019.5.

LMK if you still want these. My apologies if you didn't get the file. It's a Dropbox issue. If you have another email, I can use Apple's Mail Drop feature to send you what you need.

Cheers,

jl

Thank you, Paul!

Just VEP and VEPS setups. I think you can convert these from the menu to VI Pro setups. You want?

I should add that I personally prefer my setups where I can use the Una Corda pedal to switch from, say, full strings to con sordino, or maybe the tremelo. I've spent a lot of time altering patches so that I can just play without reaching for a knob. I also use a Korg NanoKey in the C0 range so that I don't have keeyswitches interfering wih instrument ranges. Whatever's handy, right?

FWIW, I run VEP7 server, not the standalone -all in one huge machine with Pro Tools 2018.12.

If you don't have Pro Tools, can you import a .ptx session into Cubase? Because I could send you an orchestral template as well. Tell your Pro Tools pals!

LMK...

Originally Posted by: Dewdman42

In that example I was using logicpro and 100 no nonnsynth tracks I would expect it to be. The same project in cubase is running the cpu cores all into the red 95%, and it’s not a heavy processing project. The main point is that the vep gui is adding 10-20% of cpu usage when it’s showing, even when not playing anything. I don’t think that is normal or acceptable.

Yep, I agree and I think that the latest DAW and Plugin updates are way too GPU intensive. Needlessly intensive, as in without benefit but for more complex color gradients in the UI. Especially any complex metering within plugins such as Waves' Emo D5 Compressor that causes observable usage spikes on my RX-580 card. I've often wondered about limiting the color gamut when using a DAW. Certainly the (thousands) web safe color scheme would be enough for everything. DAWs and VIs don't need to tax the GPU as if it were DaVinci Resolve.

Can you tried running the Synchron Pianos on a slave machine?

FWIW, I've never gotten audio sends/returns to work for a remote FX box. I think the only reason my Pro Tools is stable and still has just over 3ms of roundtrip latency is that the omly plugins I'm using are 3 instances of VEP7.

For this I blame Avid: The Adobe of the recording world. My machine is a Z370/i7 8700K (6-cores) at 4.8GHz, 64GB RAM, 6 internal SATA SSDs, a 500GB PCIe M2 SSD just for samples, an dGPU AMD RX-580 with 8GB GDRAM, Thunderbolt UAD Apollo 8 Quad: Geek Bench score of 6335 and 28325. Cinebench CPU score of 1457, MP ratio: 7.11x

What I've figured is this, and it drove an extra upgrade decision: If you have one or more machines that capable and available to use as slaves, an extra VEP7 license is way cheaper than building, let alone buying a new monster PC or Mac.

Dewdman42,

Thanks for posting that. Although the CPU % looks high, the total load in the graph window is still low. On my Steinway, I maxxed-out th polyphony, but I'm only using a stereo set and no reverb plugin. See attachment.

Something I did notice and I'd suggest is to turn off your Wi-Fi and use ethernet if possible. Same with Bluetooth. Disable any attached webcam. The Synchron stuff is great, but it's a CPU hog. You're not doing anything wrong. Try a simpler patch like the stereo "recording" Decca Tree and disable a couple of the room mic channels.

Limit all DSP inside of the Synchron Player like reverb: Use a "master reverb" that works with the whole mix and it should gel fine. If you have an external reverb unit, use that just for monitoring and only use the fancy convolution ones for when your printing final FX tracks and aren't concerned with latency, etc. YMMV.

I hope this helps or gives you a better idea. Cheers!

Civilization 3 and Noiseboyuk,

I've found that in my VEP6 setups that I converted to VEP7, I had to go in and carefully reselect/replace plugins/instruments like UVI and Slate Drums to the AU versions to make everything work right. _then you have to save the VEP instances before you save the Server Project, which will be new.

As with VSL/VEP6, on a new install I first review and refresh the sample libraries via Directory Manager.

I then move onto opening the non-server versions of the VEP (now 7) bundle so that the plugins all get rescanned and any buffers, sample rates, numbre of midi channels, and nuber of audio i/o are set according to my preferences.

Another thing with a lot of 3rd party VI's is that you need to open the library settings within those plugins as well, making sure everything is just so. There have been times when I build a new setup and I forget to do all of that gruntwork, especially dreading Waves and UAD plugin rescans. I just try to get it in there while everything is fresh.  Something scripted would be a much better way. 

While I'm not exactly sure of your setup, I think that with some care you'll be fine. –Assuming that you're using SSD's throughout your setup. l'm using a 500GB PCIe SSD for my VSL samples. I'm only using one remote VEP7 instance on a Mini 6,2 for the Slate Drums (SSD5 64 bit AU).

You may have to jack up your Pro Tools buffer a click if you're using Pro Tools HD/Ultimate. Oddly, the CPU is taxed a little bit less when I run a 32-bit float session.

Here's a dumb question;

Will my Special Editions still work on VEP7 as it is fully functional in VEP6? What about my Slate Drums (SSD5) that are 64 bit? UVI (latest) ??

I'm a little wary of the Synchron Player. I've searched the site but everything seems to point the user towards upgrading and buy new Synchron Strings, etc. Would anyone care to weigh-in with their knowledge?

Please and thank you...

That format is fine. The Steinway and the CFX are wonderful sounding cpu hogs. To get around this I'd either:

1. Run VEP Server on a slave machine that also has a lot of RAM and CPU power.*

2. Run VEP Server on your Pro Tools rig with a lot of midi channels (16 per group, right?) and run as few instances of the VEP plugin as possible. It works really well as long as you have 32GB RAM if you intend to run the Synchron piano locally.

* I ended up building a machine to do this, where I can either run one powerful PC that will run Pro Tools 2018.x and VEP7 and no FX or master bus in Pro Tools during tracking (everything on my end goes through the Apollo 8 Virtual Channels) while keeping a buffer of 128 in a 24/44.1 session. When I'm ready to mix, I print stereo "virtual returns" from the Apollo: One stem for woodwinds and brass, one stem for strings, one stem for percussion, one stem for piano. When I mix it down in Pro Tools, I switch to 32 bit float, jack up the buffer, and send the stems through a good convolution reverb and the EMT 140. It's a complicated bus setup, but it works and sounds correct. I can then deliver a final stereo mix (and stems if needed) in whatever format is required.

Before I got the CFX, I used to be able to run everything (SE 1 and 3, the Epic, a piano or two, and some other winds) between two Mac Mini 6,2's with at least 2 SSDs on each machine: One Mini for running Pro Tools, the other running VEP headless via ethernet that ran ~16 channels on one instance and about 8 to 10 on a second instance. I also run Slate Drums via VEP with no lag. The piano I used before was the UVI Fazioli, which has unisons out of tune in the C6-C8 area. The CFX pretty much maxed-out the slave Mini. To make it work as before, I would have had to find another Mini 6,2 just to run the CFX. That's what drove me to build a dedicated slave machine. Sorry this was so long-winded, but these are complex setups.

I'm attaching a couple screen shots and a template of my 2018.xx orchestral setup since Pro Tools is oddly absent from the templates section. Maybe VSL will add mine. Still waiting for a version of Pro Tools with 32 MIDI channels, and not just multiples of 16 MIDI channels.

I think you may have to poke the Rescan Libraries button in the Vienna Instruments< Directory Manager app.

Download the software onto a USB stick: You'll need to authorize/move whatever VEP license onto your "offline mac pro" eDongle via your online machine.  Once it's authorized to (the future offline eDongle) unplug it and eject/unplug the USB stick with the software. Plug that and the future offline eDongle into the "offline mac pro" and install the software normally.

If you're updating or downloading new sound libraries, you'll need a bigger transfer drive.