It mostly sounds excellent. The trumpet high C is so weak though, it’s really disappointing. I wonder what can be done to fix it? I don’t have Synchron Prime. I am considering it… but really want to know what’s up with that note.

Ah, I see now - click a venue, then click on the Vienna standards preset, then load. Okay! Thank you.

fwiw it's the VEP7 documentation (Navigation / The Mixer) that both refers to and shows screenshots of the outdated MIRx mode.

As far as I can tell in the MIR Pro 3D docs, the only meaningful info on venue presets is "In the field below the Venue list, you can see whether a Venue Preset exists for the Venue selected in the browser – these not only facilitate setting up an orchestra, but also guarantee an easy transfer from one Venue to another."

So, it's not clear anywhere that the feature was changed, and no indication that it was moved into Venue Presets. Not that I can see, anyway.

But thank you for settings things straight here!

btw support responded that the missing instrument profile was a confirmed bug, fixed in beta 7.1.1411-3D. I installed it, and it does automatically guess instrument profiles on preset changes, contrary to what you say, unless I've misunderstood you. However, it also sets Synchron players to the "Celesta" profile (I responded letting them know).

Well I've made a bit of progress... I found the "Channel->Guess MIR Pro Instrument Profiles" menu item. This sets the channel name in VEP, and selects the correct instrument profile in MIR Pro. I'm pretty sure that used to happen automatically... but okay.

The one piece that's missing now is the positioning, which I believe is "MIRx Mode."

According to the mixer docs, there should be a button for MIRx Mode directly after the "auto-add MIR Pro" button. However, I don't see that button.

The docs also say "The Context Menu you get by right-clicking in the area to the right if the Instance Menu Bar lets you activate/deactivate the visual main elements of each instance" and show "Vienna MIR Pro" as one of the available elements.

I don't have that option though. My context menu is below. I guess the "MIRx Mode" button might be hiding under the unavailable "Vienna MIR Pro" section?

In VEP 6 + MIR Pro, when I would add a VI Pro instrument, MIR would automatically select an instrument profile. A violins patch would have an instrument profile for violins, be positioned on stage where violins should go, have natural volume set, etc.

With VEP 7 + MIR Pro 3D, that doesn't happen.

I have to click Profile->Guess to select an instrument profile (despite VEP Settings->Mir Pro 3D->"Auto-Guess MIR profile on patch changes" being enabled).

I have to click the natural volume button myself.

I don't see anywhere to select a pre-configured stage position.

Changing a patch doesn't update any of the settings.

With VEP 6 + MIR Pro, I could just add some instruments and go. With VEP 7 + MIR Pro 3D, there's way more setup that I have to do, anytime I add or change a patch.

What's going on? How can I get VEP 7 + MIR Pro 3D to handle this stuff automatically, like the older version did?

I am using VEP 7.1.1406-Aug 17 2022, VIP 2.6.110, MIR Pro 3D 7.0.520. MacOS 10.15.7

p.s. I also thought that when I selected a patch in VI Pro, the Vienna Ensemble channel name would change to match the patch / instrument name. Am I misremembering that?

There's a technique that I use in VIP that I'm not sure how to do in Synchron. I set the dynamic range to minimum, use expression to get the volume I want, and use the velocity to select the correct sample layer.

Synchron has a Dynamic Range control as well, but it is very subtle - unless I enable velocity x-fade. But the technique I'm describing doesn't use velocity x-fade. With velocity x-fade off, minimizing the dynamic range barely has an effect.

Is it possible to configure Synchron to not use midi velocity for volume, and instead only use it to select the sample layer?

p.s. what happened to the manuals? I seem to remember there being a pretty comprehensive manual for Synchron player. I can't find that anywhere now - there is this manual that looks kind of like a quick guide, and doesn't mention "Dynamic Range" in any of its sections.

I've got the synchronized special editions. When I hover over the Vel. XF setting, the comment says "Default = CC 1." However, the patches are all programmed so that Vel. XF is CC 2.

First, that's just confusing!

Second, is there a way I can "synchronize" settings between my Synchron player instances? So that when I set CC = 1 to Vel. XF in one instance, it reflects everywhere? And keep it that way?

Or will I have to re-configure and re-save every single patch?

I am running Synchron on a 2013 iMac with a fusion drive. I realize that's a bit slower than the suggested / required SSD. However, it works okay for the most part. Synchron says it can load the libraries at a rate of ~100 MB/s.

I downloaded the VSL for Dorico example files (very cool!) and in the Forrest Gump there's a run at ~1:23 that Synchron says uses ~200 voices. I get dropouts at that point - it's a weird effect, like sounds being reversed or something.

Anyway, I am wondering a couple things:

1. Is there any indicator in Synchron that dropouts are happening? I don't see anything... but I'd expect to see some kind of disk indicator or something telling me that it can't keep up with the demand. I can hear it, of course.
2. How can I get Synchron to load more stuff into memory? I have 32 GB of RAM, and Sychron says it's loaded 1 GB of stuff. I've set the preload to a higher value, but still get dropouts. I will try even higher. I understand that Synchron is intended to run off a fast SSD, and my fusion drive might just not cut it - but I also figure there has to be a way to make use of the extra RAM I have.

Oh very cool. I always kinda knew I could do things like that with VIP but never wanted to devote the time to find out how. It looks a lot easier than I thought! Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

Hi, I am interested in ensemble patches similar to libraries like OT Berlin Inspire, Red Room Palette, and Sonic Scores Amadeus. They provide full-range patches for the different families, with smooth blending throughout.

(Amadeus provides strings and brass but not woodwinds ensemble; I don't like Red Room's sound; and Berlin Inspire unfortunately has several samples with recording defects)

So I'm looking to see what's available in VSL-land. So far I haven't found what I'm looking for:

- I'm just not a fan of Smart Orchestra, the woodwinds in particular have overly noticeable transitions through the range

- Epic Orchestra has strings and woodwinds, but not a brass ensemble

- I haven't seen a Woodwinds or Bass ensemble patch anywhere else

So... does VSL have something with ensemble patches for the three main families?

(I'm also wondering if this is something I can construct myself with Vienna Instruments Pro)

I would like to set up smart orchestra patches for the various sections, for the full ranges they can go, without percussion. So basically take the "01 Smart Orchestra" patch, extend the section ranges, and remove percussion.

I have found that I can select an instrument, type, and articulation. Then I can remove the percussion section, and extend the key range until it stops.

However, I don't know how to affect multiple combinations at once. I currently have to do that process once for every combination of type + articulation. So about 21 times. Is there a way to do this faster somehow?

You're not completely deaf :)  I believe that you're expecting the selection between Strings / Woodwinds / Brass to select between the sections. As far as I know, that selection thing is for configuring those different sections – which I know means key range, and I'm not sure what, if anything else, can be configured.

That particular patch uses the mixer to adjust the balance between the sections. So, bring "Mix Strings Volume" and "Mix Woodwinds Volume" to 0, and you will hear the unmistakable sound of Brass drenched in reverb.

Personally I find Synchron player very confusing, and haven't had time or motivation to dig in and learn it. So I run into similar problems as you, quite frequently. Hopefully this helps a bit.

I have Smart Orchestra and haven't been able to use it because I have a fusion drive, and get frequent dropouts. I'm not sure if there's a way to configure it so that it is usable. I too didn't see the SSD requirement until after purchasing.

So, I am avoiding all things Synchron until I can figure out how to get Smart Orchestra to work reliably with a fusion drive.

bump :)

I imported the Cubase expression maps for Smart Orchestra into Dorico. When I set up an instance of Synchron w/ SO, and configure the track to play to it w/ the expression map, it doesn't play anything. I can play my MIDI keyboard and it produces a sound, but actually playing back what's notated in Dorico doesn't do anything. I don't seem to see it sending any keyswitches or notes. If I reset the expression map to Default it plays, though obviously it doesn't change sounds or anything like that.

Has anyone gotten the Smart Orchestra expression maps to work with Dorico?

Yeah, to be frank, the idea that VSL is "moving away from VIP" (which I share) is pure speculation. Who knows what they'll do.

I understand what they're doing with Synchron – providing a platform that is more "mix ready" than VIP is, with the interface to make quick mixing tweaks.

Personally I find VIP + MIR Pro to be absolutely awesome, and I don't care about Synchron.

So who knows? Maybe VSL will get to a point where Synchron is cruising, and they want to give VIP some more love.

It just seems to like right now the focus is on Synchron, and I'm not holding my breath for VIP updates.

from p24 of VEP 6 Manual English v3.1:

"Vienna Ensemble Pro Server will generally perform best when running as few instances as possible."

I would suggest reading the section A Note on Multiprocessing on p24. It talks about how you should configure # of threads if you want to use more than 1 instance.

Anyway, my reading of it is your default should be 1 instance, and if you want more instances to support your workflow then go for it. But multiple instances is purely for workflow, not for performance gains.

Hi, when VPP was first released I remember reading that it was a one-time use thing. If you report your key as lost / stolen / damaged, then you get a 50-hour emergency license, the original key is deactivated, and your protection plan is used up.

I was under the impression that those licenses would never be eligible for protection again. That is, you'd get new licenses, but you wouldn't be able to buy VPP for them again. If you lost a second key, those licenses would be gone forever (and you could replace them for 50% off, per VSL's original policy).

However today I see on the Protection Plan page a bullet point (#6) that I think wasn't there originally:

5. Your lost/broken/stolen ViennaKey will be disabled and cannot be used anymore. Your Vienna Protection Plan is now used up.

6. Buy a new Vienna Protection Plan for new coverage.

My reading of that is that if I lose a protected key and receive replacement licenses, I can buy a new protection plan for the new key / licenses. If I were to lose this new key, it would be protected and I could use the protection plan to receive replacement licenses (and buy a new protection plan).

Is that correct?

Also, will VSL notify me when the 2-year protection period is about to end, so I can renew it?

(Obviously my goal is to never lose my key in the first place. When I thought VPP was a once-in-a-lifetime use thing, I still needed a fallback insurance in case I ever had to use VPP. But if it's a one-claim-per-purchase thing, it becomes a lot more comfortable to buy in to)

Originally Posted by: Suntower

When I load VEP, I have the 'Preserve' box checked.

I then load a VEP preset which loads values for each instrument.

This will ensure that VEP keeps the samples loaded in memory – and it will not read settings from your DAW unless you tell it to.

Yep. You have the choice to keep the VEP settings, or load in the settings from the DAW.

When you load your DAW project which has VEP, you'll see the "Load plugin data" button (down arrow) light up. Press it and choose "Load incoming project data", and VEP will read the settings from the DAW project. If you don't want the settings from the DAW, you can choose "Discard plugin data."

This is explained in the section "PRESERVE, DECOUPLE, CONNECT AND DISCONNECT – AN OVERVIEW" of VEP manual, p57 of English version 3.1.

I'm interested in either the Imperial or the Steinway, I'm curious which one will work better with MIR Pro? afaik Imperial works like Vienna Instruments, whereas the Steinway is a Synchron instrument. So MIR would have an instrument profile for the Imperial, but not the Steinway, is that correct?