Sample Modeling's Viola released today

[leleswam]

All SWAM instruments come as standard Audio Unit, VST and AAX plugins. They do not need any additional player, just load directly in your favorite DAW.
BTW: all SWAM instruments have been thoroughly tested on Digital Performer 8. We will test them on DP9 soon.

For additional information:
- http://www.samplemodeling.com/en/swam_viola.php
- http://www.swamengine.com/about/
- http://www.swamengine.com/support/kb/

Best,
Emanuele
Samplemodeling/SWAM team

[mhschmieder]

This is not meant to discourage anyone from buying this excellent instrument, but I did end up sticking with Vienna Symphonic Library for the Oregon-influenced jazz interludes (an old soundtrack I am reviving as it was rushed at the time and I still like the playing and the writing/arranging and may want to officially release it soon).

The problem is that I have not yet gotten the timbre that I like out of the SWAM Viola -- even after half a day working with it last Saturday. The playability and phrasing are both astounding, so I may find if I start tweaking some of the CC's that I can start shifting the timbre. I am quite picky about string timbre so this instrument may just not be for me, for certain applications where I am nakedly exposing viola as the lead solo voice of a sparse soulful piece.

No matter how hard I tried, it sounds like an accordion to me, in terms of timbre. I tried all different dynamic levels and all twenty or so voicings, along with standard CC's but not yet the half page of extra CC's that would require re-tracking the MIDI or adding a parallel CC track. My work with this library so far is with legacy MIDI tracks along with quickly entered stuff with a primary keyboard controller and standard controls (CC1, CC11).

I haven't tried it yet with my Yamaha WX5 wind controller. That may turn out to be the best approach, as I remember being quite surprised with the Yamaha VL-70m (with Patchman ROM and Phil Clendennin's special patches) when I tried it on sitar and violin. I think wind control may map better to some of the expressivity of strings than standard keyboard-oriented controllers.

Probably the most amazing aspect of this instrument is how it handles bowing! I simply can't get realistic bowing out of VSL so usually stick with various sustain modes. With SWAM Viola, the smart engine does a magnificent job of detached and other bowing styles; I am completely fooled except for the timbre just not cutting it with me yet.

Interestingly, my quibbles with the timbre may be mic-related, but I'm hoping not as that might mean the "honky" sound could be baked in. I'm hoping this coming weekend to put some more time into it, from a different perspective with emphasis on different aspects of the VI. I may simply need to get more aggressive with the CC's related to digging into the strings; more rosin in the sound, etc.

I did try layering, but due to tuning and playing styles as well as bowing differences, this instrument doesn't blend well with VSL. But then again, I have rarely been successful blending libraries -- at least on up-front solo passages. I have historically had fairly good luck blending FM sounds with quality samples, for percussive stuff like marimba. I think solo strings are hard to layer well.

One thing that I would suggest others trying, is to take the Vienna Dimensions Strings approach in building a Viola Section. I'm willing to bet this may turn out to be one of the strengths of SWAM Viola.

[Martini Hill]

Thanx so much for the in depth. I'll be following this thread to see what luck you have with this. J

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

[Shooshie]

Considering the relationship between sound production (a function of the bow and a heck of a lot more complex) and vibrato, it isn’t hyperbole to say that the possibilities of sound variation of solo stringed instruments are almost infinite. It takes decades (a lifetime, really) to become even remotely good at it. To try to imitate any of this with a VI, as well-programmed as it may be, and in the hands of someone as expert and inventive as Shooshie, is a major challenge and one I’m tempted to say is the next thing to impossible..

Bowman, I respect your violin artistry and knowledge. So, when I take issue with something, do not feel as though it's a sign of disrespect or condemnation. I have to take issue with the statement that "It takes decades (a lifetime, really) to become even remotely good at it." Most prodigal players are extremely good at it by the time they are in their teens. It's more accurate to say that you continue to learn and get better at it throughout your life, but you can be "remotely good at it" at a young age. The same can be said of saxophone vibrato and tone. The instrument does not have a true natural sound, and vibrato is infinite, since it's an expression. What we're really talking about is musicianship. When you have it, you have it. The instrument is secondary.

Admittedly, violin vibrato is difficult. I've worked on it off and on for years, but only as a novelty. I'm not really a violinist. But I DO mimic violin vibrato on wind instruments or string virtual instruments, and I know what makes it and what doesn't work. I've worked on reed instrument and flute vibrato all my life. If one can be an expert at it, I guess I am an expert.

But I do not buy into the "you can't do that" mindset. That's something that happens in universities and conservatories where certain players are idolized, and "nobody else" can ever achieve what they achieved. I also do not believe there is a "best" of anything. Once you arrive in a certain percentile of performers, you're one of them. Just different. Doesn't matter if you're famous or unknown. A great musician is a great musician, on a desert island or in Carnegie Hall.

I go to a lot of recitals by "unknowns." They are pros, not students, but they are usually people most of us never heard of. Of course, I've heard many of the great recording violinists since the 1960s in concert, too. What I can tell you is that almost without exception, the best performances have been by the unknowns. Maybe they try harder. Maybe playing endless tours jades you a little. But musically, I've had more surprises going to the concerts of unknowns than of the great recording artists.

There's a theme that's common as you leave a concert by one of the greats. First, there's the "wow, isn't he/she great?" thing that everyone says. But then the more experienced among the audience will often say "he/she was off a little tonight. Just not one of their best nights." There's a reasons for that. The artists have trouble living up to their own recordings, which are usually edited or done over and over until they get a great one. I have a lot of respect for artists who record live concerts and put them in an album for sale. You get what they got. One learns that even the greatest of the greats is not perfect. Ever. In fact, I think many before me have also noticed that the more practiced and perfect a performance, the less spontaneous and musical. And THAT is the big problem we have with MIDI. We try to make it as perfect as possible, when in fact it should be recorded live. I try to record my MIDI parts live and edit only minimally as absolutely necessary.

I've strayed from the point: violin vibrato is not at all impossible. It just takes practice, like everything else. Even on a Yamaha WX5, it's possible. It just takes a very responsive VI, and Nobody wants to make one that's as responsive as that to pitch variation, because in the hands of doublers, hacks, and amateurs, it will sound terrible. They'll never make a profit selling to people who can actually do this, and those who can't will buy something else. Vienna comes close. Wallander Instruments comes very close. (but Wallander has no strings for the desktop computers, just for the iPhone) But most instruments have only canned vibrato.

I've worn many hats in this business. I was a concert artist into my 30s, and people used to ask for my autograph after concerts. I became a performing arts agent for a while, and that's where I really learned the business. That's also where I learned how the great legendary players are created and marketed. They are unknown, they play well, and someone makes a deal with them. Usually, someone they have gotten to know in the "business." That someone used to be — almost always — Sol Hurok. He created artists the way the big movie studios created stars. Managed their lives, not just their concerts. We still did some of that in the 1980s when I was an agent, but nothing like Hurok did. Times have changed, and that's just not possible now. Concert artists build followings on YouTube and Facebook now.

The point of all this, however, is that a big part of marketing is not just to elevate an artist in the public eye, but to create the sense that "nobody else can do this" around all that they do. It's not so hard to do; everyone wants royalty in their lives, and artists were marketed as royalty or deities of their art form. You still see that in books about visual artists like Jackson Pollock or biographies of musicians like Van Cliburn or Anne Sophie Mutter. Some are truly gifted, like Van Cliburn or Leonard Bernstein. Some, like James Galway, are more beloved than gifted, though the guy really is an amazing flutist. Nevertheless, you hear a concert in which he misses nearly half the notes, and he still gets a standing ovation. Not even Heifetz could have pulled that off. (nor did he have to. Heifetz was a stunningly accurate performer.)

So... never be a victim of marketing, legends, and mythology. The greats are great, but separate fame from greatness. As Joshua Bell bravely demonstrated in a Washington, D.C. Metro station, without the legend and footlights, he's just another fiddler. That took guts, and it won him my undying respect, regardless of his playing, which is also pretty darned good. But absolutely, positively, NEVER let anyone tell you that something is not possible in your lifetime. If Heifetz did it by the time he was 20, others can too. What you may not be able to do on your own is become famous, but that blonde Russian-American lady pianist, Valentina Lisitsa, did it just by posting YouTube videos for years. At first we watched her for her revealing dresses. Then we noticed that her performances were always really, really good, and that she was playing ALL the difficult literature. Then we noticed that she was playing recitals and orchestral soloist dates. It worked!

Sorry to go so far off-topic, but I think it's necessary to reeducate anyone who has fallen under that music-school spell that teaches people they can't get there from here. The first step is to reject all negative music-school mythology. From there on, it's all up to you!

Shooshie

[dpdan]

I am posting this just for fun and kicks....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4K3T_mPjh8

The Garritan days were the best days of MIDI for me. I was learning mid and Dp when I did this with the Garritan Stradivari Solo Violin and it, as well as the Gofriller Solo cello are working great on my two month old Mac Pro desktop trash can looking thing and DP 9.02

Nice improvements of bow pressure control, nice work Giorgio!!!

[HCMarkus]

I am posting this just for fun and kicks....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4K3T_mPjh8

The Garritan days were the best days of MIDI for me. I was learning mid and Dp when I did this with the Garritan Stradivari Solo Violin and it, as well as the Gofriller Solo cello are working great on my two month old Mac Pro desktop trash can looking thing and DP 9.02

Nice improvements of bow pressure control, nice work Giorgio!!!

Such nice work Dan! So unlike so many faux orchestra pieces; completely natural and enjoyably emotive.

[mhschmieder]

I just spent a bit more time with the SWAM Viola tonight, as I revived a 30 year old piece that I originally played lead on soprano saxophone and decided it should move in a gypsy jazz direction and swap with either violin or (preferably, due to timbre) viola.

Unfortunately the range greatly extends past that of the viola, and VSL's violin is just a bit too thin (vs. its viola) for this piece, so I decided to try SWAM Viola and was shocked that its range extends so far past the natural range of a real viola.

As the original track (converted to MIDI via Melodyne and then velocity-mapped to CC11 using Logic Pro) had more expression than a keyboard driven track, it seemed to do better in SWAM than my previous attempts at using their Viola, so I may dig out my long-neglected WX5 later this week and give it a try on this VI.

I may eventually have to buy UVI's Gypsy Jazzy library though -- even though it seems half loop-based and has horrible audio demos that try to be "cute" by using gypsy jazz as a sort of acid jazz background texture. I went through my annotation chart today as well as a number of vendor websites, and jazz violin and viola just aren't covered.

Quantum Leap's Gypsy library has consistently proven 100% unusable to me, due to articulations and phrasing as well as velocity handling. It's the only library I bought from that vendor that I have still failed to find a successful use for, but I don't really use the others much either.

My understanding is that the viola, and not the violin, is historically the main string instrument in klezmer music, if not also gypsy jazz. I used VSL previously in a klezmer adaptation of New Order's "Confusion" and was quite successful with the violin in the lead (using a speed-based performance patch) and the tzigane articulation for the viola (which provides call/response contrast now and then and pretty much sticks exclusively in that playing style as it is a sparse part so it isn't overdone).

Given the realism of bowing in SWAM, I would still like to find a way to make this new Viola library more useful and friendly, but I'm not sure I have the time for the foreseeable future, so I'll probably resort to tweaking MIDI to get the best out of VSL.

Some people are now posting advice regarding Melodyne v4 as a way of improving the timbre though, due to the level of detail available in handling harmonics (vs. the limited support in the SWAM interface).

[dpdan]

thanks HC,,
I was going to say in that post (jokeingly) we could always use the Garritan Stradivari and use Meldoyne's Formant feature to turn it into a viola, I actually did that and it really worked.

Same for those who are purchasing the Sample Modeling Viola and don't have the Strad, use the viola and use Melodyne to turn it into a violin

[Shooshie]

Great work, Dan. We who do this get to enjoy it twice. Once for the technique that goes into creating it in MIDI with the Garritan Strad (which I still have and use), and again for the sheer beauty of the music that results when a real craftsman makes it sing. The Stradivari Solo Violin makes it a lot easier to get something beautiful, but that's "easier by degrees," and nobody should make the mistake of thinking that it's easy to do that, even with the Strad.

I would try to do it in real time, but to get it to that level requires editing, inevitably. It's always been my goal to someday have hardware and software instruments that make it possible to give extemporaneous concerts, live, with that level of control and expression. Someday... Maybe. Meanwhile, it's wonderful to hear when someone achieves that in MIDI.

Take a bow! You earned it.

Shooshie

[dpdan]

awe shucks Shooshie

I know what you mean, there is a lot of editing involved but hey... it's MIDI

it's alway fun trying to get close.
Thanks for listening and thanks for the very generous words!

Dan