I remember getting the Aaron Venture Infinite Woodwinds, and I just couldn't stop smiling when using them. This new approach to virtual instruments is just so liberating!
I bought Infinite Brass and Infinite Woodwinds recently, and I’m very happy with them too. The playability is insane. I may need something else for exposed solos or jazzier stuff, but for ensemble brass and winds in an orchestral context, I don’t think I’ll be looking for anything else for a good while. Having access to separate instruments that sound different is great for realistic ensemble writing, but being able to do that all on a laptop with minimal RAM footprint is incredible.
Infinite sounds excellent - and the playability appears even better. "Liberating" is a fitting word. I'm so thankful for sample libraries. Yet, they can be frustrating as heck.
I was always blown away by how precise Acoustic Samples's stuff sounded. The legato is pretty much flawless, and they got everything to sound so clean and seamless. Hats off to the developers.
Recently I have worked on a project and I needed a Rhode. I have wonderful libraries for Rhodes and so many keyboard in my house, including a Nord stage 4. I have made my demo with a library first and I quickly recorded the Rhode part of the music with the stage 4 Rhode patch. That was like travelling to an other dimension. 😅 Then the day of recording, at the studio, we had access to a real Rhode... Gosh the mighty! That was like a parallel dimension to access to heaven! The reactivity of the instrument!!🤩 Rhodes are not just electric instruments, there is a mechanical part in it that any patches on any libraries or keyboard emulating the instrument will never replace in my opinion. Imagine with acoustic instrument! Just to say that in my view, the real energy of human player playing a piece is something we will not be able to emulate perfectly before a very very long time. Playing music is not just following instruction on a sheet with length, rythm and dynamics instructions, but you probably know that more than any of us.😅 So developing libraries, software or scripts, is like dividing a number indefinitely for reaching zero without actually reaching it. I don't see AI as an enemy of musicians either. First of all because AI is actually not an AI. It is a very complex and well developed software but it is actually not an "intelligence". Companies developing those software call them AI but it is not really. Where I can see the threats is on a lot of smaller jobs for composers. Everything like those website where you can sell music for series, or anything like that, that is something that those "AI" will be able to do in a very near future (if not now). But it will not replace a song writer an original artist or a film composer, because you have that original research of creativity that is needed that an AI can't do. An other area in my opinion, that can be threatened by AI to a degree, is mixing and mastering. AI are still having mitigate results in that area but I can see how it will improve very quickly in the next few years. But again, that will work in very generic music in my opinion. We will still need a human being for any music that is very creative with more "complex" arrangement or orchestration.
I love the interface but for those who have the time to tinker with the endless options, bless you. All these accelerated options are just deferring your greatness in writing.❤
This library is heading in the right direction. As a brass player, I have found the Sample Modeling Trumpet the most realistic Trumpet I've heard so far. The horn is great, as well. Then, the trombone and tuba are also top notch. They are wonderful to use as a layer to other brass libraries or on their own.
Hi ! Since you like Samplemodeling , I thought I'd send you a message to check out my channel... I play The Trumpet rumpet 3 🎺 ! I agree with you !! 😜. Sad that Samplemodeling doesn't exist anymore , because their trumpet was the best ever ! The only thing I'm fighting now is a bit of shrillness in the highs on the high notes played loudly .. I play a Yamaha WX-5 wind synth ... Cheers ! 👍
Maybe it's just me as a clarinet player but I don't find the clarinets convincing, they sound kind of saxophone/english horn. This shouldn't be the case because while all are closed tube models all of the instruments I mentioned are conical bores and clarinets are cylindrical, so they should generate completely different overtone series. I listened to the demos on the product page and yes the true niente isn't modeled correctly and the vibrato is crazy but the tone on some of the sustains is unfocused. Listening to the Aaron Venture Infinite Woodwinds the over exaggerated vibrato is still there but overall the sound is more convincing.
I agree. As someone who has listened to many wonderful clarinetists, I hear these VI as having the wrong harmonic spectrum. Typically we should hear more emphasis of the odd harmonics which give clarinet its round, almost hollow woody tone, especially in the lower range of the instrument. These samples sound more nasal, like the timbre of the upper range.
As mentioned in the video you can shape the sound however you want. I have my preferred EQs and reverbs applied, especially for the piece I wrote, but someone else might make completely different sound choices. It definitely sounds much warmer out of the box but that doesn’t cut through in the type of orchestral piece I wrote.
I was thinking the same as the game developer. I went back and played Dark Forces last summer and I noticed its adaptive soundtrack for the first time, which was MIDI and super responsive. I'm only worried that having these libraries available in game engines is going to become a major licensing hassle. We'll see where it goes. For what concerns the future: I'm hoping for this technology to be the future. After having spent a few years working on Aaron Venture Infinite Winds and Brass and Sample Modeling Strings, I find it super hard going back to traditional sample libraries. I want the freedom of writing a scale run and have the instrument play exactly how I've conceived it.
Thank you! Yes, physical or hybrid modeling is definitely the future of virtual instruments. But, that will also mean that composers will have to be much better players themselves if they want to really use all the possibilities of such instrument. Or, they will have to spend much more time editing expressions of already played track. Which also means that good musicians will not be in danger. On the contrary! Awareness of good musicians will just rise and they will have I believe even more job than before.
17:23. You said it 🙂 20:20 - this is another essential thing. "What's the right choice ?" Myself for example - I would probably need some professional guidance in this regard, preferably from some established Hollywood mixer. Having multiple mic positioning choices to choose from in DAW's plugins - that's one thing. Another thing is to know the reason why to apply them, how and when. Especially when it comes down to mixing two opposite styles of music : orchestral and jazz (or blend of both, where proper mixing can be a real game changer). 24:53 - welcome to the club !
Well, I had planned on skipping all the Black Friday samples sales this year, but thanks to your video I'm now the owner of the two Acoustic Samples VWinds libraries. 😀
Thanks for the review, Anne-Kathrin. Food (and wine!) for thought. Will be checking out these libraries tomorrow. Yes, a new string library could be a game-changer. Now… why do I fancy a glass of wine? 🍷
Another banger, Anne-Kathrin! And yeah, I'm right there with you. These are game changers. I've basically only been using Sample Modeling Brass and Aaron Venture's stuff for a while, abandoning everything else, but I will be trying the VWinds because they do sound wonderful. I can't imagine there's anything else left to do with orchestral percussion, and the moment someone manages to do this with the strings section (supposedly Aaron Venture's been working on this) I'm dropping CSS and everything else. Can you imagine being able to have all your orchestral instruments in like a couple dozen tracks? *faints*
Your last point is the most important for me, being able to write without thinking about to make it sound good. I KNOW that a real player would be able to play what's in my head and make it sound good, so I hate having to make changes because the samples can't handle it. So I'm watching how modelling progresses with great interest. Also, Port Salut is the best cheese.
The plugin Kick 2, used be a lot of EDM veterans is an example of a hybrid approach where the kick drum is synthesised and then they layer it with a sample of a click at the beginning of the sound. It works well. I think most physical modelling instruments are hybrid.
@@AnneKathrinDernComposeryour French is actually very good, I'm impressed! As usual, a great video. It's funny, I discovered Simon Passmore's work last month (and it's really good) Thanks again for your quality content!
Literally bought the saxophones and horns yesterday and your vid just confirms how awesome Acoustic Samples is!! I haven't been this excited about a new library in forever!
Incredible ! Same here ! Yesterday the saxes and I'm just coming here on YT while downloading the Horns, ha ha, what a "coincidence". Nice to be back with Anne-Kathrin, always at the top on this game 🏆
Although the quality of sounds is really important, you can get away with a lot with good programing and production. Alex Ball did this a few years back with his "My Computer is a 1950s Orchestra", using only sample libraries from a few vendors. It sounds pretty mind blowing. Like you said, had I not known I doubt I would've noticed
Its getting better and better for sure, i was blown away from audio modeling swam solo, you can control the bow with a midi controller or mouth, controller, always getting more real feelings 🎉and easy on cpu
Hi Anne-Kathrin! Thank you so much for putting the spotlight on this unfairly overlooked company. I've just bought the double reeds and clarinets Vseries back to back, and I'm literally blown away by the quality and ease of use (although I'm creativily debatting with myself on the same points as you...). I really feel like I can play all these instruments on the keyboard, it's incredible. I didn't feel the same way with the Orchestral tools woodwinds, which I also own, because you have to change or do something each time you want a different articulation. With the Vseries, it's all done in one go... It's a dream! And yes, sorry, WE are French 😈 But I must confess your french accent is not bad... And yes, as Marc pointed out, it's pronounced San[ss]erre 😊 Continue ce magnifique travail ! Merci !
8:03 Samplemodeling (the company) also uses samples. As far as I can tell, the basic concepts of Acoustic Samples and Samplemodeling (or Aaron Venture, for that matter) are very similar. I guess the standout accomplishment of Acoustic Samples has been to capture the tone of the instruments exceptionally well by the standards of that niche.
I always find your videos very useful and interesting. You have insightful tips on orchestral mockups and I found your exercice on doubling and texture very useful and loved doing them! Also, I know it really isn't the point of your video, so I'm sorry if it's inapropriate but: Your makeup is so on point! It really highlight the deep blue of your eyes. I find that the red, the blue of your eyes and the hair harmonize so well together!
I recorded many live Jazz Ensemble concerts while a young college music student in the late 80's, have relied on midi to compose instrumental music from the start, & Sax Ensemble samples libraries are still the big kahuna to overcome in terms of realism. IMO the VHorn Saxes I heard at the start of the Big Band demo are no exception, though their solo saxes I've listened to on their site or user demos are THE best I've ever heard. So when they & other developers, can also nail a jazz horn ensemble sample library that can convincingly play independent melodic lines without being blended or used sparingly to hide their weaknesses, then I'll salute them!
Hello. First time viewer of your channel. Loved watching this video. I'm now a subscriber. Beautiful piece with this library. I have been following Acoustic Samples for a while now. I think the quality and sound of these libraries are fantastic! ON top of that, the amount of control is amazing! I will say I do agree with all points you covered. I do think what Acoustic Samples is doing is the future. It was really cool to hear these sounds from a classical point of view. I love Jazz, but its great to know that these work in multiple styles. I will add that as a blind musician, the learning curve with sample libraries can be steep some times because of the amount of key switches developers would add. With Acoustic Samples, the fact that you can just play whatever you feel and how you want is really cool. One thing about people using their own player... there is a possibility developers don't think about accessibility when it comes to developing those players. I always work with them to help make products accessible for blind users. I gotta get in contact with UVI to see what can be done. Anyway, keep up the amazing work. I'm curious how the other V Horn libraries fit in your workflow. I think they would sound fantastic.
i was just on a Simon Passmore video commenting how 3 other youtube-moc up enthusiasts i subscribe to were in his comments, and then I click youre most recent upload and... small world :')
I think this is the first sample lib review video I have seen when I suddenly feel the urge on buying another product on Black Friday BUT THEN also get hungry!!! 😂
Roland has been using a similar technology in their pianos and drums for many years now (as have other manufacturers). Aaron Venture appears to use a similar technology as VWinds and has been around for 5 years. It's sort of surprising that sample-based modeling hasn't been developed further with orchestral VSTs considering the limitations of samples.
Chris Heins orchestral libraries also have optional phases aligned samples for playing dynamics. In the case of brass and string instruments from these libraries, it's almost impossible to distinguish the phase aligned samples from the normal ones. The technology behind this actually has been around since the 70s.
Great video ! I also discovered Acoustic Samples with their VWinds (Double Reeds first, then Clarinets were an insta-buy) and it has been a real game changer for me. I even got myself an EWI to play those wonderful instruments. So satisfying.
I recognized that VWinds right away 👍👍I've used their clarinets and bassoons on a project recently. Not a big fan of the their English horn or oboe, but they might still be the best oboes and English horns using this type of technology I think (far better than SWAM, anyway). As far as their brass and saxes, they work great for certain contexts, but the inconsistencies become kind of obvious when played in isolation. At any rate, I love how their instruments work with my Aerophone. Their initial trailer seemed to indicate that they were going to make a VWinds Recorder as well, in addition to the flutes
Glad to see you back again. Great video and great topic. I'm glad to hear someone else thinks that the SWAM stuff can have a very synthy feeling to it. I hear the demos and others going on about it and thought maybe it was just me. I've been an Acoustic Samples for quite some time and glad to see them get some recognition. I've used their acoustic bass, that is more jazz oriented and their various guitar libraries for a while. And their new stuff sounds great to me as well, I have all them, I just need to really learn how to make use of them, just as you've pointed out.
Hi Anne-Kathrin from the beautiful Hintertaunus 😁 I only recently discovered your channel and would like to thank you for the great and valuable content! I think every artist should be fascinated and worried at the same time about the changes ai-technology will bring to the whole creative market in this century. I believe that soon we'll see ai based virtual instruments that not only sound as realistic as the real thing but that can emulate every specific model or form of any instrument ever created and even create an endless number of totally new ones and simulate every playing style in every possible recording situation. I can also imagine that the whole process of composing will drastically change so that you'll don't use knobs and faders anymore to change the playing style of an instrument but instead just tell the program what it should do or for example use your own singing as a reference. And of course completely ai generated music will see a huge rise in entertainment productions as well which will make it even harder for most professional composers/musicians to live from their work. But I'm still optimistic that despite or because of those new endless possibilities, people will some day appreciate more again the works and creations coming from breathing carbon units and all those technologies will just be more effective tools to create art we cannot even imagine yet. 🙏😊
You should definitely try Beaufort affiné minimum 12 mois. Sancerre is a good choice, it goes well with oysters, and if you can find Tariquet premieres grives, you'll be half way between a Sauternes and a Sancerre, also half way to heaven :)
So glad to hear the issue of "Room Buildup". In my naivete I thought having all the OT libraries being recorded in proper locations at Telex would stop this problem, but NO. I keep hearing this background buildup and getting annoyed. This kind of problem is something nobody seems to talk about. And indeed Acoustic Samples seems to have solved this as well as quite a few other problems.
There is no question that accoustic samples represents a superior form of sound library. I have 4TB of space on my laptop and my computer was full after installing all my old sound libraries. But then I discovered the Vseries which had both superior sound/playability ratio by far, and also much smaller harddive footprint. There are only positives with the Vseries so I deleted my old sound libraries for the most part and switched over to Vseries. The only reason there isn't more hype around their approach is because Spitfire hasn't adopted this yet and thus started their patented Spitfire hype train marketing campaigns.
Modeling is the future. Have you tried the audiomodeling instruments? I have them also and find them even more controllable. The main difference is they don’t have the orchestra seating that AS has. You have to create your own solution.
They also announced GPU Audio that will be incoporated in their instruments and in the future. This will unlock even more power and way less CPU load. Exciting times up ahead!
These seem perfect for performance with a wind-synth. I got good such results with my old Yamaha VL-70m played on my WX-11. That’s the most organically-integrated way of playing the controllers simultaneously with the … “raw notes,” so to speak.
Always thought that a combination of physical modeling and samples would become the future, just figured that the best of both worlds would pretty much create a paradise.
Great video ( Once again I should add) especially the french part🇫🇷. I didn't know acoustic samples took that road. Made me think about Aaron Venture with the infinite series. But this sounds like they went even further. I definitely try these new libraries soon. Thanks for the review 👍🏿
You had me at "all articulations on one track"! Thank you for this video, something new to look into is always fun. I need my own ESW (emotional support wine) LOL
... and she didn't even mention the "hidden" modifier keys (the red ones on the virtual keyboard) that you can use during tracking or afterwards while editing the track.
I can only agree with what you've said. I've been playing around with these instruments for a while now and I think they're amazing. They lack some noise factor when playing staccati or flutter tongue. Especially in the lower instruments. However in lyrical and expressive passages with a lot of dynamic shifts and nuanced articulations, no sample library can beat these. IMO they combine really well with the first VSL libraries.
I wonder how much of an edge this technology actually has (and will have). It's clearly superior in terms of realism when it comes to solo instruments and small ensembles but as far as big orchestra stuff goes? I don't think so. Andy Blaney's demos for the Spitfire Symphony series in my opinion have yet to be bested in terms of realism (and this is with 5ish old (and older) libraries). And harking back to solo/small contexts, yes they shine there, but hiring a single musician to record a solo line or a string quartet is not ridiculously expensive anyways and live music will always sound better (even if it's ever so slightly) 🤷♀
Awesome video! I had never heard of this sample library/manufacturer. 16:20 - Place yourself in the audience, especially with cinematic work as you're conveying an emotion. It doesn't need to sound authentic, the audience doesn't care (producers will and they will btch about it in the comments). If it sounds *interesting*, the audience feels it. Good example of this is the distorted violin in The Dark Knight theme.
We do need this. I have been playing modelled instruments for a while, Truepainos is so expressive and has been my goto for over a decade. I think the future is with modelling and also with MDI 2. MIDI 2 brinbgs property exchange, meaning you just .load your library and your ocntroller keyboard is custom set up for that library. Your not stuck with 128 steps either.
My day job requires me travelling between three different locations regularly, so it would be an absolute dream to have a versatile library that fits on a laptop ssd with me at any time. The size of some sample libraries is what is keeping me from going completely mobile, because even with a powerful laptop, it always means carrying an external 4TB hard drive with me just for samples (not including my projects folder), which kind of defeats the purpose of a laptop for me. And even with my desktop rig at home (which I can't use while on the road), I'm just over the whole "where can I fit another hard drive in here and how fast does it have to be?" thing. That's why I'm very interested in this approach and will keep my eye on it.
My God, Anne. Such a beautiful composition. Moved me to tears. What a colossal difference between the piano solo on Soundcloud and your orchestration here. That difference, in itself, was a lesson for me. I'll be studying the sheet music.
Wow, you're taking your time to review this one with even some cheese and wine. I like the V-Winds a lot after I have listened to each and every one of their products. Too bad that my Mac is just a little too old for the UVI player.
Question for you: Have you tried these with a breath controller? (Do you even use a BC at all?) I feel like it feels even MORE real when I control instruments like this with my BC. And it also keeps me legit on the length of phrases because I'm literally breathing like a real player.
I've played the AS Trumpet and also a Saxophone with a breath controller (BBC2). I set up breath for dynamics, tilt (right) for vibrato and nod (up) for growl/flutter. It works really well! Examples can be found on my website, if you're so inclined.
