Category: User Guides

Kazbek includes two traditional Georgian/Armenian instruments recorded on location by local musicians.

The duduk is a double reed instrument with a sound similar to an English Horn. It’s usually played in pairs with one player performing the melody while another plays a drone.

There are two types of salamuri, reeded and non-reeded, Kazbek contains the latter. It’s a fipple flute style instrument, similar to a recorder. According to wikipedia legend salamuri tunes cheer people up, tame animals, make birds sing, and relieve human sorrow.

Installation

All Libre Wave virtual instruments and effects follow the same installation procedure. Please see the detailed installation guide for instructions on how to setup this product on your system.

Interface

Quick Start

• The menu at the left can be used to move between the various control sections – Mixer, Velocity, Expression, etc.
• When you move a knob or slider with your mouse its value will be displayed.
• Hold down ctrl or cmd to increase precision when you move a knob or slider.
• You can double click a knob or slider to reset it to its default value.
• If you hold the shift key while clicking on a knob or slider an input box will be displayed where you can enter a specific value.

Automation

To use MIDI learn to link a continuous controller (CC) to a knob or slider:

1. Right click the control.
2. Select MIDI learn.
3. Move a hardware knob, wheel, or fader to assign it to the control.

Many of the knobs have default CC assignments. You can view all CC assignments in the MIDI Automation tab of the Settings window. This is explained in more detail later in this guide.

You can remove CC assignments, including those assigned by default, by right-clicking the control and selecting Remove CC.

Many of the on-screen controls will respond to automation within your DAW without needing to assign a CC to them first. Check your DAW’s user guide for details on how to access automatable parameters.

Keyboard Layout

• The illuminated black and white keys show the playable range of the currently loaded instrument.
• The coloured keys trigger ornaments and phrases.
  • Salamuri: Yellow keys trigger rips (up and down).
  • Salamuri: Green keys trigger bends.
  • Salamuri: Red keys trigger runs.
  • Duduk: Yellow keys trigger trills.

Dynamic Controls

Velocity

Note on velocity (how hard you hit a key) controls the attack of each note. Playing a low velocity will create a longer attack and a high velocity will produce a shorter attack.

Velocity can also be used to control the initial Dynamic of a note. You can enable this using the button in the Dynamics section of the interface.

Vibrato

The vibrato intensity and rate can be controlled using either the two independent sliders or the XY pad. The XY pad is a great option when using a touch screen and provides continuous control over both parameters at the same time.

The vibrato intensity control (beneath the XY pad) sets the amount of vibrato that will be applied.

The vibrato rate control (to the right of the XY pad) sets the speed of the vibrato. The higher the value the faster the vibrato will be.

Expression

The expression control provides an overall volume change to the instrument. This can be used in conjunction with the dynamics controller to customise the dynamic range of the instrument and create niente effects.

Dynamics

Each instrument was recorded at three dynamic levels. The dynamics control allows you to smoothly crossfade between these recordings. A volume change is also applied automatically to keep the dynamics consistent and realistic across the range of the instrument.

Pitch Bend

You can use your MIDI keyboard’s pitch bender wheel to bend the pitch of a single note up or down by up to one semi-tone.

Sensitivity Curves

Many parameters have editable sensitivity curves. These enable you to adjust how the instrument responds to you when you perform with a MIDI controller.

• Move a node by clicking on it and dragging.
• Add a new node by clicking anywhere along the curve that doesn’t already have a node.
• Delete a node by right clicking it.
• Edit the curve between two nodes by hovering your mouse cursor over a node and moving the scroll wheel up or down.

Performance Techniques

The library is designed to be performed in real time and contains a few features to make obtaining a realistic performance easier and more natural for a keyboard player.

Using a Breath Controller

The breath controller mode can be enabled in the interface’s dynamics section. In this mode no sound will be triggered until the Dynamics controller is at a value greater than 10. If the value drops below 10 any notes that are playing will be stopped. You should assign your breath controller to control Dynamics.

Note duration

Holding down a key will sustain a note. For a realistic performance you should try and keep in mind how much air the player would be using to hold the note and stop when appropriate.

You can use the continuous controller assigned to dynamics to create swells, crescendos, diminuendos, or any other dynamic expressions. A breath controller, mod-wheel, or expression pedal is perfect for this.

To play a short note just release the key earlier and the note will be shorter. Play the note at a higher velocity with a brief swell on the dynamics controller to create a punchy staccato note. Using more or less force, releasing the key earlier or later, and varying the dynamics can create a variety of short articulations.

Attack and Accents

Playing very softly, with a velocity below 20, will trigger a slower attack, a velocity above 20 but below 70 will trigger a normal attack. When playing at velocities of 70 or above an attack overlay sample will be triggered first and blended smoothly into the start of the sustain sample.

Legato

Playing in an overlapped style, holding one note while playing the next, will trigger a legato transition between the notes. You don’t need to worry about pacing your playing to get a smooth transition or to compensate for lag. The instrument will detect your playing speed, the pressure you’re using on the keys, and a few other parameters to calculate each transition.

Retrigger

A sustain pedal (or other controller assigned to CC64) can be used to retrigger a note. Whle the sustain pedal is held down any key that is released will be retriggered. Releasing the sustain pedal will stop the note.

If you want to retrigger a note immediately after a glide you need to release the sustain pedal at the end of the glide and then hold it down again before releasing the key for the retrigger.

Trills

Trills of any interval, duration, or tempo can be played in a very natural fashion using the built-in retrigger feature. Hold down the first note of the trill while pressing and releasing the second. This is especially realistic when the library is used in combination with a breath controller linked to dynamics.

Glides

Glissandi, slides, and portamento can be triggered by pressing one key while another is already held and your sustain pedal (or other controller assigned to CC64) is engaged. Playing with a lower velocity will trigger a slower glide while a higher velocity will create a faster one.

Chords

Although the instruments in this library are monophonic it is sometimes useful to be able to play two or more notes at once. The library has a built in chord detector that will attempt to differentiate between a legato transition and playing a chord. There is no guarantee that it will be accurate 100% of the time. If you try to play a chord but only one note sounds it means the system thought you were trying to play a legato transition. This feature should be used sparingly and is included as a tool for composing rather than for crafting a realistic performance.

Preset Browser

The plugin includes a selection of default presets which you can customize and you can also create your own.

The name of the currently loaded preset is always displayed at the top of the interface. Clicking on it will open or close the preset browser. The arrow buttons next to the name can be clicked to load either the previous or the next preset.

The browser is divided into separate columns which are used to organize the presets into categories or banks. The presets themselves are displayed in the right most column.

Filtering

You can filter the list of presets by typing in the search bar at the top of the preset browser and hitting enter.

Clicking the star icon next to a preset will add it to your favourites list, clicking it again will remove it from your favourites. You can see all your favourites by clicking the larger star icon next to the search box.

Adding and Editing Presets

Click the Add button beneath the appropriate column to add new categories, banks, or presets. You can use the Delete and Rename buttons to edit existing entries.

You can save any changes you’ve made to an existing preset by clicking the Save Preset button next to the search bar.

Adding or saving a preset stores the state of the controls on the interface as well as the currently loaded samples.

Import and Export

Clicking the More button will open a drop down menu offering you a number of options for importing and exporting your presets.

Settings

The settings screen gives you control over the sampler engine, hardware configuration, and MIDI options. The settings that are available will vary slightly depending on if you are using the standalone instrument or the plugin.

Engine Tab:

• Standalone application only
  • Driver: This is used to set the audio playback system that the instrument will use. The choice of drivers will vary depending on your operating system.
  • Audio Device: You can select which hardware audio output device (soundcard/audio interface) you want the instrument to use.
  • Output: If your chosen device has multiple outputs you can use this menu to select which will be used by the instrument.
  • Buffer Size: This is the buffer used by your chosen audio device. Lowering the buffer size reduces latency but if it’s too low it can cause pops and clicks to be heard.
  • Sample Rate: This is the sample rate of your chosen audio device. The available options will vary based on your hardware.
• Standalone application and plugin
  • UI Zoom Factor: You can increase or decrease the size of the instrument’s interface using the options in this menu. All of the instrument’s graphics and text are designed to scale perfectly without blurring or fuzziness.
  • Streaming Mode: Select the option that suits the type of drive you are using to store the instrument’s samples.
  • Max Voices: The amount of polyphony the instrument can handle. If the value is too low you may notice some dropouts when playing a lot of notes.
  • Clear MIDI CC: Use this button to reset all MIDI continuous controller assignments you have made using the MIDI learn feature.
  • Change sample folder location: If you move the samples to a new location you can use this button to point the instrument to them.

MIDI input tab: Displays the hardware MIDI devices that the instrument can see. You can check the boxes alongside the device names to enable those devices for MIDI input. This tab is only visible in the standalone application

MIDI channel tab: From here you can select the incoming MIDI channels that the instrument will respond to.

MIDI automation tab: Displays information about any MIDI continuous controller numbers you have assigned using the MIDI learn feature. It also allows you to adjust the range of values that the continuous controllers will use and provides you with a quick way to invert the values if desired.

About tab: Shows information about the plugin. If you ever require assistance with the plugin it’s a good idea to provide its version number which you’ll be able to find in this tab.

Acknowledgements

Recording Coordinator: Olajide Paris
Editing: Olajide Paris & David Healey
Scripting & Graphics: David Healey
IDE: HISE

Tin whistle, penny whistle, English flageolet, tin flageolet, Belfast Hornpipe, feadóg stáin, and of course Irish whistle are just some of the many names given to the traditional Celtic fipple flutes.

O’Malley’s Irish Whistles includes D, C, Bb, and Low D whistle sample sets. This library was recorded in the same studio as Michaela’s Harp.

Musician

Mimi O’Malley is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter. She has toured internationally with various bands, playing many styles and genres in a wide variety of ensembles.

After many years of playing Irish whistle in pubs and working through her clarinet and saxophone grades she gained a place at Chethams School of Music where she studied under James Muirhead (Halle Orchestra) and Joanna Patton (Liverpool Philharmonic).

She continues to travel and perform in venues small and large and is currently working on a solo album.

Installation

All Libre Wave virtual instruments and effects follow the same installation procedure. Please see the detailed installation guide for instructions on how to setup this product on your system.

Interface

• Hold down ctrl or cmd to increase precision when you move a knob or slider.
• You can double click a knob or slider to reset it to its default value.
• When you move a knob or slider with your mouse its value will be displayed.
• If you hold the shift key while clicking on a knob or slider an input box will be displayed where you can enter a specific value.

Automation

To use MIDI learn to link a continuous controller (CC) to a knob or slider:

1. Right click the control.
2. Select MIDI learn.
3. Move a hardware knob, wheel, or fader to assign it to the control.

Many of the knobs have default CC assignments. You can view all CC assignments in the MIDI Automation tab of the Settings window. This is explained in more detail later in this guide.

You can remove CC assignments, including those assigned by default, by right-clicking the control and selecting Remove CC.

Many of the on-screen controls will respond to automation within your DAW without needing to assign a CC to them first. Check your DAW’s user guide for details on how to access automatable parameters.

Keyboard Layout

• The playable range of the currently loaded instrument is illuminated on the keyboard.
• Grey keys are outside of the playable range and produce no sound.
• Key switches (used for changing articulation) are coloured red and will always be positioned outside of the instrument’s playable range.

Articulations

You can select an articulation by triggering a key switch or sending a UACC continuous controller message. Changing articulation using UACC (Universal Articulation Controller Channel) is done by setting a value on MIDI CC32.

Round Robin

The live and sustain articulations include two recorded repetition samples. The staccato articulation and legato transitions use four recorded repetitions in a true-random pattern.

Live Techniques

The Live articulation is designed to be performed in real time and contains a few features to make obtaining a realistic performance easier and more natural for a keyboard player.

Using a breath controller

When the breath controller button is enabled the Live articulation’s breath controller mode will be engaged. In this mode no sound will be triggered unless the Dynamics knob is at a value greater than 10. If the knob’s value drops below 10 any notes that are playing will be stopped. You will probably want to assign your breath controller to the Dynamics knob.

Long notes

Holding down a key will sustain a note indefinitely. Every sample will loop so you can maintain a note of any length. For a realistic performance you should try and keep in mind how much air the player would be using to hold the note and stop when appropriate.

You can use the continuous controller assigned to dynamics to create swells, crescendos, diminuendos, or any other dynamic expressions. A breath controller, mod-wheel, or expression pedal is perfect for this.

Short notes

To play a short note just release the key earlier and the note will be shorter. Play the note at a higher velocity with a brief swell on the dynamics controller to create a punchy staccato note. Using more or less force, releasing the key earlier or later, and varying the dynamics can create a variety of short articulations.

Attack and accents

Playing very softly, with a velocity below 20, will trigger a slower attack, a velocity above 20 but below 70 will trigger a normal attack.

When playing at velocities of 70 or above a staccato overlay sample will be triggered first and blended smoothly into the start of the sustain sample.

Legato

Playing in an overlapped style, holding one note while playing the next, will trigger a legato transition between the notes. You don’t need to worry about pacing your playing to get a smooth transition or to compensate for lag, the instrument will detect your playing speed, the pressure you’re using on the keys (velocity), and a few other parameters to calculate each transition.

Glides

Glissandi, slides, portamento, and smears can be triggered by pressing one key while another is already held and the sustain pedal (or other controller assigned to CC64) is engaged. This method functions between two notes up to a whole step apart.

Same note legato

A sustain pedal (or other controller assigned to CC64) can be used to trigger a legato transition on a single note. When the sustain pedal is held down any key that is released will be retriggered. Releasing the sustain pedal will end the note.

If you want to trigger a same note legato transition immediately after a glide you need to release the sustain pedal at the end of the glide and then hold it down again before releasing the key to retrigger the note.

Trills

Trills of any interval, duration, or tempo can be played in a very natural fashion using the built-in retrigger feature. Hold down the first note of the trill while pressing and releasing the second. This is especially realistic when the library is used in combination with a breath controller linked to dynamics.

Chords

Although the instruments in this library are monophonic it is sometimes useful to be able to play two or more notes at once. The Live articulation has a built in chord detector that will attempt to differentiate between a legato transition and playing a chord. There is no guarantee that it will be accurate 100% of the time. If you try to play a chord but only one note sounds it means the system thought you were trying to play a legato transition. This feature should be used sparingly and is included as a tool for composing rather than for crafting a realistic performance.

Performance Controls

Velocity

When using the Live articulation the note-on velocity controls the attack of each note. Playing a low velocity will create a longer attack and a high velocity will produce a shorter attack.

Velocity can also be used to control the initial Dynamic of a note. To activate this functionality you need to enable the small round button next to the Dynamics knob. This will cause the Velocity Control button to be displayed which you can then activate.

Expression

The expression control provides an overall volume change to the instrument. This can be used in conjunction with the dynamics controller to customise the dynamic range of the instrument or create niente diminuendos.

Dynamics

The dynamics controller allows you to smoothly change the instrument’s dynamic. A volume change is also applied automatically by this controller to keep the dynamics consistent and realistic across the range of the instrument. Like all fipple flutes the playable dynamics of the Irish Whistle are limited and vary across the range of the instrument, generally low notes are soft and high notes are loud.

Vibrato Intensity & Rate

The vibrato intensity knob controls the amount of vibrato. The vibrato rate knob controls the speed of the vibrato. A lower value will produce a slower vibrato while a higher value creates a faster vibrato.

Pitch Bend Wheel

All of the whistles in this library respond to the pitch bend controller. This is a great way to play simple slides into and out of notes in real-time.

Response Curves

Next to each performance control knob is a small button which when enabled will display the response curve for that control. If none of the buttons are enabled the response curve for velocity will be displayed.

You can edit the response curve to adjust the control’s sensitivity.

Master Output

The master output controls allow you to adjust the sound of the instrument after any sonic changes created by the other controls.

• Pan: This controls the left/right balance of the instrument.
• Volume: Provides the final stage of the instrument’s volume control. It can also provide a gain boost of up to +3dB at its highest setting.
• Coarse: tune Tuning control in the range of -12 to +12 semitones.
• Fine tune: Tuning control in the range of -100 to +100 cents.

Preset Browser

You access the preset browser by clicking the name of the currently loaded preset which is displayed on the main interface. The arrow buttons on either side can be used to load the previous or next preset.

The browser itself is divided into two columns allowing you to select a preset based on the type of whistle. You can create your own presets by clicking the Add button below the second column.

Clicking the More button will open a drop down menu offering you a number of options for importing and exporting your presets.

You can filter the list of presets by typing in the search bar and hitting enter.

Clicking the star icon next to a preset will add it to your favourites list, clicking it again will remove it from your favourites. You can see all your favourites by clicking the larger star icon next to the search box above the first column of the preset browser.

You can save any changes you’ve made to a preset by clicking the Save Preset button next to the search bar.

Settings

The settings screen gives you control over the sampler engine, hardware configuration, and MIDI options. The settings that are available will vary slightly depending on if you are using the standalone instrument or the plugin.

Engine Tab:

• Standalone application only
  • Driver: This is used to set the audio playback system that the instrument will use. The choice of drivers will vary depending on your operating system.
  • Audio Device: You can select which hardware audio output device (soundcard/audio interface) you want the instrument to use.
  • Output: If your chosen device has multiple outputs you can use this menu to select which will be used by the instrument.
  • Buffer Size: This is the buffer used by your chosen audio device. Lowering the buffer size reduces latency but if it’s too low it can cause pops and clicks to be heard.
  • Sample Rate: This is the sample rate of your chosen audio device. The available options will vary based on your hardware.
• Standalone application and plugin
  • UI Zoom Factor: You can increase or decrease the size of the instrument’s interface using the options in this menu. All of the instrument’s graphics and text are designed to scale perfectly without blurring or fuzziness.
  • Streaming Mode: Select the option that suits the type of drive you are using to store the instrument’s samples.
  • Max Voices: The amount of polyphony the instrument can handle. If the value is too low you may notice some dropouts when playing a lot of notes.
  • Clear MIDI CC: Use this button to reset all MIDI continuous controller assignments you have made using the MIDI learn feature.
  • Change sample folder location: If you move the samples to a new location you can use this button to point the instrument to them.

MIDI input tab: Displays the hardware MIDI devices that the instrument can see. You can check the boxes alongside the device names to enable those devices for MIDI input. This tab is only visible in the standalone application

MIDI channel tab: From here you can select the incoming MIDI channels that the instrument will respond to.

MIDI automation tab: Displays information about any MIDI continuous controller numbers you have assigned using the MIDI learn feature. It also allows you to adjust the range of values that the continuous controllers will use and provides you with a quick way to invert the values if desired.

About tab: Shows information about the plugin. If you ever require assistance with the plugin it’s a good idea to provide its version number which you’ll be able to find in this tab.

Acknowledgements

Studio: Riverside
Recording Technician: Sarah McNeill
Musician: Mimi O’Malley
Editing & Scripting: David Healey
Graphic Design: Koke Núñez Gómez
IDE: HISE

A mute is a device a musician can fit to their instrument to change its sound. There is usually a reduction in volume and a change in tone depending on the instrument, the type of mute, and the performer.

A mute works like an acoustic equalizer. By blocking sounds and absorbing energy the mute filters out certain frequencies while allowing others to pass.

Introduction

Sordina is a VST effect plugin that runs on GNU/Linux, Windows, and Mac OS. It’s purpose is to emulate a wide variety of instrument mutes – currently brass and saxophone.

As with real mutes each of Sordina’s virtual mutes has a different character and responds slightly differently to the input signal they are applied to.

Here’s an A/B comparison of a trombone playing with a real bucket mute and the original un-muted recording being processed by Sordina’s virtual bucket mute.

Installation

Please see the detailed installation guide for instructions on how to setup Sordina on your system.

Quick start

As the plugin is intended to alter the sound of an audio signal it should be placed either after a VST instrument in the plugin chain, on a track containing audio, on an audio bus, or on the master output.

Sordina can be added to a DAW track as either an insert or send effect. This guide will assume it’s being used as an insert.

After the plugin has been added to the audio chain select a mute from the preset browser.

Interface

Quick Tips

If you hold the shift key on your keyboard while clicking on a knob you’ll be able to type in a specific value.

You can move the knobs on the interface more precisely by holding down the control key on your keyboard at the same time.

Double clicking a knob will reset it to its default value.

Clicking the Libre Wave logo will display some information about the plugin and provide a clickable link to the librewave.com website.

Mix & Gain

The Mix knob allows you to adjust the balance between the incoming dry signal and the processed wet signal. To recreate the true sound of the mute on a solo instrument this should be set to 100%. Values lower than this are useful for blending the sound with other instruments and for creative purposes.

The presets that come with Sordina have been volume calibrated against reference recordings but this calibration may not necessarily fit with the audio you will feed into the plugin. The gain knob allows you to adjust the output volume to suit your specific needs.

Frequency analyser & Meters

The window in the middle of the interface displays a real time frequency analysis of the incoming and outgoing audio. The yellow colour shows the unprocessed input signal, while the muted signal is displayed as blue.

On each side of this window is a traditional volume meter. The yellow one on the left shows the volume of the incoming audio while the blue meter on the right shows the volume of the processed output signal.

Filter

The knobs marked HPF and LPF control the cut-off frequency of a high-pass and low-pass filter respectively.

Like a real mute the response of the virtual mutes varies depending on the specific instrument being played. The filter is useful to alter the characteristics of the muted sound to adjust for such variations or to sculpt the output audio for a desired result.

A graphical representation of the filter is overlaid on the FFT analyser.

Wah Wah

When a compatible mute is selected the Wah knob will be enabled. This knob can be controlled in real time using host automation to create a live wah wah effect.

Automation

All of the knobs will respond to automation messages from your DAW. Check your DAW’s user guide for details on how to access automatable parameters.

You can load mutes on the fly by automating the Presets parameter. You should avoid doing this while audio is playing on the track where the plugin is inserted because it will result in unwanted clicks or pops. If you want to change the mute in the middle of a line you should leave enough silence in the part to avoid this issue.

Preset Browser

The browser is divided into three columns. In the left column you can select the instrument you want to mute. For example if you are routing a trumpet recording or a trumpet virtual instrument into Sordina then you’ll probably want to select Trumpet & Cornet from this column. However there are many creative combinations possible by selecting a mute intended for a different instrument.

From the centre column you can select the type of mute. The options available will vary depending on the instrument. See the tables below for more details.

The third column displays the mutes available for the selected instrument and mute type. All of the virtual mutes in Sordina have been created by analysing recordings of real instruments and their mutes*. The names you see in the third column contain the brand of mute that was analysed and either the mute’s model or some other relevant information

Clicking the star icon next to a mute name will add it to your favourites list, clicking it again will remove it. You can see all of the mutes you have marked as a favourite by clicking the larger star icon next to the search box above the first column of the preset browser.

You can filter the list of mutes by typing in the search bar and hitting enter.

If you’d like to save any changes you’ve made to a preset you can do so by clicking the Save Preset button next to the search bar.

Mutes

French Horn

Piccolo Trumpet

Trumpet & Cornet

Flugelhorn

Trombone

Bass Trombone

Euphonium

Tuba

Saxophone

*Libre Wave and Sordina are in no way affiliated or endorsed by the manufacturers of the mutes analysed for the creation of this plugin. Their names and trademarks are referenced only as descriptors for the user’s information.

Acknowledgements

Produced by: David Healey
Demo Audio: David Budimir
GUI Design: David Healey

Sofia Woodwinds is a collection of solo orchestral woodwind instruments. The library was recorded by Four for Music on their main recording stage in Sofia, Bulgaria. We recorded using three microphone positions – close, decca, and hall/wide.

Installation

All Libre Wave virtual instruments and effects follow the same installation procedure. Please see the detailed installation guide for instructions on how to setup this product on your system.

Interface

• Hold down ctrl or cmd to increase precision when you move a knob or slider.
• You can double click a knob or slider to reset it to its default value.
• When you move a knob or slider with your mouse its value will be displayed.
• If you hold the shift key while clicking on a knob or slider an input box will be displayed where you can enter a specific value.

Automation

To use MIDI learn to link a continuous controller (CC) to a knob or slider:

1. Right click the control.
2. Select MIDI learn.
3. Move a hardware knob, wheel, or fader to assign it to the control.

Many of the knobs have default CC assignments. You can view all CC assignments in the MIDI Automation tab of the Settings window. This is explained in more detail later in this guide.

You can remove CC assignments, including those assigned by default, by right-clicking the control and selecting Remove CC.

Many of the on-screen controls will respond to automation within your DAW without needing to assign a CC to them first. Check your DAW’s user guide for details on how to access automatable parameters.

On screen keyboard

The playable range of the currently loaded instrument is illuminated on the on screen keyboard. Grey keys are outside of the playable range and produce no sound.

Legato

The left side of the interface provides a few sliders to tweak your legato performances.

• Offset: Adjusts the smoothness of legato transitions. A higher value results in a smoother transition but in some contexts may cause the transitions to sound “synthy”. Lower values are good for creating more clarity, especially in fast passages and trills.
• X-Fade Intensity: The crossfade time of each legato transition is calculated on the fly during your performance. You can think of this slider like a compressor, it controls the range of values that the crossfade time can be. If the slider is set to 0 then no crossfade will be used and instead the fade time will be determined by the envelope time set in the Release Tails panel.
• Pitch Intensity: This controls the amount of pitch bend that is added during legato transitions. It’s a very subtle effect and will be more noticeable on some patches than others. If the X-Fade intensity slider is set to 0 then no pitch bending will be applied.
• Transition Gain: A legato transition consists of three samples. The initial note of the phrase, a mid-transition sound, and the destination note. This knob provides control over the mid-transition volume.
• Glide Rate: Provides a choice of standard note lengths which are used to determine the duration of glides.
  • The button to the right allows you to disable the slider and use note on velocity to control the glide rate instead. In this mode playing with a higher velocity results in a shorter glide time.

Release Tails

Release tails are samples that play when a key is released. They complete the sound of the note and provide a natural room reverb. The controls in this panel allow you to adjust how the release tails behave.

• Purge: Enabling this button will unload the release tails from memory and disable the Gain and Decay sliders.
• Gain: Controls the volume of the release tail samples.
• Decay: Controls how quickly the release tail samples fade out.
• Envelope Time: Controls the envelope release time of the sustain samples.

Performance Controls

Velocity

Note on velocity (how hard you hit a key) controls the attack of each note. Playing a low velocity will create a longer attack and a high velocity will produce a shorter attack.

Velocity can also be used to control the initial Dynamic of a note. To activate this functionality you need to enable the small round button next to the Dynamics knob. This will cause the Velocity Control button to be displayed which you can then activate.

Expression

The expression control provides an overall volume change to the instrument. This can be used in conjunction with the dynamics controller to customise the dynamic range of the instrument and create niente effects.

Dynamics

Each instrument was recorded at three dynamic levels between pp and fff. The dynamics controller allows you to smoothly crossfade between these recordings. A volume change is also applied automatically by this controller to keep the dynamics consistent and realistic across the range of the instrument.

Flutter

With the exception of the oboes, cor anglais, and contrabassoon all of the instruments include flutter tongue recordings.

The flutter knob controls the crossfade between the sustain and flutter samples. Flutter samples will only be triggered when the knob is at a value of 5 or greater. This reduces the instrument’s voice count and saves system resources when flutter tonguing isn’t required. The downside to this is you have to remember to set the knob to at least 5 before playing a note you want to flutter.

Vibrato Intensity & Rate

The vibrato intensity knob controls the depth of vibrato.

The vibrato rate knob controls the speed of the vibrato. A lower value will produce a slower vibrato while a higher value creates a faster vibrato.

Random variations are added to the vibrato in real time to give it a more natural and human feel. These variations adapt to the intensity and rate you are using.

Vibrato is a complicated effect that combines changes in pitch, volume, and timbre. You can have full control over the balance of these parameters by enabling the small circular button next to the vibrato Intensity or Rate knobs.

Pitch Bend Wheel

You can use your MIDI keyboard’s pitch bender wheel to bend the pitch of a single note up or down by up to one semi-tone.

Response Curves

Next to each performance control knob is a small button which when enabled will display the response curve for that control. If none of the buttons are enabled the response curve for velocity will be displayed.

You can edit the response curve to adjust the control’s sensitivity.

Mixer

The mixer provides a channel strip for each of the three microphone positions: close, decca, and hall.

• Delay: Used to add a time delay of up to 500ms to the channel’s signal. This is useful when positioning the instruments in a virtual environment and helps to create separation between the channels.
• Width: Provides control over the stereo width. The default value is 100%, this keeps the channel’s width true to the original recording. A higher value will increase the stereo width of the channel. A lower value will reduce the width. A value of zero results in a mono signal. The close mic is a mono channel and as such its width control has no effect.
• Pan: Below the width control is the channel’s pan slider. This controls the left/right balance of the channel. Each instrument’s Close channel is by default panned according to the musician’s position on the scoring stage. The Decca and Hall channels are positioned centrally, providing an accurate stereo position of the musician in the room.
• Volume: The vertical fader below the pan slider controls the volume of the channel.
• Purge: To the left of each volume fader is a power button. This can be used to load or unload the channel’s samples. Unloading the samples will disable that channel and reduce the instrument’s memory usage.
• Output: At the bottom of the channel strip is the output menu. This is used to select the stereo output for the channel. To make use of this you must be using the instrument as a plugin inside a host that supports multiple outputs. Please check your host’s user guide to setup the output configuration correctly.

Master Channel

In addition to the three microphone channel strips the mixer includes a master channel. This provides control over the final output of the instrument after any adjustments made by the other channel strips.

• Coarse: Tuning control in the range of -12 to +12 semitones.
• Fine: Tuning control in the range of -100 to +100 cents.
• Pan: This controls the left/right balance of the instrument.
• Volume: The vertical fader provides the final stage of the instrument’s volume control. It can also provide a gain boost of up to +3dB at its highest position.

Preset Browser

The preset browser is accessed by clicking the name of the currently loaded preset in the rop right corner. You can click the name again to close the preset browser. The arrow buttons can be used to load either the previous or next preset.

The browser itself is divided into three columns allowing you to select a preset based on the family and type of instrument.

Clicking the More button will open a drop down menu offering you a number of options for importing and exporting your presets.

You can filter the list of presets by typing in the search bar and hitting enter.

Clicking the star button next to a preset will toggle its availability in your favourites list. You can see all your favourites by clicking the larger star icon next to the search bar.

You can save any changes you’ve made to a preset by clicking the Save Preset button.

Settings

The settings screen gives you control over the sampler engine, hardware configuration, and MIDI options. The settings that are available will vary slightly depending on if you are using the standalone instrument or the plugin.

Engine Tab:

• Standalone application only
  • Driver: This is used to set the audio playback system that the instrument will use. The choice of drivers will vary depending on your operating system.
  • Audio Device: You can select which hardware audio output device (soundcard/audio interface) you want the instrument to use.
  • Output: If your chosen device has multiple outputs you can use this menu to select which will be used by the instrument.
  • Buffer Size: This is the buffer used by your chosen audio device. Lowering the buffer size reduces latency but if it’s too low it can cause pops and clicks to be heard.
  • Sample Rate: This is the sample rate of your chosen audio device. The available options will vary based on your hardware.
• Standalone application and plugin
  • UI Zoom Factor: You can increase or decrease the size of the instrument’s interface using the options in this menu. All of the instrument’s graphics and text are designed to scale perfectly without blurring or fuzziness.
  • Streaming Mode: Select the option that suits the type of drive you are using to store the instrument’s samples.
  • Max Voices: The amount of polyphony the instrument can handle. If the value is too low you may notice some dropouts when playing a lot of notes.
  • Clear MIDI CC: Use this button to reset all MIDI continuous controller assignments you have made using the MIDI learn feature.
  • Change sample folder location: If you move the samples to a new location you can use this button to point the instrument to them.

MIDI input tab: Displays the hardware MIDI devices that the instrument can see. You can check the boxes alongside the device names to enable those devices for MIDI input. This tab is only visible in the standalone application

MIDI channel tab: From here you can select the incoming MIDI channels that the instrument will respond to.

MIDI automation tab: Displays information about any MIDI continuous controller numbers you have assigned using the MIDI learn feature. It also allows you to adjust the range of values that the continuous controllers will use and provides you with a quick way to invert the values if desired.

About tab: Shows information about the plugin. If you ever require assistance with the plugin it’s a good idea to provide its version number which you’ll be able to find in this tab.

Performance techniques

The library is designed to be performed in real time and contains a few features to make obtaining a realistic performance easier and more natural for a keyboard player.

Using a breath controller

When the Breath button (under the Dynamics curve editor) is enabled the breath controller mode will be engaged. In this mode no sound will be triggered unless the Dynamics knob is at a value greater than 10. If the knob’s value drops below 10 any notes that are playing will be stopped. You will probably want to assign your breath controller to the Dynamics knob or use one of the breath presets.

Long notes

Holding down a key will sustain a note indefinitely. Every sample will loop so you can maintain a note of any length. For a realistic performance you should try and keep in mind how much air the player would be using to hold the note and stop when appropriate.

You can use the continuous controller assigned to dynamics to create swells, crescendos, diminuendos, or any other dynamic expressions. A breath controller, mod-wheel, or expression pedal is perfect for this.

Short Notes

To play a short note just release the key earlier and the note will be shorter. Play the note at a higher velocity with a brief swell on the dynamics controller to create a punchy staccato note. Using more or less force, releasing the key earlier or later, and varying the dynamics can create a variety of short articulations.

Attack and Accents

Playing very softly, with a velocity below 20, will trigger a slower attack, a velocity above 20 but below 70 will trigger a normal attack.

When playing at velocities of 70 or above a staccato overlay sample will be triggered first and blended smoothly into the start of the sustain sample.

Legato

Playing in an overlapped style, holding one note while playing the next, will trigger a legato transition between the notes. You don’t need to worry about pacing your playing to get a smooth transition or to compensate for lag. The instrument will detect your playing speed, the pressure you’re using on the keys, and a few other parameters to calculate each transition.

Glides

Glissandi, slides, portamento, and smears can be triggered by pressing one key while another is already held and your sustain pedal (or other controller assigned to CC64) is engaged. You can glide across any interval using this method. The rate of the glide is controlled using the Glide Rate slider or velocity depending on the settings you’ve chosen in the Legato panel.

Same note legato

A sustain pedal (or other controller assigned to CC64) can be used to trigger a legato transition on a single note. When the sustain pedal is held down any key that is released will be retriggered. Releasing the sustain pedal will end the note.

If you want to trigger a same note legato transition immediately after a glide you need to release the sustain pedal at the end of the glide and then hold it down again before releasing the key to retrigger the note.

Trills

Trills of any interval, duration, or tempo can be played in a very natural fashion using the built-in retrigger feature. Hold down the first note of the trill while pressing and releasing the second. This is especially realistic when the library is used in combination with a breath controller linked to dynamics.

Chords

Although the instruments in this library are monophonic it is sometimes useful to be able to play two or more notes at once. The library has a built in chord detector that will attempt to differentiate between a legato transition and playing a chord. There is no guarantee that it will be accurate 100% of the time. If you try to play a chord but only one note sounds it means the system thought you were trying to play a legato transition. This feature should be used sparingly and is included as a tool for composing rather than for crafting a realistic performance.

Acknowledgements

Studio: Four for Music
Recording Coordinator: Yuliyan Stoyanov
Musicians: Piccolo, Flute I: Petyo Kolev. Flute II, Alto Flute: Cvetelina Beleva. Oboe I, English Horn: Kostadin Yotzov. Oboe II: Valentin Metodiev. Clarinet I: Mihail Jivkov. Clarinet II, Bass Clarinet: Martin Churov. Bassoon I: Alexander Sarandev. Bassoon II, Contrabassoon: Atanas Bakurdjiev.
Editing & Scripting: David Healey
Graphic Design: Reza Rizaldy (Flatheart)
Help & Advice: Christoph Hart, Elan Hickler, Raymond Radet, Ivy Audio
IDE: HISE