previously "SYNCHRON-ized Special Edition 5"
Welcome to the Vienna Symphonic Library's series of Synchron Instruments! The Studio Special Editions were specifically created to give our renowned Vienna Special Editions a chance to shine in the unique acoustic ambience of the Vienna Synchron Stage, and make the ease-of-use of the Vienna Synchron Player available to them, and you. This document will provide you with information about the Libraries' instruments and structure.
The Presets of each instrument group are subdivided into different Articulation categories (plus one named "Custom", ready for your own creations).
Strings
- Short Notes
- Long Notes
- Legato
- Dynamics
- Tremolo + Trills
- Pizzicato + Legno
- Harmonics
- Sul ponticello
- Con sordino (Orchestral strings)
Wind instruments
- Short Notes
- Long Notes
- Legato
- Dynamics
- Trills + Fast repetitions
Within these Articulation categories, you can select a Type (if applicable), e.g., staccato or détaché, and for some of the types there are additional options available, such as marcato attack or tremolo control.
The articulations of other instruments, such as percussion and keyboards, depend on the specific instrument's requirements and capabilities.
Special Edition 5 introduces our famed Collections Dimension Strings I and II (senza sordino and con sordino) to the world of Special Editions. The general structure was modeled after the other Collections' pattern, making it easy to switch or combine string sections without major adaptations. The major difference is that Dimension Strings allow you to access different groupings and individual players, so that you can adapt the size of your ensemble and fine-tune its performance.
For this reason, the Presets of this Collections not only offer an "All Players" setting, but also Desks with two players, as well as individual Presets for every player. Naturally, the "All Players" Presets have the highest RAM usage. On the other hand, they are the most versatile, as they not only comprise solo player and Desk settings, but also Groups of four (violins) or three (violas, cellos) players.
These are the instruments' playing ranges:
- 1st and 2nd Violins: G3–G7
- Violas: C3–E6
- Cellos: C2–A5
- Double Basses: B0–G4
In the "All Players" Presets, the Player keyswitches start at C0, which is also the setting for the entire ensemble (8, 6, or 4 players). Subsequent keyswitches select Groups (4 or 3 players), Desks (2 players), and Player 1.
Senza/con sordino: A0/A#0 are used to switch between articulations without and with sordino.
By default the keyswitches for Articulations are mapped from C1 to G#1 (for Middle C = C4) for violins, violas, and cellos, and C5 to G#5 for the double basses. For the available Types, the keyswitches start from F2 for violins and violas, and from F6 for cellos and basses.
Additional options within Articulations or Types are offered by the Dimension Controllers. The controller function is indicated by the respective caption, as of course it may take on different tasks as needed.
Staccato, détaché.
Sustained notes, normal, marcato, and with tremolo crossfading.
Marcato
As above with normal sustains, but with the option to use Dim.Ctrl/A (CC3) to add marcato attacks to the notes.
XF tremolo
Use Dim.Ctrl/B (CC20) to crossfade between regular sustains and tremolo.
Performance legato, normal and portamento.
Sforzato normal and with tremolo crossfading.
XF tremolo
Use Dim.Ctrl/B (CC20) to crossfade between regular sustains and tremolo.
Tremolo notes, normal and marcato.
Marcato
As above with normal tremolo, but with the option to use Dim.Ctrl/A (CC3) to add marcato attacks to the notes.
Pizzicato, normal.
