What exactly is VSL Opus 1 & 2? Are they "extras" or "light version"?

[Lunatique]

I don't understand the concept behind the Opus 1 and 2 series from VSL (or maybe I just haven't found the right explanation yet). It seems that are selected from the Performance Set, so that makes them the "Light Versions" of the Performance Set? But they seem to be more than that. So how exactly does the Opus series fit into the VSL product line?

[janila]

Opus1 is the entry level version of Vienna Symphonic Library and it contains selected samples from the whole Pro Edition, not just the Performance Set.

I think the info on VSL site is pretty understandable: "It contains handpicked samples and Performance Elements from the Vienna Symphonic Library's Pro Edition. Our revolutionary Legato Performance instruments and a selection of the most important single note articulations allow for superior arrangements with the best possible realism."


Opus2 contains some instruments from the Pro Edition but also a lot from the Horizon series.

From the VSL site: "OPUS 2 expands the potential of OPUS 1 and the FIRST EDITION with additional articulations and further instruments. It also offers bonus files which include basic articulations of instruments from other Horizon Series titles, like Solo Strings, Epic Horns, French Oboe, or Woodwind Ensembles."


And about the Horizon series in general: "These 14 editions focus on specific instruments or instrument groups, with a heightened attention to detail and realism."

[Lunatique]

Gotcha. I gotta say, the way they structure their product line and write their product descriptions is a marketing nightmare. I'm a pretty smart guy, and I still have trouble understanding just what their product structure is sometimes.

For example, the description for Opus 1 does not make it clear that it's an entry level product--you have to read between the lines to catch that. If they had just said "Opus 1 is an entry level library which is made up of samples selected from the Symphonic Library and the Performance Set, and were selected because they are the most useful and important samples that could give you the highest quality and realism, despite the smaller size of the Opus 1 library." then I would've understood perfectly. I think they need to hire a better copywriter.

[janila]

I'm glad it feels clearer now. I've had the Opus1 for a year now so maybe that's why the VSL site seems clear to me. :) Keep in mind that the VSL Pro Edition is 240 GB so the 25 GB Opus1 is "light" only when compared to its big brother.

[Chinablu]

I have Opus 1/2 (and Chamber Strings).

To me, "entry level" is not adequate to a VSL product, seems a bit reductive. "Light version" sounds better.

:)

Let's say that as any other kind of thing producing sounds, Opus is a professional and complete package if you need right that articulations. Opus 2, then, nicely integrates Opus 1 with flautando tones, runs, repetitions, looped winds, muted brass and all the bonus contents described in VSL site.

Since I couldn't afford the Complete Orchestral box, I reached a good compromise adding to my shopping cart also Chamber Strings at reduced price (-30%) on last August, and got some more useful articulations (short staccato, performance legato/repeated notes and so on).

Now I have an "entry level" highly professional combo. Not bad indeed, for the money invested...

[Lunatique]

Just wondering, are the contents of Opus 1 & 2 taken directly from the Complete Library, without any new programming? If so, if someone already has the Complete Library, Opus 1 & 2 would be redundant? But I guess if someone has the First Edition of the Complete Library, then the Opus 1 & 2 would actually offer articulations not found in the First Edition?

[janila]

Just wondering, are the contents of Opus 1 & 2 taken directly from the Complete Library, without any new programming? If so, if someone already has the Complete Library, Opus 1 & 2 would be redundant? But I guess if someone has the First Edition of the Complete Library, then the Opus 1 & 2 would actually offer articulations not found in the First Edition?They have been reprogrammed to fit the smaller set of samples but I don't think there are any new features for GigaStudio or EXS. There's no Halion or Kontakt versions of the Pro Edition so the Opus1 has been fully reprogrammed for those.

Opus1 doesn't have anything that isn't included in the Pro Edition but it is more lightweight for laptop use. There isn't a discount for Pro Edition users to get the Opus1 but Opus1 price gets fully discounted when upgrading to the Pro Edition.

Opus1 has a lot of instruments that aren't included in the First Edition. Check the instrument lists in the VSL site for comparison.

Opus2 has instruments from the Horizon series and those aren't included in either First or Pro Edition of the full library. All the Horizon stuff in Opus2 are demos or extras and most likely Pro Edition owners will get the full Horizon products instead of the Opus2.

[ArsNova]

I know tons of composers who are really happy with Opus 1 and have no intention of upgrading to the full package. Heck I just got Kontakt2 and the 9 gigs of VSL you get there are so good I'm questioning if I even need to buy any VSL products.

One of the really great mockup artist once said that for any serious sample work Opus 1 was a no brainer. I don't think that you'll go wrong with that purchase no matter how it's being marketed and you may like it enough that you can save yourself 5 grand.

Ars

[Chinablu]

Yes, I guess that if one already has the Complete package, Opus 1/2 is redundant: with the Performance Set, for example, you should be able to select the exact Violin string (G, D, A, E) that is to be played.

In Horizon - alas! - you can't.

But with Horizon Chamber Strings you get a charming flautando gliss...

:)

[jc5]

If you can afford the full package - get it! :p
If you cannot, the Opus collection is an extremely well thought out selection. You can get very serious in your orchestration with it - there is nothing 'light' or 'entry level' about it. The only thing that is better is... why.. the complete package! ;)

[justin thyme]

Is Opus 1 the same sample collection that's bundled with GigaStudio 3?

[janila]

Is Opus 1 the same sample collection that's bundled with GigaStudio 3?$900 library bundled with $500 software? Hardly. I'm not sure what exactly is included in the GS VSL library but wasn't the VSL library included with Kontakt 2 bigger than the GS VSL? I have both Kontakt 2 and Opus 1 and I never use the VSL library included with K2. Opus 1 is far beyond those freebies. :|:

[fizbin]

Opus 1 has more articulations and certainly more from the performance library than the K2 included samples. That said, the K2 included samples are quite amazing considering they are basically included (somewhat) for free. I believe the K2 included samples weigh in at around 7-8 GB while the Opus 1 samples are over 25 GB.

fizbin

[Ouch that hurts]

Gotcha. I gotta say, the way they structure their product line and write their product descriptions is a marketing nightmare. I'm a pretty smart guy, and I still have trouble understanding just what their product structure is sometimes.

I agree. The whole initial split between the Cube and the Performance Set was a mistake IMO. Every time I consider buying something, I start asking myself difficult questions, like "how well will the Cube work without the Performance Set?", or "how well will the Performance Set work without the Cube?" or "if I only want strings, is it worth getting them only, even though they come without the Performance tools, or would I be better off with Opus 1, including the Performance tools but with much fewer articulations?"

It's just too complicated, and unless one can justify just buying the whole lot, it always leads to a sense that one will be "missing out" on something, and a questioning whether it's then worth paying what are, by current standards, very high prices for something that's an incomplete solution.

The traditional way of dividing up sample libraries by section make much more sense. If you buy Garritan Orchestral Strings, or Sonic Implants Brass, you get ALL the samples and ALL the programming that was made for them. You don't then feel compromised by the fact that there's no woodwind, because that's clearly not what you were buying in the first place.

[loogoo]

Couldn't agree more. That's why I'm settling for the basic VSL library that comes with Kontakt 2 rather than facing the myriad choices that are the VSL products. :confused:

[janila]

How does the built-in legato script on the VSL Library compare to using Opus 1+2 with Kontakt?

Wouldn't it be nice if this script were also available for Opus?VSL says that the scripts are coming but the problem is that Kontakt 2 doesn't have copy protection for the scripts. It has password protection against editing the script but the password protected script can be used without any kind of registering. The Performance Tool needs registering so VSL isn't eager to give up the only protection they have. Native Instruments should come up with a solution. I'm using a custom legato script with Opus 1 and French Oboe and I couldn't be happier with it. You just load the instrument and everything is set. No need to play with midi routers and channels or load anything to the tool. It also seems to work in offline bounce, the tool requires realtime bouncing.


I agree. The whole initial split between the Cube and the Performance Set was a mistake IMO.I agree that the split doesn't make things any easier. The only explanation I can think of is that you can get the non-performance VSL library which works like any other library and you can get the exclusive VSL performances separately if you want to.

[Lunatique]

For those that said the Opus series is quite "serious" and there's nothing "light or entry" about them--have you ever felt restricted when using them, and wished you had the complete package? If so, what were the specific limitations you faced that made you feel that way?

[Daryl]

If there's a better (easier-to-use) script I would love to download it.

Please tell me where I can get this.

Short answer, you can't. VSL is currently trying to sort out with NI a way of copy protecting the whole thing, as currently the only protection they have is the Performance Tool. As soon as NI manages to come up with a solution I'm sure the script will be made public.

D

[jc5]

For those that said the Opus series is quite "serious" and there's nothing "light or entry" about them--have you ever felt restricted when using them, and wished you had the complete package? If so, what were the specific limitations you faced that made you feel that way?

Hmm... a 'difficult' question in a way - certainly, I wish I had the complete package - there is just so much more material there, including other less common orchestral instruments that I would be keening on having.
But at the same time I have not felt at all restricted in using the Opus bundle, because what is included in that package is so well thought out that it would take a long time indeed to exhaust all the possibilities those samples present. One keeps discovering new tricks and methods to achieve more effects and sounds all the time.

[Tomke]

For those that said the Opus series is quite "serious" and there's nothing "light or entry" about them--have you ever felt restricted when using them, and wished you had the complete package? If so, what were the specific limitations you faced that made you feel that way?
I have opus 1, and I have to say I don't feel really limited with it. It is pretty much complete, unless for those moments when you need very specific things - like rarely used percussion for ex. But there is not any entry or light feel about it at all. The difference between EWQL Platinum and Gold is considerably bigger from this perspective.

I've compared opus 1 and Pro ed. side by side, and if you listen really really carefully you can sort of hear that Pro has slightly more depth in the sound - most notably in the woodwinds. Pro also seems to provide separate samples for each note, whereas Opus 1 doesn't (I'm guessing). This makes the Pro come alive ever so slightly more. But it's nothing you hear unless you listen with dog's ears. Some sounds out of the opus library doesn't really make me gasp, so sometimes I feel in need of something more from that perspective. But the pro is basically the same samples presented a little more full and rich. So if you don't really gasp from a sound in Opus then you will not do it from the Pro version of the same sound either.

If I would grind it down to the bottom, I'd say that the missing things that starts coming up first of all is the usability of the harp and certain less common percussion sounds. Pro also has tons of more articulations but some of those articulations are also reprogramming of the same samples. With pro you get everything you ever thought of, and more: tons of sounds programmed into tons and tons of articulations and "patches" to give you the option of loading the config you want. With opus you get 99% of what you can think of programmed into nearly everything you may need for the classic thing.

The VSL library is not really a lib you would fire up to get inspiration from. VSL can sound a little cold and almost boringly real and 'close' but as a representation of your complete work it does a really good job. For inspiring sound you would have to look at Reaktor or Atmosphere or something like that. I also got Opus because of computer power limitations. You will not be able to use Pro as entire orchestra on a single PC, but with Opus you can - if you use it right.

[Chinablu]

Could it be interesting to have a demo of the same piece rendered comparatively with Pro + Performance Set and Opus 1 + Opus 2?

If I'm not wrong, made something like that: if you take a look at EWQLSO Silver, Gold and Platinum pages, you will note that "Cartoon" demo has been comparatively rendered with each of the libraries.

Any volunteer? :)

[janila]

Why can't NI let me register and get all updates for my account in one swoop rather than endless window after window?

I have several NI powered products and all the updates are on the same page and it even remembers which updates I have downloaded. I'm I missing something or are you? :p


So is this custom legato script available? I downloaded some performance tool from VSL but haven't figured out how to use it yet with my sequencer. If there's a better (easier-to-use) script I would love to download it.I have a copy of a legato script one VSL user made for himself and I promised not to distribute it. My point was that there is a way which works tremendously well (I use it with Opus 1 and French Oboe) and I really hope that VSL provides us with official scripts for all Performance Tool functions.


For those that said the Opus series is quite "serious" and there's nothing "light or entry" about them--have you ever felt restricted when using them, and wished you had the complete package? If so, what were the specific limitations you faced that made you feel that way?The percussion set in Opus 1 is very basic even though you might very well be happy without any additional percussion libraries. I would like to get the full VSL Pro Percussion for the mallets and FX percussion. I have the Project SAM True Strike 1 and that is my basic orchestral percussion library, the hall sound is fantastic. I'm eager to hear what the True Strike 2 has to offer.

You can do a lot with the Opus 1 woodwinds but I just got the French Oboe and it supports Opus 1 very well. I even installed it into the Opus 1 directory so that they seem like a single library. Opus 1 doesn't have forte legato for English horn which is also provided in the French Oboe package. The French Oboe itself is huge compared to the Opus 1 instruments, a dazzling amount of articulations. I almost feel that I don't want the full Pro Edition as I could only touch the surface in my lifetime. ;)

[Chinablu]

I have a copy of a legato script one VSL user made for himself and I promised not to distribute it.

hmmm... I guess you will sleep much more safer if you protect the script with armour-plating and store it in a Swiss bank caveau. For further safety, you should place two armed guards before the door and protect all with a dawbridge.

:D

[janila]

hmmm... I guess you will sleep much more safer if you protect the script with armour-plating and store it in a Swiss bank caveau. For further safety, you should place two armed guards before the door and protect all with a dawbridge.

:DDAWbridge to be exact. :D

[synergy543]

I have several NI powered products and all the updates are on the same page and it even remembers which updates I have downloaded. I'm I missing something or are you? :pYou either don't have half as many NI products or you've never suffered a hard drive failure yet. You clearly don't have a CLUE what I'm talking about.

Someday my friend, someday. ;)

[Per Lichtman]

synergy543, I feel your pain for sure. I've had hard drive failures, system failures and more and the NI products were a real pain at those points. Now, it stands as a real deterent to purchasing more of their products but it's only one factor in the equation for me, despite the literally weeks of productivity that have been affected by this. (Can you say 4 DAWs re-authorizing?)

[synergy543]

Sorry to hear about this Per. Its hard to understand the frustration unless you've been through this before. But having to deauthorize and reauthorize all of your software one-by-one is salt on the wound. There must be a better solution. With so many VIs being tied to the NI registration process these days we should be able to do this in one step rather than one-by-one. In otherwords, it would help if we could reauthorize our 'account' as a whole rather than by individual product.

[janila]

You either don't have half as many NI products or you've never suffered a hard drive failure yet. You clearly don't have a CLUE what I'm talking about.

Someday my friend, someday. ;)I have reauthorized all my NI products due to Windows reinstalling which changed my hardware ID even if nothing changed in the computer. Nothing new there and if I remember correctly I have 17 NI authorizations. :rolleyes: Sure it's a pain in the ~~~ but it can be made easier by downloading all the stuff to your HD. I always have the newest installers saved so that I only have to register the products, not update them separately. I agree that account reauthorization would be great. But still I don't understand what you mean by having to go through several web pages to get the updates.

[synergy543]

But still I don't understand what you mean by having to go through several web pages to get the updates.I was refering to the deauthorization and reautorization process AND the need to then get updates for each program again. Sorry I wasn't being clear I guess.

[janila]

I was refering to the deauthorization and reautorization process AND the need to then get updates for each program again. Sorry I wasn't being clear I guess.OK. I have a habit of downloading all new updates to a folder in another HD and installing them from the folder. Takes a couple of clicks more when getting the update but it saves a couple of hours in the reinstalling process. I also keep all my serial numbers in a text file so that I don't need to have any physical material at hand while installing and that way I can just copy-paste the numbers.

[janila]

So maybe these near death experiences are just 'normal'? ;)Yep, get used to them. I'm eagerly waiting for Intel based Macs (or the dualcore G5s) and FX Teleport for OS X. After that I could use a Mac DAW and use my current PC as a convolution processor with Voxengo's Pristine Space. That would be sweet. :|: