A very little (and poor) comparison VSL <-> GPO

[Chinablu]

You can find here (http://www.retecivica.milano.it/~roberto.dicorato/schub.mp3) the same 8 bars of Schubert's Tenth Symphony rendered using VSL Opus 1 and, then, GPO.

In practice there's is no editing, only a bit of reverb (Logic Pro GoldVerb), just what I got out of the box.

Thank you for your patience, at least I had 10 minutes of fun doing this.

:)

[Tom Crowning]

You can find here (http://www.geocities.com/chinablu2/sounds/schub.mp3) the same 8 bars of Schubert's Tenth Symphony rendered using VSL Opus 1 and, then, GPO.

In practice there's is no editing, just what I got out of the box.

Thank you for your patience, at least I had 10 minutes of fun doing this.

:)

We've had the same discussion just some days ago.
Short summary:

- it's obvious that with GPO it's easier for a beginner to get decent results.
- both libraries aren't suppost to be used 'out of the box'.

Tom

[Chinablu]

- it's obvious that with GPO it's easier for a beginner to get decent results.

With all due respect, it's not obvious at all, but it depends on what you aim to get.

Unless you use them for a new age pad, strings in GPO require some extra treatment to give good results, specially in the middle register (the most critical in a strings library, IMHO).

China

[Will Roget]

But you have them mixed completely differently though - the melody is brought out in one of them, and almost completely hidden in the other... I just don't quite see what we're supposed to be comparing. That being said though, I am very interested to know what kinds of "extra treatment" you would do to the strings in GPO; are you talking about EQ stuff? Or are you doing some other tricks to it?

I use VSL mainly for strings, but I notice GPO users seem to edit their patches quite a lot, and apparently with some strong results.

[Chinablu]

IMO, the first (and obvious) thing to do in GPO is to layer solo violins (I used three Guarneri) above string sections. Violins sections should not overwhelmed by solo instruments, one should never suspect the presence of solos (and viceversa).
...
In GPO I prefer X-Custom Violins, because from there you can control brightness by automating and manually drawing CC24 curves: a powerful tool (and simplest than programming a multi-pole EQ). Music needs very subtle harmonic changes on a sustained note and CC24 works fine. Take note that it seems as Kontakt has already been programmed to cut higher harmonics as note intensity decreases: an excessive amount of CC24 could exaggerate this.
...
Sometime ago, I also programmed a chain of "Transformer" objects in Logic Pro to modify the balance between solos and sections when CC1 (channel volume, in GPO) changes from fortissimo to pianissimo and viceversa: decreasing CC1, Violins I volume will slightly decrease and the solos will slightly prevail for a thinnest sound. Viceversa in fortissimo.
...
In GPO Kontakt the release of the sample (CC21) stays at 50% by default. I set it around 30% or even less if I need a strongest marcato.

And so on.

:)

[Hardy Heern]

You can find here (http://www.retecivica.milano.it/~roberto.dicorato/schub.mp3) the same 8 bars of Schubert's Tenth Symphony rendered using VSL Opus 1 and, then, GPO.

In practice there's is no editing, only a bit of reverb (Logic Pro GoldVerb), just what I got out of the box.

Thank you for your patience, at least I had 10 minutes of fun doing this.

:)

The link isn't working for me.

Frank

[Daryl]

Nor me......

D

[Bruce A. Richardson]

You can find here (http://www.retecivica.milano.it/~roberto.dicorato/schub.mp3) the same 8 bars of Schubert's Tenth Symphony rendered using VSL Opus 1 and, then, GPO.

In practice there's is no editing, only a bit of reverb (Logic Pro GoldVerb), just what I got out of the box.

Thank you for your patience, at least I had 10 minutes of fun doing this.

:)

Well, with all due respect to the ten minutes, this does not constitute a comparison.

It says, "Here are two unfinished efforts. Judge."

A good comparison is to take each product, and create the most musical end result that your talent can possibly produce. Since when is there a time limit on art? Did Monet do such comparisons?

"Here, I painted these two paintings, one with Brand A of paint and one with Brand B. I didn't put any effort into them at all, but you can clearly see that Brand A is easier to produce great paintings with, because the sketch is much more fluid."

If, among colleagues and producers, the time required to produce a FINISHED product is an interesting point of discussion, then I would propose that the best way to create comparisons is to produce the absolute best rendition one's talent can bring forth. Then take detailed producers' notes as to what time and efforts were spent in each case.

That way, it is a realistic view of what it takes to create FINISHED product, with two disparate tools, and how the best efforts possible sound with each.