Westgate Winds "ease of use," programming, etc?

[CallMeZoot]

I am thinking about updating some of my woodwinds, and the consensus around here seems to be that Westgate is the way to go. I love the sound of their demos but there's very little information on their website about how they're programmed. I'm getting tired of piecing together lines bit-by-bit by jumping from one articulation to another. More and more libraries seem to be going the one-track-one-instrument route with scripts, multis, keyswitches, etc. but I can't find much information on Westgate's approach.

For woodwinds, the alternative for ease-of-use seems to be WIVI, but I just don't like the sound of the demos quite as much as Westgate

Any thoughts on Westgate's "ease of use" and programming? (or any favorable reviews of WIVI woodwinds?)

Thanks,
chris.

[dalek3]

Westgate woodwinds have programming second-to-none. My only complaint as a Giga3 user is that they don't support Giga specific features like the DEF, instead choosing to only support features that both Giga and Kontakt support.

I use the Sonic Implants woodwinds most often as they have a slightly better sound and good programming, but sometimes prefer the Westgate for certain materials depending on whether the advanced programming of the Westgate will make certain realizations easier.

As for WIVI, I don't really find much of it very realistic to my ears.

[JonFairhurst]

I find that I can simply play the Westgate winds legato patches and get a good result. It's not necessary to switch in staccato samples in many cases. Of course if you want flutter tongue or some other special effect, you will need to do a switch.

I also like the DEF filter for controlling the expression of sustained notes. It's easy to apply, if you have GS3. if the piece doesn't require sustains with feeling, I generally don't bother with DEF though...

I'd recommend trying one of their downloads, if you have the bandwidth. If you don't like it you're out less than $100. It's not like the all-or-nothing of a $1,000+ library.

[CallMeZoot]

Do they have good modwheel crossfades for crescendos? I don't see any information about this on the website.

Thanks,
chris.

[dalek3]

Westgate stuff was close-miked in a pretty dry environment. Yes, modwheel crossfade patches are included, as are patches where modwheel controls the attack on the individual notes. Most patches are programmed with repetition samples for notes as well. And of course, true interval-sampled legato is available. It's the little things like that combined together that make the Westgate stuff so playable.

Westgate flutes have -slightly- more breath noise than would normally be audible to the listener, and -occasionally- you can hear the overtones on certain notes at certain dynamic levels. These are minor issues and would not be noticable to most listeners.

In comparison, SI winds sound wonderful, and I can get Modwheel crossfade and modwheel DE and true legato (and also gives control over the speed and sound of the transition-interval), but if I want to repeat notes with non-staccato patches I can get the "machine gun" and if I want to change the attack on notes I have to manually edit envelopes or mix samples.

I'm glad I have both libraries as both have their uses.

[Goit]

Westgate flutes have -slightly- more breath noise than would normally be audible to the listener, and -occasionally- you can hear the overtones on certain notes at certain dynamic levels.

I have their whistles and the two whistles do sound very breathy, but I guess whistles are just supposed to be breathy. But I also have their horns and Bassoon, which were not breathy. I guess that is because of the nature (size and mike distance) of the instruments as well.

But does anyone know the details to their clarinets and oboes?

[ejr]

I have the Westgate solo clarinets and French Horns. I use them all the time. They are among my favorite sample libraries. The horns sound great all the time; the clarinets take a bit more effort. But both have a very "real" sound to them that doesn't require adding reverb, or ambiance, or any other kind of tweaking. I'd reccomend both without hesitation.

[Goit]

I have the Westgate solo clarinets and French Horns. I use them all the time. They are among my favorite sample libraries. The horns sound great all the time; the clarinets take a bit more effort. But both have a very "real" sound to them that doesn't require adding reverb, or ambiance, or any other kind of tweaking. I'd reccomend both without hesitation.

I have their Horns as well and I agree with you. But what about the issue with the audible breath with the rest of the woodwinds?

[ejr]

I don't hear the breath in the clarinets (or maybe I am just not conscious of it). Some of the instruments allow you to control the attack with cc 1. This can affect the character of the instrument.

[slippermen0]

Hi
regarding "ease of use", there is a complete set of new patches for the Westgate Modular Series at

http://www..net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19760

These allow crossfading through dynamics levels, crossfading between non-vibrato and vibrato and incorporate both legato/sustain articulations and short articulations and trills/flutter/rips/falls where available. Plus there's breath controller support.

best,
Andreas

PS: Gosh the editor does not let me enter the correct link above. It always deletes some characters. Please enter a "vi - control" (without the spaces) between the two dots. . Is this some filtering mechanism?