New: MyOrchestra 2.0

[kpr]

The new Fusion MyOrchestra 2.0 is completed!

I will post all details together with several audio tracks during the next days. The 2.0 version comes with additional samples and over 100 new Program Presets.





Especially the new Controller assignment is a great pleasure for easy-to-use realtime performance control and a step ahead compared to computer based VST orchestral libraries. Play a solo violin and add a ensemble simply by turning a Control Knob, alter the attack time and release simultaneously with another knob turn too, switch between alternate instruments, add slide effects with Trigger buttons - everything works in realtime, and you are the player and conductor in one person!

Now the Fusion's orchestral abilities are expanded once again. Use a single and perfectly organized Program Presets bank with over 100 newly designed sounds to arrange your orchestral score - a modern symphonic track with everything you ever wanted to have in your hands, from solo violin and oboe to full orchestrals and brass sections and mixed choir, including those accessory instruments we always hear when listening to typical John Williams, Hans Zimmer or Alan Silvestri movie soundtracks.

The show goes on :-)

Cheers

Klaus

[kpr]

Here is the next part of the details about the new MyOrchestra 2.0 and it is about the Presets organisation.

When working on a orchestral piece or including orchestral parts and instrument sections in a pop music or ambient track etc. arrangement it is very helpful to have all instruments organized in a single Program Presets bank with a name that describes the actual job like Solo Strings, Trombone, etc. The new Program Presets bank follows this concept. You don't need the Fusion's category search function or step through several sample banks - everything you need right away is here. And as the new MyOrchestra 2.0 content provides really everything what is needed for a contemporary string, brass, choir and accessory instruments part it saves a lot of time even for ambitious arrangements.

Here is the list of the new Program Presets bank:

Strings

000 Solo Strings (Knob 4)
001 Legato Strings
002 Marcato Strings
003 Arco Strings 1
004 Arco Strings 2
005 Bright Strings
006 Orchestral Strings
007 Spiccato Strings
008 Small String Ensemble
009 Tremolo Strings
010 Pop Strings
011 Disco Strings
012 Dreamy Strings
013 Octave Strings w/Brass
014 Oriental Strings

015 Violin
016 Viola
017 Cello
018 Contrabass

019 Pizzicato Strings
020 Pizzicato Bass

021 SynthStrings 1
022 SynthStrings 2
023 Vintage String Ensemble 1
024 Vintage String Ensemble 2
025 Tape Strings
026 Tape Strings w/Choir



Brass

027 Orchestral Brass MW
028 Orchestral Horns MW
029 Orchestral Trumpets
030 Brass Section Classic
031 Brass Section Fusion
032 Brass Section Pop
033 Brass Section Studio
034 Brass Section Vintage

035 Trumpet 1
036 Trumpet 2
037 Trombone 1
039 Trombone 2
039 Muted Trumpet
040 Cornet
041 French Horn 1
042 French Horn 2



Reed

043 Soprano Sax
044 Alto Sax
045 Tenor Sax
046 Baritone Sax
047 Oboe 1
048 Oboe 2
049 English Horn
050 Bassoon 1
051 Bassoon 2
052 Clarinet 1
053 Clarinet 2



Woodwinds

054 Piccolo
055 Flute 1
056 Flute 2
057 Anderson Flute
058 Native Flute
059 Recorder 1
060 Recorder 2
061 Panflute



Choir

062 Choir Aahs
063 Choir Oohs
064 Boys Choir
065 Female Choir 1
066 Female Choir 2
067 Choir Ensemble 1
068 Choir Ensemble 2
069 Dark Choir
070 Tape Choir
071 8-Bit Vox



Chromatic Percussion

072 Glockenspiel 1
073 Glockenspiel 2
074 Vibraphone
075 Marimba 1
076 Marimba 2
077 Xylophone
078 Tubular Bells 1
079 Tubular Bells 2
080 Church Bell



Plucked String Instruments

081 The Concert Harp
082 The Concert Guitar
083 Concert Dulcimer



Accessory Instruments

084 Super Finale
085 Church Organ 1
086 Church Organ 2
087 Hammond Organ
088 Expressive LeadSynth
089 Classic PolySynth
090 Digital LayerSynth



Orchestra FX

091 Orchestra Tune
092 Orchestra Hit 1
093 Orchestra Hit 2
094 Orchestra Swell A
095 Orchestra Swell Brass
096 Orchestra Scene FX 1
097 Orchestra Scene FX 2
098 Orchestra Accent FX
099 Orchestra Chord FX



Orchestral Percussion

100 Timpani Set
101 Orch. Percussion Set
102 Orch. Drums
103 Cymbals Set
104 Bells Set
105 Castanet Set
106 Chimes Set
107 Gong Set




Keep it simple - that's the credo of MyOrchestra 2.0 and as already described above especially the sound organisation and Controller assignment concept makes it.

More about the general handling concept together with audio tracks in my next posting.

Cheers

Klaus

[rainbow]

Mmmm ... looking good Klaus!! Look forward to the audio samples.

[bluesplayer]

Ditto what Rainbow said

[splinters]

Would love to hear the brass section although I am looking for a more R 'n' B, Soul brass section. Might be a good starting point though....

[kpr]

The new MyOrchestra 2.0 comes with several new features, even a option to add a computer-based software and work together with the Fusion as a advanced hybrid system. More about that in a later posting. The standard Fusion RAM memory is fine though as the sample content memory consumption is designed to allow multi-timbral use in the Mix mode.

Now I will begin to demonstrate further details, how the Programs sounds and give you an insight regarding the above mentioned Controller assigments. Let's start with the Strings category.

The first Program 000 Solo Strings (Knob4) is playable over 64 keys considering the original range of each instrument and provides solo violin, viola, cello and contrabass with a "natural" vibrato performed by the players and a decent bow attack. The keyboard consistence is designed for a smooth transition between the individual instruments. In general this means, that you have all solo String instruments available with just one Program - simply play them in the concerned note range and they are there. There is no hearable "cut" between each instrument range, which is a quite comfortable solution.

Now you have also the control over the performance articulations like bow attack, string release, adding more players, etc. This is done with the Control Knobs 1-4. As the original vibrato is provided you can increase it by turning the Modulation Wheel and the maximum position is a amount that a player would do too. A hit on the Trigger T1 button starts a slide effect which is used to glide from one tone to another. Aftertouch increases the total Volume, we need that for dynamic forte effects during a performance. Here is an example where you can listen to all this. I played just this one Program with two hands, live and no sequencer functions like quantize are used and no overdubs. The Control Knob action is recorded as a second step, but can be done while playing too.

Example Program 000 Solo Strings (Knob 4)
000 Solo Strings (Knob 4)


The Controller assignment is similar for other Programs, but might be slightly different when it seems helpful. The standard setting is nice because you do not need to "learn" each Program individually but allows a custom assignment though.

Let's see how another String instrument is created. In this case it is the Arco Strings, where the attack portion is really dominant. But thanks to the Control Knob assignment you can control it and do a soft bow effect, even dynamically during the playing performance. A good example is the

Program 004 Arco Strings 2
004 Arco Strings 2

and at the end of the audio track the instrument section is changing. This is done with the Control Knob 4. A second sound is assigned to a Oscillator and the volume is controlled with the Knob. In this case it is a crossfade between the instruments.

A similar setting is used for Program 006 Orchestral Strings, listen here
006 Orchestral Strings

where additional players come in with a simple Control Knob turn.

These descriptions give you an insight about the MyOrchestra 2.0 concept in general and in this case with examples from the Strings section. In the following postings I will demonstrate how the other sections are organized and there will be a special focus on the Brass section. This was a bit weak part of the old MyOrchestra version and it is improved now with new samples and a better sounddesign. We will also take a close look into other categories like the Woodwinds, Choirs, etc. as well as the new Accessory Instruments section.

Cheers

Klaus

[bluesplayer]

Maybe I don't know a damned thing about "strings" BUT I LOVE the SOLO strings demo from the first note and was convinced by about the fifth note becasue especially when the vibrato kicked in and HELD - I didn’t get that reaction to wince like I usually do to string vibrato on synths

BUT it will be the brass and WOODWINDS that sell it for me

[kpr]

You are very right, Larry. Indeed the natural vibrato of solo strings is part of the checkup when we take a close look into the content of a orchestral sample library, especially when there is a limited RAM memory like we have with the Fusion. We need short interval steps between each sample of a multisample and this eats memory space. I agree that it works really good with the Solo Strings.

Another truth is, that Brass and Woodwind sections should be convincing too. The handling of strings is easy compared to Brass. And Brass sounds always quite good in an arrangement, but how does it sound when you hear it solo, like listening with a reading-glass? This is the moment where we really see what we have under our fingertips. So let's be brave and listen to them as they are.

Here we have the Program 027 Orchestral Brass MW, and the MW leads us to the Modulation Wheel. You can control the overall brightness with the Wheel, a major attribute of the brass dynamics during a performance.

027 Orchestral Brass MW

Certainly you heard the interval before the end, it is done with Knob 3.

Another example is here, using the same Program:

Back to the Future

Both examples are thought for the more classical styles, but what about typical pop music Brass sections? Let's listen to the Program 032 Brass Section Pop, and I did two short phrases with it:

032 Brass Section Pop
032 Brass Section Pop 2

Keep in mind that those are still single Programs, just combine the Brass Programs in the Mix to get refined sections.

Larry mentioned Woodwinds, and again a close look helps to find out how it sounds and how the performance control works.

047 Oboe 1

Loudness is controlled with Aftertouch, initial attack with Envelope Modulation and vibrato with Mod Wheel.

050 Bassoon 1

Like Solo String there is the natural vibrato performed by the player. The other dynamics are assigned similar to the Oboe.

055 Flute 1

The sample length captures the player's original tune fluctuation, tremolo/vibrato is done with the Mod Wheel and again the loudness is controlled with Aftertouch.

Now for something completely different: Choir. In this case I don't explain too much, the audio speaks for itself.

065 Female Choir 1

As shown in the above list the content covers "modern" orchestra instruments too, so let's get a brief insight about it by listening to the Vibraphone. I will post more audio tracks with those accessory instruments later.

074 Vibraphone

And finally there is the section with other orchestral effects, they make the composer's life easy and provide ready-to-use atmospheric sounds, and as one example you can listen to this here, it is kind of 1-key-effects and in this case played with two fingers:

096 Orchestra Scene FX 1

You can do a short movie scene mood alone with this one Program.

As said: The show goes on, and I will post more audio later.

Cheers

Klaus

[riffbeeper]

Very nice sounds and demonstrations Klaus. And remember folks this is done in Megs not Gigs.

I can hardly wait to here more about the "advanced hybrid system" that you have cooked up.

Riff

[kpr]

Thanks, Riff. Of course I can unveil the mentioned concept "advanced hybrid system" now, and the posting of the remaining audio tracks will follow later then.

Although the Fusion is a stand-alone-system it works already with supporting computer software: The Fusionconverter. This software is the sample format converter and manager for new instrument content and to transfer that to the Fusion. So it's obvious that many Fusion owners are already working with computers too.

When doing arrangements which are going over the Fusion's RAM memory limits there are two solutions:

1. Expanding the RAM
2. Adding a computer software

In case of MyOrchestra 2.0 I decided to go the second way as there are two good reasons for it:

- The computer is already there.
- It just needs the samples and a sampleplayer for the computer.

So I formatted the entire MyOrchestra 2.0 sample content into the ws-engine format. The ws-engine is this here:



This sampleplayer is quite interesting and comes with several very useful features. When looking at the screenshot you can see four sliders on the far left as well as buttons with virtual LEDs above them. You can simply assign a sample instrument like the Solo Strings to one of the slider and make it active by pressing the button, the LED will show this then and lits. The slider is the Volume control and each slider allows not only a instrument assignment but also a different MIDI channel. This is not all, you can edit the timbre with a nice Filter too if you want, and there are also Envelopes for each instruments and effects like Reverb, Delay, Chorus, etc. It comes with a polyphony up to 128 voices and even disk streaming is possible. And finally there is a Wavesequencer where you can assign and automate a row of several sounds to create arpeggio-like riffs or smooth fade-in/fade-out pad sounds. Everything can be controlled by your DAW, the Fusion as well as the ws-engine sampleplayer. The ws-engine provides a MIDI learn function, so you can assign the Fusion's Control Knobs to any parameter.

Of course you never pay twice for the same samples from me, the optional hybrid-system additional fee is only for the sampleplayer and the Presets that I did for it. The bad news is, that this software sampleplayer is running on PC only, no Mac. But don't worry, I already work on a Native Instruments Kontakt version, so if you are a Mac user with Kontakt installed you can simply wait for this version to get access to this hybrid-system of MyOrchestra 2.0.

The hybrid-system is an option, not a must-have. You can clearly work very good with the Fusion version though. It is also a view into the future as I plan to offer other existing Fusion sound products as hybrid-system too (MyMoog, MyAndromeda, World Instruments, etc.).

Best regards

Klaus

[jiffy]

This ws-engine sounds very intersting Klaus.

I have invested fairly heavily in extra sound sets for the Fusion, especially from Back In Time, and always at the back of my mind is the thought 'what happens if my Fusion goes wrong and is unrepairable'.

This sounds like the perfect solution.

Bring it on!

Paul

[splinters]

Freaked me out for a minute jiffy when I saw my name in your myspace sig. I am Paul A Woodward though.......

[Jesse]

Do we need to have My Orchestra (the first version) in order to get full beneifts of My Orchestra 2?

[kpr]

Hi Jesse,

yep, the new version MyOrchestra 2.0 is a update of the MyOrchestra.

The additional hybrid-system is a optional chance though, if you want to combine the Fusion with a computer-based VST.

I will describe the full details of this new product this week.

Cheers

Klaus

[kpr]

So, the new MyOrchestra 2.0 is now available, the product pages are updated and the newsletters will be sent out tomorrow.

The 2.0 update includes the new 108 Presets as listed above and the new 42 additional samples.

Good news 1: The price remains Euro 129.

Good news 2: The 2.0 update is free for all those who already purchased the previous MyOrchestra.

Good news 3: The optional new hybrid-system is available, the upgrade fee is Euro 39.

All details on the updated product pages, btw I improved the website Fusion related page organization with a easier navigation for your convenience:

Fusion soundware main page

MyOrchestra 2.0

Hybrid-System

ws-engine VST page

There is also a new product overview PDF, you can stream and download it here

The new Fusion MyOrchestra 2.0 is a pretty complexly but very easy-to-handle tool for modern and classic orchestral pieces and arrangements. Thanks to the cool Fusion Controller features it is a pleasure to work with the new sample library and the new hybrid-system is a great option for all those who are going beyond the Fusion's limits and a completely new way to create those tracks and songs with a comfortable system, that combines hardware and software.

I am still working on more audio tracks to demonstrate the MyOrchestra 2.0, they will be posted here and also in my Fusion Blog , as well as on other orchestral related informations and useful tutorials. So keep an eye on that too, if you are working with this styles and using strings, brass, orchestral percussions, etc.

Cheers

Klaus