Acousticsamples VWinds Flutes

Our final orchestral section in the VWinds series is here at last - we're very proud to introduce VWinds Flutes!

Consisting of 9 individually-recorded, finely crafted instruments, VWinds Flutes is our biggest VSeries library to date. And just like its predecessors, it delivers unparalleled playability and realism whilst barely making a dent on computer resources. At a total download size of just ~1.6Gb, VWinds Flutes provides the opportunity to use realistic-sounding, ultra-responsive, flexible instruments on virtually any modern set-up, working equally well on laptops for musicians on-the-go as it does for those working on more powerful computers in the studio. 

VWinds Flutes is the most advanced library we've ever created, and represents a huge leap forward in our methodology and technology. We've redesigned a number of old features and added a treasure chest of new ones - the sound itself has been reworked and enhanced, all the way back to the original recorded samples, offering a greater sense of space and depth with no extra strain on the workstation. 
New dials have been added to the interface; an 'extra air' dial for a breathier sound, an option to add more air to the attacks, and also a dial to control release times. We've also incorporated an 'Overblow' feature, accessed via the main tab in the interface, which gives the user the option to overblow on attacks alone or on the full instrument (or not at all), giving access to played harmonics when dynamics are pushed to their limits, without any extra effort. On top of all of this, we've added a new 'Smart' style of legato transition, and even an all-new parameter for controlling the sound of the vibrato. 

Along with all new customisable features, we've added a brand new space to our virtual soundstage - taken from recordings at the magnificent Stoller Hall (Manchester UK). This new concert hall regularly hosts some of the world's finest musicians, and has been described as 'perhaps the most acoustically perfect concert hall in the country' (Georgia Mann, BBC Radio 3) and 'deliver[ing] the music as if every hearer is in the conductor's shoes' (Robert Beale, The Arts Desk).

We sampled/modeled 2 Piccolos, 2 'C' Flutes, 2 Alto 'G' Flutes, 2 Bass Flutes and 1 Contrabass Flute, each performed by different world-class musicians. The two versions of the Piccolos, Flutes, Alto and Bass Flutes are separately recorded individual instruments, recorded by different players, to offer variety of tone and colour.
Like the other VSeries libraries, VWinds Flutes employ H.A.T. (our proprietary Harmonic Alignment Technology). This leading technology allows for a hyper-accurate reproduction of the timbre of each instrument, covering the full dynamic range across every articulation, combined with highly customizable, beautifully expressive performance techniques.

The combination of real recorded samples with modeling techniques means that VWinds Flutes weighs in at only ~120Mb per instrument (retina graphics and presets included), while truly sounding like a real live instrument being recorded with all of its imperfections, alongside fully continuous response with unparalleled playability.
We are confident in saying that to our ears, and hopefully yours too, VWinds Flutes are the most realistic and easy-to-use instruments of their kind available today.
 
The VWinds Flutes interface

• C Flute
• Piccolo
• Alto Flute
• Bass Flute
• Contrabass Flute
• Mix    
• Virtual Space
• Preferences

  
9-Instrument Bundle
VWinds Flutes contains 9 instruments:
2 C Flutes, 2 Alto Flutes, 2 Bass Flutes, 2 Piccolos and a Contrabass Flute
 
The H.A.T. - Airflow Control
Thanks to our proprietary H.A.T. (Harmonic Alignment Technology), VWinds Flutes is not just another heavily multi-sampled instrument - you can play articulations yourself just like a live player would, using only a MIDI controller (or even by simply drawing the automation in!). There are no complicated keyswitches involved to play staccatos or fast legatos or anything else - it's just a case of playing it live as you think it should sound.
Simply play a note, adjust the air flow, and that's it! Vibrato is automated by default, but this can be customized or even just controlled manually.

Authentic Vibrato
We carefully measured the different parameters that change when a player uses vibrato, and we combined everything into a hyper-realistic and extremely adjustable vibrato, specifically tailored for each instrument.
There are multiple ways to control the vibrato: automatic, automatic depending on time, and completely manually. Vibrato can also be replicated to an extent by using just the air flow, in order to replicate the diaphragm movement of a live musician.

Legato Transitions
We spent considerable time and effort carefully extracting every minor detail of recorded transitions in order to give a variety of customizable legato transitions, and to help make the Flutes as indistinguishable from a live performance as possible.
A new feature for Flutes is the option to choose 'Smart' transitions - these are a mixture of perfectly smooth transitions and transitions with a slight re-attack, depending on the difficulty of the interval being played.
The controllable transitions range from lightning-fast changes to slow bends, with and without extra attack. We made sure to cover all of this, and you’ll see that this can all be edited in the interface. The legato behavior can even be randomized to help give a more human-like performance.

Multi-Microphone Recording
Recording a woodwind instrument can be done in various ways and at different positions. We used 3 different microphone positions to offer a variety of sounds whilst maintaining the crystalline sound of our VSeries instruments.
Various microphone positions can produce even better results when using the "virtual space”, detailed below, where there are 2 rooms, each with 4 options for microphone configurations.
You can also apply reverb and EQ within the interface to prepare the sound to your taste before even starting with external plug-ins.

Virtual Space
The Virtual Space is a collection of impulse responses recorded at specific positions in a room/hall, as shown by the chairs in the image.
When recording an orchestra, a pair of microphones is usually placed in front of the musicians and they naturally take position in the stereo field depending on where they are in the room.
The Virtual Space does exactly the same thing: you can place the musician wherever you like on a big stage.
When using this with multiple tracks, you can create the feeling of being in front of a real woodwind section.

Advanced Editing
There are an endless number of ways to play a woodwind instrument, and we had to make a careful choice on the default settings based on our interaction with world-class players, but many of the options can be customized to your taste.
Furthermore, most settings can be randomized for more unpredictable results, which can be used to create even more realistic performances under the right circumstances.

Formant control / Microtuning / Volume adjustment
VWinds is already highly customizable, but to add even more variety, each harmonic of the sound can be adjusted.
For even more versatility, the pitch and volume of every note is adjustable, meaning the instrument can be completely tailored to your needs.

Keyboard, Breath Controller, Wind Controller and MPE support
VWinds can be played using a keyboard by selecting the notes on the keyboard and controlling the air flow with a MIDI controller, such as a modulation wheel or a breath controller.
You can also use a wind controller like an EWI, an Aerophone, a Sylphyo or any other brand - in order to do this the appropriate controller must be connected and selected from the controller menu in the MIDI section.

Ensemble
If multiple instruments are loaded at the same time, their notes will be performed at exactly at the same time.
We added some smart features that can change the timbre of the instruments, transpose everything by a fixed interval and also act on the MIDI performance.
For example, you can have all 9 instruments with a different transposition value playing the same C minor scale, so no matter what you play on the keyboard, it will sound in key.

Playing ensembles with VWinds is relatively straightforward. You can adjust a few things in the MIDI tab.

• 1- The Transpose value can be changed to get the desired interval change.
• 2- You can then select a scale and root on which the instrument will be forced to play, no matter what you play on your keyboard. If you select C Major, then whatever you play on your keyboard will stay in C Major, even when using the transpose value.
• 3- The timing value will create a randomized time delay each time a new note is played, this way when you play a note on the keyboard, not all instruments will start at the same exact time, just like a section of musicians would do in real life, no matter how good they are.

There are a few things to add if you want to make the performance even more convincing. Here are a few tips:

• Put the natural variation value somewhere between 105-115% (air and pitch) and randomize them.
• Consider using the round robin feature if you are using the same instrument twice
• To add some variation to the velocities, select the dice next to the velocity to attack for sustain, legatos and time.
• Set a value for the flutter transition and randomize it as well.
• The most important part will be the pitch aspects, so increase the note pitch imprecision, as well as the pitch variation and pitch variation time, and randomize them.
• Once all this is set, it should have plenty of variation, but a good solution to make it even more convincing is to go a step further and just have two different MIDI files with humanized note positions as well as slightly different air flow controls. The best solution would even be to just play the performance twice as it wil introduce all of the necessary variation.