VSL SAMPLE ORGANIZATION

VSL's Sample Organization

This overview is valid for most of the Vienna Instruments
(Percussion instruments are a bit different sometimes).

Two Groups of Samples

The samples (articulations) are divided into two main groups
1. Single Notes
2. Performance Notes ( Legato- /Repetition- Notes)

Single Notes

The main Single Note articulations are:

staccato
portato short (~0,3s)
portato long notes (~0,5s)
sustain notes (with vibrato /without vibrato /, with progressive vibrato, ...)
diminuendos / crescendos (1,5s / 2s / 3s / 4s / 5s / 6s, ...) selected by the A/B switch
fp
sfz
sffz
pfp

Single Notes are what they tell us: A sample which plays us a recorded sfz for example. You can them play polyphone - more than one sample in the meantime with one VI. Some of the Single notes contain a Release Sample. So if you play a sustain sample, the VI will automatically add the corresponding release sample when you stop playing. The display tells us whether you have a release sample or not > "RS: Yes / No".

Some articulations such as staccato, portato short and long are recorded in two versions (stac1, stac2, ...). The Vienna instrument automatically alternates the articulations to keep the "gun effect" on a lower level. You can't have any influence on selecting between the two alternations.

Performance (Legato- /Repetition-) Notes

These samples "make the Vienna Library so fantastic and natural".
Take a Flute which plays a D. Then it changes to an F without any brake > we call this "legato-playing".
The Vienna Instrument contains from every note the "legato crossing sound" to another note. So while playing with legato samples the VI adds the legato-noise so to say (key noises, finger noises, but above all: the "changing-sound" between the two tonesl). In other words: The VI contains the legato +/- an octave from every note if they are within the range of the instrument.
Disadvantage: Therefore legato-samples can only be played monophone. Why? Which tone should change to which next in a polyphone situation...?
Solution: choose two Vienna instances and divide up the voices.
Available Legatos:

fast legatos
slow legatos
spiccato legatos
staccato legatos
marcato legatos
trill legatos (perf-trill) the VI select with every equal tone a new variation

Performance Repetitions

Slow Repetitions
Even if you have two versions of samples (stac1 and stac2) you will make out the typical gun effect with repetitions with a group of equal notes. This is the moment for taking repetition samples. Play the repeated notes with a gap as small as possible. The Vienna Instrument will take then another sample for the next note. I believe there are up to 9 variations possible. So you can't make out any gun effect. Repetition samples are polyphone playable.
There are:

slow repetitions (~0,7s)
portato repetitions
staccato repetitions
spiccato repetitions

These repetitions don't demand a certain tempo. Of course: Spiccato repetitions will work better with higher tempos.
Here is an example with contains such repetitions:

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, W.A. Mozart

Fast Repetitions
In case of fast tempos, we have repetitions on hand which are recorded in certain tempos:

160 bpm ( 9 x 16th in a row)
170 bpm ( 9 x 16th in a row)
180 bpm ( 9 x 16th in a row)
190 bpm ...
200 bpm ...

The pressing time of a key selects the number of tones with these samples. Take in account that these repetitions end with a final release tone. So if you want to have 4 times a 16th let the key go after you heard the 3rd tone. More information about Fast Repetitions >>>here

Special Articulations

A lot of instruments contain some further typical samples
Strings: pizzicato, trills, runs, flagolet, sul tasto....
Winds: runs, trills, flatter, blare...