gangsu Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I know there are others out there using these instruments for greater purposes than I, but I had to stop and say WOW. I can't see any reason to fear taking this setup live. Once the samples are loaded, the keyboard provides control. The top 3 keys A8, B8, C8 provide the switch from straight play to major and special (diminished, pentatonic, whole tone) glissandi. The key sig is established using keys C1 through B2. The direction of the gliss is switched with A1 and B1. And of course there are many variations from which to choose. I was surprised that both the standard and extended libraries are installed with a basic purchase. They grant 180 demos, which is probably just enough to convince yourself you need it. (they were wise to exclude minor gliss from the standard lib) Anyway, very happy to say I've found my harp at long last! Thanks for putting up with my harping over the past 2 years. The manual is clear and I look forward to setting up my own "performance patches". "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Su, Sounds cool. VSL really sounds good. What kind of setup are you using (laptop, controller, audio card, etc.) Thanks, Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Originally posted by Tusker: Sounds cool. VSL really sounds good. It does indeed! I'm not quite ready to take on any solo repertoire, but the only limitations I can see would be my own. What kind of setup are you using (laptop, controller, audio card, etc.)Laptop: MacBook Intel Core Duo 2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB HD Controller: GEM Promega 3 Audio Card: PreSonus Inspire. Haven't even checked out the Mac's built-in audio yet. PS Don't get the idea I've got money to burn. I don't. But it's a heck of a thrill starving to death. "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finale Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Originally posted by gangsu: The top 3 keys A8, B8, C8 provide the switch from straight play to major and special (diminished, pentatonic, whole tone) glissandi. You mean you use some sort of sequenced or otherwise tricked glissandi? Real men and women play glissandi manually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Originally posted by Cydonia: You mean you use some sort of sequenced or otherwise tricked glissandi? Sampled, to be precise. Real men and women play glissandi manually. No... real men and women use *real* harps for their harps! (i'm JOKING - ok?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Originally posted by Cydonia: You mean you use some sort of sequenced or otherwise tricked glissandi? Real men and women play glissandi manually. Yes, I would cheat! Who do you think I am, Neanderthal Woman? Heck even they used trickery. I just discovered another great thing. Switching patches does not cut off the sound. In other words, I could be playing along, set up a gliss in the right key, and bring it while the other notes are still tailing off. Of course, if you want to hear a tone switch up as in a real harp pedal reset, you can do that too. That's in the extended library. I had my reservations about timing using sequenced glisses. But it can work. Definitely up and down on cue is no problem. Or if I'm at the end of a gliss too soon, finish it off with a shorter one, seamlessly. Did you know that harps are tuned to Cb? Makes sense, I suppose. "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Originally posted by marino: No... real men and women use *real* harps for their harps! Now THAT is the truth. Tell that to all the purists who throw in a little string pad to impress the lunch crowd. (i'm JOKING - ok?) "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finale Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Originally posted by gangsu: Did you know that harps are tuned to Cb?Yep, and harpists don't use their little fingers. If I were your teacher, I'd tell you : "Don't you ever play a harp chord with more than eight notes". And "Don't you ever use your little fingers on the keyboard when playing harp". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Thanks, Cydonia! You are my teacher. "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Originally posted by gangsu: Switching patches does not cut off the sound. Just to clarify: switching "patches" would definitely cut off the sound. But within a patch, you can set up whatever articulations you want, up to a total of 12 x 12 possibilities. So I meant to say, a key or controller switch (within a preconfigured patch) will not disrupt the flow. I'd be interested to know if one patch could contain more than one actual instrument. Cool to be able to touch a key and switch from harp to .. say.. celeste... "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Eh, i'm still mangling the lingo. A patch isn't a patch. It's a preset. Switching presets, phew, would cut off the sound. A preset can have up to a total of 144 patches. Each patch is one cell in a matrix, which makes up a PRESET. Good thing it's easier to play than it is to describe. For me. "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnegrad Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 gangsu, Could you give me a url pointing to the exact product you are referring to? I find VSL's site a bit confusing. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 Originally posted by cnegrad: Could you give me a url pointing to the exact product you are referring to? http://vsl.co.at/en-us/211/344/221.vsl I find VSL's site a bit confusing. I"m not helping them any, am I. Thanks!No problem. "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd8 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Originally posted by gangsu: Did you know that harps are tuned to Cb? Makes sense, I suppose. [/QB]It does makes sense?? Why does it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 Originally posted by cd1981: Originally posted by gangsu: Did you know that harps are tuned to Cb? Makes sense, I suppose. It does makes sense?? Why does it? [/QB]You're asking me?! ummm... Well picture it. A huge stringed instrument spanning 6 1/2 octaves. Now think of the sound of a typical gliss. You're not hearing every chromatic semitone, right? What a mess. So it's a fair conclusion that the strings are not as numerous as those of a piano. And they're not. They belong to a certain key. Just like the white keys of a piano. There's a fancy word for that, but let's just call it "the people's key". But a modern orchestral harp is capable of playing a gliss in any key. How? Through the use of 7 pedals. Each pedal is connected to all of the corresponding strings of the same letter name. Depressing the pedal once will turn a "hook" to press against the string(s), sufficient to raise the pitch a semitone. Depressing the pedal a second time further raises them a semitone. So we have 3 tunings: flat (unaltered), natural, or sharp. Hope that helps. You can't just ask any old question and expect an easy answer. "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 Since I still have some demo time remaining on the extended library, I've been checking out the Level 2 Preset. In normal play mode, 5 articulations on the wheel, including a lovely "pres-de-la-table". In gliss mode, the wheel controls speed. A-B changes direction. Major, minor variations in all keys, diminished, dominant, whole tone, pentatonic, minor 7th (have to listen to that again, not sure I've run into a minor 7th gliss before), plus arpeggios major, minor, diminished. Everything is organized to be no more than 2 key selections away. Absolutely no more time consuming than operating the pedals of a real harp. Then there's Harp 2, an entirely different instrument. The conductor was over yesterday. He's pretty impressed. FINALLY. "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd8 Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 Originally posted by gangsu: Originally posted by cd1981: Originally posted by gangsu: Did you know that harps are tuned to Cb? Makes sense, I suppose. It does makes sense?? Why does it? You're asking me?! ummm... Well picture it. A huge stringed instrument spanning 6 1/2 octaves. Now think of the sound of a typical gliss. You're not hearing every chromatic semitone, right? What a mess. So it's a fair conclusion that the strings are not as numerous as those of a piano. And they're not. They belong to a certain key. Just like the white keys of a piano. There's a fancy word for that, but let's just call it "the people's key". But a modern orchestral harp is capable of playing a gliss in any key. How? Through the use of 7 pedals. Each pedal is connected to all of the corresponding strings of the same letter name. Depressing the pedal once will turn a "hook" to press against the string(s), sufficient to raise the pitch a semitone. Depressing the pedal a second time further raises them a semitone. So we have 3 tunings: flat (unaltered), natural, or sharp. Hope that helps. You can't just ask any old question and expect an easy answer. [/QB]Thanks for the answer, Gangsu...I don't think I had ever stopped to think more than 1 second on harps...My experience with them have mostly been from racconto moments in movies ("yes, it seems like it was yesterday...") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangsu Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 Originally posted by cd1981: My experience with them have mostly been from racconto moments in movies ("yes, it seems like it was yesterday...") funny. My first experience with harps was peering into the micro-dots of a gliss, confounded by the use of enharmonic repetitions within the same line... I'm slowly getting it. "........! Try to make It..REAL! compared to what? ! ! ! " - BOPBEEPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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