UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use?

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fwrend
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2017/02/20 17:20:26 (permalink)

UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use?

Wondering if anyone has experience with this suite or other all-in-one alternatives (bang/buck) for live use.  I've got a choral concert coming up in April and really don't have the budget, space, or good enough string talent locally to hire musicians (which I would prefer).
 
I'm thinking of using my personal desktop and Surface Pro 4 with a keyboard and drum pads.  At my last church, I pieced together 4 Roland mesh pads with an older Yamaha drum module that worked remarkably well for Timpani but haven't really utilized VSTi's for solo strings and woodwinds.  In this work, there isn't much brass other than a low ensemble in one piece.
 
My plan isn't to play everything but just important bits and pieces of the score throughout.  I've got some excellent solo strings but this seems to cover a lot of bases for $199.  https://www.uvi.net/orchestral-suite.html
 
Anywho, thoughts or suggestions?
 
EDIT to add: I do have NI Komplete 9; Albion 1 & ONE; Kirk Hunter, etc..  Another consideration is CPU hit since I may be using several different instruments and will need them easily accessible.  So wondering also if UVI workstation would be a lighter hit as opposed to Kontakt 5?
post edited by fwrend - 2017/02/20 17:52:40

Wren 

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    Fleer
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/20 19:18:23 (permalink)
    Maybe also check Garritan GPO and GIO.

    "We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl" (Wish You Were Here)
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    JohnKenn
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/20 19:46:42 (permalink)
    GPO a good advice from Fleer.
     
    This may be borderline blasphemous, but even the old IK Philharmonic can be dynamite if you have this. I got 2 or whatever version from years ago.
     
    The samples are not crisp. The articulations fall way short of the latest Kontakt libraries. Velocity is about it. You can however layer the instruments and come up with some killer sounds that in combination (IMHO) compete with the best megabux libraries if you are not seeking a quiet solo articulated passage.
     
    Other observation is that with all the fire power you already have, careful artistic use already has you over the top and nothing else for any price will enhance what you are already capable of.
     
    John
     
    (edit)... Save the $199 to get some clothing for the kids or a couple week's groceries
    #3
    fwrend
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/20 20:33:48 (permalink)
    Thanks gentlemen.  The only Garritan instruments I have is what came with Sibelius and/or Finale.  I do have Philharmonic but like the strings of my other libraries.  I guess I am mainly trying to work out how to get the best sounds most efficiently with what I have.  I hadn't seen this library and thought there were good usable sounds in every section and thought it might be more efficient used out of one standalone engine, in this case UVI.
     
    I'm okay using one at a time but to set it up for multiple instruments - I'm not as learned.
     
    I'm an empty nester but I do like to eat, so thanks John for the reality check!

    Wren 

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    Vastman
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/20 21:03:18 (permalink)
    I think the advantage of uvi is their compression is way better than any one elses which results in a far smaller footprint or file size/memory required is far less/cpu hit shuffling larger files around is less... This would seem to be important on a surface which is very limited in all of these areas.
     
    Any of the budget orchestration packages should work for live use but the advantage of uvi is more can stay resident, faster load time, and room to do more in other areas. 
     
    The one downside to uvi is it is not multi core.  However, it IS an efficient engine; you'd have to pose this question to EvilDragon over at VI Control to get a clearer pic on which is most efficient cpu wise... He designs for both.  
     
     
     

    Dana
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    fwrend
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/20 21:44:17 (permalink)
    Thanks for your input Dana.  This is really the kind of info I'm looking for as I need to find out exactly what and how many instruments I can have locked and loaded.  I just need to work through it all and spend time setting it up and testing it.  First I need to get my notes in order and decide which instruments are most important and when they are needed - a road map so to say.
     
    I don't know all the technical details on how UVI and Kontakt handle the sample loads but I am getting some noise using some larger Kontakt instruments like Mercury whereas UVI seems to handle TrueKeys pianos very well.  Probably not a good comparison but it got me to thinking of what I can do/trust with either in a live setting.
     
    My main DAW has 16GB RAM and both libraries are on SSDs.  My Surface has only 8GB but is also an i7 with an SSD.
     
    Obviously I need to do some mock ups and figure out what I can safely handle instrument-wise but thought I'd seek some advice here for ideas.

    Wren 

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    fwrend
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/20 21:57:07 (permalink)
    Also, I have been watching some tutorials on Albion ONE and it does seem I can get quite a ways with what I have as John suggested.  Another case of needing to learn what I have to the fullest before succumbing to GAS (to which you Dana are no help!  )
     
    In fact, the work we are performing by Joseph M. Martin is a very contemplative piece with some very haunting and expressive solo lines.  Nothing seems appropriately capable except that damn Bohemian Violin and Cello.  No way my wife was going to approve ..... until I played her the demos.  We may be making a designated donation!

    Wren 

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    Snehankur
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/20 23:23:39 (permalink)
    Hi,
    If you have two machines you can have some instruments on the main DAW and Orchestral Multi on the other as the VSTi host only. Connect them via rptMIDI / LoopBe. Compose them on MIDI tracks and then drive them together for full orchestral effect.
     
    Regards
    Snehankur
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    fwrend
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/21 08:22:23 (permalink)
    Thanks Snehankur, I haven't ever done that but have been curious about it.  Just to clarify, we will be playing these instruments live as opposed to utilizing recorded media/midi.  I have the backing tracks but it is such an expressive piece, my concern is keeping 40 voices in sync with all the tempo fluctuations.
     
    But this certainly may be a viable way to share the CPU load.

    Wren 

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    Jim Roseberry
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/21 10:15:09 (permalink)
    If you're looking at all-in-one type solutions, you might also want to check out HALion 6.
    Lots of decent content, supports custom scripts (for advanced libraries), and it's multi-core optimized (which I don't believe is the case for UVI/Falcon).
     
    HALion 6 is (IMO) what may be the first (single) virtual instrument that's a good replacement for a hardware type workstation.  Even advanced arpeggiators... like you'd find in Kronos or Montage
     

    Best Regards,

    Jim Roseberry
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    TheMaartian
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/21 12:36:37 (permalink)
    fwrend
    Thanks for your input Dana.  This is really the kind of info I'm looking for as I need to find out exactly what and how many instruments I can have locked and loaded.  I just need to work through it all and spend time setting it up and testing it.  First I need to get my notes in order and decide which instruments are most important and when they are needed - a road map so to say.
     
    I don't know all the technical details on how UVI and Kontakt handle the sample loads but I am getting some noise using some larger Kontakt instruments like Mercury whereas UVI seems to handle TrueKeys pianos very well.  Probably not a good comparison but it got me to thinking of what I can do/trust with either in a live setting.
     
    My main DAW has 16GB RAM and both libraries are on SSDs.  My Surface has only 8GB but is also an i7 with an SSD.
     
    Obviously I need to do some mock ups and figure out what I can safely handle instrument-wise but thought I'd seek some advice here for ideas.

    I think you've answered your own question. I picked up the True Keys Pianos bundle on that AbFab $99 sale a couple of weeks back. Best hundred I've spent in a long time. Wonderful pianos, the only downside being they gave me G.A.S. (the Ravenscroft 275). I am hugely impressed.
     
    I've been looking at GPO5 for a while, but the way the VI Labs pianos work in UVI Workstation makes me want to take a much closer look at the UVI orchestral suite. I've ignored previously because I thought there were too many instruments for the sample library file size. Now that I know more about UVI's excellent compression, I need to revisit the UVI suite.
     
    Thanks for the reminder.

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    bigcatt
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/21 13:13:24 (permalink)
    Not as good as pro stuff, but you might see if these are good enough for your needs as they are free...
    Disclaimer: I made these, can't be objective and some people think they aren't worth the price...
     
    http://bigcatinstruments.blogspot.com/2017/02/vsco2-rompler.html
    http://bigcatinstruments.blogspot.com/2016/10/sound-modules.html
     
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    fwrend
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/21 15:06:47 (permalink)
    JimR - thanks, I'll check it out!
     
    The Maartian - thanks, agreed! ...and you're welcome (I think :)
     
    bigcatt - appreciate the links - I did actually check those out - nice work!
     

    Wren 

    Studio Cat DAW i7-4790K 4.0GHz, 16 GB, Windows 10 (latest), 64-bit, 500GB SSD OS HDD, 1.5TB 7200 SATA Recording, 2x 1TB SSD Samples, MOTU 8M, Behringer X-Touch
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    Vastman
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    Re: UVI Orchestral Suite or alternatives for live use? 2017/02/21 17:10:38 (permalink)
    fwrend
    Also, I have been watching some tutorials on Albion ONE and it does seem I can get quite a ways with what I have as John suggested.  Another case of needing to learn what I have to the fullest before succumbing to GAS (to which you Dana are no help!  )
     
    In fact, the work we are performing by Joseph M. Martin is a very contemplative piece with some very haunting and expressive solo lines.  Nothing seems appropriately capable except that damn Bohemian Violin and Cello.  No way my wife was going to approve ..... until I played her the demos.  We may be making a designated donation!

    :
    You REALLY should pick up Bohemian Violin... it'll make you cry it is sooooo realistic and just plug & play... if you wait another week, price is going up with the eminent release of their expansion pack (cruise over to vic if ur interested) which adds a huge new set of "emotion" styles to the already amazing creature... 
     
    all expansions are free from whatever price point you buy in at... and with each expansion, price goes up.  This one is HUGE....There has never been an instrument that has stirred up virtually EVERYONE in the professional orchestrating community like BV... NEVER! (despite what one human says)
     
    I do love orchestrals... and music is about all I spend money on these days, being single again... but I'm also jaded so tend to pick cool stuff (omnisphere sounds/orchestrals are my main squeezes these days... Had enough of the other kind!)

    Dana
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