Articulation Guide Nocturne Cello 1 www.orchestraltools.com
CONTENT I About this Articulation Guide 2 II Introduction 3 III Recording and Concept 4 IV Soloists Series 5 1 Nocturne Cello... 6 Instruments... 7 Articulations... 8 1 Rev. 2 017-10- 2 5 2017 Orchestral Tools Schwarzer & Mantik GmbH
I About this Articulation Guide The number of Orchestral Tools is constantly growing and covers all instrumental families of the orchestra, with some collections even branching out into non-orchestral instruments. This Articulation Guide describes all contained articulations as well as their technical properties (velocity layers, Round Robins, and many more). This document is a special version of the Articulation Guide that only contains features applicable to the collections listed below. You can download the full Articulation Guide that applies to all Orchestral Tools collections in our Helpdesk. The following table lists all collections covered by this Articulation Guide with their current Capsule version as well as the minimum Kontakt version. Collection Name NVC Nocturne Cello Collection 1.0 Capsule 2.5 Kontakt Full 5.5.1+ Important This Articulation Guide does not cover the general installation, usage and features of Orchestral Tools collections. These topics are explained step by step in the respective User Guides and Installation Guides, which you can find in your collection's Documentation folder. You can also find them in our Helpdesk. 2 About this Articulation Guide
II Introduction Welcome to the Orchestral Tools Articulation Guide! Orchestral Tools provides high-quality sampled instruments for composers. Thanks to our Capsule Scripting Framework developed in-house, all Orchestral Tools collections look and work in a very similar way. Articulation names, labeling and all technical terms are identical in every collections, so you will find it easy to find your way around. This Articulation Guide describes all articulations as well as their technical features and is organized as follows: - The general Se r ie s Ov e r v ie w shows you all available Orchestral Tools Series', which group our collections into broader categories. - Following this is the respective Se r ie s Ov e r v ie w Page of one particular Series, which lists all available collections by name and gives suggestions for expansions options. - Each individual collection then has its own C ol l e ction Ov e r v ie w page, which describes the general content of the collection as well as its most important features at a glance. - This is followed by the Instr ume nts Section, which lists all instruments (or sections) contained in the collection with a short description of tone, scope or other pertinent information. - The Ar ticul ations Section finally lists all articulations in detail along with all their properties. 3 Introduction 2017 Orchestral Tools Schwarzer & Mantik GmbH
III Recording and Concept We are happy to have found a sonic home for our collections at the Teldex Scoring Stage in Berlin. The large recording stage at Teldex looks back on a long tradition of many well known and Grammy award winning recordings. Famous orchestras, like the Berlin Philharmonics and great film composers from the USA and Europe trust and love the wide and clear acoustics of this room. One of the best sounding scoring stages in Europe, this room together with a fantastic complement of legendary microphones catapults our work to a new level of orchestral sampling. The quality of a sampled collection begins with the recording. Every Orchestral Tools collection is recorded at 96khz with state of the art equipment. The full editing and post-production process uses these 96khz recordings without downsampling. We very rarely denoise our recordings and never treat them in any other automated way. If tuning is needed, it is done by ear without resorting to tuning algorithms. Only at the very end, right before the samples are mapped into their instruments, the content is converted to 48khz for best use of resources. Our goal is to provide a set of tools that easily adapts to any workflow and creates a coherent sonic representation of the orchestra. The main way we achieved this is by recording every instrument in its orchestral position. All collections come pre-panned and pre-mixed with their respective volumes balanced. If there are multiple types of the same instrument, they are recorded in slightly different positions, yet still in their general section area. The different snare drums in Berlin Percussion, for example, have been recorded slightly spread over the general "snare drum area" within the percussion section. This allows you to have a very wide and full sound when combining multiple instruments. We deliberately choose to also record non-traditional instruments as belonging to a symphonic setup, like electric guitars and a drumset in our Metropolis Ark Series. Modern media scoring introduces a host of new instruments into the established orchestral lineup and we feel these instruments deserve the same care and precision in fitting them into the symphonic sound as their traditional counterparts. All collections feature a number of microphone positions commonly used in orchestral recording. The position of these microphones is identical in every collection, which means that for example the Tree is much nearer to the string section that it is to the percussion section (because the percussion section is situated at the back of the orchestra). This enabled lively acoustics that come pre-mixed for the respective stage position. The choice of mic positions also depends greatly on the instrument. Some instruments, especially in the percussion section, benefit greatly from a M/S position to enable accurately positioning the sound source. Wherever possible, similar instruments use the same mapping scheme so it is usually possible to transfer MIDI data from one instrument to another easily. This is especially important and useful for percussion. 4 Recording and Concept
IV Soloists Series The Soloists Series unites Orchestral Tools' take on expressive solo instruments created to stand their ground even in very exposed passages. A series of beautiful sounds from selected artists from Berlin which we captured with a solo-style dynamic range and a variety of lyrical expressions. Soloists Series collection use a single velocity layer for long note articulations to avoid phasing issues. Also rather than using static sustained notes, sustains are recorded with subtle dynamic variations resembling the way in which a performer would play a phrase. The following table lists all Soloists Series Collections currently released - underlined names jump to a description of its content and unique features. You can download a version of this Articulation Guide that applies to all released Collections on our Helpdesk. When you load any Soloists Series patch inside Kontakt, the instrument slot will show an icon representing the orchestral section as shown below. Woodwind Soloists Series Nocturne Series Soloists I Soloists II Nocturne Violin Nocturne Cello 5 Soloists Series 2017 Orchestral Tools Schwarzer & Mantik GmbH
4.1 Nocturne Cello Orchestral Tools' Solists Series is focused on detailed sampled solo instruments that reach a degree of expression and realism never heard before. Selected artists from Berlin were recorded in a Solo-Style dynamic range and with the lyrical expression that is needed to create extraordinary solo lines. Now Orchestral Tools introduces the second chapter of the Soloists Series: The Nocturne Cello With an extended version of our innovative Adaptive Legato System, the Nocturne Cello is eminently playable and shines at every tempo. It works just as great for slow emotional legato lines as for quick and very fast detaché Runs. Every legato style can be played slurred or detaché, changeable at any time by holding the sustain pedal. Nocturne Cello like its Violin counterpart uses a single velocity layer for all articulations, greatly reducing phasing and other issues while keeping lively dynamics thanks to complex filters. The Trills Orchestrator again lets you play trills up to a fifth with real recordings - no artificial transitions involved. Capsule chooses the right out of 14 real recorded legato intervals depending on your playing speed. No keyswitches, no patch-switching, just intuitive playing - the Nocturne Cello will shine at every tempo. Instrumentation and Recording Nocturne Cello contains solo cello articulations, which are divided into patches containing a single articulation type as well as multi articulation patches. You will find all of these patches inside the Instruments folder. You have free choice between two microphone positions with different sonic characteristics. These microphone positions are switchable in the GUI and are assignable to a MIDI CC. Nocturne Cello is panned center by default, so you can adjust the panning to your liking. 6 Soloists Series Nocturne Cello
4.1.1 Instruments Nocturne Cello features an expressive solo violin ideally suited for exposed passages. This section briefly explains the contained instrument and points out usage scenarios and expansion options. Nocturne Solo Cello The Nocturne Solo Cello is a Solo Cello recorded with expressive Sustains and 14 Legato styles. Special "Expressions" are triggered by velocity and are chosen adaptively by the script. Expansion Options: For the soaring highs, Nocturne Violin adapts the Nocturne concept to an expressive solo violin. A similar soloists concept is also employed in BWW Soloists I and II for woodwind soloists. 7 Soloists Series Nocturne Cello 2017 Orchestral Tools Schwarzer & Mantik GmbH
4.1.2 Articulations All Orchestral Tools collections focus on providing a versatile pallet of articulations to help you shape your sound. This section lists all articulations contained in Nocturne Cello. All Nocturne Cello Patches have two Close mic positions. As such these positions are not listed in the tables below. Articulations Legend Symbol Name Description R Range The playable range of the instrument. L Layers Lists the number and musical dynamics of velocity layers the instrument uses. T Transition Range The interval range of recorded legato transitions. S Transition Styles If multiple legato styles are present, these are listed here by name V Vibrato Layers The number and type of vibrato layers M Microphone Positions Any special mic positions that deviate from the collection standard. TM Time Machine Denotes a patch that uses TimeMachine for tempo-sync. + Time M achine Patche s All patches marked with a "+" (plus sign) also exist as a TimeMachine patch. These patches allow you to adjust the length of the sample to your liking. For more Information refer to the User Guide. All Berlin Series Strings and Nocturne Series patches feature a custom-tailored Con Sordino simulation. Note the special Adaptive Legato system detailed under the Instruments section. Nocturne Solo Cello Articulation Properties 00. Nocturne Cello Multi - 01. Nocturne Cello Legato Sustains 2 Bars R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) T: 1st-8th S: 1/2 bar, 1/4 bar, 1/8 bar, Runs V: Romantic, Without, Progressive, Strong 02. Nocturne Cello Legato Sustains 1 Bar R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) T: 1st-8th S: 1/2 bar, 1/4 bar, 1/8 bar, Runs V: Romantic, Without, Progressive, Strong 8 Soloists Series Nocturne Cello
Articulation Properties 03. Nocturne Cello Legato Sustains Half Bar R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) T: 1st-8th S: 1/2 bar, 1/4 bar, 1/8 bar, Runs V: Romantic, Without 04. Nocturne Cello Legato Sustains Quarter Bar R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) T: 1st-8th S: 1/2 bar, 1/4 bar, 1/8 bar, Runs V: Romantic, Without 05. Nocturne Cello Sustains 2 Bars R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) V: Romantic, Without, Progressive, Strong 06. Nocturne Cello Sustains 1 Bar R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) V: Romantic, Without, Progressive, Strong + 07. Nocturne Cello Sustains Half Bar R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) V: Romantic, Without + 08. Nocturne Cello Sustains Quarter Bar R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) V: Romantic, Without + 09. Nocturne Cello Tremolo R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) + 10. Nocturne Cello Marcato R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) RR: 2 + 11. Nocturne Cello Staccato R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) RR: 4 + 12. Nocturne Cello Spiccato R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) RR: 4 + 13. Nocturne Cello Pizzicato R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) RR: 4 14. Nocturne Cello TO Trills R: C1-C5 L: 1 (mf) + 9 Soloists Series Nocturne Cello 2017 Orchestral Tools Schwarzer & Mantik GmbH