ViennaSuite Manual English v1.1
ViennaSuite Manual English v1.1
ViennaSuite Manual English v1.1
Introduction
SIMPLIFY – one word is the mantra that accompanies the Vienna Symphonic Library team every day. The
search for the best algorithms in audio processing in the digital domain is showing long-awaited and
surprising results.
In combination with the taste of the experts, trained from years of experience with the most sensible
sounds available in virtual orchestration, the Vienna Symphonic Library Development Team, Martin
Saleteg and George Yohng, have created a meticulously engineered plug-in bundle to produce musical
results in a wide variety of applications.
Intuitive handling of complex audio signals calls for new approaches to their design. As with the Vienna
Instruments, visual feedback for the well-known basic audio processes in the background is a great
feature for everybody involved in the evolution of sound from the first sketches to the final mix, serving
both newcomers and professionals.
Most of the plug-ins include tailor-made presets for Vienna Instruments which will give you a lot of
creative input for your soundscapes and provide quite a number of sonic solutions and ideas for both
individual instruments as well as complete mixes.
Our research was following musical guidelines, and the decision to let you benefit from our findings in
form of intelligible User Interfaces was easily made after the huge success of the Vienna Instruments.
Enjoy this new array of great-sounding yet CPU-friendly plug-ins for the everyday audio processing
requirements that are easy to operate, yet super-efficient.
Watch our Video Tutorials on-line and download your demo license from our products page at
www.vsl.co.at!
The ViennaKey
The ViennaKey is the USB protection device which will hold the license for your Vienna Suite. Instead of
the ViennaKey, you can also use another Syncrosoft eLicenser (e.g., USB protection devices by
2
Steinberg or Arturia) to store your license. Please note that one Vienna Suite license has to be installed
on your USB protection device and the key has to be inserted in one of the USB ports of the computer
you’re using Vienna Suite on; otherwise, you will not be able to use Vienna Suite.
Registration
If you acquired your Vienna Suite at the VSL webshop, it was automatically registered to your user account
when you purchased the plug-in suite. If you purchased it at another webshop, please register your Vienna
Suite in your USER AREA. You will receive 3 activation codes via your e-mail address registered at our
website. You will need these codes to download your permanent Vienna Suite licenses from Syncrosoft. (You
can do this later if you own a ViennaKey with a valid demo license on it, but eventually you’ll have to do it
before the demo runs out.) If your music computer isn’t connected to the Internet, you can activate your
license on any other computer with an Internet connection.
Vienna Suite comes with 3 licenses. You need to download one License per eLicenser and computer, so
that you can use Vienna Suite on up to three computers at the same time. If you’re using a single
computer for your music, you don’t have to download all three licenses.
Attention: The Syncrosoft LCC has to be installed and your ViennaKey inserted into a
free USB slot before you can activate and run your Vienna Suite. You should
download your permanent licenses before the demo license on a ViennaKey expires.
To be able to run Vienna Suite, you have to install the Syncrosoft License Control software (LCC).
Please download the newest LCC software from Syncrosoft which is updated fairly often; older versions
will not recognize new products. Follow the Syncrosoft installation instructions to install the software and
drivers for your ViennaKey. 3
Attention: If you are using different computers for Internet and music, you will have to install
the Syncrosoft software on your Internet computer as well to be able to download the licenses.
As soon as the software is installed on your internet computer, you can start the Syncrosoft License
Control Center to download your permanent licenses.
Now, click on the “Wizards – License Download” option to start downloading your license. A welcome
screen will appear. Click on the “Next” button to proceed with the installation.
The next page after the welcome screen asks you to enter your activation code which you received by
e-mail. You can copy and paste the whole code at once into the first field. Click the “Enter” button to
confirm. Once you’ve entered the activation code, your license details will show up in the license window
underneath the key entry fields. Click “Next” to go to the download page.
The download page asks you to connect your computer with the Internet for downloading the license. If
you aren’t already connected, please do so now. Once you’re connected, click the “Start” button to begin
downloading, and “Done” when the download was successful. If you have more than one USB eLicenser,
you can select the key your license should be stored on – e.g., for Cubase users it would make sense to
store it on the same eLicenser which contains the Cubase license.
Your ViennaKey now has its license installed and can be used to run your Vienna Suite permanently.
<Ctrl> + Click (Windows), <Command/Apple> + Click (OS X) resets the selected control to its default
value.
Pressing <Shift> while dragging a control increases its resolution for fine-tuning adjustments.
Double-clicking on a control allows you to enter a numerical value using the computer keyboard.
Factory Presets lets you select one of the pre-configured settings for the plug-in, many of which are
specifically adapted for the Vienna Instruments.
You can Load and Save your custom presets on your computer, and exchange them with other users of
the Vienna Suite. Make sure to back up your custom presets regularly – you don’t want to lose them …
Plug-ins are only guaranteed to work at a host sampling rate of 44,100 Hz and higher. If the
rate is set to, e.g., 22,050 or 33,000 Hz, plug-ins may perform improperly or in a limited way.
Under some conditions, certain plug-ins will change the output signal’s phase, so that using
them, e.g., on a ‘send’ bus may not produce the expected result.
This recording of an impulse in a room or another location is used as a fingerprint of the room. As a
result, the processed audio will sound as if it were played in the same location.
Sample Development is an art – and this is also true for sampling rooms. We are proud to have great
partners on board who have contributed great sounding spaces in addition to the Vienna Impulse
Responses – and there will be many more available for download!
With the Vienna Suite Convolution Reverb, you can shape the sound of your own spaces with the many
options explained below, or you can make use of the versatile presets available!
Impulse Waveform Display: Displays the waveform of the loaded impulse response and the
envelopes of the impulse VOL, LP, HP, DECORR, PAN and EQ. All manipulations are non-
destructive and the waveform of the impulse is adapted automatically.
These Factory Presets are subdivided in so-called “Resonance Menu” Presets and “Character” Presets. In
the “Resonance Menus”, up to 5 frequencies were localized for the respective instrument / ensemble
which could be problematic in the mix. Simply activate the desired EQ filter band’s preset parameters by
clicking on it; now you can determine whether the disturbing resoncances of this instrument have been
filtered out. Also try combinations of several bands, and reduce or increase the attenuation as needed.
The idea is to get a better placement of the original, pure sound of the Vienna Instruments in a complex
mix without larger adjustments.
“Character” Presets work out an instrument’s or ensemble’s manifold sound possibilities. Here, the pure
sound of a Vienna Instrument is deliberately altered in different directions. These Presets multiply the
sounds of your Vienna Instruments Collection – a true fountain of inspiration!
Filter Response Display: Shows the response curve and frequency analysis for the current
settings. The (horizontal) frequency range is from 20 Hz to 20 KHz, the (vertical) amplitude
scale is in dB and is adjustable between 6 and 24 dB.
dB Scale: Lets you specify the vertical scale (dB) of the filter response display in 6-dB steps (6,
12, 18, 24 dB). Of course this doesn't change the sound itself.
The Vienna Suite Compressor can shape the controlling signal (aka “Sidechain”) to allow for even more
musical compression modes.
Threshold: is the level above which the signal is reduced. A low threshold means that a larger
portion of the signal will be processed.
Sidechain: Choose between Low Cut (120 Hz), High Cut (4 kHz), both at 12 dB/oct; and High
Boost (+6 dB at 4 kHz).
The Sidechain works exclusively with the internal sidechain filter.
Use low cut when the signal starts to “pump” due to high energy in the lower frequencies. Use
high boost when you want to get rid of excessive high-freqency-content, e.g. Voices with
strong “sss” and “shhhh”. Use the high cut when the signal's attacks begin to sound lifeless
and flat, especially when using fast attack times.
The settings in the Sidechain only affect the Compressor’s controls, NOT the signal itself!
Sidechain Solo: Solos the sidechain signal.
Attention: In spite of the Vienna Suite Limiter’s excellent quality, exaggerated limiting will
result in unnaturally sounding signals.
Threshold: Sets the point at which the limiter starts to affect the input signal. Lowering the
threshold setting has the effect of raising the output gain of the signal. The average level of the
signal is increased while the limiter assures that the signal will not exceed the ceiling level.
Release: Controls how long it takes for the limiter to recover from attenuating the signal after it
has dropped below the threshold. Values: 10–5000 ms.
Auto: Disables the manual release slider and lets the limiter control the release time depending on
the input signal, resulting in the most transparent limiting possible.
Waveform Data Display: Shows the input and output signals as well as the attenuation graph,
which can be individually switched on and off with the buttons below.
If you need to reduce CPU load a bit, you can switch off the entire waveform display.
Attenuation: Displays the current amount of limitation applied to the signal.
Ceiling: Sets the maximum output of the limiter.
Clicking on the numerical peak displays above the meters resets the peak values.
Filter Response Display: Shows the response curve and frequency analysis for the current
settings.
dB Scale: Lets you specify the vertical scale (in dB) of the filter response display in 6-dB steps (6,
12, 18, 24 dB). The sound will not be affected by this setting.
EQ Filter Bands: The EQ’s five bands which can be independently enabled and programmed. The
numbers and colours of the EQ Filters correspond with the numbers and colours of the filter
handles in the Filter Response Display. Click on the coloured filter band buttons to
enable/disable the corresponding filter.
Filter Types for the peaking filters:
Type A: the most versatile filter type, will give excellent results over the entire frequency range.
Type B: this filter can be more detailed in the mid and low frequency ranges.
Type C: common standard digital filter type.
Filter handle: Drag this handle to graphically adjust the filter’s boost/cut and/or frequency. When
adjusting the filter handle, “Shift” locks the frequency, “Alt” locks the gain.
Q setting: Adjusts the filter width of the corresponding filter band. Use the Mousewheel (or press
“Ctrl”, click and drag, on OS X: “Command/Apple”, click and drag) to adjust the Q setting for
the currently selected filter. The given filter handle has to be highlighted.
Composite curve: Shows the overall response curve of the current settings in the Filter
Response Display.
Selected Filter Band Curve: Each individual filter’s response curve is displayed in the filter’s
color when selected.
Analyzer: Enable/disable a 120-band spectrum analyzer. If you’re going for less CPU
consumption, the analyzer should be switched off.
Analyzer Display Mode: Choose between Input and Output signal display (pre/post EQ).
A specially designed crossover network guarantees a transparent signal flow and contributes to the
unique character of the Multiband Limiter. Please note that due to these crossover filters the Vienna Suite
Multiband Limiter can't be bit-transparent, even without any gain reduction applied.
The Multiband Limiter will allow you to get a maximum of perceived loudness on an individual track or the
entire mix while maintaining sonic clarity. The integrated output brickwall limiter will take care that your
output signal will not exceed the specified ceiling value.
Input Gain: Boosts or attenuates the incoming signal (max. +18 dB).
Opto Mode: activates the optical release simulation, resulting in a more “breathing” sound.
Compared to the same settings without Opto Mode, a little less compression will be applied to
the signal.
X-Over: 3 adjustable crossover points separate the frequency spectrum into 4 bands for
separate limiting.
Attention: Filtering the signal through 4 separated frequency bands means that even without
dynamic adjustments, the output signal will not be bit-identical with the input signal!
Color Slider: Changes the musical coloration of the signal between even and odd harmonics.
Setting the slide to 100% will only add odd harmonics, whereas 0% will only add even
harmonics to your signal.
Frequency: Adjust the cutoff frequency for the Exciter to take effect. The signal part below the
chosen cutoff frequency will not be altered.
Drive: Sets the distortion level of the harmonics added by the Exciter.
Amount: Adjusts the mix between the unprocessed signal and the generated harmonics/over-
tones. This acts like a “send” channel: 0% equals the original signal, 100% adds the maximum
of the processed signal.
Display: This shows the signal’s acustical position in the stereo field – the two handles L and R let
you adjust stereo width and position.
Pre Balance: Adjusts the left or right channel’s volume at the plug-in’s input.
Post Balance: Adjusts the left or right channel’s volume at the plug-in’s output.
Center: Positions the audio signal in the stereo field.
Width: Determines the width of the stereo signal. 100% means full stereo width of the source.
Volume: Boosts or attenuates the output signal.
Phase: Individually inverts the phase of the left and right channels.
L/R Swap: Exchanges the left and right positions of the stereo signal; also displayed in the pan
view.
Pan Law: Determines how the signal level is affected by panning. Without compensation, the
combined loudness of the left and the right signal will be higher if a channel is panned to the
center than if it is panned to one side. The Pan Law allows for attenuation of the signal when it
is panned to the center. – The optimum value depends a lot on the input source.
Adjustable from 0 to -6 dB (0 dB actually turns off constant power panning).
19
The aforementioned parties disclaim all warranties with regard to this software and thus cannot be held
liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages, arising out of or in connection with the use or
performance of this software.