EXS 24 Logic Sampler Users Group

sc@... wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> As a relatively new EXS24 user, I'm impressed with Logic's built-in
> sounds - up to a point. However the sax, for instance, gets a bit
> biting at times.... So I'm looking for guidance about what
> improvements I can expect in third-party libraries (if any); and also
> what sort of CPU hit that might entail.
> 
> Specifically:
> 
> 1. Does sound quality rise a lot with number of velocity layers
> recorded? Suppose I were to hear back-to-back, in solo violin:
> 
> a) Logic built-in with 1 layer b) ProSamples Solo Strings with 2
> layers c) Vienna Library with (I think) 4 layers.
> 
> Would the sound be noticeably improved in each step of a) b) c)?  My
> guess is yes, but can anyone who has made the comparisons report?
> 
Sound Quality is not so much the point as the realism you get with
velocity layers. It's impossible to compare the above as the raw samples
are so different. I would prefer a really nicely recorded sample with
one or two layers to a badly recorded sample on lots of layers.

Using one layer does not degrade the sound, it just plays one sample 
louder or quieter depending on velocity. So a violin might be sampled at 
mf, when playing with low velocity you hear a violin that was played at 
mf but quieter, instead of a violin that was played quietly in the first 
place - which obviously sounds more like a violin played quietly to the 
trained ear. Very often people won't actually know the difference unless 
they are a violinist, a trained musician or expert.

The realism is often more useful for the player than the listener. When 
I hire session piano players, they usually like a sampled piano that 
sounds and feels more like a real one while they are playing. I may then 
  change that sound to one I like as a producer, and it may not be as 
realistic or nice to play, it just happens to be the sound I am after 
for that track.

BTW, it is extremely difficult to get good saxophone samples (ie that 
don't sound like an accordion). I'm currently working on creating a 
library of  saxophones that I am playing, and it's an extremely 
difficult instrument to sample plus there are so many different types of 
tone variations.

-- 
Pete Thomas
www.petethomas.co.uk
- Free Logic Icons, Environments and EXS Instruments