SAMPLING MEETS MODELING, AGAIN & AGAIN
 
 
"Unsurpassed playability and the ability to shape musical phrases exactly as you mean them make this library an essential addition to any virtual orchestra composer's toolbox." - AudioPluginGuy

VWinds Double Reeds v2.0 is now available! Free for existing users, our first ever orchestral library has been given a major update, with enhancements to the sound at the sample level itself, upgraded algorithms for our H.A.T. allowing even more natural and realistic performance, a wealth of new additional features, such as release times and timbral vibrato, a brand new virtual space, a new visual design, and a new additional instrument.
 
Even with the v2 additions, our library remains incredibly compact, weighing in at only 1.1Gb download size, whilst still delivering the same responsiveness, playability and realism as all other VSeries libraries.
 
We sampled 3 Oboes, 2 English Horns (/Cor Anglais), 2 Bassoons and 1 Contrabassoon, each performed by different world-class musicians. The different versions of the Oboe, Bassoon and English Horn are separately recorded individual instruments, to offer variety of tone and colour.
 
Thanks to our work on a hybrid technology blending recorded samples with modeling techniques, we were able to incorporate into these Double Reeds the very best of both worlds: impeccable, authentic-sounding instruments which are easily and immediately playable, right out of the box, and without the need for many CCs or keyswitches.
 
The VWinds Double Reeds employ H.A.T. (our proprietary Harmonic Alignment Technology). This leading technology allows for a hyper-accurate reproduction of the timbre of each instrument, covering the full dynamic range across every articulation, combined with highly customizable, beautifully expressive performance techniques.
 
The implementation of modeling techniques means that VWinds Double Reeds weighs in at only ~100Mb per instrument (retina graphics and presets included), while truly sounding like a real live instrument being recorded with all of its imperfections, alongside fully continuous response with unparalleled playability.
 
We are confident in saying that to our ears, and hopefully yours too, VWinds Double Reeds are the most realistic and easy-to-use instruments of their kind available today.
 
 
 
Here are a few performances from real musicians compared to MIDI performances created using VWinds Double reeds (and used for our demos).
We left them very dry intentionally so that you can hear every detail.
 
Info - Instrument Real performance VWinds Double Reeds V2
 
Oboe 1 - Mozart: Oboe Quartet, K370
Bassoon 1- Shostakovich: Jazz Suite No. 1
Contrabassoon - Prokofiev: Peter & the Wolf, op. 67
English Horn 1 - Bach
Oboe 1 - Schumann: Romance in A minor, op 94
Bassoon 1 - Nussio: Variations on an air by Pergolesi
Contrabassoon - Star Wars theme
Oboe 1 - Marcello: Oboe Concerto in D minor
Bassoon 2 - Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf, op. 67
Bassoon 2 - Dukas: L’Apprenti sorcier
English Horn 1 - Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, op 95
Bassoon 2 - Ravel: Bolero



The VWinds Double Reeds V2 interface

Oboe

English Horn

Bassoon

Contrabassoon

Mix

Virtual Space

Preferences
8-Instrument Bundle

The VWinds Double Reeds contains 7 double reed instruments:
3 Oboes (oboe 3 added in V2), 2 English Horns, 2 Bassoons and 1 Contrabassoon.

The sound of double reed instruments depends very much on the player and the reed they use - no two instruments sound the same - so we recorded two of each of the first three performed by different musicians, in order to offer a variety of tone and color. If you would like to purchase the instruments individually, both versions of the instruments are included.

VWinds Oboe - VWinds English Horn - VWinds Bassoon - VWinds Contrabassoon

The H.A.T. - Air Flow Control

Thanks to our proprietary H.A.T. (Harmonic Alignment Technology), VWinds Double Reeds is not just another heavily multisampled instrument - you can play articulations yourself just like a live player would, with just a MIDI controller (or even by simply drawing the automation in!). There are no complicated keyswitches involved to play staccatos or fast legatos or anything else - it's just a case of playing it live as you think it should sound.

All you need to do is play a note and adjust the air flow, and that's it! Vibrato is automated by default, and this can be customized or even just controlled manually.

Authentic Vibrato

We carefully measured the different parameters that change when a player uses vibrato, and we combined everything into a hyper-realistic and extremely adjustable vibrato, specifically tailored for each instrument. The V2 introduces an additional timbre modulation for extra realism.

There are multiple ways to control the vibrato: automatic, automatic depending on time, and completely manually. Vibrato can also be replicated to an extent by using just the air flow, in order to replicate the diaphragm movement of a live musician.

Legato Transitions

We spent considerable time and effort carefully extracting every minor detail of recorded transitions in order to give a variety of customizable legato transitions, and to help make the Double Reeds indistinguishable from a live performance.

These transitions range from lightning-fast changes to extremely slow bends, with and without extra attack. We made sure to cover all of this, and you’ll see that this is all controllable in the interface. The legato behavior can even be randomized to help give a more human-like performance.

 

Multi Microphone Recording

Recording a woodwind instrument can be done in various ways and at different positions. We used 3 different microphone positions so that you can get the exact sound you want, as if you had chosen the microphone placement yourself.

This can produce even better results when using the "virtual space”, detailed below.

You can apply reverb and EQ to mix it completely to your taste.

Virtual Space

The virtual space perfectly reproduces what a real recording of an ensemble would be, using convolution.

When recording an orchestra, a  pair of microphones is usually placed in front of the musicians and they naturally take position in the stereo field depending on where they are in the room.

The Virtual Space does exactly the same thing: you can place the musician wherever you like on a big stage.

When using this with multiple tracks, you immediately have the feeling of being in front of a real woodwind section.

Our default Virtual Space for v2.0 is based on recordings of the award-winning Stoller Hall

Advanced Editing

There are an endless number of ways to play a woodwind instrument, and we had to make a careful choice on the default settings based on our interaction with world-class players, but many of the options can be customized to your taste.

Furthermore, most settings can be randomized for more human-like and unpredictable results.

Our in-built presets offer a variety of sounds to to speed up workflow and inspire creativity.

Formant control / microtuning / Volume adjustment

VWinds is already highly customizable with two different individual instruments, but to add even more variety, each harmonic of the sound can be adjusted.

For even more versatility, the pitch and volume of every note is adjustable, meaning the instrument can be completely tailored to your needs.

Keyboard, Breath Controller, Wind Controller and MPE support

VWinds can be played using a keyboard by selecting the notes on the keyboard and controlling the air flow with a MIDI controller, such as a modulation wheel or a breath controller.

You can also use a wind controller like an EWI, an Aerophone, a Sylphyo or any other brand - in order to do this the appropriate controller must be selected from the controller menu in the MIDI section.

VWinds Double Reeds, along with VHorns Saxophones and Brass, have been integrated with Dorico. Playback Templates are available to download here.

Ensemble

If multiple instruments are loaded at the same time, their notes will be performed at exactly at the same time.

We added some smart features that can change the timbre of the instruments, transpose everything by a fixed interval and also act on the MIDI performance.

For example, you can have all 8 instruments with a different transposition value playing the same C minor scale, so no matter what you play on the keyboard, it will sound in key.

Sample player
VWinds Double Reeds comes with its own sample player, the UVI Workstation 3 (requires v3.1.6 or later).
We provide it for free with every library that you buy, you don't need to buy an expensive sampler to use our products. It works on Mac (10.14 or later intel or arm processor) and PC (windows 10 or later), in standalone or as a plugin (VST / VST3 / AU / AAX ) and in 64 bits only. You can find more info about it here.
Technical description

UVI Workstation v3.1.11 is required for the library to function properly, the VWinds double reeds will not work on windows XP, or OSX 10.6, it will not work on a receptor either.

710Mb compressed in lossless flac format (201Mb for both oboes, 177Mb for both english horns, 210Mb for both bassoons and 114Mb for the contrabassoon).

Copy Protection
We use the iLok system to protect our products and you can choose to register your license to your computer or to an iLok dongle.
If you decide to use an iLok dongle, both V1 and V2 are compatible with our products.
You can activate your license on up to 3 computers or iLok dongles at the same time and you can deactivate one and activate another as many times as you want.
Registration
Once your order is complete, you will be provided with a serial number.

You will then be able to register it to your iLok account from our website on this page (you need to be logged in to access this page). The whole process is described in the FAQ (instructions + screencast).
Video Reviews/Demos
 
 
 

https://www.youtube.com/@CoryPelizzari

 

https://www.youtube.com/@hifimidi

https://www.youtube.com/@KevinKuschel

 

https://www.youtube.com/@JackMcKenzieComposer

https://www.youtube.com/@SecondTierSound

https://www.youtube.com/@mikaelbaggstrom

 

https://www.youtube.com/@FrecceroProductionStudio

 

https://www.youtube.com/@eylam9690

   https://www.audiopluginguy.com/review-vwinds-double-reeds-by-acousticsamples/

 

https://www.youtube.com/@simonpassmore

User Feedback
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