Big Bang Orchestra: Altair
Introduction
Welcome to the Vienna Symphonic Library's series of Synchron Instruments! As the name says, Big Bang Orchestra furnishes you with a selection of full-orchestra articulations, at the same time allowing you (if you haven’t done so already) to explore our powerful Synchron Player software. If you're looking for that extra dramatic effect or want to highlight a passage in your composition, this bonus library could be the solution, or at least point you in the right direction.
About Presets
Big Bang Orchestra makes use of our Synchron Player's unique features, and offers several Mixer Presets in five categories: Room Mix, Stereo Decca Tree, Surround to Stereo, Surround, and Processed. The Mixer Presets in each category are Close (Dry in the Room Mix), Classic, Wide, Distant, and Ambient. The Processed section offers "Big" versions of these Presets.
BBO Andromeda also provides you with a "Wet" Mixer Preset in each category, as well as more choice in the Processed section. The additional Mixer Presets are named Vintage Tape, War Fanfare, String Is King, Massive, Lush, and Bouncy.
About Patches
Patches can be used to build your own custom Presets and shape them according to your specific requirements. Big Bang Orchestra does not contain so many Patches, so the possibilities are somewhat limited. Still, if you want to get into creating Presets of your own, please refer to the Synchron Player manual, which will be helpful in case you encounter any problems.
About Pitch
For designating pitch, the Vienna Symphonic Library uses International Pitch Notation (IPN), which was agreed upon internationally under the auspices of the Acoustical Society of America. In this system the international standard of A=440 Hz is called A4 and middle C is C4. All pitches are written as capital letters, their respective octave being indicated by a number next to it. The lowest C on the piano is C1 (the A below that is A0), etc.
The Synchron Player software allows you to set middle C to C3, C4, or C5 according to your preference.
Selecting another setting than C4 will of course also change the play ranges and keyswitches accordingly.
Included Presets
BBO Altair features the individual sections of the orchestra as well as their different combinations. It offers three Presets: a version marked 'Velocity' without velocity crossfading via controller, one with velocity crossfading marked 'VelXF' in its name, and one marked 'VelXF sus' where velocity crossfading is only activated for long notes, while the dynamics of short notes are controlled by keystroke velocity, thus facilitating phrasing. Velocity crossfading can be enabled or disabled by clicking its on/off symbol in the Synchron Player's Perform tab.
- Articulations: The available articulations for every section are short notes in bold and agile variants, long notes, and marcato
- Range: All Articulations range from A#1 to D6
- Section keyswitches: C7–F7
- Articulation keyswitches: C1–D1
- Short notes bold/agile: A0/B0
Tutti and single sections
The tutti and individual sections of strings, woodwinds, and brass just have the three articulations. The short notes can be switched between bold and agile playing with A0/B0.
Combinations
The three combinations – strings and woodwinds, strings and brass, and woodwinds and brass also have a third column of slots that shows the two stacked sections.
