SYNCHRON-ized Elements

Introduction

Welcome to the Vienna Symphonic Library's series of Synchron Instruments! The SYNCHRON-ized Elements were specifically created to give our renowned Vienna Special Editions a chance to shine in the unique acoustic ambience of the Vienna Synchron Stage, and make the ease-of-use of the Vienna Synchron Player available to them, and you. This document will provide you with information about the Libraries' instruments and structure.

For creating SYNCHRON-ized Elements, our sound editors went back to the raw, unprocessed sample data of the Vienna Instruments Elements Collection. The original recordings were completely re-edited and re-mastered in order to achieve an all-new, modern sound that excels in terms of aesthetics, playability and realism, and that is optimized for use alongside other Synchron Series instruments.

About Presets

For SYNCHRON-ized Elements, our software developers added a specifically designed convolution reverb derived from Vienna MIR Pro to the Synchron Player, featuring the outstanding and unique ambience of the 540 m2 (5,813 sq.ft.) main hall of Synchron Stage Vienna. The perfectly engineered reverberation and placement presets combine customized impulse responses with expertly crafted reverb settings for each group of the ensemble. By adding the ambience of Synchron Stage Vienna's Stage A to the dry samples in real-time, SYNCHRON-ized Elements perfectly blend with other products of our Synchron Series.

For each instrument, there are dedicated Mixer Presets that depict different recording situations: Close, Classic, Distant, short and long reverb without convolution.

Included Instruments

SYNCHRON-ized Elements is subdivided in 5 Preset/instrument categories: Glass, Metal, Stone, Exotics, and FX Presets. The latter contains processed versions and combinations of the first four sections' instruments. These instruments are:

  • Glass

    • Glass Harmonica
    • Verrophone
    • Musical Glasses A-C
    • Bottles

  • Metal

    • Tam XXL
    • Tam-tams 85-130cm
    • Rails
    • Bass Waterphone
    • Standard Waterphone
    • Thundersheets
    • Japanese Singing Bowls
    • Crotales

  • Stone

    • Grande Lithophone
    • Orff Lithophone

  • Exotics

    • Ocean Drums
    • Bullroarer
    • Spring Drum
    • Cuicas
    • Waldteufel
    • Lion's roar

Due to the instruments' diversity, the articulations and Preset structure vary widely and depend on the specific instrument's requirements and capabilities.

About Patches

Patches can be used to build your own custom Presets and adapt the Synchron Libraries to your specific requirements. If you encounter any problems with creating Presets of your own, please refer to the Synchron Player software manual for more information.

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.

Walkthrough Videos

Included Presets

By default the keyswitch mappings for Articulations start at C1 (for Middle C = C4). If there are additional subdivisions with keyswitches, these will start at C2.

Additional options within Articulations or Types are offered by the Dimension Controllers. The controller function is indicated by the respective caption. Generally, Dimension Controllers may take on different tasks as needed, but in this collection the only one employed is marcato control with Dim.Ctrl./A (CC1, modwheel).

01 Glass

  • Instruments:
    • Glass Harmonica
    • Verrophone
    • Musical Glasses A-C
    • Bottles

01 Glass Harmonica

  • Articulations:
    • Portato
    • Sustained
    • Marcato
    • Trills
    • Mallet normal and secco
    • Mallet glissando

As the glass harmonica has no staccato notes, the keyswitches start at C#1 to keep consistency with other instruments.

02 Verrophone

  • Articulations:
    • Staccato, portato
    • Sustained normal and marcato
    • Rolls normal and marcato
    • Trills normal and marcato
    • Mallet secco
    • Mallet trills
    • Mallet glissando

Type keyswitches: C2/C#2 normal/marcato

03 Musical glasses - A

  • Articulations:
    • Staccato, portato
    • Sustained normal and marcato
    • Rolls normal and marcato
    • Trills normal and marcato

Type keyswitches: C2/C#2 normal/marcato

04 Musical glasses - B

  • Articulations:
    • Staccato, portato
    • Sustained normal and marcato
    • Rolls normal and marcato
    • Trills normal and marcato
    • Mallet soft, medium, hard
    • Mallet glissando

  • Type keyswitches: C2/C#2 normal/marcato

05 Musical glasses - C

  • Articulations:
    • Staccato, portato
    • Sustained normal and marcato
    • Rolls normal and marcato

  • Type keyswitches: C2/C#2 fast/slow (staccato, portato) and normal/marcato (sustained, rolls)

06 Bottles

  • Articulations:
    • Staccato, portato
    • Sustained normal and marcato
    • Flutter tonguing
    • Sforzato

  • Type keyswitches: C2/C#2 normal/marcato

02 Metal

  • Instruments:
    • Tam XXL
    • Tam-tams 85-135 cm
    • Rails
    • Bass Waterphone
    • Standard Waterphone
    • Thundersheets
    • Japanese Singing Bowls
    • Crotales

01 Tam XXL

The Articulations here are named after the gadgets used to create sounds: regular beater, flexatone, metal, paperbox, cardboard tube, plastic, fretsaw, and miscellaneous 1 and 2. Articulations vary according to gadget and are shown below.
"Fretsaw" has no distinct articulations and a tonal range from F3 to F7.

Regular beater

  • Range: C4-C7

Flexatone

  • Range: C3-G6

Metal

  • Range: C3-B7

Paperbox

  • Range: C3-A7

Boardtube

  • Range: C3-G6

Plastic

  • Range: C3-G#6

Miscellaneous 1

  • Range: C3-A#6

Miscellaneous 2

  • Range: C3-G6

02 Tam-Tams 85-130cm

Tam-tams measuring 85, 100, 110, and 135 cm, played with different beaters and a superball.

  • Range: C4-C#6

03 Rails

Five railway rails of different size, with left and right hand strokes, tremolo, and 1 to 3 upbeats.

  • Range: C3-A#7

04 Bass Waterphone

  • Articulations:
    • Staccato, portato
    • Sustained normal and marcato
    • Repetitions
    • Crescendo f and ff, normal and marcato
    • Tremolo crescendo, normal and marcato
    • Arpeggios
    • FX Loops
    • Strokes

Short notes

Staccato A and B, portato A and B

  • Range:
    • Staccato A G3-G#6
    • Staccato B G3-C7
    • Portato A E3-A6
    • Portato B E3-E6

Long notes

  • Range:
    • Sustained E3-D6
    • Repetitions A#1-F7
    • Crescendo f E3-D6
    • Crescendo ff E3-G6
    • Tremolo crescendo A3-D#6

Arpeggios, FX Loops

These Articulations have no other options.

  • Range
    • Arpeggios C3-G6
    • FX Loops C3-A6

FX Loops

Strokes

Different strokes with hotrods and wood beaters, as well as glissando strokes.

  • Range
    • Hotrods C3-E7
    • Wood C3-G6
    • Glissando strokes C3-C6

Wood

Single hits and chords. Mapped to white keys only.

Glissando strokes

Glissandos with a light stick, and with a normal stick p and f.

05 Standard Waterphone

  • Articulations
    • Sustained normal and with modulation
    • Arpeggios
    • FX
    • Pizzicato

  • Range
    • Sustained C4-G6
    • Sus modulation C3-E7
    • Arpeggios E3-G#5
    • FX C2-A#7
    • Pizzicato E3-C6

FX mapping

Pizzicato tremolo, glissandos, and multivoice sounds

06 Thunder Sheets

Five different thundersheets (A to E) with various articulations and individual sound sets.

  • Range
    • A, B, C: C3-D6
    • D: C3-G5
    • E: C4-D6

Thunder sheet A:

Thunder sheet B:

Thunder sheet C:

Thunder sheet D:

Thunder sheet E:

07 Japanese Singing Bowls

Japanese singing bowls played with a wood beater normal and secco, and with a rubber beater.

  • Range: B4-D6

08 Crotales

Crotales played with metal and triangle beaters, and bowed. For easier playing you can choose transposition for an 88 keys keyboard (1 octave down), or a loco mapping.

  • Range
    • 88 keys A#4-F#7
    • Loco A#5-F#8

03 Stone

  • Instruments:
    • Grande Lithophone
    • Orff lithophone

01 Grande Lithophone

A large 5-octave lithophone plaed with various types of mallet, sul ponticello, with finger, stone, needle, shattering, and bowed sounds.

Mallets, Sul ponticello

Ponticello and all mallets except the hard mallet offer open and secco sounds. The soft mallet also features rolls.

  • Range
    • Soft mallet, Hard mallet, Sul ponticello: F2-D7
    • Soft rubber, Medium rubber: F2-D4
    • Very hard mallet: A#3-D7

Glissando

Up and down glissandos, p and f, at various speeds and in the low, middle, and high ranges of the lithophone.

  • Range: C2-A7

Finger

Open and secco, played with the fingernails normal and accented.

  • Range: F2-D7

Stone

Played with small and big stones.

  • Range: F2-D7

Needle

Played with a 3 mm needle, center and effects, and with a 5 mm needle at the side and sul ponticello.

  • Range: F2-D7

Shatter

Shattering sounds, portato and accented.

  • Range: F2-D7

Bow

Played with a bow, piano and forte.

  • Range: F2-D7

02 Orff Lithophone

Orff lithophone (1 1/2 octave range): single hits, 1-4 upbeats, rolls, and rubbed. For easier playing you can choose transposition for an 88 keys keyboard (1 octave down), or a loco mapping.

  • Range: 88 keys G5-D7, loco G6-D8

04 Exotics

  • Instruments
    • Ocean Drums
    • Bullroarer
    • Spring Drum
    • Cuicas
    • Waldteufel
    • Lions Roar

01 Ocean Drums

Ocean drum A and B with short, long, and motion sounds, as well as different performances and excerpts thereof.

  • Range
    • Ocean drum A C4-C8
    • Ocean drum B C4-B6

Ocean drum A

Ocean drum B

02 Bull Roarer

Performances with lengths from 14 to 73 seconds, and various excerpts.

  • Range: C3-B7

03 Spring Drum

Two spring drums: pizzicato, finger snips, strokes, pulses, and rotation sounds.

  • Range: C3-A#6

04 Cuicas

Three cuicas, piano and forte sounds at different lengths. Cuica 1 also offers FX sounds.

  • Range: C2-G7

05 Waldteufel

Large and small Waldteufel, short, medium, and long sounds.

  • Range: C3-G#4

06 Lions Roar

Lion's roar with muted and open tones at different lengths, and tremolos.

  • Range: C3-G5

05 FX-Presets

This section features Presets with instruments treated with the Synchron Player's internal effects processors such as additional reverb, saturator, equalizers and filters, etc. The first four sections bear the same name as the major Elements sections - Glass, Metal, Stone, and Exotics - and contain three different FX Presets for each instrument. The fifth section is called Combined FX and offers 24 Presets of layered and processed instruments in order to attain a special sound quality that a single instrument might not be able to achieve. The following chapter lists the instruments used in the individual Presets, so that you can get a rough idea of what they sound like. Of course, the naming of these Presets also should give you a hint in that direction!

05 Combined FX

  • 01 Bottler

    • Bottles sustained
    • Bass waterphone sustained
    • Grande lithophone bowed, piano
    • Range: F2-F5

  • 02 Hectic Hector

    • Orff lithophone 4 upbeats
    • Grande lithophone nail
    • Grande lithophone shatter
    • Range: G3-D7

  • 03 Mystica

    • Waterphone sustained
    • Verrophone sustained
    • Glass harmonica sustained
    • Range: G3-G6

  • 04 Soft Steps

    • Verrophone staccato
    • Verrophone mallet
    • Grande lithophone soft mallet
    • Range: C3-C7

  • 05 Stardust

    • Bottles flutter tonguing
    • Grande lithophone shatter, accented
    • Orff lithophone rubbed
    • Range: G3-F5

  • 06 Stona

    • Bottles staccato
    • Grande lithophone soft mallet, secco
    • Waterphone pizzicato
    • Range: C3-C5

  • 07 Stone Stories

    • Glass harmonica sustained
    • Verrophone sustained
    • Orff lithophone rubbed
    • Range: G3-G6

  • 08 Wols

    • Verrophone portato
    • Grande lithophone sul ponticello, secco
    • Grande lithophone bowed, piano
    • Range: G3-D7

  • 09 Broken Glass

    • Musical glasses B sustained
    • Musical glasses C sustained
    • Range: C4-D7

  • 10 Dark Winds

    • Bottles sustained
    • Grande lithophone bowed, piano
    • Range: C2-D4

  • 11 Drifting Away

    • Verrophone sustained
    • Bass waterphone sustained
    • Range: G3-D6

  • 12 Dystopia

    • Glass harmonica portato
    • Musical glasses C portato slow
    • Range: C4-G6

  • 13 Impulse

    • Verrophone staccato
    • Verrophone portato
    • Range: C4-E6

  • 14 Marbles

    • Grande lithophone soft mallet
    • Verrophone portato
    • Range: C4-G6

  • 15 Pins and Needles

    • Grande lithophone sul ponticello, secco
    • Grande lithophone nail, accented
    • Range: C4-C7

  • 16 Talos

    • Glass harmonica sustained
    • Musical glasses C sustained
    • Range: C4-D6

  • 17 Fabric of Space

    • Waterphone sustained with modulation
    • Waterphone sustained
    • Bass waterphone portato B
    • Waterphone pizzicato
    • Grande lithophone soft mallet, low
    • Range: E2-C4

  • 18 Jaw Harp

    • Japanese singing bowls, wooden beater
    • Range: B4-C7

  • 19 Sprite

    • Crotales bowed
    • Grande lithophone big stone
    • Grande lithophone soft mallet, low secco
    • Range: C4-C6

  • 20 Resonant Drums

    • Grande lithophone big stone
    • Grande lithophone shatter, portato
    • Grande lithophone needle 3mm, FX
    • Grande lithophone finger, secco
    • Range: F2-C7

  • 21 Approach

    • Bull roarer
    • Tam XXL FX-2 metal
    • Range
      • C3 - 14 sec. performance
      • C4 - 27 sec. performance
      • C5 - 66 sec. performance

  • 22 Horrid Ensemble

    • Thundersheet A-D, bowed
    • Range
      • white keys only except D#5
      • C2-E2
      • C3-E3
      • C4-D4
      • C5-D#5

  • 23 Buried

    • Bass waterphone hotrods
    • Range: C3-C7

  • 24 Element 115

    • Orff lithophone rubbed
    • Orff lithophone rolls
    • Range: G4-C6