MOTU SYMPHONIC INSTRUMENT
·Aug 24, 06:31 PMREVIEW _ MOTU SYMPHONIC INSTRUMENT – REVIEW
by: Gregory Chmara Sr.
The tests I used to create this review may have been patently unfair, but I designed them to let me detect what I consider the worst problems of sample packages and virtual instruments I may want to use regularly.
People who know me realize I don’t go around praising things I expect to be good but are really rather common or mediocre. My attitude going in and looking at MOTU Symphonic Instrument was: “How can a package selling for under $400 represent itself to be a kind of philharmonic in a box. How could it be any good? I consider the price low for what it says it can to do in the publicity.”
I wanted to test its usefulness as a “full” orchestra and for use as a portable sketchpad orchestra in a laptop. Maybe this could be an alternative for use as “session” additions in orchestrations in accompaniments when budget was too tight for live musicians. I would also look for other uses if I stumbled across them.The audioGroup studio rig on which I ran my tests is Apple PowerMac Dual G5 2.7Ghz sporting 4GB meg of RAM. Symphonic Instrument, like MX4 and Mach-Five, is an iLok-protected package. An iLok pre-configured with the license is inside the box, although you may need to acquire a USB hub if you are low on ports.
The eight gigabytes of samples will be moved to a 250 gig 7200 rpm 8 Meg Buffer external drive in the near future, using a simple procedure explained by MOTU in their on line tech notes. We ran the cross platform plug-in in Logic 7.1.
GarageBand users take note: This instrument is compatible with GarageBand and we could have used it there, but Logic was on screen when I arrived. There is an online tutorial on how to maximize presets and the use of multiple samples in Garageband without eating up a line per instrument used. A plus for many GB users, this is not only a cross platform sampler but also seems to be looking for compatibility with many sequencers now in use and to be designed in the future.
Sound was output via the RME Hammerfall 9632 HDSP run through a Presonus Central Station, to KRK RP-8 Powered Reference Monitors. All tests were done with reverb OFF. I like to hear my sounds dry and raw, then realize my effects as I need them. If you do not have a good dry sample—you may have more trouble in post production than it is worth.
On the technical side I wanted to see if the instrument could build presets and stacks quickly, hook in my MIDI control data for real time expression with no hassle and sound great.
FACING THE INTERFACE
There are times I have opened a virtual instrument and been overwhelmed by as many controls, buttons, knobs, sliders and search windows and graphs as Mozart had been accused of using by Salieri. Too many! Sometimes I feel I have opened a simplified version of a toy piano with 1 key set and no controls.
As they designed the Symphonic Instrument interface, MOTU apparently studied many users for this type of sampler and their needs. The interface is clean, clear and self explanatory on the “let’s make some sound” level. When you go through the manual you can get in depth ideas on extending the instrument’s utility building presets, custom reverb settings and more.
The convolution reverb knobs range across the bottom of the screen. Preset window is at top left—and at left is a list of available instruments.
Vibrato, tremolo and timbre controls can be adjusted to each instrument. Right up front you get pitch and velocity settings, filters and EQ. Settings can be made per part or globally. All stuff you need to work quickly if you want to have a sketchbook approach to the instruments.
The browser is easy to work with a click and play. Going behind the first window one finds a depth of samples and articulations that kind of fills could easily fill your cup rather quickly. Choices are quickly made by scrolling to the articulation you desire. Sections are quickly called up. These are just as quickly stacked into preset custom settings too. Each preset, which may contain several instruments can be called up as one line in many sequencers and in GarageBand.
Building and saving a multi is easy. In the advanced mode you can work with keyswitches, range assignments, velocity settings and key assignments for particular instruments.
Reviewing this interface I felt that anyone with a little MIDI experience with free standing synths and samplers would easily translate that knowledge to the virtual instrument. I am sure the folks at MOTU used their years of development of that market’s interfaces into computers to allow them to simplify this elegant design. Musicians do not have to become tech-junkies to quickly get to the instrument’s full capability.
Now, how did these instruments sound used individually? Here’s where my testing is unfair. I want something I can work with for more than Mahler Symphonies, but I do not want to work hard on sounding Mahlerish if I do have that burning need.
I would like solo and odd instruments to sound right based upon my experiences with the real thing. While I am not an instrumental virtuoso by any means, I can sure tell how I want an instrument to sound in the various arrangements I work with. Too harsh an attack on a sample can ruin an Adaggio line. Too slow an attack on every sample and Mozart becomes anything but lively.
If I want to use presets or section unisons as session instruments—their articulations have to work for accompaniment, accent and color and must not sound “synthy.”
Unfair Test – Step Number One:
Many great works use Organ and Symphony. Both offer everything from tempest and roars to near silent wistful sounds. So – if there is an organ included I open it first —and go right for the pedal sounds.
Other sample packages and construction kits I am familiar with often require assemblies of ranks and stops on different sequencer lines to build complete organ sound presentations. Put them together right and you get that wonderful wall of sound with “all stops.”
Some “full orchestral” packages miss capturing the breathy low rumbles of the pedals. Some do not deal well with the sustained droning nature of a single pedal sustained as an unchanging bass root. Others may miss the breathy bass sound of the punched pedal stop kicking-in when the foot activates the note on a classical pipe organ. Some, I am sad to say, do not include accurate or even processed pedal samples at all. I was not expecting to be blown away.
That said, I believe MOTU Symphonic Instrument presents the most realistic classic and cathedral pedal sounds that I have heard in an orchestral package! The air stream required to make pedal pipes sound realistically is not filtered out of these samples. I have played with other packages that filter has been applied to “preserve the purity of tone” rather than allow the preservation the integrity of the instrument being sampled. That made me unhappy. I was happy with these.
A fast run through on the attacks in the Gedeckt 8-4-2 showed the same integrity to sampling. You can hear the stops mechanically kicking in. This is not obtrusive or overly accented—but just as in the real instrument, they are there. In my opinion this makes it sound more like a classical or cathedral organ than something that processes away everything but the pure pitch of the sound.
Unfair Test – Step Number Two:
My background in dramatic sound has brought me in close contact with, or into playing odd and ancient instruments including shawm, crumhorn and the more well known lute and recorder. You can imagine my delight that these are included in the ranks of instruments MOTU put in this Symphonic package.
Shawm is a limited range reed instrument that sounds like a cross between a shake charmer’s pipe, a bagpipe chanter and a small duck being strangled. This has realistically been captured in these samples. It will add richness to an orchestration trying to reach the Henry VIII “atmosphere” crowds. (In fact Henry VIII wrote one piece for shawm during his reign.)
The downside of my test, however, was to find that these shawm samples have not preserved attack, fingering and decay articulations as well as the organ samples have. This is no great loss for ensemble use. It does, however, move me to suggest you may not want to solo this instrument without expecting a loss of those realistic touches.
Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass Crumhorns are all represented as individual instruments—allowing their assembly into a consort. The loops are realistic but again seem to lack the articulations and “real instrument noises” I love.
But, I had to remember these are a Symphonic Instrument package BONUS. Since this is not an ancient instrument package their inclusion is a magnificent find for those working on sound tracks for film and TV.
Unfair Test Number Three:
Eight harpsichords were next on my list. Most other packages I have feature only one or two. Each was too darned real for any negative comment. The Flemand may lack the strong attack pluck and release quell I prefer as part of what I consider complete natural sound, mechanics and all, but what it does have is more than adequate.
The French samples present a warmer, woodier, but still distinctly “harpsichord” sound. The Grand adds ambient raspiness, but again seems to lack the strong “pluck” attack I am used to. The Grand 16/8 allows the sample to develop a beautiful sympathetic wave on its sustains—about what you might hear if you were inside the sounding board of the real instrument.
The PianoForte included in this set maintains the sharp and pingy attack of the best instruments made. With a little processing it could work could be made to double as a barroom upright piano.
Test Four, Totally Unfair and Judgmental:
I love lute. I hate sampled lutes that sound like guitars or dobros. I detest lutes that sound like electric guitars.
MOTU’s Arched lute is clean and woody—like I feel a lute should sound. This is generally consistent and in balance with good sounding attack/decay throughout. I personally play the two lowest notes on lute as a soft flesh plucked bass string. These must be cautiously plucked to sound “lute-ish” and not buzz when produced playing the real instrument. To me the two lowest samples in this set were little strongly plucked being over pressured, buzzed. They felt as if processed at a slightly higher level than the rest of the set but could be moderated in use. No big deal.
Now the Ren lute—consistent, clean, balanced, expressive and wonderful. Made me wonder if lords and ladies were strolling in twisting maze hedge gardens while this was sampled. And this is a lot less trouble to play than a real lute, too. I do not have to tune the darned thing.
I played classical and folk guitar for a short while in the 1960s, and learned some Flamenco technique during that time—and I appreciate the work that has gone into different Guitar sample instrument packages to make them sound like real guitars with different articulations and strings. I recommend everyone check these out—but as part of a package found the MOTU Classical Guitar unique.
In my test I wanted to see if MOTU had tried recording the lute/guitar samples without taking care in capturing the differences in playing technique and instrumental resonances. I wanted to see if Symphonic Instrument could compete with “Real Guitars” with their inclusion of a classical guitar set.
I had one word to describe my reaction when I opened Classical Guitar Complete. “Wow!”
If I had sounded this good in the 1960s I would have still been on the road today. The bass e-string notes are balanced, crisp, not at all buzzy and will serve well if you want exceptional Flamenco riffs. The middles are crisp and neither metallic or “thuddy.” The high E string notes overcome any problem of metallic bite but remain crisp. The harmonics samples set sounds like they have been made using the light touch then lift to resonate approach preferred by classical guitarists for the bell like sound.
Unfair Test Five:
A few days before I got my hands on the MOTU package I had correspondence with Hermann Witkam in Holland. He offers unique sample sets for rare and ethnic instruments, and is ready to complete a full set of recorder samples for issue in the near future. We chatted about how rare it is to find anyone who plays bass recorder with its breathy low sounds and how equally rare it is to have a good recorder consort without a bass recorder.
Another MOTU surprise to test. Unlike other packges, SI features more than the alto and soprano recorder familiar to kids in grammar school beginning music classes. MOTU Symphonic Instrument features nine – count’em – nine recorders, including bass and a baroque tenor.
As a recorder player, I wanted this set to be perfect. For ensemble and orchestration it is. For some of my uses, however, these solo instruments do not have the breath and fingering subtleties layered into their otherwise perfect tones. One soprano recorder set suffers a little of sounding like a plastic or tin-penny whistle in its high range, but that is a problem the high registers of many soprano recorders. Then I found the Ren soprano recorder offering a better, more resonant wooden feel in those same high registers. Problem solved with one click.
Unfair Test Six:
The human voice. Most of us have one—and have preferences on how they sound, solo and in chorus.
In the human voice section I found solo tenors and sopranos. Serviceable and pleasant, and usually not included in inexpensive orchestral packages. I thought the tenor was more Irish or show style than a Pavoratti but these are good if worked in an orchestration or multi level soundtrack. For purists, however, I would recommend investing in Bela D Media’s voice packages if you prefer a wide ranging symphonic quality voice sounds.
There are ten sets of choirs. If you cannot find one here that works for you – see the preceding paragraph.
My unfair opinion is that this has the most natural representation of a good public grammar school kids chorus I have heard. These are kids, not trained as professional singers, giving a well rehearsed recital in the gym/cafeteria.
While not quite the quality of a trained boys or girls choir you need for classical work or solid film scoring, this kids chorus took me back to the days when grammar school music class still divided us into “canary” or “bluebird” based on voice quality. I tried to form the “starlings” and was handed a violin during chorus rehearsals.
The smaller “religious” choir samples are intimate, and warm, and fit quite well into arrangements aiming for a small placid congregation atmosphere.
Exceptionally Unfair Test Number Seven:
I confess. I always wanted to be a complete percussionist.
First my mother pointed out timpani would not fit in my bedroom—and pounding on things was not her idea of music. Then dad bought a piano and violin to rescue my mother from my next choice, brass.
Today, at age 65, I open orchestral percussion sample packages with great anticipation. I want deep resonances, rolls, rim shots, anvil strikes, tubular bells, shakers, tambourines, crashes, music box, glocks, resonant and mysterious gongs, an ability to give concert articulations to cymbals, and then also have some “fun” sounds to boot!
Often I have opened a package of sounds and found a little of this, some of that, but not the breadth of fun percussive sounds I sought. MOTU must have invaded my thoughts to put together this percussion sample section.
Seven articulations of concert cymbals are joined by deep resonant gongs (some sampled with chain scratch). The snares feature rolls, rim shots, dynamic rolls with and without traps. A “toy” percussion section must have been made by sound engineers given run of Mattel toys factories for a week or so.
Fans of old recordings of the comic musical band leader satirist Spike Jones may remember the sound of the boontangophone he invented. Well, it is not here – but the flexotron is. Do not ask me to describe it, but know that it involves springs “and stuff.”
Timpani – well tuned, multi malleted and full sounding. Useful and solid across the musical spectrum.
The two glockenspiel have surprisingly good pressure sensitive attacks and realistic decays.
Hmmm – but no wind machine. How dare they?
TESTING THE REST OF THE ORCHESTRA:
For a number of years I have fiddled, fooled, philosophized and finally come to the conclusion there is an extended battle over the way to get a great sounding virtual orchestra to play as an instrument.
This battle could be expressed as two different sampling and orchestra assembly approaches, how they relate to notation and sequencing of samples as opposed to “real” instruments.
One is based on taking each traditional instrument to score or sequence it on its own line as a solo instrument. Then you build several of these solo lines into sections; then the synchronized sections go together to produce the full orchestrations.
This is much same way you build a live orchestra , and one way you build your virtual arrangement. One instrument at a time, playing in section with similarly voiced instruments, adding together one line atop another playing in synch. Sectional harmonic differences between instruments can be had by using different instruments sampled or by tweaking the intonation and tuning of each instrument used on each line.
This is the approach taken by Garritan Personal Orchestra: a very versatile and inexpensive approach to building orchestrations. This approach honors the grandest of music traditions in notation. In the Garritan approach samples from Stradivarius violins, Guinarius and other top of the line major symphony/solo instruments are used to create the lines and variability of timbre to add up to a “sectional” sound as you synchronize the lines. You “play” each line as would the musician in that orchestra chair, but using MIDI control for articulation and expression.
A different approach that has been used with the advent of samplers, is that of using samples of each whole section or grouping size of an orchestra. The orchestra section playing once for each articulation and note. This allows skipping the traditional instrument by instrument build up approach on the stack of staffs of a score. It can save sequencing time in building virtual sections as they are already there in the sample’s recording and looping, replaying multiple instruments sampled in unison, with the harmonic variations of each real instrument in the group captured.
With this second technique, you can program 1st violins on one staff, not eight lines, cellos on one line not 4, four or eight French horns sounding at a time from one sequenced instrument line.
The more expensive packages of this latter type offer articulations such as short bow, up and short down bow, staccato (not machine gunned) articulations. They offer muted instruments playing together and tutti hits. In brass they may offer tongued sample sets. This has been the approach of Giga, EWQLSO and others. They present the user with a list of articulations that could bring out the best of expression marks in any score and take many pages to print—single spaced.
Some of these lists, when offered with multiple mike positions, with the articulation variations can be screen filling for just one instrumental section, such as cello or horn.
Navigating to the right sample set for a specific effect (pizzicato or spizzicato on strings, for instance) takes time, a good memory and orchestral expertise.
Many find this latter approach is great for finished VI presentations that need to sound like the Philharmonic without hiring the Philharmonic. The former staff upon staff approach works well and fast on sketches and for Mozartian size orchestrations. Some composers feel greater control when using a single line at a time per instrument—others want the rich full sound of a section immediately.
Both approaches require the user to learn how to create or insert the proper articulations for “real” sounding work.
This is where, at price per sound and for ease of use I find the MOTU virtual instrument to be surprising. The mix of solo instruments and ensemble sections is pretty well balanced.
I think MOTU Symphonic Instrument’s eight gigs of samples allowing this range of articulations must be based upon the company’s years of developing free standing samplers for a wide range of musical uses. This mix of solo and group samples allows both types of creativity to operate. I found any of the orchestral instruments usually sampled with “flat” presentational sustain or short tones also have “special” articulations you would normally not find in a package this inexpensive.
This is not to say that every orchestral section’s effects are available. That would take a lot larger library requiring a lot more disc space and memory.
Rather than go through all the whole Post Beethoven Symphonic Instruments and articulations in the package, I am going to skip around a little here to give you my impressions of sound quality/use:
Clarinet – This is the first virtual package I have worked with that offers clarinet trills that can be useful in creating mid-1930’s jazz/swing or Klezmer arrangements, or in Gershwin.
Oboe – I did not handle the velocities well in my playing of the ensemble samples and did not stop to work to get them sounding less “synthy” than I like. However, when I opened the Oboe D’amoure – its sound was perfect. (I dated one Julliard student some years ago and got to know the sounds of oboe well in those days.) Trills are part of these samples too. They sound great!
English horn – as real as it gets.
Bass Flute – I do not know if it was me—or did I hear a little ambient noise in the lower range. when played solo and dry? Otherwise very acceptable.
French Horns – A dozen sample sets. There are five sets of four horn articulations, five sets of eight horns together, and two sets labeled Xtra featuring staccato and sustained samples.
Piano – Steinway B and Yamaha C 7. Well articulated and playable. Did not check CPU use or polyphony on sustains—but I know it was better than I ever got on free standing sampler sets.
Trombone – I have always wanted trombone samples which offer an attack that does not sound like the note was welded in place on the slide. Even pros have that micro moment of slight slide adjustment with a “real” trombone. This is the first set of samples I have heard that offers a hint of that realistic microsecond on attack.
Sax—I had never heard well sampled tenor subtone work presented and ready to be keyboarded for jazz influences before Yellow Tools’ candy, and they are here, too.
Viola – With its woody melancholia the viola is a lot more than a low violin. In live performances it offers resonance’s only rivaled by cello. There are several notes here where those resonances become almost harmonic prominence—but this is not an unpleasant effect.
Violin – Ever tried to trill violin samples at a half step. Did those trills ever sound like a machine gun because the samples did not have enough sonic differences in them? I could not create that machine gun problem with these samples playing them in real time. Excellent! You’ll have to test quantized mechanically modulated attacks in a sequencer to see if you can get the machine gun if you really need something that mechanical.
Cello – Great. Resonant, soulful and full. Nor raspy in the lows.
Tutti strings—you just have to play with these! Tutti Orchestra—you gotta hear it to believe it.
PIECE DE RESISTANCE OR COUP DE GRAS
Now the last, most critical do-or-die test:
Can you use this whole thing as a virtual orchestra? Does it work together and does it play well with other packages?
One early problem that virtual musicians, arrangers and programmers still occasionally face exists between (and sometime within) various sample packages. This simply is an inconsistency of levels that the various packages, instruments and instrument groups exhibit between different instruments and articulations. Getting sections, solo instruments and groups in balance might take a lot of tweaking when internal inconsistencies in level exist in the same package. The problem is to be expected between packages more often than not.
In the past, some virtual instruments did, or sometimes did not, compensate or vary their baselines for perceived volume, rather than offering matching metered and measured volumes. These sometimes changed per instrument/section/articulation. Switching articulation sets in a an instrument or section could result in a need for a multiline level rework and special mix down for the performing artist or composer.
Early hard-wired samplers destined for live performance compensated for this problem by ensuring that samples came out at a consistent and matched measured baseline level. An artist could count on this baseline level and adjust it quickly in MIDI control (or in preset) to the proper perceived level judged against the other parts played. Because of the baseline match balanced expression could be achieved quickly in real time.
MOTU has taken this approach throughout this orchestra. The artist has choice of the variation in level through velocity control in some sample sets and other settings can be made through your keyboard mod wheel with still more control offered by the plug in’s screen and your mouse.
The “fit” between articulation groups is well modulated and makes for smooth switching. The group to group or instrument balance is pleasant and responsive. If you want to violins to drop to follow under a viola line, it takes very little work to make sure it does not sound like someone just turned down the volume on a sample set mid sustain. Even I could do it with good result.
That is to say it all works together rather well. Balance between sectional builds went quickly in this short test.
An extensive library of presets will make it possible to play (yourself) as a full symphony in real time. But you are definitely going to have better real time skills than I do.
IN CONCLUSION
My unfair, biased assessment of this whole package:
First, I am happy it was not available sooner.
If I had purchased this first as a general purpose instrument, I do not think I would have bought some of the more detailed and sophisticated packages I use regularly. I would not have learned of the different approaches to sampling orchestration and that the higher end packages (which can cost thousands more in some cases) offer pre-canned articulations. I do feel these more detailed much more expensive competitors may more easily solve classical music articulation problems with a click that would take some (not too much) tinkering in MOTU Symphonic Instrument.
But beside package cost for these bigger libraries, the expense for disc space for the samples and memory for a clean playing can pile up quickly. MOTU has provided a pretty efficient instrument for its price.
As a portable sketchbook tool, and for section reinforcement for instrumentalists and singers I think this is a magnificent package. It offers a new, easy-to-use weapon in the musical arsenal.
For classical music, TV and film arrangers it offers good demo constructions – but by design and price – does not have some of the detailed textures and articulations of packages that do cost a lot more; however, for the budget minded, those packages can be added as needed after working base ideas and arrangements requiring symphonic sounds through with MOTU’s Symphonic Instrument.
The only thing I found about the package that I dislike to the point of hatred is the iLok arrangement for security. I understand its need, but like an airplane passenger being searched, I wonder if there is a better way.
If you are getting started and you need a broad, wide and generalized symphonic package with some ancient instruments and good percussion, the MOTU Symphonic Instrument deserves serious consideration.
I have not checked it out with the newest notation/scoring interfaces (Finale, Overture 4) but almost feel MOTU has written Symphonic Instrument with them in mind.
For price – other than Garritan Personal Orchestra, I have found little to compete with this release.
In this price range this may be the broadest ranging, easy to use Symphonic package available. It is positioned in the musical market to be both affordable for the hobbyist and capable for the professional who needs symphonic sound on a budget but does not want to lose timbre and reality.
MOTU Symphonic Instruments is now in stock and available at AudioMidiMall.