THE ORCHESTRA COMPLETE is back with another incredible release that pushes the boundaries of composition in ways never before seen. It follows the path of its predecessors by emphasizing our intertwining orchestration engine, while expanding to inspire in new ways. With feedback from our users, we have now added a customizable sequence designer, expanded the free play mode, reimagined how to play legato and staccato live, and completely re-recorded the woodwind section with incredible new depth. and versatility.
“THE ORCHESTRA COMPLETE 3 is a logical extension of our orchestral color palette,” explains Tilman Cillescu, co-founder and creative director of Sonuscore. In STRINGS OF WINTER and HORNS OF HELL we have already expanded the strings and winds section with special articulations and unusual instruments. Now with WOODS OF THE WILD it’s time to give the woodwinds the same treatment, adding more articulations and new instruments.
“We’ve also added some great new features to Ensemble nki to further improve our quick sketching experience,” said Tilman.
ORCHESTRA: CREATIVE GOLDEN DISC
There has never been a shortage of virtual orchestras on the market. Ever since music composition has moved into the digital space, companies have been trying their own libraries. But it was a world of innovation stuck in one lane: record depth.
ORCHESTRA was a completely unique concept on the market at the time. We focused less on its high quality recordings and more on how the user would interact with the instrument. We wanted to create something that would inspire people differently than any other instrument, so we decided to bring out something beyond a simple orchestral library: a real-time orchestration engine.
“The ORCHESTRA was brand new at the time,” Tilman said. “He had the ability to create complete animated orchestral arrangements in a very short time just by playing simple chords. It was a creative goldmine and an incredible time saver for any composer.”
ENGINE EXPANDED
The Ensemble Engine is the heart of THE ORCHESTRA COMPLETE, making this virtual orchestra a pleasure to play. Just press a chord and it will automatically play those deep and complex arrangements. This was powered by an arpeggiator and envelope designer with individual note assignments for all engine presets.
FREE GAME MODE
One of the updates here was to expand our free play mode feature to all voiceovers and the ability to post notes on our main page. “This allows the user to automatically assign chord tones to individual groups of instruments,” explains Tilman. “We’ve created over 80 playable voices specifically for this purpose – when you play a chord on the keyboard, you can create beautiful orchestral tones.”
The ORCHESTRA has already made everyone feel like a personal conductor. But by making individual note placement available for free play mode, it really makes creating these beautiful, intricate timbres a very simple and easy affair.
Not to mention, choose from hundreds of presets we have designed to take advantage of this change. With a single tap on the Engine switch, you can change it to Free Play mode and then create your own orchestrations by controlling which instruments play which notes of your note. This feature alone can help redefine how you deal with composition in your DAW.
SEQUENCE DESIGNER
“We also noticed that our system with interconnected arpeggiators had certain limitations,” continued Tilman. “That’s why we developed the Sequence Designer in the engine and made it available. If you select SEQ in the arpeggiator, you can specify a 100% exact sequence of notes in the playback material.
The new Sequencer feature brings an unprecedented level of customization to our THE ORCHESTRA engine. Although we have previously offered all the arpeggios that are usually found in an instrument of this caliber, we decided that this would not be enough. The new Sequence Designer gives you the ability to create both custom sequences and rhythms so you can really capture the momentum and spirit of the piece you’re working on.
This has certainly allowed us to create more interesting presets, but more importantly, it has given you, the user, more control over your passages. Tilman adds, “Now you can create rhythms and tone sequences that have a much more musical perspective, sound freer and more unrestricted, and even more like small compositional elements.”
LEGATO IN A NEW WAY
It is always difficult for orchestral engines to cope with articulations. The question always comes up whether to use key switches or just different nki or vst. However, we believe that the less a composer has to worry about these things, the better. Therefore, we came up with a new option – we could determine how nki determines the need for legato, and not staccato.
We call our new system Pure Performance Legato. We have not only equipped all new instruments with it, but also reworked almost all pre-existing slurs. As a result, the instruments play more smoothly and realistically than before.
PURE LEGATO EFFICIENCY
“We’ve been looking for a really good legato instrument for years because we weren’t very happy with the previous system of placing recorded legato transitions on top of long notes,” explains Tilman. “Our scripting department has found a new intelligent legato system that will remain a secret for now.”
The new Pure Performance Legato instrument makes it easy to play both fast true legato and staccato. The newly developed engine distinguishes between both articulations without the need for key switches. Amazing legato playability is the result of hard work. Our writers had to set up over 400 transitions for each instrument to make the legato very smooth and playable.
“It took an incredible amount of balancing work and it was a hell of a job,” Tilman summed up. “Each transition from tone to tone had to be precisely balanced. But now it sounds so beautiful and like playing a real instrument that we think it was definitely worth all the hard work!”
ORCHESTRA COMPLETE 3
ORCHESTRA began as a tool to speed up the process of orchestral composition. But in recent updates it has become even more. It is the engine of inspiration and creativity.
As Tilman says, “With countless new as well as reworked previous presets, a new buttery smooth legato and a plethora of orchestral instruments with all articulations, THE ORCHESTRA COMPLETE 3 is a real bomb for composers – you better get it!”
You can grab your own copy of THE ORCHESTRA COMPLETE 3 below and even purchase WOODS OF THE WILD separately. Subscribe to our mailing list to read our next blog on how we approached the creation of WOODS OF THE WILD.
Another Demo – KONTAKT 7 Full ver.