VSL - testing opportunity for all synchron pianos

n-player · 2022-06-15T13:06:50+00:00

VSL special offer- aLL our Synchron Pianos are now available with 30 days demo licenses. Don't need the physical key anymore as security is cloud based. h...

CyberGene

What’s the average storage size a VSL piano requires? I’m considering replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a newer M2 one (I don’t have any strong reason but I purchased it with only 8GB and I’ve seen problems when using it for my job related software dev purposes), so besides ordering a custom one with 16/24 GB of RAM, I’m thinking of getting more SSD because with the current 256GB I was forced to move Garritan and Modern U to an external drive but that’s not very cozy 😀 I prefer having my VST-s on the internal drive and thinking if 512 GB will be OK. I don’t want it to become too expensive though.

P.S. I also hate the EU keyboard layout! Who the hell invented that humongous Enter key shape?! 🤦🏻‍♂️ My company provided MacBook Pro has a US layout keyboard and I like it so much more! I’m definitely ordering my personal Mac with the US layout.

HZPiano

CyberGene thinking if 512 GB will be OK

If you fall for those VSL libraries, 512Gb is nothing and gone faster than your first beer of the day 🍺.

The VSL website gives you the storage space needed for each library. Warning: shocking numbers there; children under 12 should read those with parental supervision only.

Cheers and happy mulling,

David B

CyberGene

Something I forgot to mention that's important concerning ssd space and VSL samples is that after you do a full install you can remove any mic you're not using and free up lots of space.

For example: I went through the 2 VSL libraries installed on my MacBook Pro (Steinway and Imperial) and transferred to an external SSD some of the mics I wasn't using (some of the high surround and room mix mics) and I freed up 255 GB of space (some single mic profiles can be 30 GB). I opted to save the mics on an external SSD for a quick transfer back in case I decide to use them in the future.

VSL has some good features in their software. It's very easy to transfer libraries, trim them down, tell Synchron Piano player where to find the files, etc. It's one of the more user friendly interfaces on the market.

God Bless,
David

David B

512 will be enough for 1 VSL (full-size Grand) library and leave a few hundred Gigs left. I have a 1 TB ssd and with both the VSL Steinway and Bosendorfer Imperial installed (602 GB total) and I only have 157 GB left after all my personal and work data on it. I wish I would have gotten a 2 TB drive but I couldn't afford it. I have the 280VC/Modern U/Garritan on an external SSD.

God Bless,
David

QuasiUnaFantasia

The VSL standard libraries are not so large. The Blüthner one is only 46GB, the Bösendorfer upright is 49GB, and the Steinway D is 118 GB.

vagfilm

And you can install only the mics of interest. In the large VSL libraries there are 3 sets of surround mics, 2 very similar mid mics, a center mono decca tree, and a premix mic. If you install only the 3 close mics, 1 mid, 1 stereo decca, and 1 hall, that is roughly 150Gb instead of almost 300gb.

dore_m

I still had to buy an SSD to even try these libraries….. When I have more time, I'll give it a try because I want to learn from the best…

Daniel

I have a 2TB Samsung T7 SSD, but almost half of it are the VSL libraries. I am now trying Bösendorfer Imperial. It is one of their biggest libraries and I like it very much. Blüthner is 106GB, Bösendorfer 280VC 187GB, Concert D-274 286GB and Bösendorfer Imperial 317GB. So the full versions are really very very big libraries.

nicknameTaken

That will cost them a lot of traffic 🙂
It wouldn't be worthwhile for me to reverse engineer this stuff. Also because I'm not interested in breaking iLok.
But I am certain that when they open up, their sales might go up. At the same time, illegal cloud simulator software will start to sprout eventually.

But from a copyright protection standpoint, this is a massive downgrade.

CyberGene

It’s very nice that you can split library files between storage devices 👍🏻

If only I could find myself with one hour alone to do some testing… 😕

eddiepiano

Will a MacBook Pro (2017) with an 2,3 Ghz Dual-Core i5 and 16 GB RAM be powerful enough for running VSL pianos at low latencies?

David B

eddiepiano Will a MacBook Pro (2017) with an 2,3 Ghz Dual-Core i5 and 16 GB RAM be powerful enough for running VSL pianos at low latencies?

It's frustrating because nothing is a good solution until VSL makes their software M1/2 compatible. As is their software doesn't even utilize multi-threading, and even the fastest machines start to choke when too many mics are used. I don't understand what they are waiting for. Most other developers offer M1/2 compatibility. Once that's available, VSL should run great on any Mac.

God Bless,
David

jdg78

eddiepiano Will a MacBook Pro (2017) with an 2,3 Ghz Dual-Core i5 and 16 GB RAM be powerful enough for running VSL pianos at low latencies?

I think you should be okay. I'm using a 2015 iMac w/ an i5 chip and haven't had any real problems running the VSL pianos. Only times I occasionally get overload is during complex passages when I'm running more than 4 mics at once. But in general, I haven't found it necessary to run more that 2-3 mics at a time to get satisfying sound.

In any case, they're offering free trials at the moment, so there's no cost (other than storage space) to give one a whirl and see if it works for you.

eddiepiano

Thank you both for your answer. I had a Mac Mini M1 (16 GB) for a few days last December and it worked perfectly back then (280VC, Blüthner, Bösendorfer Upright). Unfortunately I think i chose exactly the pianos I didn't like so much - I think the Imperial, Steinway and CFX will suit my taste better. Thanks to VSL policy I could return them without problems.

I don't have the MacBook Pro yet, it's the notebook from a friend who doesn't need it anymore. He would sell it to me for a very (very) low price and I will be able to test if it's powerful enough before deciding if I want to take it. I will test it in a few days with the VSL Pianos.

How works the procedure for the free trials? Can I take the demo code now and activate it later (for example piano after piano)? And do I have to download the pianos right now or later?

jdg78

eddiepiano How is the procedure for the free trials? Can I take the demo code now and activate it later? And do I have to download the pianos right now or later?

My understanding is that you can activate the free trials whenever you want, and they'll expire 30 days from the activation. But you can only claim them for a limited time (I think until the 18th).

So if you haven't already, I would create a VSL and iLok account and grab trials for all of the instruments while you still can. Then you can try them out at your leisure later on.

vagfilm

At the VSL forum, Paul Kopf confirmed to me that the downloads need to be done until the end of the demo period, but you can activate the license at a later time and the 30 days will start counting only then. I have successfully done that previously with the eLicenser scheme.

dore_m

Just to clarify, you must download and install them via the Vienna Assistant, keep for however long you want, but then use the iLok to activate the license to start the 30 days?

(I don't see an option to download and NOT install in Vienna Assistant)

jdg78

dore_m Just to clarify, you must download and install them via the Vienna Assistant, keep for however long you want, but then use the iLok to activate the license to start the 30 days?

(I don't see an option to download and NOT install in Vienna Assistant)

You don't need to download right away - once you claim the demos on the VSL site, they'll show up in your Vienna Assistant as "Not Installed." From there, you can download them to your hard drive whenever you choose to, and activate the iLok demo when you want to start the 30 trial period.

I would assume that once the demos are added to your Vienna Assistant, you would still be able to download them after the initial trial period is over, but I don't know this for sure - might be worth clarifying with VSL.

I downloaded the entire series at once so that I could compare them side-by-side in real time, but you have to have a lot of free SSD space for that.

vagfilm

jdg78 I would assume that once the demos are added to your Vienna Assistant, you would still be able to download them after the initial trial period is over, but I don't know this for sure - might be worth clarifying with VSL.

I won't assume that. I am almost sure that in the old eLicenser paradigm you needed to download during the promotion period. Maybe the Vienna Assistant changed that, but I downloaded them all to be on the safe side. In the Vienna Assistant you can select a "download-only" option (not the offline option). And from there you can install at a later time. And you can keep the files in a slow external HDD, and then later install to fast SSD (takes longer to install but this way you don't need a 1TB SSD just for this purpose).

jdg78

vagfilm I won't assume that. I am almost sure that in the old eLicenser paradigm you needed to download during the promotion period. Maybe the Vienna Assistant changed that, but I downloaded them all to be on the safe side. In the Vienna Assistant you can select a "download-only" option (not the offline option). And from there you can install at a later time. And you can keep the files in a slow external HDD, and then later install to fast SSD (takes longer to install but this way you don't need a 1TB SSD just for this purpose).

You’re probably right and I agree it’s safer to download whatever you want during the trial period.

Still, I’ll be curious to see if the instrument files remain in the Vienna assistant once the trial is over.

dore_m

OK, I see the download only option - it's in preferences in the Vienna Assistant