OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions User Manual

June 7, 2024
OACE

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Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions
USER MANUAL
SPITFIRE AUDIO

CONGRATULATIONS

Thank you for purchasing Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions. We join forces with BAFTA-winning composer Ólafur Arnalds (Broadchurch, Kiasmos, Erased
Tapes) to record an all-star ensemble performing his latest set of awe- inspiring evolutions. Based in Reykjavík, Iceland,  Ólafur’s approach to sound and composition has inspired a new generation to enjoy and create orchestral music, and following the success of his own Spitfire libraries and our Symphonic Strings  Evolutions, he became the obvious choice to create Chamber Evolutions.  Here, the 4,3,3,3,3 ensemble of British players (Violin I + II, Viola,  Cello, Double Bass)  led by long-term collaborator Viktor Orri Árnason perform a range of fragile yet warm beautifully evolving phrases, recorded at the world-famous Hall in Air Studios (London).
With our Evo Grid technology, this library makes it easy to create sophisticated chamber strings music from the most simplistic of arrangements – just a few sustained notes is all you need to write inspiring dynamic textures. We also introduce here Waves: a brand new innovation featuring notes that move along a wave-like dynamic arc,  appearing from nothing, swelling, and then dying away again to nothing. These are accessible via our classic interface, in various styles and lengths.

Quick Specs

  •  15156 samples
  • 30.5 GB Uncompressed WAV
  •  19.4 GB Disk space required
  • 38.8 GB Disk space required during install
  •  NKS ready
  •  Compatible with Native Instruments hardware
  •  Free Kontakt Player Included
  •  New intuitive GUI with inline help
  •  Essential microphones (CTA)
  • Detailed sampling:
    – Multiple Instruments
    – Multiple Evolutions
    – Multiple Dynamics
    – Release Triggers

WELCOME

CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
Following the release of the Symphonic Strings Evolutions, Spitfire was keen to explore what was possible with a chamber ensemble – this became the motivation to recruit Olafur as a collaborator and the results are truly exceptional. Capturing the detail of individual players, the library has a greater intimacy than its symphonic sibling, yet with enough oomph to hold its own in scores and compositions.
As with his first Evolutions product, Ólafur worked closely with long-time violinist and ‘partner in sound’ Viktor Orri Árnason, who led the ensemble made up of  16 of the best British players.

THE HALL
As with many Spitfire libraries, we returned to the iconic Hall at Air Studios. Scores such as Dunkirk, The Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman and Paddington 2  were recorded there recently, as well as classics such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, The Dark Knight and Gladiator. We captured the ensemble with several mics/mixes: Close, Stereo Pair, Tree and Ambient, enlisting only the best classic high-end microphones and pres – all piped through the one-of-a-kind Neve console to Pro  Tools and ¼”tape. “You can feel the history.
There’s something special and the players can hear it and feel it.” Ólafur Arnalds

EVOLUTIONS, ENHANCED
Described by Olafur as “a sample you can play for 3 minutes that’ll never sound the same”, evolutions have become widely adopted amongst the composer community as the most effective means of easily writing music that is able to subtly change over time without variation in melodic content. Further to that, the ability to generate randomized evolutions allow unexpected results that are inspirational in their own right.  This library features two new evolutions innovations  courtesy of Ólafur:
Feathering – so that only half of the players are performing at any one time. This allows you to play different chords and still hear the detail of players.
Waves – one of Ólafur’s signature sounds are crescendo-diminuendos, and in order to save having to manual draw-in or perform with a  fader,a range of pre-recorded “Waves” have been recorded for instant satisfaction.

THE EVO PROCESS

  1. Orchestrate a series of Evos (very long notes that change over time).
  2.  Record these from low in the register to high up.
  3.  Repeat this for the different Evos.
  4.  Each Evo is placed in one column of the Evo Grid, with each row representing a pitch range (i.e. x = Evo, y = Pitch Range).
  5. Select which Evo sits in which range by activating ‘pegs’ on the Evo Grid (so that when a note is performed or programmed, it triggers the Evos pegged into that range)
  6. You needn’t select pegs yourself – randomize with the dice function that gives you several criteria to play with.
  7. Make sure you save as there are a near-infinite number of possible combinations

DOWNLOADING & INSTALLING

If you are new to this kind of thing you can get up to speed here: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/info/basics/
Our app enables you to download libraries. Install the ‘Spitfire Audio App’ from this link: http://www.spitfireaudio.com/info/library- manager/

THE SPITFIRE AUDIO APP

When you launch the app you will be prompted to login using the same details you use at our site. Then you’ll see the page pictured below:

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -sig inOACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -SORT

LIBRARY All libraries and plugins in your collection will appear with their artwork on the My Products tab. Clicking this artwork will open the product page. This is a great place to find information such as system requirements, instructions as well as where to find Reset and Repair options.

INSTALL/UPDATE buttons allow you to quickly start a download directly from the My Products tab, instead of clicking through to the Library. Next to the button, the size of the download is shown.

If this is your first time using the Spitfire Audio App for a download you may wish to first navigate to the Settings tab and make sure that the Default Content-Location is set to the location where you wish to download your libraries. Here you can also enable Auto Login to save time in the future.

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -Auto Login

Once you are happy with your Settings, click the Install button, either directly on the My Products tab, or by clicking on the library image you wish to install and then clicking the install button on the page that appears.
Clicking either of these will prompt you for a location, the default content location in your settings will be suggested but you can select any suitable location.
Once you are happy with the location click Install.

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -location click
Install

After clicking install you will be directed to the Downloads tab where you can watch the progress. You can leave the Downloads tab and start other downloads but at this point, you should leave the Spitfire App open untithe download completes.
As this is a Kontakt player library, once it is downloaded you will need to activate it by following the steps on the next page.

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -progress

FOLDER STRUCTURE

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -separate
sounds

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions- Evolutions

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -waves

If you click the ‘Instruments’ bar to expand it you will see that there are four patches: “Basses Grid”, “Basses Waves”, “Chamber Grid” and “Chamber Waves” and an advanced folder.
The “Grid” patches contain the Evo Grid which is discussed on the next page, the “Waves” patches are in our standard GUI.
In the Advanced folder there are three more folders:
Individual Evolutions – All of the separate sounds available in our standard GUI
Individual Waves – All of the  waves articulations available in separate patches
Other Patches – This folder contains “Time Machine” patches for the waves articulations allowing you to sync up the wave with the tempo of your DAW

OPENING YOUR FIRST INSTRUMENT

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -OPENING

Double click an ‘skin file (this is Native Instruments’ file extension for a Kontakt instrument) to load, or drag the instrument (it’ll have the little keyboard icon and the suffix .nki) from the left pane into the right pane.
If you can’t hear anything double-check first that the MIDI channel you are transmitting on with your keyboard is the same as the one in the Kontakt Instrument!

THE EVO GRID

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -EVO GRID

  1. The Grid or Pegboard
    This is where all the action happens. A great way to instantly create your own sets of string and warped Evos.
    The pegs behave like toggles, click on them to select and they’ll automatically disable any peg on the same X or Y-axis. On the Y-axis are the pitch centers, on the X-axis are the Evos.

  2.  Evos
    Evos are considerably longer than the longs you get in standard string libraries because they evolve, change, mutate, and return to their original state before looping.
    We’ve purposefully recorded each Evo at a different tempo so when you stack Evos on your grid and play them together the different evolutions start to undulate against each other.
    HOTKEYS
    Holding down CMD while clicking an Evo will assign that Evo to all note centers vertically.
    Holding down SHIFT while clicking an Evo will draw a line from the last selected Evo (ie click D#2:evo1, then hold shift and click A#6:Evo12; you’ll get a diagonal  line from top-left to bottom-right.)
    The Dice
    Clicking on this icon just to the right of the “Evo” title and selecting “Randomise with any” creates a completely random pattern
    Hit this key and it’s likely no one else on the planet is using the same map of sounds as you are.
    HOTKEYS
    The Dice – Click to assign pegs randomly to any of the 19 evolutions, a few options are available. Among them are:
    “randomize only visible” to limit the random  pegs to the evolutions currently shown on screen,
    “randomize in column” to have a more uniform vertical arrangement during randomization.
    “randomize with subtle, thrills, episodic or dissonance” in order to use only that section of the Evolutions.

  3. Mixer
    Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions has four different mic options: Close, Stereo, Tree and Ambient, these can all be controlled with the mixer.
    Click on the ROM tabs beneath the sliders to load/ purge mics/ mixes. CMD click on the mic acronyms to assign to a Kontakt output. Especially useful when creating surround signals.
    Controllers:
    Controllers vary the sound as you play. These can be assigned a unique controller number so you can automate or adjust via an external controller. To un-assign, assign or just to see what CC number is assigned to any control RIGHT or  CTRL CLICK. You can then alter the controller parameters in the “Automation pane” if for  For example you want your mod wheel to go all the way from top to bottom but the control to have restricted bandwidth change from the default of 0-127 to  20-100. Or if you want the controller to make the GUI control in the reverse direction change from the default of 0-127 to 127-0.

  4. Dynamics
    On most of our string libs, this would control the crossfade mix between differing dynamic samples, loud and soft. But because the timbral changes are handled within the original performances this is just an artificial dynamic controller for those of you who can’t hear a violin without reaching for your mod wheel (CC#1).

  5. Expression
    A simple display that denotes any expression controller (CC11) data. This controller is favored by the composing fraternity as the ‘loudness’ automation of choice, leaving volume (CC7) as more of a trim controller when mixing.

  6. Note Centre
    We have recorded 12 separate samples for each Evo based across the ‘amen’ intervals (perfect 4ths) across the keyboard. The reason for this is to create an asymmetry across the octaves to again increase the inspiring surprises you’re likely to enjoy.
    The only thing worth noting about this display is that if no peg is assigned to the note center region then the note center name will grey out. Just to help you diagnose a dead key or range!

  7. FX, Volume, Pan
    The FX peg is a simple toggle in/out affair that allows a nominal send to the FX rack (8.) to the right.
    The Volume trim pots allow balancing of Evos against each other. Useful when using Evos that are louder by nature (sul points etc).
    The Pan pot allows you to pan within the stereo field the different Evos, again especially useful if one part of the section is speaking louder than the other.
    HOTKEYS
    Holding down CMD while clicking FX will toggle all Evo FX on/off.
    Clicking an FX, then holding shift, and clicking another will turn those and all the FX between them on or off (ie. click evo 4 FX, then hold shift and click Evo  8 FX; you’ll get a line from evo FX 4-8).
    Holding down ALT while changing pan/vol will affect all evos.
    Holding down CMD while changing pan/vol/FX controls will reset them to default.

  8. FX Deck
    We have specially curated some easy-to-use and effective FX from the Kontakt host FX engine. For more details on these controls please consult your Kontakt user manual. If you wish to punch out these effects and use your own in your DAW or via outboard CMD click on the mic acronyms in the mixer to assign channels to a Kontakt output and you can then send the signal where you need it.

  9. A.D.S.R.
    Or Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release.
    A standard set of parameters is used in most synthesizers to control the “shape” of the sound. Turn Attack up to slow the sound’s entry; Decay determines how quickly the sound dies off to the ‘Sustain’ level which is controlled by the next knob. Finally, the Release knob controls how quickly the sampler ‘ let us go’ of the sample when you let go of the key.

WAVES AND INDIVIDUAL EVOLUTIONS

SWITCHING VIEWS

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -VIEWS

The Waves and individual evolution patches open up in our standard GUI.
When you first load up a wave or individual evolution you’ll be greeted with this GUI. This is one of 2 pages that you can switch between using the panel switcher…

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -views or pages

Click on these to switch views or pages:

  1.  General Overview (the view shown above)
  2.  Expert View
  3. Ostinato (not used in this library)

All GUI controls can be assigned a unique controller number so you can automate or adjust them via an external controller.
To un-assign, assign or just to see what CC number is assigned to any control RIGHT or CTRL CLICK.
You can then alter the controller parameters in the “Automation pane” of Kontakt. Here for example you can adjust a control such as mod wheel to move its full range, but have a restricted bandwidth of values. Its default range is 0-127 but can be altered to 20-100. Or if you want the controller to make the GUI control in the reverse direction change from the default of 0-127 to 127-0.

THE ‘GENERAL OVERVIEW’ PANEL

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -PANEL

  1. ARTICULATION SWITCHER
    The notes indicate the different articulations and display the current articulation playing.
    Click on these notes to select the different articulations. Whatever articulation is live is displayed in the sidebar on the left, and is highlighted in the stanza.
    You can select different articulations by hitting key switches.
    (These notes are by default the furthest left of your keyboard)
    You can do this whilst you’re playing. This means you can change articulation whilst you’re playing
    POWER TIP: SHIFT > CLICK to select and play multiple ar- articulations!

  2. SIDEBAR
    Tells you what articulation you have selected.

  3. MIXER
    There are four different mic options: Close, Stereo, Tree, and Ambient, these can all be controlled with the mixer.
    Click on the ROM tabs beneath the sliders to load/ purge mics/ mixes. Click on the mic acronyms to assign to a Kontakt output.

  4. EXPRESSIVE CONTROLLERS
    Dynamics – Moving this crossfades the different dynamics between loud and soft. (CC#1)
    Reverb – Toggle switch for reverb. Increase the reverb amount by turning to the right. (CC#21)
    Release – Controls the speed of decay after the note is released. (CC#16)
    Expression – Instrument trim that adjusts the volume within the dynamics. (CC#11)

THE EXPERT VIEW

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions -EXPERT VIEW SIDEBAR

On the ‘General Overview’ page this simply displays the articulation being played. In the ‘Expert View’ there are some additional functions:
a. Keyboard Shimmer” – This shifts your bank of key switches left or right to suit your needs, preference, or performance. Click on the icon and drag your cursor left or right and you’ll see the pink bank of key switches follow. Wherever you stop, those will be the new key switches.
b. “ Keyswitch To CC Selector” – Use this to assign a CC controller to act as articulation/ key switches.
Right-click on “CC” and you can learn a controller value you wish to use for UACC switching methods.
c. “ Articulation Locker” – This control provides the ability to choose from a variety of key switching methods:
Unlocked Artic ’ – Is the standard-setting, select articulations via the front panel or associated key switch.
Locked Artic’ – This locks your articulation so it doesn’t change either via the front panel or key switch.
Locked Keyswitch – This locks your articulation via key switch but you’re free to switch via the front panel.
Locked to UACC – This standard was developed by Spitfire and is detailed in appendix E.
Switch articulation based on the value (0-127) of MIDI CC32.
Locked to UACC KS – The functionality of UACC with the flexibility of a key switch.
When activated, a single key switch is available. Pressing this key at varying velocities (according to UACC standards)  changes articulation.
Shared Keyswitches – In larger libraries, this setting allows you to spread key switches across multiple palettes of articulations.

ARTICULATION SWITCHER

This works the same as it does in the ‘General Overview’ panel, with the addition of ‘load chips’ beneath each articulation. These load the articulation in and out of memory.
Layering Articulations – To layer sounds within the articulation hold ‘SHIFT’ click on your next articulation. Rather than introducing a multitude of more confusing  ‘layered articulation’ options, the front panel shows (and edits) only the most recently layered articulation.
Triggering – For triggering options CTRL or COMMAND click on the articulation icon:

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions-Triggering
“By CC Range” – This will allow you to use a single control channel to switch between articulations. This allows you to fine-tune on your MIDI event list, or to use a  midi controller fader or indeed button with a single range assigned to select your desired articulation. Our default setting is guided by our UACC
protocol.
“By KS” – The default setting. BML is scripted so it won’t switch mid- note but wait ‘til the next note-on before switching. This means you’re able to play the key switch whilst playing a long note and have it switch to a staccato on your next note.
“By Velocity Range” – This is great for designing intelligent staccato patches that say become staccatissimo when you hit the keyboard really hard. A second menu will open up giving you options for this function.
“By MIDI Channel” – turns your single instance of BML into a multi- timbral instrument. MIDI channel lets the instrument change articulation based on the incoming MIDI channel.  To use, change the instrument Midi Ch. to ‘Omni’ mode in Kontakt. The single instance can now be configured to play based on the incoming MIDI channel. For example. Set staccatos to channel 1, longs to channel 2, legato to channel 3.
“By Speed Of Playing” – A function that allows you to switch articulations based on the playing speed of your performance. When selected, it provides options to specify a triggering time range in milliseconds.

When an articulation has a ‘trigger’ assigned to it, it shows a little short- cut icon above to let you know that it has been customized.

Holding down ALT/MENU (PC/MAC) and clicking an articulation with this short- cut above it will toggle the trigger between enabled and disabled.
Trigger Panel – Reset will clear the trigger for this articulation, allowing you to set it to a different type or disable it permanently.
Legato intervals will only activate this trigger if the notes played are legato intervals. Ignore if purged means that this trigger will only occur if the articulation is not purged.  The group allows you to group together triggers. When set, the trigger only occurs when an articulation in the same group is currently active. For example,  use this if you wanted to set up speed triggers on legato articulations, but don’t want them to trigger if you have staccatos/marc/shorts selected.

OTHER WAYS TO SWITCH ARTICULATION
Alongside switching your articulations manually by hand, via a key switch, or via the advanced methods mentioned above, you may also want to try a new system we’ve dubbed UACC (universal articulation controller channel). Whereby each and every possible style of articulation has been given a unique CC data number.  Simply use CC#32 and the table found in Appendix E to see how this can work for you.
POWER TIP: Whilst there are many ways to switch between
articulations, many still prefer to have a different articulation in a single instance per track on their DAW. This enables them to assign different reverb levels and bake helpful stems that can be used in conjunction with live instruments.
NOTE: Legato is not used in this library. References to Legato are general tips on how a control might be used.

MICROPHONE MIXER

Use the chips beneath the faders to load & unload different microphones. Use the faders to tweak the balance of them. Turning a fader all the way down will also unload the mics, conversely turning the fader back up will reload. Right- click on the faders to assign CC controllers so you can mix this life for fantastic shifts in the spatial nature of the samples.
Click on the mic letters to change the Kontakt channel/output assignment.
On the top right of the mixer, the controller section is some deeper mixing options.

3a VELOCITY RESPONSE

OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions- VELOCITY
RESPONSE

Pick from 4 different velocity curves to suit your controller.
3b PAN MIC COLLAPSE


Stereo Width – This allows you to control how far the stereo image reaches, from MONO to WIDE per Mic. The default is a normal Stereo.
Stereo Pan – This allows you to control wherein the pan field the center of this image is placed per Mic.

3c MIC MIX TO ARTICULATION LINKER
The small notation symbol locks the microphone mix or tweaks you’ve made to the articulation selected. This is how you change any perceived inconsistencies between different types of articulations. Or if you want to roll off some of the hall ambiances for one articulation vs another.
3d MIXER PRESETS

Use this option to transfer mixer settings between patches, or save and load presets you have previously curated.
Automating Mixer Faders – Each mixer fader has a  dedicated #CC.
To change this to suit your MIDI controller or surface, simply right-click (on PC) or command-click (on mac) on the fader itself to “learn” the new controller.
Routing Mic Mixes – To route each mic mixer channel to unique Kontakt channels click on the Mic acronym.
This feature is great for putting your ambient mics in the surround channels, or for tracklaying individual mics for your engineer to control in your final mix sessions.

GENERAL CONTROLS
OPTIONS
Presets – This allows you to load predetermined sets of articulations.
It quickly and easily to optimizes your system quickly for essential articulations, or to start building templates using empty “shells”.
Purge Unused – This control keeps unloading any samples you are not using to keep your memory usage as low as possible.
Transpose – Toggle this on and tweak the number to the right to transpose your instrument. Note this is not the same as tuning, the instrument will actually offset the samples to the selected pitch.
CC Mapped Vel(ocity) – Click this to control note velocity with the Dynamics slider. If a user has customized the dynamics slider, that same customized CC will control velocity now. This will not work for Long articulations.
ROUND ROBINS & LEGATO
No Extra Functionality (Neighbouring Zones) – Next to this lies a pop-down menu with some amazing functions:

  • No extra Functionality” – Is the standard default where round robins are used as they were intended.

  •   “Neighbouring Zones” – pulls from neighboring zones, so for an ‘8RR’ instrument, you cycle through up to 24 different sounding notes when pressing a
    key.  It’s still playing the one RR at a time, though giving you more of them..

  • 2x Round Robin With Skip” – plays two RR simultaneously, so you get a thicker sound, it’s the equivalent of plopping two notes on top of each other in your DAW (and it drops the overall volume ~6db so that the levels remain the same but it just sounds thicker).
    NB THIS IS NOT AVAILABLE TO LEGATO  TRANSITIONS.  This plays the pairs and moves ahead by 2 RR. In this mode, RR is effectively halved. eg, if you press a note it would play RR1/RR2 then RR3/RR4,etc.

  • “Layer 2x Round Robins With No Skip” – As above but this plays a pair but doesn’t move ahead by 2 so that RR isn’t halved. So if you press a note it would play RR1/RR2, then RR2/RR3, then RR3/RR4. CC Round Robins – This refers to the number of round robins your instrument uses, the number can be ragged up and down to save your memory.
    CC Round Robins – This refers to the number of round robins your instrument uses, the number can be dragged up and down to save you memory.

Reset From C0 – This enables you to control the round-robin cycle (so it sounds identical every time you play) toggle on & play the key selected (default F0) to reset.   Reset on Transport – As above but resets every time you press play.

EXPRESSION CONTROLS

Dynamics – Moving this crossfades the different dynamics between loud and soft. (CC#1)
Reverb – Toggle switch for reverb. Increase the reverb amount by turning to the right. (CC#21)
Release – Controls the speed of decay after the note is released. (CC#16)
Expression – Instrument trim, so this adjusts the volume within the dynamics. (CC11)

APPENDIX A – KONTAKT vs. KONTAKT PLAYER

Kontakt Player is a free version of the Kontakt sample playback engine available to download:
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-6/
It works with libraries that the developer has paid a license fee for. Essentially, you’ve bought this playback engine along with your library.
The Kontakt player gives you full access to all the sounds and all the editable parameters on the front panel. Also, unlike non-Player libraries, these libraries will also have a banner that appears on the Kontakt Libraries pane.
If you want to go deeper into editing you’ll need a full version. As you will already own the free Kontakt player and have bought one of our ‘player’ libraries you will be eligible for a discount upgrade to Kontakt via the NI website. See here for more details:
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-6 /pricing-kontakt-5/crossgrade-offer/
If the library you want to use is NOT a ‘Player’ library then you need to buy the full retail version of Kontakt. Then you can also load ‘non-player libraries like some of our other ranges, Harp, Piano, Harpsichord, etc.
Please note that non-Player library instruments will not appear on the Kontakt libraries pane and so can’t be added as a library as Player libraries need to be. Instead,  these libraries will simply need to be loaded via the Kontakt files browser or you can add the library as a favorite to the Kontakt Quick Load window.

APPENDIX B – RECOMMENDED TECH SPECS

IF YOU PLAN TO USE THIS LIBRARY WITH THE FULL VERSION OF KONTAKT PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST VERSION OF KONTAKT 6 INSTALLED.
RECOMMENDED SPEC:
The better your computer, the better the performance of any Spitfire module. But not to worry if you’re not spec’d up to the hilt. All programs are provided with a  set of parameters that enable you to dial back the CPU demands of any given patch. But moving forward, we’re confident this module will keep your computer busy for many years to come! We recommend a combination of high processor speeds, a good chunk of memory and a devoted SSD eSata, USB3, or Thunderbolt drive. The more memory you have the less demand placed on your drive, and having a totally devoted drive gives you the chance to load less into memory and reduce load times. The higher the speed of your CPU, the more capable your computer will be to deal with some of the amazing, but complicated scripts we’ve written.
PCs: Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 (latest Service Pack, 32/64 Bit), Intel Core Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2, 16 GB RAM (8 GB minimum).

MAC: Mac OS X 10.10 – OS 11. Intel Core 2 Duo,

16 GB RAM
DRIVES: USB3, Thunderbolt, or SATA SSDs. Ask your dealer for drives that are suitable for “AV use”. If you use an SSD drive instead of HDD, this will massively increase the power of your system. Instead of 7-9ms seek time, the usual seek time is <0.1ms. These are fast enough to run a patch ‘Purged’ of all its samples, and they can load on the fly as you play the notes. You can also reduce your sampler’s “pre-load” buffer tenfold meaning you’ll be able to load enormous orchestral palettes into a single machine.
HOST: The Kontakt 6 platform should work comfortably on the most commonly found platforms and DAWs. As always make sure you’re as up-to-date as you can afford! If your main DAW is not a newish machine or has a limited spec, and you’re planning on building or adding Spitfire to an already large orchestral palette,  you could consider running your library independently of your DAW, either on your host computer (e.g. via Re-Wire) or on a slave device (e.g. via Midi or MOL).  This will assist your loading times and will allow your DAW to do what it does best, sort out all your note on and note-offs!

APPENDIX C – PRESET/ARTICULATION LIST

PRESETS / ARTICULATIONS
MAIN INSTRUMENTS

Basses Grid
Basses Waves
Chamber Grid
Chamber Waves
INDIVIDUAL EVOLUTIONS

a – Chamber – 01 Sul Tasto Long
a – Chamber – 02 Sul Tasto Wave (Long)
a – Chamber – 03 Sul Tasto Wave (Short)
a – Chamber – 04 Sul Tasto Ord
a – Chamber – 05 Sul Tasto Pont
a – Chamber – 06 Detached Waves
a – Chamber – 07 Sul Tasto Pulse (Trem)
a – Chamber – 08 Sul Tasto Trem
a – Chamber – 09 Art Harm Trills
a – Chamber – 10 Sul Tasto Episodic Trems
a – Chamber – 11 Sul Pont Tast Trems
a – Chamber – 12 Sul Tasto Pulse
a – Chamber – 13 Sudden Molto Vib
a – Chamber – 14 Sudden Trem
a – Chamber – 15 Sudden Sul Pont
a – Chamber – 16 Sul Tasto Pitch (Slow)
a – Chamber – 17 Episodic Pitch
a – Chamber – 18 Wow Effect
a – Chamber – 19 Slow Flurry Pitch
b – Basses – 01 Sul Tasto Long
b – Basses – 03 Sul Tasto Wave (Short)
b – Basses – 05 Sul Tasto Pont
b – Basses – 08 Sul Tasto Trem
b – Basses – 12 Sul Tasto Pulse
b – Basses – 13 Sudden Molto Vib
b – Basses – 16 Sul Tasto Pitch (Slow)

INDIVIDUAL WAVES

a – Chamber – Waves Ord Long
a – Chamber – Waves Ord Longest
a – Chamber – Waves Ord Short
a – Chamber – Waves Ord Shortest
a – Chamber – Waves Trem Long
a – Chamber – Waves Trem Longest
a – Chamber – Waves Trem Short
a – Chamber – Waves Trem Shortest
a – Chamber – Waves Vib Long
a – Chamber – Waves Vib Longest
a – Chamber – Waves Vib Short
a – Chamber – Waves Vib Shortest
b – Basses – Waves Ord Long
b – Basses – Waves Ord Longest
b – Basses – Waves Ord Short
b – Basses – Waves Ord Shortest
b – Basses – Waves Trem Long
b – Basses – Waves Trem Longest
b – Basses – Waves Trem Short
b – Basses – Waves Trem Shortest

OTHER PATCHES

Basses Waves (TM Pro)
Chamber Waves (TM Pro)

TIME MACHINE INDIVIDUAL

a – Chamber – Waves Ord Long (TM Pro)
a – Chamber – Waves Ord Short (TM Pro)
a – Chamber – Waves Trem Long (TM Pro)
a – Chamber – Waves Trem Short (TM Pro)
a – Chamber – Waves Vib Long (TM Pro)
a – Chamber – Waves Vib Short (TM Pro)
b – Basses – Waves Ord Long (TM Pro)
b – Basses – Waves Ord Short (TM Pro)
b – Basses – Waves Trem Long (TM Pro)
b – Basses – Waves Trem Short (TM Pro)
MICS & MIXES
MICS
C(lose)
T(ree)
A(ambient)
St(stereo Mix)

APPENDIX D – MIC & MIX ACRONYMS

STANDARD ARRAY:
C – Close. A selection of valve mics was placed for optimum focus close to the instruments. This mic control is great to add in for added definition and at times a  bit of “rounding of sound”, in isolation it can be a way of achieving a more intimate or pop-music style sound.

T – Tree. This refers to the “Decca” tree of three mics placed above the conductor’s podium. In the case of this Library; 3 priceless vintage Neumann M50s. These are placed to give the ultimate sound of the band, the hall and are the default mic position that loads in with each patch.

A – Ambient. A set of condenser mics was placed high up in the gallery away from the band. This mic position gives a massive amount of stereo spread and room sound over the band. Great mixed in with the other mics but also ideal fed to your Ls & Rs speaker sends for true surround Information.
St – Stereo. An RCA 44  BX stereo pair is set up at the front of the string band.

APPENDIX E – UACC

With the development of Spitfire’s BML Sable, it was proving quite difficult to standardize how to access the ever-growing number of articulations contained within instruments and libraries. While they worked adequately, Keyswitches and CC32 were inconsistent between sections and instruments and it could prove a pain to do something as simple as substituting a Viola for a Violin section.
To address the problem, Spitfire developed UACC, a specification that hopes to standardize articulation control between instruments and libraries. UACC is turned on via the Keyswitch locking option (  ) and utilizes the same CC as above (and can be customized identically). When UACC is activated you can change articulation by setting CC32 to specific values that are correlative with different articulations. Here’s the latest (v2) spec:

Long (sustain)
1. Generic
2. Alternative
3. Octave
4 . Octave muted
5 . Small (1/2)
6.Small muted
7 . Muted
8.Soft (flat/hollow)
9.Hard (cuivre/over)
10. Harmonic
11.Temolo/flutter
12.Tremolo muted
13.Tremolo soft/low
14.Tremolo hard/high
15.Tremolo muted low
16.Vibrato (molto vib)
17.Higher (sultasto/bells up)
18.Lower (sul post)
19.Lower muted
Legato
20. Generic
21 .Alternative
22. Octave
23. Octave muted
24 . Small
25. Small muted
26 . Muted
27 . Soft| 28. Hard
29. Harmonic
30. Tremolo
31. Slow (port/gliss)
32. Fast
33 .Run
34. Detached
35.  Higher
36 . Lower Short
40. Generic
41. Alternative
42. Very short (spice)
43. Very short (soft)
44 .Leisurely (stack)
45. Octave
46. Octave muted
47 . Muted
48 .Soft (brush/feather)
49. Hard (dig)
50. Tenuto
51. Tenuto Soft
52 .Marcato
53 .Marcato Soft
54. Marcato Hard
55. Marcato Long
56 . Plucked (pizza)
57 . Plucked hard (Bartok)
58 .Struck (col leg)
59 . Higher
60. Lower
61. Harmonic| Decorative
70 .Trill (minor2nd)
71. Trill (major 2nd)
72.Trill (minor 3rd)
73.Trill (major 3rd)
74.Trill (perfect 4th)
75.Multitongue
76.Multitongue muted
80 .Synced – 120bpm (trem/trill)
81. Synced – 150bpm (trem/trill)
82.Synced – 180bpm (trem/trill)
Phrases & Dynamics
90 .FX 1
91. FX 2
92. FX 3
93. FX 4
94. FX 5
95. FX 6
96. FX 7
97. FX 8
98. FX 9
99. FX 10
100. Up (rips/runs)
101. Downs (falls/runs)
102. Crescendo
103. Decrescendo
104. Arc
105. Slides Various
110. Disco up (rips)
111. Disco down (falls)
112.Single string (Sul C/G/etc.)
---|---|---

For example, turning on UACC and changing CC32 to 26 will change the current articulation to Legato-Muted. Setting it to 52 would change to Short – Marcato.  You can set these manually in your DAW but it’s much easier to utilize DAW functionality such as VST Note Expression, or a dedicated tablet app such as Lemur,  TouchOSc, LiveControl, etc.
The advantages of UACC are that it’s consistent between all supported libraries (ie. setting CC32 to 52 will change to Marcato regardless of the library or patch) and easily configurable on tablet apps such as Lemur. It remains consistent between updates (any product using v2 will have the articulations mapped to the above spec).  It also takes up no space on the keyboard.
The disadvantages are that it’s difficult to control for live playing (unless using a tablet) and it does not support articulation layering.
UACC KEYSWITCH
UACC keyswitching is a new feature in Spitfire products and updates. It is a mixture of key switching and UACC to provide the advantages of both methods. When
UACC Keyswitch is activated via the lock panel menu ( ) a single key switch is available. Using the UACC  spec outlined above, this key switches velocity is used to switch articulation.
For example, pressing the key switch at velocity 70 would switch to the Trill (minor 2nd) articulation while pressing at velocity 56 would switch to Short Pizzicato. As with UACC, you can manually input these velocity values but it’s easier to use your DAW or tablet app’s functionality. The main advantage of UACC KS over UACC is that you can layer articulations by overlaying the keyswitch’s notes on the piano roll.

APPENDIX F – FAQS & TROUBLESHOOTING

Q: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KONTAKT AND KONTAKT PLAYERS?
See Appendix A
Q: HOW CAN I REDOWNLOAD A PRODUCT?
With the continuous improvements to our Spitfire App, we have incorporated the ability to reset your own downloads, be it the entire library or the most recent update.
To reset your entire library download or the latest update; Open up the Spitfire App and log in with your account email and password.

  •  Select the download you wish to re-download
  • In the cog, menu choose Reset Download > Entire or Latest Update

You can repeat this process for any of the libraries you own.
Note that there is a limit to how many times you can reset your downloads in a certain time frame. If you do exceed your reset limit please get in touch.
Q: DIFFICULTIES IN DOWNLOADING / INSTALLING
Customers may find that they have some difficulties in the downloading process. If you find that you are having some trouble, please check the list below for possible causes.

  • The formatting of your drive, if it is FAT32, will prompt an error in our app and you will not be able to install it.

To solve this problem, reformat your drive to a more modern format, or use a different drive.
We recommend NTFS on PC, and Mac OS Extended journaled) on Mac.
The formatting of your drive, if it is EXFAT, will prompt an error in
our app and you will be given a choice to accept the install.
We advise not to install to EXFAT format as it is not optimized for sample streaming.

Free space on your hard drive, ensure you have 2GB more than the library size. The app will block the install if you do not have enough free space.
For other issues such as:

  •  Spitfire App freezes in the “Unzipping” stage,
  • Spitfire App freezes logging in,
  •  Spitfire App won’t connect to the internet,
  •  Spitfire App says “install error”,

Please contact us with the lm.log file. Locations for lm.log:
Mac OS: User/Music/Spitfire Audio/Settings
Windows: Application Data/Roaming/Spitfire Audio

Q: I’VE LOST MY INSTRUMENT FILES
In some cases, instrument files may get lost when transferring libraries from one place to another, or if an update has gone wrong.
If this happens, the best way forward is to re-download the library in question. This will ensure you will get all of the content you are missing.
Q: WHAT IS YOUR REFUNDS / RETURNS POLICY?
If you have NOT completed the download/installation process, then we CAN refund/return your product within 14 days of purchase, please contact support with  your account email address and order number.
If you HAVE completed the installation process (even if you’ve not yet registered your serial number), we do not accept refunds and returns. Please see our EULA.
We can refund hard drive orders up until the point when the drive is dispatched from our office. This is usually 1-2 days after you order.
Q: I’VE FORGOTTEN MY PASSWORD?
If you have forgotten your password, please see this link, and click ‘Forgotten Password’. If at some point in the past you asked us to merge two or more accounts but have since forgotten, you MAY find that the forgotten password isn’t working for the email address you asked us to merge FROM. In this case, please contact support with your name, and any email addresses you have used.
Q: I HAVE FAST INTERNET, WHY IS MY DOWNLOAD SLOW?
We have no direct influence on your download speeds. Our libraries are hosted on Cloudfront servers which are normally very quick.  At certain times of the day when traffic is particularly busy, your ISP may throttle your connection speeds.  See this link to troubleshoot.
We would advise you to leave your download running overnight as speeds should ramp up at less busy times.
Q: CAN I INSTALL ON MORE THAN ONE COMPUTER?
Yes, with our products you have two installs. You are allowed to download and install on two computers you own, The best way to get your library on both of your machines is to copy it from one to another via an external HDD. See here for this process.
Q: CAN I TRY BEFORE I BUY?
No – it is not possible to demo our products. Our Youtube Channel has many walkthroughs containing detailed info about all our products — you can hear them being played in real-time with no smoke and mirrors!

Q: HOW DO I UPDATE MY PRODUCTS?
To update one of your libraries, open our Spitfire Audio App. Navigate to the “updates” tab at the top of the window and select this.
This pane shows you all available updates.
Click update, then select your library folder or the folder above.
Q: I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR AGES FOR MY DOWNLOAD LINKS?
We run all our orders through a fraud-checking process. The automatic fraud check takes 20 minutes.
If your order gets caught at this stage, we run a manual order check, and this can delay the processing of your order for up to 24 hours.
You will receive an order confirmation email IMMEDIATELY upon placing your order confirming that your order has successfully been logged in our system. Please check your junk folders before contacting our support.
The message will come from do_not_reply@spitfireaudio.com if you’d like to add us to your whitelist.
Q: CAN I DOWNLOAD ON A PC, THEN TRANSFER TO A MAC OR VICE VERSA?
Yes, all of our libraries are compatible on both PC and Mac computers.
You can download all of our libraries on either PC or Mac and they will work if you need to transfer them across to the other operating system.
We advise doing this by copying the library you want to move across to an external EXFAT formatted HDD and then copying it to your other machine.
Q: ‘SAMPLES MISSING’ ERROR MESSAGES
In some cases, samples files may get lost when transferring libraries from one place to another, or if an update has gone wrong. If this happens, the best way forward is to re-download the library in question. That will ensure you will get all of the content you are missing.
For more information on how to re-download a product, please see the beginning of this appendix.
Q: HOW TO BATCH RESAVE A LIBRARY?
There are two main reasons to batch resave: It speeds up the loading of patches. and it can help you find missing samples and relink them to the patches.  See here to learn how to do this.

Q: I WANT TO BUY A COLLECTION, BUT I ALREADY OWN ONE
OR MORE OF THE PRODUCTS IN IT?
Our cart will intelligently deduct the proportional cost of any products you already own from the total price when you get to the checkout.
Q: I’VE LOST MY SERIAL NUMBER FOR PRODUCT ACTIVATION
The best place to find all of your serial numbers would be to log into your Spitfire Account HERE. Under there you will find all of your serial numbers. If you find  that the serial number you are looking for is not there, please contact  us at www.spitfireaudio.com/support

Q: I THINK I HAVE FOUND A BUG
If you think you have found a bug, please contact us with all the relevant information;

  •  A description of the bug you have found
  • A screencast (video) of the bug happening
  •  An audio example
  • The exact patch name (or patches) in question and also the library giving us as much detail as possible will help us get to the bottom of the issue.

© SPITFIRE AUDIO HOLDINGS LTD
MMXX1

Documents / Resources

| OACE Ólafur Arnalds Chamber Evolutions [pdf] User Manual
OACE, lafur Arnalds, Chamber Evolutions
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References

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