New article draft (could use some help)

[Mattias Westlund]

I've been working on a new article about retro-style virtual orchestration the latest days (the inspiration came from doing this). But I'm kind of stuck as I can't come up with a) a good way of finishing it (I'm thinking maybe some mention of actually getting hold of the hardware itself?) and b) a fitting title. I know it's lengthy and maybe not very interesting for the majority of VO-minded people, but if you feel inclined and have the time I'd appreciate if you'd give this a look. I'll be posting it on my site once it's done, and it'll have some images to break up the wall of text (yay)!

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Edit: Done!

Vintage virtual orchestration on a budget.

[bigcat1969]

You talk about three tools but not really how to use them. Could you do a final section on how to use these or something like them to create neo-retro music?

[Mattias Westlund]

(07-06-2018, 11:05 PM)bigcat1969 Wrote: You talk about three tools but not really how to use them. Could you do a final section on how to use these or something like them to create neo-retro music?

Well, it was meant as an introduction rather than a tutorial and exactly how you use these instruments is beyond the scope of the article. Besides, going into the details of Cyclone alone is enough material for 10 articles. I figured that the target audience will already know the basics of working with a VSTi in their host of choice.

[bigcat1969]

Ah cool. I was hoping there might be tips or something from your mighty brain.

[Mattias Westlund]

(07-07-2018, 11:14 AM)bigcat1969 Wrote: Ah cool. I was hoping there might be tips or something from your mighty brain.

Figuring things out on your own is part of the retro experience

[bigcat1969]

Fair enough its like Bach writing about the various Claviers. Its nice to know his opinion on the Harpsichord, Clavichord and Organ, you just wonder if he might comment further on if say a Clavier should be well tempered or if he has any thoughts on the best preludes and fugues and that sort of thing....

[Terry93D]

Here might be a good title - Yesteryear's Virtual Orchestration, Today!

[Nayrb]

I was hoping you'd do this! I have to check out the first two options, they sound like they're pretty fun to work with once you get them going. I have the Proteus VX plugin, but unfortunately I can't bounce any tracks made with it from FL Studio. For some reason it looses connection during the bounce and there's no sound at all. (EDIT: Bouncing works in the 32bit version as, as you suggested. The issue there is that the newest version of FL Studio doesn't seem to offer a 32bit version, so you'd have to have an older version installed.)

As for a title, you could use "Origins" or something along those lines. It's cliche, for sure, but it works. Something straight-forward like, "Retro Machines: Origins of Virtual Orchestration" kind of works, but it also makes it sound like the article encompasses more than it actually does, like an informative history article, so I can see your challenge here. Maybe something like, "Exploring the Retro Virtual Orchestra"?

[Mattias Westlund]

Thanks for your suggestions guys! Origins... I like that. But like you say it makes it sound like it's more of a historical article rather than a guide to existing instruments. Hmm.

Anyway, I think I'm going to split this up into separate pages to allow for easier reading, just like I did with the reverb articles.

[Mattias Westlund]

Added a part about getting the real hardware, and some discussion of authenticity in retro VO composition. I ended up calling it Vintage virtual orchestration on a budget.