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SYMPHOBIA VERSION 1.3 REFERENCE MANUAL

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User manual for Project SAM Symphobia 1 virtual instrument sound library.

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  • SYMPHOBIAV E R S I O N 1 . 3

    R E F E R E N C E M A N U A L

  • 2

  • INTRODUCTION 5

    ABOUT VERSION 1.3 7

    INSTALLATION - DOWNLOAD VERION 8

    INSTALLATION - DVD VERSION 10

    UPDATING 12

    BEFORE YOU READ ON 13

    THE SYMPHOBIA CONCEPT 14

    THE LIBRARY 15

    THE INTERFACE 22

    MULTIS 27

    GETTING SUPPORT 29

    CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 31

    3

  • 4

  • INTRODUCTION

    Congratulations on purchasing SYMPHOBIA, Symphonic Ensembles & Effects!

    SYMPHOBIA is everything you have been missing in your orchestral palette: immersive ENSEMBLE MULTI-SAMPLES attained by true ensemble recordings and intense CINEMATIC EFFECTS. All available in a rich selection of combinations and articulations. With SYMPHOBIA, you have at your disposal the most inspiring orchestral tool for scoring film, games and television.

    This reference manual explains all about the exciting instruments and features found in SYMPHOBIA. It also covers the installation process of both the Direct Download and DVD version of this product.

    Enjoy SYMPHOBIA!

    The ProjectSAM Team 5

  • 6

  • ABOUT VERSION 1.3

    At the time of this writing, the latest version of SYMPHOBIA is 1.3. The instruments and features described in this manual refer to this product version. Since 1.1, over 2 GB of additional samples have been added to the SYMPHOBIA base library. Therefore, make sure you are using the latest version of this product!

    If you just purchased the Direct Download edition of SYMPHOBIA, you will have automatically downloaded the latest version. If you purchased the DVD edition of SYMPHOBIA, then we cannot guarantee that your box contains the very latest version. To find out which version you have, install the product, load any SYMPHOBIA instrument and check the bottom-left corner of the interface. If you do not see a version number mentioned in this corner, please update your copy of SYMPHOBIA. See the chapter Updating for more information.

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  • INSTALLATION - DOWNLOAD VERSION

    This chapter will guide you through the installation of the Direct Download version of SYMPHOBIA.

    I. DOWNLOADING

    If you purchased the Direct Download version of SYMPHOBIA and you did not download it yet, you can do so on our website. If you already downloaded SYMPHOBIA, you can skip this part of the installation.

    1. Go to www.projectsam.com and log in to your account. 2. Go to the Product Center. 3. Download the SAM Installer for Mac or Windows. 4. Launch the SAM Installer. 5. Type or copy-paste your product serial number into the Code field and click the Download button. 6. Choose a destination for the SYMPHOBIA Library folder. This can also be an external hard drive. 7. The download will start. Please note this may take multiple hours, depending on your internet speed and our server

    load. 8. Once all required files have been downloaded, they will be extracted to the destination folder. This may take 10-15

    minutes. 9. After installation has finished, you can quit the SAM Installer. If you see any RAR files in the destination download folder,

    it is now safe to delete them. This will free up valuable disk space.

    II. INSTALLING KONTAKT PLAYER

    SYMPHOBIA is powered by Native Instruments Kontakt Player. An installer for the free Kontakt Player can be downloaded from your ProjectSAM account or the Native Instruments website. If you already use Kontakt or Kontakt Player on your computer, you can skip this part of the installation.

    1. Double-click the Kontakt Player installer application. 2. Follow the on-screen instructions.

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  • III. ADDING THE LIBRARY

    SYMPHOBIA has been installed, but it needs to be added as a library to Kontakt.

    1. Launch Kontakt. 2. Go to the Libraries tab. 3. Click the Add Library button in the top-left corner. 4. Browse to the new SYMPHOBIA Library folder. 5. Select the SYMPHOBIA Library folder and click Choose. 6. SYMPHOBIA will now appear in your list of Kontakt libraries.

    IV. ACTIVATION

    SYMPHOBIA needs to be activated using your product serial number. Until you activate the library, it will run in demo mode.

    1. Launch Kontakt. 2. Click the Activate button that is shown in the SYMPHOBIA browser on the left. This will start the Native Instruments

    Service Center. Enter your administrator password if asked. 3. Service Center requires a Native Instruments account. If you do not yet have one, please follow the on-screen

    instructions to create one. If you already have a Native Instruments account, log in using your username and password. Please note that this is a different account than the one you may have with ProjectSAM.

    4. After logging in, SYMPHOBIA will be listed for activation. 5. Type or copy-paste your product serial number in the text fields provided. It is fastest to paste the full product serial

    number into the first field. Click Activate. 6. SYMPHOBIA is now activated. 7. Restart Kontakt for the activation to take effect.

    9

  • INSTALLATION - DVD VERSION

    This chapter guides you through the installation of the boxed DVD version of SYMPHOBIA.

    I. INSTALLING KONTAKT PLAYER

    Installation of the SYMPHOBIA library and Kontakt Player sampler are two separate steps. We will first install Kontakt Player. SYMPHOBIA is powered by Native Instruments Kontakt Player. An installer for the free Kontakt Player is included on disc 1. If you already use Kontakt or Kontakt Player on your computer, you can skip this part of the installation.

    1. Double-click the Kontakt Player installer on disc 1. 2. Follow the on-screen instructions.

    II. INSTALLING LIBRARY

    1. Insert disc 1 and double-click the SYMPHOBIA Installer. 2. Follow the on-screen instructions. Please note that external drives are not shown in the first installation destination

    screen. They can be selected in the next screen by selecting shared and then other.

    III. ACTIVATION

    SYMPHOBIA needs to be activated using your product serial number. Until you activate the library, it will run in demo mode.

    1. Launch Kontakt. 2. Click the Activate button that is shown in the SYMPHOBIA browser on the left. This will start the Native Instruments

    Service Center. Enter your administrator password if asked. 3. Service Center requires a Native Instruments account. If you do not yet have one, please follow the on-screen

    instructions to create one. If you already have a Native Instruments account, log in using your username and password. Please note that this is a different account than the one you may have with ProjectSAM.

    4. After logging in, SYMPHOBIA will be listed for activation. 5. Type or copy-paste your product serial number in the text fields provided. It is fastest to paste the full product serial

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  • number into the first field. Click Activate. 6. SYMPHOBIA is now activated. 7. Restart Kontakt for the activation to take effect.

    IV. REGISTRATION WITH PROJECTSAM

    Please now register SYMPHOBIA with ProjectSAM. Registration is a different process than activation. By registering with ProjectSAM you can access library updates and additional content and get technical support directly from us.

    1. Go to www.projectsam.com. 2. Create a new account or log in using your existing username and password. Please note that this is a different account

    than the one you have with Native Instruments. 3. Go to Account and then Product Center. 4. Type or copy-paste your product serial number into the provided field and click Register. 5. SYMPHOBIA will now be listed under Your registered products and any updates or downloads will be available to you. 6. Thanks for registering!

    11

  • UPDATING

    Product updates are offered through the ProjectSAM website. To access product updates, your library needs to be registered in your account.

    1. Go to www.projectsam.com.2. If you do not yet have a ProjectSAM account, please create one. Note that your ProjectSAM account is different from

    your Native Instruments account and unrelated to the NI Service Center.3. Go to MY ACCOUNT, log in, and visit the PRODUCT CENTER.4. If SYMPHOBIA is not yet listed in the registration list, register it by entering the product serial number at the top of the

    page and clicking Register.5. Any available updates for SYMPHOBIA will be listed in the registration list. If an update is available, click the Request

    update button and follow the on-screen instructions.

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  • BEFORE YOU READ ON

    If you are like us then youd probably rather make music than read instruction manuals. Here is a tip:

    Before reading the rest of this manual, take some time to play around with SYMPHOBIA first! Get a feel for the library, the sounds and the interface. Make sure you try out the Multis. Multis are combinations of multiple instruments, stacked together to give you as many musical features on one 88-note keyboard as possible: orchestral sustains, chords, effects and even drums. They will give you a great first impression of what SYMPHOBIA is capable of. After that, we recommend reading the rest of this manual. Having played with the library first will make it an easier and more enjoyable read!

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  • THE SYMPHOBIA CONCEPT

    Cinematic Ensembles

    SYMPHOBIA is not your traditional orchestral sample library. Instead of focusing on individual instrument multi-samples, SYMPHOBIA offers ensemble multi-samples with a rich selection of orchestrations and articulations. These playable ensembles cover all of the sections from the orchestra, as well as the entire orchestra playing together. The reason is simple: the real thing sounds so much better. A staccato note played by violins, violas, horns and trumpets, together, correctly seated at the concert stage, will sound much more cohesive than a mixture of individual sample recordings of these four instrument sections. This makes SYMPHOBIA the ideal tool for creating big orchestral arrangements and orchestrations. In addition, a number of individual instrument articulations are available, such as violin section flageolets and horn section marcatos.

    Cinematic Effects

    The ensemble sounds make up about half of SYMPHOBIA. The other half is all about cinematic effects: performances that cannot be recreated using individual multi-samples. Like the ensemble performances, the effects are available in different orchestrations, played by different sections throughout the orchestra. You will find violin glissandi, as well as full orchestra rips and stabs. Each effect is available in a number of variations or articulations.

    Dystopia

    Explore the dark side of SAM with processed hits, spheres and risers, based on the recordings of SYMPHOBIA and some of our other libraries.

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  • THE LIBRARY

    SYMPHOBIA was recorded in a beautiful concert hall environment. The library consists of six instrument banks and one Multis folder. Each bank contains individual Instruments that hold various articulations and performances, offered as keyswitches. Below is a complete list of all banks, instruments and keyswitches.

    VEL = dynamically controlled using velocity DXF = dynamically controlled using the modulation wheel

    1 MIXED ORCHESTRA

    Samples recorded with the string section and brass section seated and performing simultaneously to achieve the most realistic blending of these instruments possible.

    1 Strings with Brass Ensemble Long NotesSustain VEL Sustain DXF Sustain stacked Sustain with timpani Crescendo-diminuendo in octaves Crescendo-diminuendo full range

    2 Strings with Brass Ensemble Short NotesStaccato with mid trombones Staccato with mid trombones extra short Staccato without mid trombones Staccato without mid trombones extra short Staccato without mid trombones with percussion Marcato Marcato with percussion

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  • 3 Strings with Brass Ensemble LowLow sustain DXF Low crescendo Low crescendo-diminuendo Low staccato

    4 Strings with Brass Ensemble EffectsAssorted textures (bonus 1.2 content) Clusters sustained Clusters dynamic Clusters short Glissandi & rips Trills

    5 Mixed Orchestra EffectsOrchestral hits & rips Crescendi & textures Trailer risers

    2 STRING SECTION

    Samples recorded with the entire string section, correctly seated.

    1 String Ensemble Long NotesSustain vibrato VEL Sustain vibrato DXF Sustain fast attack DXF Sustain soft DXF Sustain sordino Tremolo DXF Crescendo

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  • 2 String Ensemble Short NotesStaccato Staccato extra short Spiccato Spiccato extra short Pizzicato Col legno Marcato

    3 String Ensemble ClustersCluster collection Short clusters Sustained and bending Tremolo and crescendo-diminuendo

    4 String Ensemble EffectsGlissandi violins & violas Glissandi celli Wild textures Celli & basses effects Col legno hits

    5 String Ensemble ChordsFull chords, 4ths and 5ths High chords, 4ths and 5ths

    6 Celli and Basses in OctavesSustain VEL Sustain DXF Sustain with synthesizer bass Staccato Pizzicato

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  • 7 Violin Section ExtrasViolins soft portato Violins short tremolo Violins flageolet sustain Violins flageolet portato

    8 String QuintetSustain Marcato Staccato Pizzicato

    3 BRASS SECTION

    Samples recorded with the entire brass section, correctly seated.

    1 Brass Ensemble Long NotesSustain full VEL Sustain full DXF Sustain full fast attack DXF Sustain no trumpets VEL Sustain no trumpets DXF Crescendo Sfz-crescendo

    2 Brass Ensemble Short NotesStaccato Staccato extra short Marcato Horns marcato Horns marcato double

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  • 3 Brass Ensemble MutesMuted sustain VEL Muted sustain DXF Muted staccato Muted staccato extra short

    4 Brass Ensemble ChordsChords without bass note and low strings Tutti chords DXF Tutti chords sfz-crescendo

    5 Trombones and Tuba in OctavesLow brass sustain Low brass staccato Low brass crescendo

    6 Brass CombosHorns & Trombones sustain Horns & Trombones marcato Horns & Trumpets sustain Horns & Trumpets marcato

    7 Brass Ensemble EffectsCluster crescendo Cluster sustain Cluster staccato Note bending effects Repetition effects

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  • 4 WOODWIND SECTION

    Samples recorded with the entire woodwind section, correctly seated.

    1 Woodwind EnsembleSustain vibrato & non vibrato DXF Portato vibrato Portato non vibrato Staccato Staccato extra short Staccato with xylophone Grace notes

    2 Woodwind Ensemble RunsRuns in octaves major Runs in octaves minor

    3 Woodwind Ensemble ClustersCluster sustain Cluster crescendo-diminuendo Cluster bend 1 Cluster bend 2 Multiphonic effects Various phrases 1 Various phrases 2

    4 Woodwind Ensemble EffectsThe birds Bass clarinet slap notes Contra bassoon slap notes Overblown flute staccato Flute & piccolo wild runs

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  • 5 DYSTOPIA

    The dark side of SAM. Processed and mangled sounds taken from the SYMPHOBIA recordings and some other ProjectSAM products.

    6 EXTRAS

    Ethnic Flute PhrasesDuduk phrases in Cm Native American flute phrases Shakuhachi effects Uilleann pipes in D Low whistle in D

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  • THE INTERFACE

    SYMPHOBIA INTERFACE

    1. Information display Displays additional information about the selected articulation (see 2), including any available controllers, such as the modulation wheel.

    2. Articulation display Shows the list of articulations that are available for the loaded instrument. An articulation can be selected by clicking it with the mouse, or by pressing the corresponding keyswitch on your piano keyboard (see 3). For the instrument in the screenshot, the Sustain full fast DXP articulation is selected.

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  • VEL = articulation that can be dynamically controlled using velocity.

    DXF = articulation that can be dynamically controlled using the modulation wheel. These articulations do not use velocity for dynamic control.

    MOD = articulation that allows you to switch between multiple variations using the modulation wheel. Example: modulation wheel down selects upward string runs, modulation wheel up selects downward string runs.

    3. Keyswitches Shows the keyswitches that will select the corresponding articulation. Example: for the Brass Ensemble Long Notes instrument shown in the screenshot, pressing a F7 on your piano keyboard will select the Crescendo articulation.

    4. Close-Stage switch SYMPHOBIA was recorded in a beautiful concert hall environment using multiple microphone setups. Each instrument is available in two true microphone positions - close mic & stage mic - each with its own distinct sound. The close mic mostly uses the spot microphones placed throughout the orchestra with a little bit of room mics to blend them together. The stage mic is a mix of our various room mics and gives you a powerful, cinematic, out-of-the-box sound. The SYMPHOBIA interface allows you to instantly switch mic positions by using the Close-Stage switch. The stage mic is enabled by default for most instruments. Please note that some instruments, such as those from the Dystopia section, do not have multiple mic positions.

    5. Master EQ Enabled by default for most instruments, the Master EQ slightly boosts the highs and/or lows of the loaded instrument, giving it a polished, ready-to-go sound. If you prefer to use the samples in their unprocessed form, disable the Master EQ.

    6. Transpose Allows you to transpose the entire instrument up or down in semitones. The amount of semitones can be set by entering a new value or by click-dragging the mouse cursor up and down. Transpose can be enabled or disabled by clicking the button.

    7. Release Trails Because SYMPHOBIA was recorded in a concert hall, each sample has a certain amount of natural reverberation tail at the end. These were captured in so-called Release Trails. They are vital for the realism of the sampled instrument, as they not

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  • only include the halls reverb tail, but also the natural, musical ending of a note. If you prefer to turn off the Release Trails of a certain instrument, you can do so by pressing this button. This means that the sample will be abruptly cut off when you release a note.

    8. Round Robin All staccatos and other short articulations in SYMPHOBIA have been recorded multiple times. These recording takes are automatically alternated in a so-called round robin cycle, to avoid the infamous machine gun effect, where one sample is mechanically repeated over and over. The Round Robin button greatly enhances realism. If you do wish to turn off Round Robin, you can do so by disabling the button. This means that only the first recording take of the sample will be used. The yellow colored key on the on-screen Kontakt keyboard is the Round Robin reset key. Press this key to reset the Round Robin cycle. This will affect the next note you play. Hold the Round Robin reset key down to temporarily turn off Round Robin altogether.

    9. Octaver The Octaver automatically adds one octave on top of the note you are playing. This is done in the MIDI domain so that the correct sample is used. The Octaver makes sure no duplicate samples are triggered. This means you can safely play double octaves while the Octaver is turned on.

    10. Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release Using these four controls you can adjust the attack, decay, sustain and release times of the selected articulation. Each articulation in the articulation list stores its own ADSR values. Note that for short articulations such as staccato or pizzicato, only the attack and decay controls are shown.

    11. Velocity offset By adjusting the Velocity knob you can offset the instruments velocity, making it easier to play either very soft or very loud passages.

    12. Reverb This control allows you to add additional reverb to the instrument. This is done using Kontakts convolution reverb effect. Even though SYMPHOBIA was recorded in a concert hall environment, you may sometimes want to additional reverb, for example, to blend various libraries together. The reverb is turned off when the control knob is turned all the way down. Please note that convolution reverb does require additional CPU usage.

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  • 13. Release Trail volume Use this controller to adjust the volume of the concert hall Release Trails. In the middle position, the Release Trail volume will match the volume of the sampled note to which it belongs.

    14. Release Trail length Use this controller to adjust the length of the concert hall Release Trails. This allows you to make the instrument sound less ambient, more direct, without losing the realistic features of a Release Trail at the end of a note.

    15. Controls The Controls tab holds all of the features explained above.

    16. DSP The DSP section allows you to apply a selection of Kontakts realtime effect plugins to the instrument. Click the DSP button to open the DSP page.

    DYSTOPIA INTERFACE

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  • 17. Modulation wheel filter Available for the Dystopia instruments only. Low pass and high pass filtering can be controlled for all Dystopia instruments using the modulation wheel. The current filter setting is represented by the graphics in the interface. The middle position is neutral with no filtering applied. The upper half of the mod wheel applies high pass filtering and slightly boosts the high frequencies. The lower half applies low pass filtering and boosts the bass frequencies. Please note that you cannot control the wheel using the mouse cursor.

    18. S.Rate Available for the Dystopia instruments only. Allows you to reduce the sample rate of the instrument, resulting in a digital, deconstructed tone.

    19. Spread Available for the Dystopia instruments only. Allows you to adjust the stereo image of the instrument. In the middle position the effect is turned off. Turning the knob to the left will narrow the stereo image and ultimately generate a mono output. Turning the knob to the right will enhance the stereo image.

    20. Limiter Available for the Dystopia instruments only. Allows you to dynamically limit the Dystopia instruments output. This can help you keep the sound under control, or boost the general signal output.

    ON-SCREEN KONTAKT KEYBOARDThe on-screen Kontakt keyboard shows you useful information about the loaded instrument. The playable instrument range in shown in blue. The available keyswitches (articulations) in red. The selected keyswitch in green. The round robin reset key in yellow.

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  • MULTIS

    MULTIS are combinations of multiple instruments, constructed to give you as many musical features on one 88-note keyboard as possible: chords, legato lines, effects and even drums. Each MULTI has been designed for a specific musical context or cinematic genre and was given a name that should give you a hint about its use. Kontakts on-screen keyboard shows you the various zones in which instruments are available. For example: the right half of the keyboard may contain epic brass sustains, while the left half of the keyboard has full orchestra staccatos, allowing you to perform these elements simultaneously.

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  • GETTING SUPPORT

    If you would like technical support for SYMPHOBIA, please go to www.projectsam.com and log in using your ProjectSAM account username and password. Make sure SYMPHOBIA is registered on the Product Center page. If it is, then go to the Technical Support page and fill in the form.

    We can only provide technical support if your product has been correctly registered using your product serial number.

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  • CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    ProjectSAM team Maarten Spruijt, Vincent Beijer, Marco Deegenaars, Joep Sporck, Stijn van Beek, Chris Arteaga, Jeroen Peter and Robert Koopman

    DYSTOPIA sound design Don & Roel Funcken

    ProjectSAM would like to thank Herman Witkam, Josef Natterer, Dan Santucci @ Native Instruments, Stu Kennedy, the Steptime team (Doug Smith, Raphael Rodriguez & Ryan Richardson), Klaus Kandler @ Bestservice, TimeSpace, Shiori & Hiroyuki @ Crypton

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    INTRODUCTIONABOUT VERSION 1.3INSTALLATION - DOWNLOAD VERSIONINSTALLATION - DVD VERSIONUPDATINGBEFORE YOU READ ONTHE SYMPHOBIA CONCEPTTHE LIBRARYTHE INTERFACEMULTISGETTING SUPPORTCREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS