What’s New in 2.3.0

• String Sections. Wind and Brass Sections. Any Synful Orchestra solo instrument can now be turned into a natural sounding section. Synful Orchestra uses the RPM database to guarantee realistic variations between the players. You can select the number of players in the section, how the players are positioned on stage, the rhythmic variation between the players, detuning among the players, and more. Listen to the new Tristan und Isolde example included in the download to hear the naturalness of these sections. See the Synful Orchestra help section on Localization and Section Controls for full details about sections.
• Natural Divisi. Synful Orchestra sections simulate realistic and natural divisi. For example, if you create a ten violin section Program and play a monophonic line then all ten players will play that line. If you play a ten note chord then each player will play one note in the chord. The Synful Orchestra section automatically adapts to the changing polyphony of the part. If you play 3 note chords or polyphony then the ten players distribute themselves automatically 4-3-3 across the notes.
• Player Position. Synful Orchestra virtual players can be positioned in the listening room. The position of the virtual listener can be changed and the room size can be adjusted. The new ability to create sections uses the positioning capability to make the different players in a section sound like they are spread out realistically in space. See the Synful Orchestra help section on Localization and Section Controls for full details about sections. IMPORTANT NOTE FOR LOGIC USERS: If you use Apple Logic and want to use the Synful Orchestra direct, 2 walls, or 4 walls localization controls then you must set the MIDI pan in Logic to the center or to off. This is because Logic performs panning itself which will interfere with the more powerful Synful localization modes.
• Bigger and Prettier User Interface. We have added a number of controls to the Control Panel to support player localization and sections. We have also upgraded the look a bit so it’s prettier and more consistent (we hope!).
• Degradation Over Time Bug. We fixed a problem which caused Synful Orchestra to have reduced performance over time. So if you ran for 1-2 hours you might have to stop Synful Orchestra and the host sequencer and restart them to get rid of clicks and pops that had emerged. This was quite apparent when using Cubase on PC/Windows but it was true to some extent on every platform.
• Better Performance. We have improved the efficiency of Synful Orchestra so you now get more voices on the same computer.
• Better Note Transition Modeling. We now take better advantage of Delay for Expression for modeling note transitions, especially in advance of an upcoming note.
• New Orchestral Example. We have included a new MIDI example of an excerpt from Wagner’s famous Prelude to Tristan und Isolde to demonstrate string and wind sections and the ability to model the entire orchestra.
• Program Locking. There is now a button associated with every MIDI channel on the Control Panel that locks the Program assignment for that MIDI channel so that changes coming from a MIDI controller or from the host sequencer do not override the Program setting in the settings in the Control Panel.
• Enter Control Values By Typing. You can now enter control values in the Control Panel by typing in the numerical display boxes in addition to adjusting the slider or knob positions.

What’s New in 2.2.2

• Version 2.2.0 and 2.2.1 mistakenly set Delay for Expression time to one-half second rather than one second. Delay for Expression has been restored to one full second in 2.2.2.

What’s New in 2.2.1

• A bug has been fixed that affected the Trumpet program running under Digital Performer. The bug appeared in 2.2.0 and caused DP to crash.

What’s New in 2.2.0

• Synful Orchestra now supports these sample rates: 11025, 22050, 44100, 48000, 88200, 96000, 176400, 192000. You do not need to do anything within Synful Orchestra. Just change the sample rate in your sequencer/DAW.
• Synful Orchestra Control Panel parameters are now mapped to MIDI continuous controllers for automation and interactive real-time control – see the new chapter in the help documentation for details.
• A bug was fixed which affected behavior of the Synful Pitch wheel mode. This bug resulted in erratic behavior that was difficult to control
• The Synful Pitch wheel is now more responsive to quick changes. This fix may require adjustment of pitch-bend curves in existing projects.
• A bug was fixed that sometimes affected proper legato or slur detection especially with Delay for Expression OFF.
• The Tune Orchestra slider control has been fixed. There was a bug causing the orchestra to go out of tune with itself when this slider was used.
• Synful Orchestra now supports Sassafras Keyserver license management system. This is for a separate multi-seat license version of Synful Orchestra. Contact sales@synful.com for details.

What’s New in 2.1.2

• Synful Orchestra crashed on certain machines under Digitial Performer 4.52. The problem was fixed by recompiling under GCC 3.3 rather than GCC 4.0. Presumably the changes to the C++ ABI in GCC 4.0 were incompatible with DP 4.52 or with preexisting Apple libraries.
• Synful Orchestra now runs on OSX 10.2.8 or above. The earliest OSX version that has actually been tested in OSX 10.3.5.

What’s New in 2.1.1

VERY IMPORTANT: It is extremely important to select the same controller on the Synful Orchestra Control Panel that is mapped to your expression or volume pedal, or that you use for expression in your sequences. If this is not correct Synful Orchestra will not sound good and YOU WILL BE UNHAPPY!!! see Control Parameters in a Synthesizer in the Help.

• Synful Orchestra now runs on Mac OS X as well as Windows. Both AU and VST formats are supported so that Synful Orchestra can run under Logic, Digital Performer, Cubase, Garage Band, and other Mac host sequencer programs.

• The user interface now supports a multi-channel view and a single-channel view. The single-channel view is most useful for Logic. The multi-channel view is similar to the previous Synful Orchestra interface and is useful for all other host sequencers.

• In the multi-channel view there is no longer a Program Select box. Instead, clicking in a Channel Grid box selects that channel and the program that is edited corresponds to that channel. Editing the name of a program is also done in the Channel Grid boxes.

• In trial demo mode the activation dialog now only pops up when Synful Orchestra is loaded into memory in a project – not during install and not when the host sequencer is started.

What’s New in 2.05

• When Synful Orchestra was used with other plugins, in particular Waves plugins, the host program – e.g. Cubase – would sometimes crash. This has been fixed.

• When a Cubase or Sonar project file containing Synful Orchestra VST instruments was started by double clicking on it in the Windows Explorer rather than opening it from within Cubase or Sonar, and if Cubase or Sonar was not already running, the project file would get corrupted. This has been fixed.

• When loading a project in Cubase containing Synful Orchestra VST instruments the audio interface would sometimes lose sync and need to be reset. This has been improved.

What's New in 2.04

• Reset and All Notes Off in Cubase VST . If you encounter a hanging note – a sustained note that will not turn off normally – then click on the resume-suspend button  .  This button can be found in the upper left hand corner of the Synful Orchestra Control Panel or on the Cubase VST Instruments Panel. After clicking to suspend you will need to click again to resume normal synthesizer function. This affects the VST version only.

What’s New in 2.03

• Many Note-hangs, Midi Pan setting issues, and other Midi message problems solved. This affects the VST version only.
• Intonation improved for several instruments. This affects both DXi and VST versions.
• Instrument tune slider now operates in cents (1/100 half-step) rather than hertz. This affects both DXi and VST versions.

What’s New in 2.02

• Manual email activation as well as automatic internet activation supported. This affects both DXi and VST versions.
• Project and Midi files for the Rite of Spring and Beethoven String Quartet examples are included. The project files are in Sonar and Cubase formats. These files can be found in the Examples folder inside the install folder – e.g. c:\Program Files\Synful\Synful Orchestra\Examples. This affects both DXi and VST versions.

What’s new in 2.01

• Fixed bug causing Synful Orchestra to crash when a program change was made in the Control Panel by selecting a new program in the Control Panel channel grid while MIDI is playing. This affected both DXi and VST versions.
• Program names containing spaces cause file corruption when saved to disk. After the 2.01 Patch any spaces in program names are automatically replaced by the underscore character. This affected both DXi and VST versions.
• After setting pan values on tracks and then saving a file, when the file is reloaded the pan values return to zero. This affected the VST version only.