SWAM instruments playing Mozart, Schubert, Brahms and Ravel string quartet excerpts

Audio Modeling SWAM solo string instrument plugins (version 3.7.3, April 2024) were used to record classical music string quartets. You will hear excerpts from Mozart (No. 19, KV 465, Mvt.1 'Dissonanzen', 1785), Schubert (No. 13 in A minor Op. 29, D804, Mvt. 2, 1824), Brahms (Nr. 1, Op. 51, Mvt. 1, 1873) and Ravel (Mvt. 2, 1903) quartets. Akai EWI and Arturia KeyLab 61 Mk2 plus iPad/TouchOSC were used as MIDI input devices, demonstrating playing techniques such as legato vs. détaché, staccato, double stops, pizzicato and tremolo. The mockup was made in Cubase 12, using FabFilter and LiquidSonics effect plugins.
Contents:
00:00 Opening titles
00:27 Section 1 Introduction: what this video is about
01:21 Section 2 MIDI recording, editing and audio rendering
03:55 Section 3 String quartet excerpts
04:13 Section 3.1 Mozart, StrQt No. 19 KV 465, Mvt. 1 Adagio - Allegro (1785)
10:56 Section 3.2 Schubert, StrQt No. 13 in A minor Op. 29, D804, Mvt. 2 Andante (1824)
12:35 Section 3.3 Brahms, StrQt Nr. 1, Op. 51, Mvt. 1 Allegro (1873)
15:40 Section 3.4 Ravel, StrQt in F, Mvt. 2 Assez vif - Très rythmé (1903)
18:04 Summary and conclusion
#AudioModelingSWAM #AkaiEWI #StringQuartet
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[@williammcghee863]

These digital renderings are SO much better than when I first encountered this imitative technology in 2012. Instead of learning it then, I decided to wait until renderings were more realistic. Maybe it's time to start seriously learning how to make music with this software.

[@FransAbsil]

@williammcghee863 Indeed it is difficult to decide when to step in and start using physical modeling instruments. Waiting for the perfect sound probably is not the best approach. I now have a decade of experience with Audio Modeling instruments, have given them feedback on previous generations, and experienced the improvements. As a wind player I find the EWI the most expressive controller option, the keyboard plus breath controller is another good candidate. I may have to adapt the playing technique when a new version is released. Thanks for the comment.

[@sashakindel3600]

Huh, this is the first I'm hearing about this update. I guess I assumed that, having bought the instruments, the developer would send me emails about updates as a matter of course.
When you get updates to SWAM instruments, do you still have access to the previous versions, or do they get overwritten by the new ones? If the latter, I'd be afraid that passages in projects that are in progress where the MIDI data was well calibrated for the old version might sound out of whack on the new version, and I'd have to go back through everything with a fine-toothed comb.

[@FransAbsil]

@sashakindel3600 Audio Modeling do send update e-mails, so I get notified. Also I do regular (once a month) checks on updates for most of my software and plugins. For the SWAM instruments I still have the older V2 plugins installed on my computer (but do not use these any longer), the V3 updates get overwritten (no problem as this implies improvement). You might save the settings for older projects as a specific SWAM preset and load these when appropriate. One caveat: the MIDI mapping implementation may change for updates (usually more CC parameters). I once had to report a bug, when this process introduced redundant CC numbers, that crashed the plugin. The company responds quickly to user feedback and I appreciate the continuous development with the physical modeling approach. Does this answer the questions?

[@sashakindel3600]

@@FransAbsil I guess I must have opted not to receive emails at some point.
I ended up going ahead and updating instruments one at a time, from least used to most used, playing back the project after each one to see whether it messed anything up. I had to decrease the bow pressure on a few notes in the violins, but other than that, everything worked fine as-is, and I was surprised how noticeable an improvement in timbre I heard (at least in the strings; in the brass I couldn't tell the difference). Fuller and with less of a tendency toward scratchiness throughout.
I would have thought that saving a preset would avoid changes they made that amount to changing the defaults for settings that are exposed to the user, but not changes to the code behind the scenes. Having gone through this once, though, I'm not too worried about the impact of updates going forward, especially given that we get to keep the old version when the major version changes.

[@FransAbsil]

@sashakindel3600 Glad to hear you took the step to update. I agree with the timbre quality statement of strings vs. brass. I am not sure I understand the next paragraph about the preset saving process fully. Use the options for saving the sound engine, controller mapping and tuning parameters separately (or combined) to optimise your preset development process. And, as I said before, I encountered a bug in that process once (in Oct 2023) which was repaired by Audio Modeling. So good luck with updating and 'happily' using these instruments!

[@thomastremblayofficial5486]

Hi Frans! I tried to reach you by the email on your website but it doesn't seems to work. Where can I reach you if I want to purchase some tools from your website?

[@FransAbsil]

Hi Thomas, sorry for the inconvenience. The contact tab on my website shows the email address as a puzzle, in order to make life harder for web crawlers. But it does work: it is a gmail address, with dots in the account and domain name. Could you try once again or provide a link to where I can find your address.