The Vienna Symphonic Library (VSL) is a producer of samples of orchestral instruments recorded by members of the Vienna Philharmonic. For recording the samples, VSL uses the Silent Stage, a recording studio specially constructed for this purpose. The number of recorded samples currently is about 1.3 million. VSL's products include legato and repetition articulations.
VSL's Vienna Instruments Symphonic Cube contains a full orchestra made up of ten collections that can also be acquired separately: solo strings, chamber strings, two collections of orchestral strings, harps, two collections of woodwinds, two collections of brass (one of which includes Wagner tuba), and percussion. Of each collection there are Standard and Extended versions available: the Extended library provides additional articulations for every instrument. The Symphonic Cube (and its separate collections) is powered by a proprietary sample player, the Vienna Instruments, which uses eLicenser USB protection keys to protect against data piracy.
All 23 Vienna Instruments Collections are contained in the huge 'Vienna Super Package excluding Special Edition and Special Edition Plus'.
In early 2008, The Vienna Symphonic Library released a product called Vienna Ensemble, which is a host software program exclusively for the Vienna Instruments that allows mixing of all the instruments in one interface. Vienna Ensemble can be used as a plug-in or as a standalone program and includes such features as power panning and template saving. The Vienna Ensemble is available in two different versions.
Vienna Ensemble PRO is a purchased product that lets users send audio and MIDI information across a network, allowing the use of multiple slave machines for dozens of simultaneous instantiations of instruments (both Vienna Instruments and third party plugins). VSL were the first to develop an audio network between Macs and PCs using an Ethernet cable and no other audio hardware. Vienna Ensemble is a product that is free for all Vienna Instrument users. It does not include a network function.
Vienna Instruments PRO is the latest addition to their software products. With its Humanize feature, polyphonic legato and many new options to control the sample playback, it is for sure amongst the most powerful sample players available today. Also works in Vienna Ensemble and Vienna Ensemble PRO.
Finally, the Vienna Imperial, capturing the Bösendorfer Imperial with up to 1200 samples (!!!) per key, received a dedicated software that can handle this amount of data (500 GB uncompressed, 50 GB compressed on your harddrive).
Vienna Suite is a plug-in bundle that comes with 9 plug-ins (great GUI) and hundreds of presets designed for the use with Vienna Instruments Collections. These plug-ins also stand their ground with other (non-symphonic) music productions.
VSL's legacy products (2003–2007) such as the First Edition, Pro Edition, and Horizon Series all have been replaced by the Vienna Instruments, which use 24-bit samples. The Vienna Instruments are designed to work in programs that support AU, VST, or RTAS. VSL has now officially released 20 Vienna Instrument products to date.
The now discontinued First Edition, which was released in 2003, was a sample library designed for Gigastudio and EXS24 sample formats. The First Edition consisted of 16 bit samples and two components, the Orchestral Cube and the Performance Set. The Orchestral Cube contained single note articulations like staccato, sustained, trills, etc., and the Performance Set contained performance elements like legato, repetitions, octave runs, etc. Soon after the release of this product, VSL came out with the Pro Edition, also discontinued, which contained additional samples.
The discontinued Horizon Series consisted of many specific products, some of which provided additional material for the Pro Edition. The Horizon Series focused on single instruments or instrument groups, e.g., Solo Strings, Epic Horns, which contained articulations of an ensemble of eight horns, Overdrive distorted electric guitar and Nylon Guitar. The Horizon Series' Opus I and II provided an orchestral library with solo instruments and ensembles.
Among other prizes, VSL was awarded the Electronic Musician's 2007 Editor's Choice Award for the Symphonic Cube, the Future Music Platinum Award 2006, and a TEC Award in 2006. The Fauxharmonic Orchestra uses VSL.
Press for Vienna has complained that the installation process could be easier. "When you have instructions in three different locations, and each is a little different from the other, which one do you follow?", asks a reviewer for SonicControl.com [1].