OT Articulation Guide - Orchestral Tools Articulation Guide ... which you can find in your...

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Articulation Guide

Metropolis Ark 2

www.orchestraltools.com

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© 2017 Orchestral Tools | Schwarzer & Mantik GmbHRev. 2 017-10-2 5

OT Articulation Guide

CONTENT

I About this Articulation Guide 2

II Introduction 3

III Recording and Concept 4

IV Metropolis Ark Series 5

1 Metropolis Ark 2 ........................................................................................................... 6

Instruments .............................................................................................................. 9

Articulations ......................................................................................................... 13

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| About this Art iculat ion Guide |


I About this Articulation Guide

The number of Orchestral Tools is constantly growing and covers all instrumental families of the orchestra,

with some collections even branching out into non-orchestral instruments. This Articulation Guide describes

all contained articulations as well as their technical properties (velocity layers, Round Robins, and many

more).

This document is a special version of the Articulation Guide that only contains features applicable to thecollections listed below.You can download the full Articulation Guide that applies to all Orchestral Tools collections in our Helpdesk.

The following table lists all collections covered by this Articulation Guide with their current Capsule version

as well as the minimum Kontakt version.

Collection Name Collection Capsule KontaktMA2 | Metropolis Ark 2 1.0 2.5.2 Player 5.5.1+

ImportantThis Articulation Guide does not cover the general installation, usage and features of Orchestral Tools

collections. These topics are explained step by step in the respective User Guides and Installation Guides,

which you can find in your collection's Documentation folder. You can also find them in our Helpdesk.

http://helpdesk.orchestraltools.com/hd_articulation_guides.html

http://helpdesk.orchestraltools.com/hd_documentation.html

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| Introduct ion |


© 2017 Orchestral Tools | Schwarzer & Mantik GmbH

II Introduction

Welcome to the Orchestral Tools Articulation Guide!

Orchestral Tools provides high-quality sampled instruments for composers. Thanks to our Capsule Scripting

Framework developed in-house, all Orchestral Tools collections look and work in a very similar way.

Articulation names, labeling and all technical terms are identical in every collections, so you will find it easy

to find your way around.

This Articulation Guide describes all articulations as well as their technical features and is organized as

follows:

- The general Ser ies Overv iew shows you all available Orchestral Tools Series', which group our

collections into broader categories.

- Following this is the respective Ser ies Overv iew Page of one particular Series, which lists all available

collections by name and gives suggestions for expansions options.

- Each individual collection then has its own Col lect ion Overv iew page, which describes the general

content of the collection as well as its most important features at a glance.

- This is followed by the Inst ruments Section, which lists all instruments (or sections) contained in the

collection with a short description of tone, scope or other pertinent information.

- The Ar t iculat ions Section finally lists all articulations in detail along with all their properties.

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| Recording and Concept |


III Recording and Concept

We are happy to have found a sonic home for our collections at the Teldex Scoring Stage in Berlin.

The large recording stage at Teldex looks back on a long tradition of many well known and Grammy®

award winning recordings. Famous orchestras, like the Berlin Philharmonics and great film composers from

the USA and Europe trust and love the wide and clear acoustics of this room. One of the best sounding

scoring stages in Europe, this room together with a fantastic complement of legendary microphones catapults

our work to a new level of orchestral sampling.

The quality of a sampled collection begins with the recording. Every Orchestral Tools collection is recorded

at 96khz with state of the art equipment. The full editing and post-production process uses these 96khz

recordings without downsampling. We very rarely denoise our recordings and never treat them in any other

automated way. If tuning is needed, it is done by ear without resorting to tuning algorithms. Only at the very

end, right before the samples are mapped into their instruments, the content is converted to 48khz for best

use of resources.

Our goal is to provide a set of tools that easily adapts to any workflow and creates a coherent sonic

representation of the orchestra. The main way we achieved this is by recording every instrument in its

orchestral position. All collections come pre-panned and pre-mixed with their respective volumes

balanced. If there are multiple types of the same instrument, they are recorded in slightly different positions,

yet still in their general section area. The different snare drums in Berlin Percussion, for example, have been

recorded slightly spread over the general "snare drum area" within the percussion section. This allows you to

have a very wide and full sound when combining multiple instruments.

We deliberately choose to also record non-traditional instruments as belonging to a symphonic setup, like

electric guitars and a drumset in our Metropolis Ark Series. Modern media scoring introduces a host of new

instruments into the established orchestral lineup and we feel these instruments deserve the same care and

precision in fitting them into the symphonic sound as their traditional counterparts.

All collections feature a number of microphone positions commonly used in orchestral recording. The

position of these microphones is identical in every collection, which means that for example the Tree is much

nearer to the string section that it is to the percussion section (because the percussion section is situated at

the back of the orchestra). This enabled lively acoustics that come pre-mixed for the respective stage

position. The choice of mic positions also depends greatly on the instrument. Some instruments, especially in

the percussion section, benefit greatly from a M/S position to enable accurately positioning the sound

source.

Wherever possible, similar instruments use the same mapping scheme so it is usually possible to transfer

MIDI data from one instrument to another easily. This is especially important and useful for percussion.

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| Metropolis Ark Series |



IV Metropolis Ark Series

The Metropolis Ark Series brings Orchestral Tools into a new era: This series unites collections crafted to

ease working on tight deadlines. Special sections made up of unconventional instrument combinations, the

inclusion of non-orchestral instruments into the orchestral body and a focus on making ready to use tools

available eminently playable out of the box make Metropolis Ark Series collections a great way to

expand any sonic palette.

The following table lists all Metropolis Ark Series Collections currently released - underlined names jump to

a description of its content and unique features. You can download a version of this Articulation Guide that

applies to all released Collections on our Helpdesk.

When you load any Metropolis Ark Series patch inside Kontakt, the instrument slot will show an icon

representing the series volume as shown below.

Metropolis Ark Series

Metropolis Ark 1

Metropolis Ark 2

http://helpdesk.orchestraltools.com

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| Metropolis Ark Series | Metropolis Ark 2


4.1 Metropolis Ark 2

Metropolis Ark 2 takes the concept of Metropolis Ark 1 of recording large, special sections and applies it

to the other end of the volume spectrum: The low dynamics in MA2 will provide quiet epicness. Low, Mid

and High Strings, a generous helping of various a3 Brass and Woodwinds ensembles as well as - a first -

a Children Choir plus Women and Basso Profondo Choirs extend the orchestral palette. A small organ, a

harmonium and a big selection of various orchestral and hybrid percussion make MA2 a great tool for

modern media scoring

There's a tremor in the underground. The air is dusty and hard to breathe, darkness rules over the light.

Fuming machines work/run day and night. But there is life – a life that is hard to live. A life that creates

heavy and worried tones. But the voices don't scream. They take their power out of the low dynamics.

Welcome to the deep; to Metropolis Ark 2.

The follow-up to the highly successful Metropolis Ark 1 presents epicness in a shape you wouldn’t expect.

Deep, wide and low. The true power arises from the low dynamics.

The Mighty High Strings (24 Violins), Mid Strings (10 Violas, 8 Celli), and Low Strings (8 Celli, 12 Basses)

deliver so far undetected possibilities for orchestral strings pads.

Unique Brass Ensembles (Fluegelhorns, Wagner Tubas, Bass Trumpets, Tubas, Euphoniums) give the

freedom to create extraordinary-sounding brass arrangements.

The Woodwind sections (Alto Flutes, Bass Flutes, Bass Clarinets, Contrabass Clarinets) redefine the

classical applications for woodwinds. They go low, really low.

On top of this we made 3 different choirs out of men, woman, and even the innocent voices of children. The

full range of singing beneath your fingertips: From the deepest voice of a lord of the underground, up to an

angel, whispering on his cloud. Additionally, we created unprecedented sections like the Correns Harps (6

Harp ensemble) and Glamer Pianos (3 Steinway piano ensemble).

Topped with a bizarre Harmonium, a Positif Organ, and a lot of useful atmospheric percussion instruments

and boomers, Metropolis Ark 2 is the unrivaled all-in-one solution to create epic music at its low dynamic

scope.

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Instrumentation and Recording

Metropolis Ark 2 contains recorded sections grouped into four "Districts",

which are divided into patches containing a single articulation as well as multi

articulation patches. You will find all of these patches inside the Instruments

folder. The collection contains the following sections, as they appear in your

instruments folder:

District I - Orchestra

01. Weddigen Strings (High)

02. Curtius Strings (Mid)

03. Pfarracker Strings (Low)

04. Correns Harps a6

05. Thuner Alto Flutes a3

06. Balbronner Bass Flutes a3

07. Leichhardt Bass Clarinets a3

08. Graefenberger Contrabass Clarinets a3

09. Weissdorn Wagner Tubas a3

10. Koenig Fluegelhorns a3

11. Kadetten Bass Trumpets a3

12. Waltroper Euphoniums a3

13. Ring Tubas a3

District II - Choir

01. Lichterfelder Children Choir

02. Calandrelli Women Choir

03. Breitenstein Basso Profondo Choir

District III - Percussion

Manteuffel Percussion Ensemble

Manteuffel Percussion Ensemble Deep Drums

Manteuffel Percussion Ensemble Metal

Manteuffel Percussion Boomer FX Menu

Manteuffel Percussion Waterphone FX

Manteuffel Percussion Synth FX

District IV - Keys

01. Roon Piano

02. Glamer Pianos a3

03. Thekla Harmonium

04. Hochbaum Organ

Metropolis Ark 2 features Multi Articulation Patches in a separate folder for all sections and instruments.

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You have free choice between a number of microphone positions, which have been chosen individually for

best mixing and blending. All patches have Tree, Surround and AB, with Close I, Close II and M/S on

select patches.

These microphone positions are switchable in the GUI and can be controlled via MIDI CC. Additionally, all

core articulations have been recorded with multiple velocity layers for realistic dynamics.

All samples have their natural panning.

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4.1.1 Instruments

The sections and instruments* in Metropolis Ark 2 explore the quiet end of the spectrum, but recorded in a

very loud way!

This section briefly explains the individual instruments and points out usage scenarios and expansion

options.


The Orchestra District forms the backbone of Metropolis Ark 2 and contains a number of soft and quiet

recorded in an epic way ensembles that are designed to work well on their own, but especially as an

addition and contrast to our other collections recorded at Teldex.

Weddigen Strings (High)The Weddigen High Strings consist of 24 Violins, who are recorded with 12 Violins positioned on the far

left side of the stage and 12 Violins on the far right (basically using German orchestral seating with Violins I

and II facing each other).

Half of each section plays Sul Tasto, half plays con sordino on all core articulations. Flageolet articulations

of course have all players playing flageolet.

Of note are the Irregular Arps patches, which provide mesmerizing quiet arpeggiated figures.

Curtius Strings (Mid)The Curtius Mid Strings also follow the German orchestral seating with 10 Violas to the right and 8 Celli to

the left. Again, half of each section plays Sul Tasto, half plays con sordino with the exception of Flageolet

patches.

The Mid Strings also have very nice tremolo patches in two speeds.

Close I is focused on on the Violas, Close II on the Celli.

Pfarracker Strings (Low)Taking a cue from Metropolis Ark 1, the Pfarracker Low Strings have 8 Celli as a choir in the middle of the

stage, with 12 basses in groups of 6 to the left and right, providing a very spacious stereo effect.

Other than in the Flageolet patches, all Celli play Con Sordino, all Basses play Normale.

Close I is focused on on the Celli, Close II on the Basses.

Correns Harps a6The Correns Harps are formed by six Concert Harps played with a variety of articulations. You will find

special arpeggiated 4th, major and minor chords, flageolets and glissandi.

Thuner Alto Flutes a3Three Alto Flutes make up the Thuner Alto Flutes with full legato, essential articulations, multiphonics and

even wind noise patches.

Balbronner Bass Flutes a3The three Balbronner Bass Flutes offer full legato and other special articulations including multiphonics,

noises and jet whistles.

Leichhardt Bass Clarinets a3The deep-sampled three Leichhardt Bass Clarinets provide full legato, as well as five fluttertongue

articulations, multiphonics, airy sustains and even slaps.

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Graefenberger Contrabass Clarinets a3Bringing deepest low-end to the Clarinet section, the three Graefenberger Contrabass Clarinets have

legato, swells, fluttertongue and multiphonics.

Weissdorn Wagner Tubas a3Taking a cue from MA1's Schwarzdorn and Rotdorn Horns, the three Weissdorn Wagner Tubas bring this

wonderful instrument to the Metropolis Ark Series wih legato, immediate and soft sustains and other essential

articulations. And now you know that Wagner Tubas belong to the Horn family thanks to their naming in

MA2!

Koenig Fluegelhorns a3Soft but powerful, the three Koenig Fluegelhorns provide basic articulations and work great as a

complement to regular trumpets.

Kadetten Bass Trumpets a3Three Kadetten Bass Trumpets provide a solid foundation for your trumpet parts with essential articulations.

Waltroper Euphoniums a3For all Euphonium lovers out there, the three Waltroper Euphoniums provide basic articulations.

Ring Tubas a3If one tuba is great, then the three Ring Tubas are even greater. Providing basic articulations as well as

fluttertongue swells, this will give you the ultimate soft low-end.

District II - Choir

Metropolis Ark 2 has a Soft Women Choir as well as a Basso Profondo Choir, each with Legato, Sustain

and multi-syllable Staccato and Marcato. There is also a Children Choir with Legato and Sustain.

Lichterfelder Children ChoirThe Lichterfelder Children Choir features 16 children, about 2/3 girls and 1/3 boys.

Calandrelli Women ChoirSix Sopranos and six Altos form the Calandrelli Women Choir.

Breitenstein Basso Profondo ChoirThe Breitenstein Basso Profono Choir is made up of 11 ultra low basses.

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Metropolis Ark 2's Manteuffel Percussion District unites a host of special percussion

Manteuffel Percussion EnsembleThe main Percussion Ensemble and Deep Drums patches are fully playable and provide an assortment of

deep and soft hits and impacts.

Manteuffel Percussion Ensemble MetalThe Metals contain a large number of metal hits, cymbals, etc... An additional Bowed patch expands the

sonic potential of the Metals section.

Manteuffel Percussion BoomerThe Boomers are provided in two variations: Menu has all types with three variations each mapped on

individual keys. RR has all variations of the same type mapped as Round Robins.

The mapping for the Menu patch is as follows:

C0-B2 are Boomers with a lot of attack that tend to be on the shorter side.

C3-A6 have a "woosh" attack and tend to be longer.

You can use these individually, but also combine attack and non-attack samples.

Manteuffel Percussion FXThe FX Menu has a number of processed FX sounds.

Manteuffel Percussion Small MetalsVenturing into the whimsical, the Small Metals patch features a lot of small, clinky sounds mapped across the

keyboard.

Manteuffel Percussion WaterphoneThis patch provides Waterphone SFX ranging from pure sound design to more tonally suitable elements.

Manteuffel Percussion Synth FXThe Synth FX section is entirely derived from sythesized sounds and provides hits, noise pads and swells in

seperate patches.

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District IV - Keys

The Keys District plays a prominent role with four distinct instruments packing a few surprises.

Roon PianoThe Roon Piano features exquisite soft dynamics with both Sustains and Staccato.

Glamer Pianos a3For the Glamer Pianos we took two Steinway D and a Steinway B and recorded Sustains, Staccato, 5th

chords and soft tremolos.

Thekla HarmoniumThe Thekla Harmonium is the quirkiest entry in MA2. With lots of character, this instrument lives right at the

edge of total disintegration and was a true challenge to sample.

Hochbaum OrganThe Hochbaum Organ is a small, portable positif organ and has only two stops: An 8 feet Flute and a 4 feet

Flute. Both were sampled individually and together for Sustains and sharp Staccati.

*In case you did not know - All sections and instruments in Metropolis Ark 2 are named after street names

near the Teldex Studio in Berlin/Germany. Now you know.

E x p a n s i o n O p t i o n s :

When you wish for standard orchestral sections and articulations, the Berlin Series collections will nicely

complement Metropolis Ark 2, being recorded in the same room and with identical microphone

positoning. If MA2 made you wish for more EPIC moments, Metropolis Ark 1 gives you giant sections with

fff dynamics.

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4.1.2 Articulations

All Orchestral Tools collections focus on providing a versatile pallet of articulations to help you shape your

sound.

This section lists all articulations contained in Metropolis Ark 2.

All Metropolis Ark 2 Patches have Tree, AB and Surround microphone positions.. As such these positions

are not listed in the tables below.

Articulations Legend

Symbol Name Description

R Range The playable range of the instrument.

L Layers Lists the number and musical dynamics of velocity layers the

instrument uses.

T Transition Range The interval range of recorded legato transitions.

S Transition Styles If multiple legato styles are present, these are listed here by

name

V Vibrato Layers The number and type of vibrato layers

M Microphone Positions Any special mic positions that deviate from the collection

standard.

TM Time Machine Denotes a patch that uses TimeMachine for tempo-sync.

+ TimeMachine Patches

All patches marked with a "+" (plus sign) also exist as a TimeMachine patch. These patches allow you to

adjust the length of the sample to your liking. For more Information refer to the User Guide.

About Instrument Ranges:

The ranges given below are recorded note ranges. You can stretch or limit the playable range for every

articulation within the UI.


Weddigen Strings (High)

Articulation Properties

01. Strings High LegatoR: G2-C6 | L: 2 (pp, mp) | T: 1st-8th | V: Without,

Romantic | M: Close

02. Strings High SustainsR: G2-C6 | L: 2 (pp, mp) | V: Without, Romantic |

M: Close

03. Strings High Spiccatissimo R: G2-C6 | L: 2 (pp, mp) | RR: 9 | M: Close | +

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