Vienna Symphonic Library

Vienna Imperial
User Manual
Getting started

The ViennaKey

The ViennaKey is the USB protection device which will hold the license for your Vienna Suite. Instead of
the ViennaKey, you can also use another eLicenser (e.g., USB protection devices by Steinberg or Arturia)
2
to store your license. You can register your key with us, so that you are safe in case of damage (the
first 6 digits of the key are important, as shown on the screenshot).

Registration

Please register your Vienna Imperial in your USER AREA. Upon registration, you will receive your
Activation Code via your e-mail address registered at our website. You will need this code to download your
permanent Vienna Imperial license from eLicenser.

eLicenser Control Center

The eLicenser Control Center manages your licenses. Please make sure that you are using the latest
version, available at http://www.elicenser.net.

Downloading your license is simple: Make sure your ViennaKey is inserted, launch eLicenser
Control Center, click on Enter Activation Code and paste your Activation Code into the respective
field. You will be guided through the rest of the procedure. An Internet connection has to be available for
this process. You can of course download your license on any Internet computer, in case your music
computer is not connected to the Internet.

Here’s a quick overview of the steps necessary for a successful installation:

1) Install eLCC and download your Vienna Imperial license with the activation code
you received via e-mail after your registration.
2) Install Vienna Imperial – find the latest updates of the sample player in your User
Area’s Software Section.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

Installing Vienna Imperial

Now you can start the software and content installation. It is not necessary to have the eLicenser holding your
license inserted in one of your computer’s USB ports at this stage, but you will need it when you want to play.

Please check regularly for updates in your personal User Area’s Software Section!
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You will find the Vienna Imperial Software Installer on the CD-ROM accompanying your Collection.
Launch the installer by double-clicking on its icon. Follow the instructions to install the software. On a
Windows machine you will be asked for locations to store the stand-alone software and VST plug-in
(preferably in your sequencer’s plug-in folder).

After installing the Vienna Imperial software you’ll also have to install the library content files. On windows
machines, the Vienna Imperial Library Installer by default starts automatically after the software
installation, but you can also install the library later by calling up the Installer from your Program Files
folder. On Mac, please run the Installer from your Applications folder.

Attention: The Vienna Imperial Library Installer is not identical with the Vienna Instruments
Library Installer, so that it cannot be used to install content pertaining to the other, and vice
versa.

The library installer will ask you for a location to store the sample content at. You can also specify
different directories for each of the three recording positions. Make sure to select a target location with
sufficient disk space. The complete set of 3 microphone positions will take about 50 GB of disk space.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

 4

You will be warned if the hard disk you specified for the Library content does not provide enough free
space. In that case, please cancel the procedure and resume specifying another hard disk. For optimum
performance, we recommend using a separate hard disk or dedicated partition for storing the Library
content.

The installation may take a while, so you can take your time to read this manual, which in the following
will explain the Piano’s features in more detail.

Attention: If for some reason the installer is terminated before completion, the installation can
be resumed by running the Vienna Imperial Library Installer again and specifying the same
options as during the previous run.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

Vienna Imperial

Basic settings
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On launching the Vienna Imperial you are first presented with the Basic View. This gives you access to
the basic settings like recording position and tuning, allowing you to set up and play very quickly without
having to take care of more advanced adjustments. The easiest way to get satisfying results of course is
to load one of our Factory Presets – but the Vienna Imperial sounds more than convincing even if you
simply choose to load one of the three preset recording positions.

In Basic View, you can choose from three microphone positions to load the basic sound you desire, and
set up the piano’s tuning and polyphony – but more about that later, because this is just like the hood of
a good car: looks snazzy, but the motor’s underneath …

Stand-alone: MIDI and Audio setup

If you want to use the stand-alone version of Vienna Imperial, you will first have to take care of the
player’s MIDI and audio settings. You can find these settings in the top menu bar under “Application –
Preferences” which contains the three tabs MIDI, Audio and Channels – however, this menu will open
automatically at the first launch of the stand-alone Vienna Imperial, so that you can immediately set up for
playing.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

The first tab in this menu is Audio where you can see to it that your audio interface (sound card, USB or
Firewire device) is set up properly. Select the Output Device of your choice. If desired, you can also set
the device’s Sample Rate and Latency here.

Attention Windows users: The Audio tab shows ASIO and DirectSound devices. However, we
recommend using native ASIO drivers because choosing an ASIO DirectX or DirectSound
device will add some playback latency. 6

If you have selected an ASIO Output, you can now choose an Output Channel. Go to the Channels tab
and select the desired stereo pair. Also, you can set up MIDI to receive on all channels (Omni) or only on
a single channel.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

Now, in order to set up the connection between your master keyboard or other MIDI device and the player, open
the MIDI tab and select the MIDI ports you want to use as Input Ports.

These settings done, you’re ready to play – but for the sound of the piano itself, which we’ll be coming to
now.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

Basic View
The main feature of the Basic view are the three microphone positions Close, Player, and Distant. For the
Close position, the microphones were positioned near the strings, giving an “inside” sound with little ambi-
ence. Player of course sounds as if you were sitting right in front of the instrument, while Distant was
recorded from the audience’s listening position and therefore has the most ambience. By clicking on one of
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the position buttons to load the respective sample set, you’re practically ready to play – if you’re not yet
connected to your master keyboard’s MIDI port, you can use the User Interface’s virtual keyboard to test it.

In the button bar above the piano window, you can call up Factory Presets which offer you a variety of reverb
settings and sound possibilities our sound engineers have prepared for you. Here you can also load, save, and
delete your own custom presets for your preferred configurations. Here’s a list of the currently available
Factory Presets:

00 Empty: Unloads samples and resets everything to default values

01/02/03 Close/Player/Distant Position Default: All parameters set to default values, no reverb added
04 Distant Concert Piano Big Hall: Distant position, EQ, reverb: Large Hall, dynamic range and stereo width adapted
05 Distant Concert Piano Small Hall: Distant position, EQ, reverb: Small Hall, dynamic range and stereo width adapted
06 Ballad Piano: Player position, EQ softens high frequencies, reverb: Large Hall
07 Jazz Piano: Player position, EQ, reverb: Small Hall, dynamic range and stereo width adapted
08 Dry Rock Piano: Close position, EQ accentuates high and bass frequencies, dynamic range adapted, reverb:
Medium Hall
09 Melancholy Piano: Close position, EQ softens middle frequencies, reverb: Large Hall, dynamic range adapted
10 Soft Lounge Piano: Player position, EQ softens high frequencies, reverb: Medium Hall, dynamic range adapted
11 Loudness Piano: Close position, strong EQ, reverb: Medium Hall, dynamic range adapted
12 Mysterious Piano: Distant position, strong EQ, reverb: Large Hall, dynamic range adapted

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

In the GUI’s upper right-hand corner you can see the Adjustments Button, that lets you adjust the volume
and EQ settings for each key separately. More about this feature on page 14.

Next to it there´s the Load Samples button. If you click on it, you’ll get the options to load the complete
set, omit soft pedal samples, omit release samples, or omit soft pedal and release samples. If you only
have 2 GB of RAM, you should at least choose Omit soft pedal samples (the default). The release
samples are very important for achieving realistic sound, so if your computer setup allows it you should 9
have them loaded. You can change the options even during loading – the software will simply start over
with loading the proper set. On the button, the letters R (for Release samples) and S (for Soft pedal
samples) are highlighted according to your selection.

The Optimize function next to Load Samples can help you to save lots of RAM by unloading samples
that are not needed in a piece. If you click on “Learn used samples” and play back your piano score, the
software will take note of all the samples used. By clicking on “Optimize load” after that, unused samples
will be removed from memory. And if you’ve added new material to your score you can click on “Load all
samples” to make sure that the piano will play everything again.

Attention: If streaming drop-outs occurred during playback, it may happen that Learn Samples
doesn’t recognize some of the samples which are in use. If you are in doubt, we recommend
bouncing the track (making a mixdown) – since bouncing is a non-realtime process, the
sequencer will wait for everything to be streamed properly, so that all samples are guaranteed
to be included in the mixdown.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

The button bar below the piano window gives you access to the piano’s Tuning between 436 and 444.99 Hz,
and its Polyphony (40 to 384 voices) which may be necessary to adjust depending on your computer setup.
Of course, the Vienna Imperial is equipped with an intelligent note-stealing function so that you will hardly hear
any omissions even with less voices. For “normal” application, a setting between 80 and 160 voices should
work fine.

The 2sus Feature increases the realism of sustained notes that are pressed before the sustain pedal is 10
activated. This option is switched off by default, as it halves the streaming performance and reduces effective
polyphony to half its setting value. Remember these possible restrictions when activating 2sus.

The Velocity Histogram shows the received velocity of every key you play on your keyboard – a nice
way to monitor your playing. It is also a very helpful tool to find the right velocity curve for your master
keyboard, as the visual feedback allows intuitive settings. MIDI Sensitivity, too, is taken into consideration
in the Velocity Histogram. Moreover, you can freeze/unfreeze the Velocity Histogram by double-clicking
into the histogram display so that you can get a general image of your playing dynamics.

Below the Velocity Histogram you can see three entries which display the state of the piano pedals. Sus
lights up when the sustain pedal is depressed. Sost lights up when you depress the sostenuto pedal,
which holds only the notes that were playing when you depressed it. If you keep the sostenuto pedal
depressed and hit a note that was held a second time, it will be held again. UC is synonymous for the
soft pedal –short for una corda (one string) –, and is greyed out when you choose to omit the soft pedal
samples. If active, depressing the soft pedal will switch to playing these samples: a real piano has up to
three strings per note, and the soft pedal shifts the piano’s hammer positions so that not all of the
strings belonging to a note will be struck. So, if the soft pedal samples are active, UC will reflect the
state of the soft pedal.

The location your custom presets are saved in:

Win 7 and Vista:

C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Roaming\Vienna Imperial Presets

Win XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Application Data

OS X:

Macintosh HD\Shared Items\Vienna Imperial Presets

Please note: on a 64-bit system it is possible to open two instances of Vienna Imperial in your
sequencer; however, we do not recommend mixing two positions playing the same piece – the
samples of each position already are a mix of several miking positions, and mixing them with
each other might lead to phasing problems.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

Advanced view
On top of the GUI you’ll find three buttons, Basic, Advanced and Key Editor. The Basic view is selected by
default; by clicking the other buttons, you can switch to alternative views.

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The Advanced view allows you to fine-tune your piano sound. The basic selection of Close, Player and Distant
microphone position has now moved to the left to make room for other parameters you can change to get the
sound you desire. The Key Editor is explained at the end of this manual.

Please note that switching between microphone positions after you have changed settings in
the Advanced view will not undo these changes, while loading another Preset naturally will do
so.

Equalizer

There is a three-band graphic equalizer next to the

Position display. Click on one of the bands and drag
it to change its gain and Hertz value. Holding down
the <Ctrl> (Windows) or <Command> (Mac) key
while dragging an EQ bin will change the Q factor
(bandwidth) – higher values result in a narrower
bandwidth, thus affecting a smaller frequency range.
If you hold <Alt> and drag, you can adjust only the
frequency, while <Shift>-drag locks the frequency
and changes only the gain value. The values of the

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

selected band are shown on top of the equalizer display. Double-clicking (or <Ctrl>/<Command>-
clicking) on a band will revert it to its default value. The Vienna Imperial’s Factory Presets already have
pre-configured EQ settings.

MIDI parameters

Below the equalizer you’ll find three sliders for 12

advanced MIDI settings.

MIDI Sensitivity ranges from -100 to +100 and

determines how the piano reacts to your keystrokes’
MIDI velocity – please note that in extreme positions,
some middle range velocities played may be
skipped (i.e., replaced by other values) due to the
sensitivity curve. Test this to find out what setting
fits best for your touch.

Octave Shift (-4 to +4) can be very handy when you have a keyboard with less than 88 keys or if you
want to access the lowest keys of the piano displayed in black on the GUI. The setting makes the piano
sound up to 4 octaves higher or lower while you can stay in the same playing position.

Transpose (-12 to +12) is actually the same function, only for intervals within an octave up or down. You
can use it, e.g., if you have to play a piece in a key you’re not familiar with so that you can stay in the
(playing) key you’re used to.

Reverb

On the equalizer’s right there are two parameters to

set up the built-in reverb. Reverb Type lets you
choose from seven halls: Huge Hall, Large Hall,
Medium Hall and Small Hall are algorithmic reverbs
that are very CPU-efficient and mimic the additional
three halls of the Wiener Konzerthaus – Grosser
Saal, Mozart Saal and Neuer Saal.

The convolution reverb used on the Wiener Konzerthaus halls is based on the same impulse responses
featured by the Convolution Reverb of our plug-in collection Vienna Suite. Our Factory Presets are
preconfigured with different reverb settings and make use of the CPU-friendly algorithmic reverbs.

With Reverb Amount you can determine how much reverb you want to add to the original piano sound.
(-15.4 dB is the default, to which you can reset it by double clicking.)

Please note that in order for Vienna Imperial to perform reliably with a low latency/buffer setting (64 and
32 samples on systems which allow it), you can switch to an algorithmic reverb type or deactivate the
convolution reverb by dragging the Reverb Amount slider to the leftmost position.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

Piano parameters

Below the reverb there’s four parameters related to the piano sound itself:

Dynamic Range controls the difference in loudness

between velocities of the piano and essentially is
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similar (though not identical) to a compressor. The
values which yield results comparable to the sound
of the original piano are located at approximately
55–60%, and are therefore set by default. At 100%,
the samples are played back as they were recorded;
at lower values, keystrokes with lower MIDI velocity
are played back louder, so that the piano’s dynamic
range is reduced.

Sympathetic allows you to set up the amount of sympathetic string sound. You can hear this effect when
you hold down a key without sounding it and then briefly hit another key. Depending on the frequency
relations between the two notes, the “mute” note, triggered by the other one, will also start to sound. The
default for this setting is –6 dB. At a setting of “-inf” this effect is switched off entirely which may save you
lots of CPU power, so if you’re experiencing playback problems, we recommend trying this first.

Pedal Noise adjusts the amount of pedal noise added whenever you step on or release a pedal. The default
again is –6 dB and can be reset with <Ctrl>/<Command>-click. Here, too, “-inf” switches off the effect.

Stereo Width lets you narrow your piano’s expanse in the stereo field – e.g., it would probably not
sound very natural in an orchestral piece if the piano had the same stereo width as the entire orchestra,
while in a solo piece it is of course possible to use the whole width. The setting makes sense if you’re
playing the Vienna Imperial’s stand-alone version; in a host, it’s better to use the host’s stereo and
panning options or, e.g., our Vienna Suite’s PowerPan plug-in because you can also determine the
panning position.

Attention: The Stereo Width control only influences the original piano signal but not the reverb!

On the far right, you can also find the Volume slider which sets the Vienna Imperial’s overall volume. The
plug-ins output is designed to avoid clipping. If there is signal overload, soft compression will be applied
to keep the output signal just below 0 dB. If you notice distortion during intensive performances (which
anyway should only occur in rare cases), please lower the volume slider so that the VU meters do not
reach the top.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

Key Editor View

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Per-note equalizer On/Off: When switched off, the Per-Note Equalizer settings will not be applied.
Volume adjustments will still be applied. Useful for A/B comparison. Switched on by default.

The Per-Note Equalizer works exactly the same way as the global Equalizer on the Advanced Page
(see page 11), but on a per-note basis.

Note Volume: Displays the volume level of the selected notes (if the levels are identical). It is a duplicate
of the 97 sliders in the Volume Slider Area (depending on the selection).

Note Dynamic Range: Displays the dynamic range of the selected key(s). Values are also displayed in
the Dynamic Range Slider Area when the Key Editor View is switched to Dynamics (see below).

Attention: Frequency, Q, Gain, Note Volume and Note Dynamic Range are only available
when the adjustment values of the selected notes are identical!

Global Dynamic Range: Mirrors the slider on the Advanced Page.

Global MIDI Sensitivity: Mirrors the slider on the Advanced Page.

Copy: A common “copy” function for the two available paste options described below.
Paste All: Restores all settings saved at the time of pressing Copy, regardless of the selection.
This is useful for replicating note adjustment settings for different Vienna Imperial presets, since the
Adjustments Page settings are reset together with all other options, once a different preset is loaded).
Paste 1st: Pastes the EQ and Volume adjustments of the leftmost (or the only) note selected at the time
of pressing Copy to the new selection (one or multiple notes).
MIDI Select: When activated, the next incoming MIDI note will select the key. Switched off by default.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

The best way to adjust the Vienna Imperial and all available presets in a similar fashion:
1) Adjust one preset to your liking. Save this preset to have it available later on.
2) Press Copy.
3) Load another preset.
4) If you´d like to have the same adjustments available, click Paste All.
5) Fine-tune, if necessary.
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6) Save the new preset.

Key Editor Views

Selection Area (Keyboard) for Volume and Dynamics View:

• Drag across to change the selection.

• Shift-drag to add to the existing selection.
• Alt-drag to remove notes from the existing selection.
• Ctrl-drag (WIN) or Cmd-drag (OS X) to auto-toggle, based on the first note clicked.
• Starting from a non-selected note will add to the selection (like the Shift key).
• Starting from the selected note – the selection will be removed, as if holding the Alt modifier.

Volume Slider Area

• Single click outside the selection changes the selection to that note. Range: -10 to +10 dB.
• Dragging the volume handles within a selection adjusts the volume levels for all selected
notes.
• Right-click or double-click resets the volume levels to zero.
• Alt-drag draws a line, creates a smooth linear ramp of volumes from one note to another.
When using Alt-drag, the selection is irrelevant.
• A brown background in the Volume Slider Area shows which notes have their equalizer
settings adjusted (EQ Gains are not 0 dB)
• Green levels in the background show which notes have their dynamic range adjusted.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

Dynamic Range Slider Area

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• Single click outside the selection changes the selection to that note. Range: From 0 to 100 %,
depending on the Global Dynamic Range Setting.
• Dragging the handles within a selection adjusts the dynamic range for all selected notes.
• Right-click or double-click resets the dynamic range to the global dynamic range.
• Alt-drag draws a line, creates a smooth linear ramp from one note to another. When using Alt-
drag, the selection is irrelevant.
• Brown background in the Dynamic Range Slider Area shows which notes have their equalizer
settings adjusted (EQ Gains are not 0 dB)
• Blue levels in the background show which notes are volume-adjusted.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library

We hope that this manual was a helpful companion for getting acquainted with our Vienna Imperial.
However, if you have any further questions don’t hesitate to visit our Internet Community or send an e-
mail to our Support. Also, please check out our Video Tutorials which will provide you with further details
about Vienna Instruments and our software products.

And now – enjoy the Vienna Imperial! 17

Your Vienna Symphonic Library Team

This software contains copyrighted elements of the following third parties:

(C) 2005–2009 4Front Technologies

(C) 2005–2008 SIA Syncrosoft
(C) 2003–2008 Alberto Demichelis,
(C) 1995–2005 Jean-Loup Gailly and Mark Adler,
(C) 1998–2008 Glenn Randers-Pehrson,
(C) 2000-2007 Josh Coalson
(C) 1996–2008 The FreeType Project,
(C) 1998–2000 Thai Open Source Software Center Ltd and Clark Cooper,
(C) 1998–2000 Clark Cooper,
(C) 2001–2008 Keith Packard,
(C) 2001–2008 Carl Worth,
(C) 2001–2006 Expat maintainers,
(C) 2002 University of Southern California.

Moreover, parts of this software were licensed from Magnus Jonsson.

The aforementioned parties disclaim all warranties with regard to this software and thus cannot be held
liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages, arising out of or in connection with the use or
performance of this software.

VST PlugIn Interface Technology by Steinberg Soft- und Hardware GmbH.

Vienna Imperial User Manual © 2012 Vienna Symphonic Library