

Click to enlarge

The Interface

On the left is the main interface for Largo. This particular interface is for the Strings instrument but each orchestral group has its own separate Kontakt patch, each of which are color coded: Strings, Woodwinds and Brass. All operate in exactly the same manner.

Presets

Whichever instrument you choose, Largo has 4 user presets, each of which can be assigned up to 3 different fields. The presets can be selected either by clicking them in the interface or with keyswitches shown below.

You can mute / unmute individual fields by clicking the corresponding button.

Cmd / Ctrl left-click on the button to solo that field.

You can also use the velocity sensitive keyswitches shown here to mute fields. Any velocity below 84 will mute a field, higher will unmute.

This is very useful when you want to sequence mutes in your DAW. The keyswitches are laid out low to high in groups of black or white keys per section, to make them easy to identify and remember.

Each of the instruments (strings, brass etc) has different keyswitches to change presets, from MIDI C3 to B3. This enables you to load multiple Largo instruments in one instance of Kontakt and assign all of them to the same MIDI channel.

Below is an example of the muting & preset change keyswitches for Strings but be aware that the keyswitches vary depending on the instrument as shown on the picture below.

Largo Instruments Mute Keyswitches Preset Change Keyswitches Strings G0, A0, B0 C3 to D#3 Woodwinds A#-1, C#0, D#0 E3 to G3 Brass A-1, B-1, C0 G#3 to B3

The information overlay shown below is also helpful for identifying the mute and preset keyswitches. Just click the info button and you’ll be presented with a graphic of a virtual keyboard, showing you the mute and preset buttons for all Largo instruments, not just the one you’re working with.

Fields

Each field has a number of options which can be activated / deactivated. Regardless of which preset or field is in use, they all have the same options, outlined below.

Mute: See the previous page for information on muting / unmuting fields and mute keyswitches.

MOD Wheel

By default the MOD wheel of your MIDI keyboard will control the output volume of a field. This icon will be displayed.

The adjustable volume function can be disabled within individual fields by clicking the MOD wheel icon so that it changes to this graphic depicted.

This allows greater expression as you can keep the volume of one or more fields constant whilst changing others with the MOD wheel. Use this to create interesting, constantly changing phrases and crescendos / decrescendos.

Speed Control

Phrases in Largo have been recorded at 75 BPM in 4/4 time. Regardless of the time signature of your composition, most phrases will be completely suitable.

Click this icon to change the playback speed of the phrase, relative to your DAW’s BPM. The phrases will always sync to your host DAW tempo, being time-stretched within Kontakt to match the BPM.

Original recorded speed, relative to DAW BPM

Playback at 2 x speed, relative to DAW BPM

Playback at ½ speed, relative to DAW BPM

Automatic - “Intelligent Tempo Mapping” - Playback at recorded speed, but at automatic half / double time at extreme tempi. This is generally the best speed setting. However, if your project has a tempo change mid-phrase, you may find that an alternative speed setting may be more useful. Also, when you are doing gradual tempo changes across a large range, it might be a good idea to opt for one of the fixed values instead of ITM.

There is just one limitation with speed adjustments in Largo: If you choose exactly the same section, phrase and variation in two or more fields and change the speed within one, then they’ll all change. This can be remedied by using another instance of Largo on a new track.

Purging

Largo features intelligent purging. Click the icon to purge the samples from memory. This will apply to all fields of the current preset. If a sample is being used in another preset it will not be purged. Use this function to free up system RAM.

Picking Phrases

You don’t have to stick to the standard configurations of high, medium and low. It’s possible to load more than one identical set. For example, you could load 3 sets of high strings and choose completely different patterns for each. The only limitation to this is that if you duplicate an identical set and pattern and variation in one instance of Largo, the MOD wheel volume and speed controls will not operate independently.

Randomize

Score View

The phrases in Largo are represented by graphics instead of actual notations. However, clicking on the score icon shown here will access the original notation.

This will open a large Score View, where you can view the currently selected phrase in a notated form. Woodwinds are depicted here.

Clicking on the key signature graphics at the top of the window will change the displayed score key. Click the MA or mi icons to display either the major or minor variations of the phrase, where available.

A large contingent of phrases are gender neutral (so basically without thirds, sixths or sevenths)

You can either click on the ‘x’ or anywhere in the score area to return to the main window.

Drag MIDI

The Largo interface features a drag MIDI button. Click the button, hold and drag into your DAW to paste the MIDI information from the Largo score straight into a track in your DAW.

One or more MIDI tracks will be created in you DAW which correlate with the number of staves shown in the score view for that particular phrase. You can then assign your own virtual instruments to these tracks and edit the MIDI data in the normal way.

We’ve developed this to be a real time-saver when you need access to the MIDI data of Largo outside of the instrument itself. Drag MIDI is useful for several things and gives you ultimate flexibility over the notation of the phrases within Largo. For example, for doubling instruments, transposing or more complex editing. Drag MIDI also allows a quick and easy way for orchestrators to transfer Largo’s phrases to a score prepared for live players.

Please note that the MIDI is derived from the original score that the musicians performed, not from the performance itself. Therefore the MIDI will not reflect the nuances of play, and you will have to adjust it manually to get a perfect match with the played performance when doubling it with external instruments. Also note that the MIDI dragged cannot be used as an input for Largo, you'll need other virtual instruments on different tracks in your DAW to play the dragged and dropped MIDI files.

Options

Click the + icon at the bottom left hand side of the interface to open the options menu. From here you can control volume, panning, crossfade times, sample offset, microphone placement, global tuning and Harmonic Shift.

Volume

Click the VOLUME legend at the bottom left of the options interface to display the volume controls (shown here with the Woodwinds instrument).

In each field, drag the black overlay lines up and down to adjust the overall volume of that field.

Tuning

Panning

Sample Crossfade

Click the TUNING legend at the bottom of the options interface to display the tuning setting for the instrument (shown here with theinstrument). It’s easy to change the global pitch within Largo. Choose from either standard pitch (440Hz) or an alternative concert pitch (441 - 443Hz). Some live orchestras may be tuned to these alternative pitches so this function makes it easy to match the samples in Largo to live recordings.Click thelegend at the bottom of the options interface to display the panning controls (shown here with theinstrument).

Click the X-FADE legend at the bottom of the options interface to display the crossfade controls (shown here with the Strings instrument).

Due to the natural human playing that’s been sampled and the wide variety of phrases within Largo, it may sometimes be necessary to adjust the crossfade of phrases when a new chord is played.

This control will help to smooth out or tighten up transitions when used carefully.

We’ll cover transitions and chord changes later in this manual.

Microphone Mixing

Click the MICS legend at the bottom of the options interface to display the microphone mixing controls (shown here with the Woodwinds instrument).

The samples for Largo have been recorded in the same hall as sister libraries Sotto, Capriccio, Grosso, Minimal, Da Capo, Tutti and Vivace. As such, Largo has similar options for microphone mixing; Close, Decca Tree, Wide and Far (balcony). It is possible to use just one microphone position or mix between two different positions.

These different positions can be selected by clicking on the microphone position name.

Mixing is controlled by dragging the slider within the triangles. The crossfade operates in such a way that the central position will play both microphone positions at full volume.

Microphone mixing options are global and apply to the entire instance of Largo including all phrases and fields. Note that activating multiple microphone sections puts additional strain on CPU usage.

If you plan on using just one microphone position, set the other position to NONE to conserve CPU and RAM.

Largo Lite We have included ‘Lite’ versions of all Largo instrument patches. These patches function in exactly the same way as the full versions but do not have microphone-mixing options. Instead, the samples have been pre-mixed from the four recorded positions. Use these patches when you only need just one pre-mixed version of Largo, which will conserve RAM and CPU.

Sample Offset

This function enables you to change the sample start point of a field.

Click the OFFSET legend at the bottom of the options interface to display the offset controls (shown here with the Woodwinds instrument).

Each mark on the slider represents a 16th note, so the maximum and minimum values are one beat forwards and backwards relative to the original first beat of the phrase. Note that when you double or halve the tempo of a phrase, the offset value will stay relative to the host tempo, so relative to the phrase content tempo these values will change. e.g. when the tempo button is set to 2x all offset values are doubled.

You can use the sample offset function subtly, for very minor adjustments, to tighten up the timing of phrases relative to one another.

You can also use the function to make more dramatic timing changes by offsetting one or more fields by entire beats, resulting in more complex patterns including polyrhythms and syncopation.

Harmonic Shift

The Harmonic Shift function allows the user to play phrases simultaneously in different, but related, keys. This function (shown here with the Strings instrument) can be used to access more complex chords other than the standard major / minor phrases within Largo.

Harmonic Shift can be turned on or off for each field with the +/- button but it’s most useful if you turn it on in some fields and off in others.

You should note that Harmonic Shift only designates an interval, relative to C. For example, playing an Em chord and then using the Harmonic Shift keyswitch at D# (an interval of a third) would add a major / minor third up from Em. This would result in a G major / minor phrase being added.

By default we have chosen a relative major and minor for each interval, which we deem most useful. However, it’s possible to setup your own variations of major and minor intervals using the matrix shown below:

Note that setting different values in the Harmonic Shift Matrix only makes a difference for ‘gender-specific’ phrases.

The effectiveness and musicality of the Harmonic Shift varies, depending on the phrases you assign to each field and the major / minor intervals you choose in the matrix. Experiment with different phrases and settings to create interesting and surprising textures and note combinations.

Playing Largo

The basic method of playing Largo is to play three-note triads in the keyrange C1 to G2.

The chord recognition system will automatically detect inversions and will choose a major or minor phrase based on the MIDI chord played. Phrases that are ‘gender-neutral’ (so containing no thirds, sixths or sevenths) or atonal phrases, will be triggered for both major and minor chords and will naturally not change when you go from major to minor or vice-versa.

Once you’ve played a chord it’s possible to sustain it by holding just one of the notes (voice leading). This enables easy switching to new chords without any gap in the playback. Chords can also be held by using a sustain pedal. Alternatively, a chord can be sustained by holding any key down in the playable area, thus allowing changes between chords

Release Samples

Largo features release samples for all phrases. These give a realistic and appropriate release note or reverb tail when keys are released. The release samples become especially important if you choose to truncate the playback of a phrase, where a realistic end note will be played. The release samples can be turned on and off by using velocity sensitive MIDI note F6. High velocity (>84) will turn releases on, low velocity (<83) will turn them off.

You can also use the link / unlink option within the Volume menu to adjust the relative volumes of the release note samples.

Phrase Continue / Retrigger

When playing different chords or applying different Harmonic Shift intervals, you have the choice whether to retrigger the phrases or to simply continue the phrase but in the new key. This function is controlled by velocity sensitive keyswitch D6. High velocity (>84) will turn phrase continue on, low velocity (<83) will turn it off.

Bar Sync

Another feature within Largo is the ‘Bar Sync’ option. This is controlled by velocity sensitive keyswitch E6. High velocity (>84) will turn it on, low velocity (<83) will turn it off.

This feature works in conjunction with the ‘Phrase Continue’ function. When switched on, the scripting within Largo will read the position of the bar in your host DAW and retain playback of the phrases in line with that bar. For example, if Bar Sync is turned on and you trigger a phrase on the second beat of a bar, the sample will play from its second beat too.

Note that Bar Sync can only be used in Phrase Continue mode. If Phrase Retrigger is engaged instead, Bar Sync will automatically switch off.

When Phrase Continue mode is switched on again, Bar Sync will return to whichever setting was being used previously, either on or off.

Bar Sync Reset

There may be rare occasions when you wish to change meter in a project and the Bar Sync function behaves rather oddly and becomes out of sync with the bars in your DAW. This happens because some DAWs, including Logic Pro X for instance, will send an incorrect bar start to Kontakt in these cases, depending on which bar the meter change actually is. To remedy this we have provided a ‘hidden’ keyswitch at MIDI key G#-1. Trigger this keyswitch at high velocity (>84) just before beat 1 of the next bar after a meter change and this will reset the Bar Sync function. Trigger the keyswitch again at the start of your project (on bar 1, beat 1) with a low velocity (<83) to ‘reset’ this offset, ensuring that your project begins with the correct Bar Sync settings.

Sequencing Largo

As explained previously, there are a number of different ways to play Largo and change chords. You can either use the sustain pedal to hold chords, use voice leading on one or more notes or simply release and retrigger. These different modes become important when it comes to using Largo in your chosen DAW.

Whether you play Largo ‘live’ into your DAW and edit the MIDI afterwards, or if you sequence directly using your DAW’s piano roll, there a few things you should know which will help you get the best from the instrument.

If you are just triggering one simple chord and then releasing, it is normally best to quantise the start and end of the MIDI chords. We would also advise leaving the Phase Follow and Bar Sync keyswitches set to off. Keeping the release samples turned on will provide a clean end hit or release tail to the chord.

Quantised blocks of MIDI chords as shown is the simplest way to create a chord change. However, this often does not give satisfactory transitions with strings, woods and brass as the phrases have longer attack times. This method is most successful with choir and percussion.

You may find that turning the release samples off also helps with the transitions.

Taking these attack times into consideration, it is often best to quantise the very first chord, whilst ensuring that Phrase Follow is set to on. Subsequent chords can be triggered slightly before the beat so that the attack portions of a new chord are maintained. However, it is difficult the program blocks of chords in this manner as the end of one chord has to perfectly line up with the start of the next. This, in itself, is a challenge in most DAWs. It’s much easier to utilise the sustain pedal or voice leading…

Both voice leading and using the sustain pedal produce the same effect; a sustained chord which is held until 3 notes of a new chord are engaged. This is by far the best way to get great chord transitions with Largo. Offset the MIDI notes of every chord except the first, slightly before the beat (in the same way as described above) to capture the new attack phase. Use the Phrase Follow so that the new chord plays the new phrase where the old one left off.

Adjusting these elements in conjunction with the individual field crossfade times will give smooth transitions. For a demonstration of these techniques check out the Largo videos online at www.youtube.com/user/sonokinetic

Managing CPU and RAM

Largo is a huge instrument and pushes Kontakt to its limit in terms of size and processing. Therefore, it’s useful to know how to limit the memory and processor impact of Largo within your own system. Although we’ve covered some of these aspects already, the following processes will help to conserve RAM and CPU:

Use the purge function within each field to remove the samples from memory

Deactivate the release samples (this will halve the number of voices used)

Use only one microphone position and set the other to NONE

Choose the Largo Lite patches instead of the full versions.

Tempo Syncing and Transitions

The Largo orchestra recorded their parts to a click-track at 120-130 BPM in 4/4 time. Tens of thousands of samples have been edited by hand to create seamless loops. When you change from chord to chord in Largo this can sound extraordinarily realistic but you may also find times when the transitions are not as smooth as you’d like. There are a number of ways to smooth out these transitions and different methods are more appropriate for different instruments and phrases.

Ensure that Phrase Continue is switched on (MIDI key D6 )

) Play with the sustain pedal held down or use voice leading to sustain one chord until the new one plays.

Play with the sustain pedal held down or use voice leading to sustain one chord until the new one plays. Adjust your MIDI notes so that they finish approximately half a beat before the new chord starts. Turn on the release samples (MIDI note F6) and the gap will be filled by a release sample, avoiding the attack portion of the current chord.

Adjust your MIDI notes so that they finish approximately half a beat before the new chord starts. Turn on the release samples (MIDI note F6) and the gap will be filled by a release sample, avoiding the attack portion of the current chord. Offset your MIDI notes by a few milliseconds. Also, try avoiding using quantisation and experiment with timing chord changes in different ways. Playing chords in by ear often works more effectively than strict quantisation.

Offset your MIDI notes by a few milliseconds. Also, try avoiding using quantisation and experiment with timing chord changes in different ways. Playing chords in by ear often works more effectively than strict quantisation. If you are working with more than one Largo patch in one instance of Kontakt you may find that offsetting MIDI notes is creating nice smooth transitions with one instrument but not another. In this case, duplicate your track and just run one Largo patch on each track. You can then adjust the timings of MIDI notes on each track separately.

If you find that multiple phrases in one instance of Largo are not sounding perfect together, use the sample offset feature to subtly adjust the start point of fields relative to one another, resulting in a tighter sound.

If you find that multiple phrases in one instance of Largo are not sounding perfect together, use the sample offset feature to subtly adjust the start point of fields relative to one another, resulting in a tighter sound. Reduce the crossfade time of the field so that the end of the current chord sample is faded out quickly, before the new one comes in.

Reduce the crossfade time of the field so that the end of the current chord sample is faded out quickly, before the new one comes in. You can learn more about the tempo syncing aspects of Sonokinetic’s phrase-based libraries with the comprehensive tutorial videos for sister libraries Capriccio and Sotto. The techniques shown in these videos can be applied to Largo as the engine works in exactly the same way.

Tempo Syncing with Sotto

Tempo Syncing with Capriccio