The Section Violin is a variation of the recently-revised Solo Violin patch.

You can set up many instances in parallel, change just one parameter for each instance, and then send them all the same MIDI. They'll play with some natural variations and sound coherent.

Demos

Demo 1: Cavatina

Although this track is about the guitar, it's well-supported by the small string section. In this snippet, the intensity of the players increases, with swell and vibrato. Notes have soft onset. To make this piece, I controlled Bow speed, Bow force, and Vibrato independently, and kept the Velocity low throughout because I didn't want a sharp attack.

Demo 2: Geometry of Shadows (Babylon 5 soundtrack, Chris Franke)

This uses the same Section violin patch, played very differently,

Surge XT is playing:

• 18 players on violin/viola
• 6 players on cello/Cb
• 6 horns
• 4 trombones
• 2 oboe
• 6 choir
• Percussion: Timpani, Bass drum, Cymbals
• Synth strings

Demo 3: Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2.

This is an older variation of my Section violin, but it still carries the energy of two string sections, playing fairly plainly.

Playing modes

I'm expecting you'll use this patch for section work, but you can also adapt it for other purposes:

Set up as a solo instrument

You can also use this as a solo instrument. To make it perfectly tuned and not a variation, set the Instrument number to 0. You might also like to set the Poly Mode to Mono ST+FP.

Use MPE

Enable MPE to use it as many mono instruments, or you can assign each string to a channel for independent double-stopped slides. Macros affect all notes that the patch is playing, so if you want MPE control of those effects, copy those existing Macro modulators to the MPE controllers.

For example, you could map a Linnstrument's left-to-right motion to control Manual vibrato, pressure to control Bowing force, and up-down to control Bowing speed.

If you use the cloning method below, you can do this in string sections.

Set up the section

1. In your DAW, create an instance of Surge XT, and load the Section Violin patch.
2. Set up your Violin patch if you want to make adjustments that apply to all sections. See Set up the virtual violin.
3. Clone the track as many times as you need. 6 or 8 instances in total is a good starting number.
4. Select the Instr Variation SLFO at the bottom-right, and adjust the first two vertical sliders on the far right:
   1. LFO EG > Delay (D) sets the instrument number, which randomizes playing. MIDI CC 70.
      Set this manually for each track, setting it to a different value for each instance. For example, you might want to evenly distribute 8 instances across the range.
   2. LFO EG > Attack (A) sets the amount of pitch variation, for lush sound.
5. Feed your score to all the instances. Most DAWs can do this with routing, or you can link-copy a score across tracks.

The most ideal setup is where your DAW can create clones of Surge XT, set a different instrument number for each across the full range, and lets you control it like a single track.

Controller summary

This patch simulates a string excited by a bow, along with body resonances typical of a violin. It's responsive to the macro controllers that define the characteristics and expressions of the violin:

Macro	MIDI CC	Name	Description
-	-	Velocity	Adds a short sharp attack to the note.
-	-	Pitch bend	Standard behaviour.
1	41	Bow speed	Affects how often the bow slips and grips the string. Use a slow speed, along with Grit and Bow direction to add detail to the bowing action.
2	42	Bow force	Set above zero to make a sound. 60% is good for a resonant note without introducing inharmonic sounds.
3	43	Bridge mute	Dampens the sound. The lowest setting is unnaturally rich in high frequencies, but you might want to use this effect creatively.
4	44	Vibrato	Increase for a fixed-frequency vibrato. If you want more specific vibrato, or you're controlling it directly with vibrato gestures, use Finger vibrato.
5	45	Finger vibrato	Manually modulate the pitch of the note, which also slightly affects the loudness of the sound
6	46	Open string	Experimental: allows the note to resonate without finger damping.
7	47	Grit	Adds the scraping sound of the bow before. Use for changes of bow direction or aggressive bowing.
8	48	Body ringout	Increase for a more pronounced body character, and to allow the energy to dissipate slowly.
-	1	Modulation	Maps to Vibrato.
-	11	Expression	A subset of the Bow force effects.
-	71	Timbre	A subset of the Expression effects.

Typically, you'd configure and macros Bridge mute and Reverb once at the start of a performance, and adjust the others during the performance.

Basic configuration and playing hints

1. The important controllers are Bow force and Finger vibrato. Use Pitch bend for glissando, and embellish with playing mechanics with the other controllers.
2. A slow Bow speed can introduce whispers and whistles, and increasing the Bow speed rapidly from slow can add character to the attack.
3. Use Vibrato for simple vibrato, or use Finger vibrato to modulate the pitch explicitly. Increase the modulation of pitch, if the current setting does not offer a wide enough vibrato range. Around 0.3 semitones is a typical maximum for solo playing, or you might need more for high notes at high energy.
4. Increase OSC1: Excitation to introduce the 'hollow body' inharmonic noise of very slow and gentle bowing.
5. Use Pitch bend to slide between notes. Usual violin playing hints apply when doing this: reduce Bow speed and Bow force as required, if you don't want glissando to be prominent.
6. Introduce Grit when changing bow direction or landing the bow on the string. This resonates through the bridge and body to give the characteristic mechanical noises that you hear during energetic solo performances. You can also start the note with high Velocity for a similar effect.
7. The FX section is configured for A (air), B (body), and a couple of other resonances of a violin. You can change these to give the violin your preferred characteristics.

Set up the virtual violin

Tuning and pitch controls

Just like other Surge instruments, you can choose from the Surge tuning presets, load custom tuning, or change the reference pitch of the instrument. The patch comes with perfect fifths tuning, and you can switch this off for the Surge default equal-12 tuning. We're considering changing this in future, to be equal-12 by default, switching to perfect fifths when the Open string macro is enabled.

Alternatively, you can play occasional notes off-scale using Fingered vibrato or Pitch bend. Set your Pitch bend range to suit the range of your performance or preferred calibration scale.

String tension

You can change the string tension of OSC1 directly, but this might adversely affect the character of the instrument. Also, outside the sweet spot in the middle of the Tension parameter, tuning maps disproportionally.

Resonance profile

The body resonances are configured to be similar to those researched as 'ideal'. However, if you're willing to delve into technical customization, you might want to tweak them to suit the period or character of your instrument. The FX section is configured for A (air), B (body), and a couple of other resonances of a violin. You can change these to give your violin the characteristics of a preferred orchestral violin or solo violin.

Bridge mute

Set the Bridge mute macro high to dampen the higher harmonics of the strings. You can do this in real-time with this instrument, to the level required.

Basic expression

Bow force (CC42)

When you start a note with your MIDI controller, you'll hear silence if Bow force is set to zero. This patch needs you to control the Bow force. As a first approximation, you might want to set this macro to around 60%, and hear what that's like.

Hint: If you're using a keyboard with a modulation wheel, you might like to map that to use the same modulations as Bow force, using Copy targets on Bow force then Paste on Modwheel.

Next, you'll want to draw in (or record, through a controller) Bow force as the note plays. Start at 40% or higher. To make a loud sound, it takes a bit of force to begin with, along with Bow speed and you can then greatly vary the Bow force. Because the instrument 'rings' with the resonance, you might find small changes of Bow force take time to change the loudness of the sound.

Ideally, you'll not need to automate the output levels of the instrument in the DAW, because the instrument has a wide dynamic range, driven by the Bow force. I've found that it covers the quietest of string accompaniments, through to the loudest bowing, without needing fader automation. This way, you get the full character of the instrument as it is played in different ways.

Bite, grit

We'll find a better word for this, or automate it into other controls. If you increase the Grit, the bow will imperfectly engage with the string, and rather than exciting it at regular micro-intervals, the bow excites the string infrequently and with more force every time it loses grip.

With this, you can simulate a bow landing on the string while the bow is moving, and introduce more energy into the body of the instrument. Short bursts are most effective, as the bow settles into a smooth glide. Use in combination with Bow force and Bow speed for a more authentic sound.

Slur, glissando

It's best to do these with a pitch bend to match the profile of your movement on the finger board, and combine that with any changes in bowing force or speed as your note transitions. The instrument compensates the energy of the string to match.

You can combine pitch bend for major movement, with Finger vibrato for finer movements.

Vibrato

If you want a casual vibrato, you can just increase the value of the Vibrato macro. That should work well for instruments that sit quietly in the background, string sections, or for short and occasional foreground notes. However, your listeners might soon detect that the vibrato is uniform, and become distracted by the performance. If you need the authenticity and extra control of your vibrato technique, then use Fingered vibrato.

Fingered vibrato

Use the Fingered vibrato macro controller, to introduce explicit small pitch expressions to your playing. On a controller graph, that looks like a squared-off sine wave around the midpoint. The extent of a full-amplitude pitch variation of this macro is 34 cents either side of your note. This is usually enough range, but if you think you'll need more, then increase the mapping from this macro to the pitch value of OSC1.

Hint: If you apply fingered vibrato afterwards to an existing track, then it's best to do so after all tempo changes are applied. If you later apply tempo changes, the vibrato rate will scale with your tempo change.

As a bonus, you could introduce imperfections in your playing, say to overshoot or undershoot slightly, or to approximate the intended pitch. You might simulate 'correcting by ear' after the interval that an intermediate payer might. You could also play slightly sharp or flat, to add mood or relate to harmonic ratios.

Usually though, you can approximate the imperfect settling on a note with fingered vibrato, knowing that if you have your pitch bend perfect, then the fingered vibrato value straightforwardly represents the deviation from the perfect note.

Ring damping

You can mute strings more deliberately by ending the note, mapping a controller to nudge downwards the Mix parameters of both AW effects, and reducing Amp Eg Release.

Directions

Pizzicato

This isn't yet implemented on this instrument, and you'll need a different patch for that. However, if you want to repurpose a patch and excite OSC1 with an envelope having a pluck profile, that works really well, and you get the full response of the instrument body, as shown in the demo below (0:04 and 1:48), which uses an older non-section variation of my violin

We plan to make Pizzicato available as a separate instrument, which will be compatible with your DAW workflow if you're accustomed to using separate samples or tracks for each articulation.

Accent

Start the note with higher Velocity or Bow force on notes you wish to accent. If you're starting the note from a resting bow, then a faster onset and higher peak of Bow force will achieve accent, compared with other notes.

For more demanding, heavy, and short notes, a short application of the Grit macro might help add scratchiness.

Au talon, heel, frog, nut

Not yet mapped.

Bariolage, finger position

The instrument does not have explicit string assignment, nor 'position'. However, you can use the macro controller Open string to change the character of the note, from fully open, to fingered, and higher position. It is not accurately mapped, and is probably not useful in its current form, but I plan to improve it.

Double stop

Provided both the played strings have the same modulations (slurs, glissando, vibrato, etc), you can play two notes in the same track or channel. If you modulate the strings independently, you'll need to use two tracks, or use MIDI MPE mode, or an alternative protocol, to control your notes independently.

Flautando, sul tasto

(Bow towards the fingerboard) Not yet mapped, but you can work towards the effect by trying:

• Adjust Tension higher.
• Use Filter 2 to add a weak bandpass filter or highpass filter.

Sul ponticello

(Play with the bow near the bridge)

Not yet mapped..

Staccato

Use a faster onset and higher peak of Bow force, on a short note.

For more demanding heavy notes, a short application of the Grit macro might help add scratchiness.

Tremolo

Draw each bowing action in the Bow force controller. If you have set up Bow direction, then alternate it with the same timing as the sawtooth. This will require a high density of control data, so you might choose to map a controller to an LFO and control the amplitude of the LFO instead.

You can play fingered tremolo with the Pitch bend. If you want a more detailed rendering, and if you have any remaining margin, you can place short upward bumps in the Bridge mute to fake the disruption to the string's harmonics as the fingering changes.