VIENNA SMART HITS
By Vienna Symphonic Library
Vienna Smart Hits is a breathtaking exploration into the organic, yet surreal and swirling amalgamation of hits, “braams”, risers, swells and sub booms. Following their successful Vienna Smart Spheres, Vienna’s sound designers and editing engineers again dug deep into VSL’s multi-million sample database of released and unreleased treasures to unearth extraordinary marvels that were then bent, boosted, mangled, distorted, twisted and re-invented.
Who would have thought that a roaring subcontra Bb of the contrabassoon would be the ideal raw material for organic sub-booms? That the extra-thin ponticello tremolos performed by an ensemble of violas could be the basis of mysterious entropic explorations? Merged with thrilling sounds from an array of diverse synthesizers, the Vienna team created extensive material for this impactful collection.
Sources of sounds used in Vienna Smart Hits include the bass drum from Synchron Percussion I for low end hits, reverse cymbals for swells, the Yamaha CFX for shimmering transients, solo violin glissandos for risers, brass run-ups for short risers, sforzato and sustained sounds from Vienna Dimension Brass for “braaams” as well as reversed sounds for swells, a heavily distorted Vienna Konzerthaus Organ for braaams, and Taiko drums for sub-boom rumble.
In addition to the organic component created with symphonic sounds, various electronic sound sources, including wavetable and FM synthesizers, were used to create additional layers, using their extensive routing and envelope modulation capabilities. The synth sounds were further treated with voicing and detune functions to adapt them spatially to the original sample recordings. On top of this, all the sounds were tweaked and shaped using a wide variety of manipulation techniques, with a finishing mastering touch before being included in the Vienna Smart Hits collection.
