GENUINE SOUNDS Vol. I - Piano Edition


GSi Genuine Sounds is a collection of fine sampled instruments based on a very efficient and unique proprietary sound engine made by GSi and called WLF - Wavetable Linear Format. The WLF Engine grants the highest performance with the lowest memory usage and CPU load possible, resulting in high polyphony even on less capable devices. All sounds included in the Genuine Sounds collections are professionally sampled using proprietary software and hardware machines.

With Genuine Sounds Volume First we at GSi are glad to introduce our new technology to the world, offering some of the finest acoustic and electric piano samples we've produced so far, with the sincere hope to continue along this route and release more collections in the future, focused on several other instrument categories.

Main features:


TABLE OF CONTENTS



Conventions used in this manual

For more details please visit www.GenuineSoundware.com.

 

ABOUT THE WLF ENGINE


The acronym WLF stands for Wavetable Linear Format. The entire Wavetable of a WLF is stored in a monolithic file and all audio information is stored linearly from the first to the last sample, keeping all data structure in the first part of the file (the header). It is similar to other existing monolithic multisample formats, but the WLF has been conceived with particular attention to DFD operation (Direct-From-Disk). With modern fast solid state drives, it's easier to load big multisample files quickly and stream data from disk in an efficient way. This method makes it possible to play in real time a multisample worth several GigaBytes and only takes a small portion of the available RAM.

In normal operation, i.e. during real-time playback, the WLF Engine preloads a small initial portion of every single sample in a WLF file and streams the rest of the audio data from disk. However, when the plugin is hosted in a DAW application and an offline audio rendering task takes place, it switches to a "Full Preload" mode and needs to load the entire multisample in memory, to prevent the offline processing from running faster than the reading of sample data from disk. Once the off-line rendering has finished, it switches back to "Disk Streaming" mode.





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MAIN SCREEN


The main screen is split in three parts, horizontally:

The iPad standalone App also adds a touch keyboard on the bottom of the screen, that is there just for testing purposes. Connect a Midi keyboard if you really want to play this instrument.


The Programmer

This is the section that allows us to save and recall programs. A program consists of a collection of all automatable parameters strictly connected to the sound engine. Global options will not be saved in a Program, they are saved separately. To recall an existing Program, you can either select it from the drop-down list that appears if you click on the program name in the middle of the section, or use the two PREV and NEXT buttons. Programs can also be recalled from the plugin host automation or from Midi Program Change events.
To save a Program, click the WRITE button. Keeping the name unchanged will overwrite the current Program; typing a different name will create and add a new Program to the list. Confirm by clicking the OK button.
The FILES button will open the Program Manager screen, that will be explained in detail in a separate chapter.


Instrument Selection and Master Section

The drop-down list on the left of the screen offers a list of all installed instruments. Choosing an instrument from the list will free the memory from the current instrument and start preloading the new instrument. It's worth noticing that the WLF Engine is a direct-from-disk streaming engine that doesn't need to load the entire sample-set into the device memory, it just pre-loads small chunks of each single sample, and streams the rest from the disk drive while we play. The size of the preload and the streaming chuks can be selected from the Global Settings, which will be explained in detail in the next chapter.
Loading a new instrument can take some short while... according to the device's disk drive speed, streaming buffer size, and the amount of samples into the instrument. Generally, this won't take more than a couple of seconds even on the slowest machine we've tested so far.
While loading a new instrument, the little white dot flashes, and returns steady when the instrument has been loaded. In case it keeps flashing indefinitely, means that the sound hasn't been loaded, probably because it's not present on your device or something went wrong. A verbose alert is shown only when a sound is selected from the drop-down list, but not during a Program change.

Next to the instrument selection box there's the so-called Master Section, consisting in the Volume knob and a 4-band semi-parametric equalizer with +/- 18 dB slopes and the variable frequency middle band. The equalizer acts on top of the whole effect chain, which can be represented as follows:

Instrument > FX1 > FX2 > AMP > REV > EQ > Volume > Output.


Effect Section

As seen above, the effect section consists of four effect slots, each dedicated to a single category of effect. Slot 1 is dedicated to Gain effects; slot 2 is dedicated to Modulation effects plus the delay; slot 3 is dedicated to the Amplifier and speaker simulation, especially useful with some electric piano sounds; slot 4 is dedicated to the Reverb effect.

To turn on or off a section, click the bypass button on the left of the effect name. To choose an effect, click on the effect name and pick the desired effect from the drop-down list. Each effect slot has up to four parameters represented as horizontal sliders. When a new effect is selected, the labels next to each parameter are updated. Most of these effects are real classics, some are even inspired to or modeled after existing classic effects such as the 4 and 6 stage phasers, or the two voice stereo chorus; the AMP simulators are modeled after some of the most common guitar or bass amplifiers.

Effect parameters are pretty much self-explanatory and very intuitive. You have Speed and Depth for anything that has a modulation (Tremolo, Auto-Panner, Chorus, Phaser, Flanger); the Limiter is a FET-style, you boost the Input and adjust the Output, then adjust Attack and Decay to your taste; Delay effects also are very easy to understand with just Level, Time and Feedback, plus a Spread parameter that gradually turns a Mono delay into a Ping-Pong delay. Amp simulators feature a Drive parameter, in case you wish to add some distortion to your electric piano sounds, and a "passive" 3-band EQ. Finally, the Reverb features 9 variations and 4 parameters: Level, Decay, Damp and Pre-Delay.



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Global Settings and Midi Map


Click the SETTINGS button on the main screen to invoke the Global Settings panel. Here you can set a few options that will be remembered for all sessions:

Some extra settings may show up according to the platform and format.


On the right side of this same screen there's the Midi Map. Here's where each sound parameter can be assigned to a given Midi CC number to allow control via an external Midi controller or control surface. All parameters are presented in a list. To change a CC assignment, just double-click the CC number and type a number in the range 0 - 127, then click OK. Leaving this field empty will unassign that parameter. Do the same for all other fields. Setting a channel other than OMNI means that the parameter will only respond on the specified channel. Max and Min establish the range within which this parameter should respond. Normally it's Min = 0 and Max = 127; setting a different range, for example Min = 30 and Max = 90, will ignore all values below 30 and above 90 and will stretch the range to 0 - 127.

There's another way to assign a Parameter, it's called the "Midi Learn" function:
1. Move a control on your control surface;
2. Double click on the Parameter name (first column) in the list for the parameter you wish to assign to that controller.

This way, the parameter is automatically assigned.

The buttons below the Midi Map allow to reset a single Parameter to factory default values, reset the whole map, save the map to a file or restore the map from a previously saved file.

Other buttons should appear on the bottom left side, according to the version and platform:

Midi Monitor

Click/tap the icon right above the Midi Map to toggle the Midi Monitor view. This window will display every incoming Midi message. You can copy the list to the clipboard (and later paste it to a text document), or just clear the list for a fresh start. A Midi Monitor is always useful to discover the messages generated by a hardware controller and see if everything is ok.

For a useful online Midi Monitor that you can use in your Chrome Browser (or Safari, Edge, Firefox) with any Midi input, try this: www.gsidsp.com/MidiMonitor (works with every platform except iPad and iPhone).


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Editing the Velocity Curve


Why is it so important to have a custom velocity curve? Because not all Midi keyboards are the same. Some keyboards have a fast response, some are slower, and the whole thing gets worse when a Midi keyboard is used to play a virtual instrument. It's not the same as buying a digital piano with built-in sounds as the keyboard and the sound engine haven't been crafted by the same hands, there's no direct connection between the two, and it isn't said that the velocity response is correct.

For this reason, either the Midi keyboard or the virtual instrument should adapt itself in order for the two to work well together. To solve this problem, Genuine Sounds lets you edit a custom velocity curve made of 9 points.

By default, the curve is perfectly linear, meaning that each incoming velocity value remains unchanged. To modify the curve, click and drag the points. To the left of the screen there are the low velocity values (pianissimo, piano, mezzo-piano, etc.). If you think that your keyboard is too sensitive to piano and pianissimo levels, you should drag the first 2 or 3 points a little up; otherwise, if your keyboard produces a higher velocity value even when you're trying to play piano or pianissimo, drag these points toward the bottom. The same applies for the middle zone (mezzo-forte, forte) and the right zone (forte, fortissimo). Once you've modified all points, what was a straight line will appear more like a curve... that's why it's called velocity curve.

Most often, high quality Midi controllers have a good velocity response on their own and also offer their own choice of several different velocity curves, so if you think that the sounds respond already well, you probably don't need to edit this velocity curve. In fact, our advice is to try changing the velocity options of your keyboard before attempting to edit the velocity curve of the virtual instrument.

Once everything is done, you can save your curve by clicking on the icon with the + symbol. Type an appropriate name and click OK. The new curve is now saved and it will appear in the drop-down list. The last used curve is always restored when the application is launched. To delete an unwanted curve, select it and click the thrashcan icon.

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The Program Manager


To open the Program Manager, click the FILES button in the Programmer's area of the Main screen. Here's where you can manage your Programs. In the Main Screen chapter we learned how to recall and store Programs. Here we'll learn what else we can do with them.

All existing Programs can be found in a list. Here you can do a few operations:

- RENAME: double click on a Program Name to change its name.

- SET AS FAVORITE: click the star icon if a Program has a particular relevance to you.

- SET THE MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE NUMBER: normally, newly added Programs aren't assigned to Program Change numbers, but you can decide each Program to which P.C. number should respond. There are only 128 Program Change numbers in the Midi protocol, but you might have less or more Programs. If two or more Programs have been assigned to the same P.C. number, the higher in the list will be recalled when that P.C. event is received.

- MOVE PROGRAMS: you can change the order the Programs will appear in the list by selecting the Programs and using the buttons MOVE UP or MOVE DOWN.

- DELETE A PROGRAM: if there's a Program you no longer need, you can delete it by selecting it and clicking DELETE. That Program will be gone forever.

- Auto PC: click this button to automatically assign Program Change numbers from 0 up to 127 to all programs. If there are more than 127 programs, the remaining will not be assigned.

- All Off: click this button to unassign all Program Change numbers.

The list also shows which sound set has been used for each program. If a sound isn't found on your device, it's labeled in red.
Also, you can quickly recall a program by doing double-click on the program number.


REORDERING PROGRAMS VIA DRAG AND DROP


If you wish to reorder your programs, other than using the UP and DOWN buttons, you can do it via drag and drop. Hold down the mouse (or finger) for a second on the item you want to move, then start moving along the list until you reach the desired destination. Move towards the top and bottom edges to scroll the list. Once you're finished, the items will reorder based on your swaps.


THE FILE MENU


Click the Menu icon on the top left to show the slide-in menu. Here you have a few file options:

- EXPORT PROGRAM: select a program and use this option to export the Program as a file.

- IMPORT PROGRAM: use this option to import a previously saved Program from a file. The imported Program will be recalled in a temporary memory and will not overwrite nor delete any existing Programs.

- REVERT PROGRAM: this option will simply revert the current Program to its original state before any parameter was edited.

- INITIALIZE PROGRAM: this option creates an empty initialized Program.

- IMPORT BANK: use this option to import a whole Program Bank from a previously saved file.

- EXPORT BANK: this option saves the whole Program Bank to a file.

- RELOAD FACTORY BANK: replaces the current Program Bank with the built-in factory Bank, thus restoring the state of the instrument at its initial conditions.



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Sound Bank Manager


The Sound Bank Manager is accessible by clicking the appropriate button in the Settings page. Here's where the sampled material, which represents the core of Genuine Sounds, can be installed or uninstalled. Every time this page is accessed, if the device is connected to the Internet, it checks the availability of new sounds and possible updates to the installed sounds. The list shows all available sounds. Those that haven't been downloaded yet, show a DOWNLOAD button and appear as 0 MB in size; those that have been installed, show the actual file size in MB and a REMOVE button. Any file can be removed at any time and re-downloaded at any time. Of course, we recommend that you do not remove the files even if they are not used very often. Only remove them if you are really short on disk storage.

If a file isn't present on your device but there's a Program that uses it, recalling that Program will just play silently.

Some files might be pretty large (even up to several GigaBytes). While downloading a file, if you have other sounds installed, you can return to the main screen and keep playing and using the instrument normally, the download should not interfere with the normal operation. A progress bar shows the current status of the download and indicates the amount of KB downloaded. If you wish to stop a download, click the progress bar and confirm with OK. Also quitting the application stops the download process.

If you're on the iPad, make sure you've got enough battery or connect the power supply. Also, make sure the iPad is connected to a fast Wi-Fi network when you download the sound-sets. Downloading large files may result in extra costs. Check your network plan.


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Session Recorder


The session recorder has been added with v.1.1.0 update and is a very useful function that helps your creativity. When this function has been activated in the Settings page, a Midi recorder is always active in background, silently recording everything you play. Each new session (i.e. every time you launch Genuine Sounds Vol. I) the recorder starts recording. If you want to audition what you played, just click/tap the zone in the middle of the main screen, right above the vu-meters, where you see the polyphony bars moving while you're playing. This opens the audition page. The playback starts immediately, showing the notes you've played on a sequencer bar. If you're happy with the result, click/tap Save MidiFile and export your recording to a standard Midi File that you can later open in an external sequencer application.

When you leave this page, the recording is automatically discarded and a new recording session starts.


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License Activation


PLEASE NOTE: this chapter only applies to the Desktop (Windows / Mac OS) versions.

If you haven't bought a license yet, the software runs in Demo Mode, which applies some limitations to its functionalities. In Genuine Sounds some of the black keys won't play and only a limited set of sounds can be downloaded. Inserting a license will unlock all functionalities.
In Demo mode, everytime the software is launched, the registration screen appears automatically.

AUTOMATIC ACTIVATION

If your computer is connected to the Internet and the GSi website is reachable, in case you have purchased a license, all you have to do is copy/paste the 24-character license code into the registration form and click REGISTER. If everything is right, the software should authorize itself in a matter of seconds.
Instead, if the computer is offline, you have to use an online computer to create an authorization code and continue the process manually in a few steps.

MANUAL ACTIVATION


To leave the license manager screen, just click on the dark area.

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END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

This License Agreement is a legal agreement between the User, hereafter called "you", and GenuineSoundware regarding Genuine Sounds software. Genuine Sounds in the following of the contract includes the computer software named Genuine Sounds and associated media, CD and product documentation. Genuine Sounds also includes any updates and supplements to the original Genuine Sounds provided to you by GenuineSoundware. By installing, accessing or otherwise using Genuine Sounds, you agree to be bound by the terms of this License Agreement.

1 - Genuine Sounds License

Subject to the limitations described below, GenuineSoundware, as licensor, hereby grants you, the licensee, a non-exclusive, perpetual License to use Genuine Sounds in accordance with the documentation provided by GenuineSoundware.
1.1 GRANT OF LICENSE This License Agreement grants you the following rights:
(a) Software. You may install and use Genuine Sounds for an unlimited period on at most three Computers provided that these Computers belong to you and that Genuine Sounds is used only on one Computer at a time.
(b) Reservation of Rights. All rights not expressly granted are reserved by GenuineSoundware.

1.2 LIMITATIONS

(a) Strict personal use. Your use of Genuine Sounds is limited to strict personal use. You may not rent, lease or share Genuine Sounds with another user. Transfer of License to another user is allowed once for each licensed product. A License transfer fee must be paid by the current License holder before the transfer takes place. For this purpose, please contact sales@genuinesoundware.com.
(b) Sound produced by Genuine Sounds can only be distributed within a musical context, and not in forms that allow the sounds to be used as sample based instruments or sample libraries.
(c) Limitations on Reverse Engineering, Decompilation, Disassembly and Modification. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or modify Genuine Sounds.
(d) Limitations on usage. You may not merge Genuine Sounds into another software nor create derivative works based on Genuine Sounds.
(e) Separation of Components. Genuine Sounds is licensed as a single product. Its component parts may not be separated.
(f) Termination. Without prejudice to any other rights, GenuineSoundware may terminate this Agreement if you fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. In such en event, you must destroy all copies of Genuine Sounds and all of its component parts.

1.3 COPYRIGHT

Genuine Sounds is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. All title and intellectual property rights related to Genuine Sounds are owned by its authors. Unauthorized copying of Genuine Sounds, in whole or in part, is expressly forbidden. All title and intellectual property rights in and to the content which may be accessed through use of Genuine Sounds is the property of the respective content owner. This Agreement grants you no rights to use such content. You may print one copy of the documentation provided in Genuine Sounds.

1.4 BACKUP COPY

After installation of Genuine Sounds, you may keep one copy of the file provided by GenuineSoundware solely for backup or archival purposes, provided that its component parts are not separated. You may not distribute copies of Genuine Sounds or accompanying documentation.

1.5 OWNERSHIP

Genuine Sounds is licensed to you, not sold nor given. This License Agreement does not constitute a transfer or sale of ownership rights for Genuine Sounds. Except for the License rights granted above, GenuineSoundware retains all right title and interest for Genuine Sounds including all intellectual property rights therein.

2 - WARRANTIES

Genuine Sounds is licensed without any warranty. It is provided on an "as is" basis.

3 - LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

You agree that in no event will GenuineSoundware be liable for any kind of damages, material, immaterial or corporal, that arise as a result of the malfunctioning or misuse of Genuine Sounds. You assume full responsibility for all possible consequences of your use of Genuine Sounds.

4 - DISPUTE

This License Agreement is governed by the laws in force in Italy, and, in respect of any dispute which may arise hereunder, you consent to the jurisdiction of the courts sitting in Treviso, Italy.

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Exported by GenuineSounds Vol.I version 1.2.0 - Date: 30 Jan 2025 22:08:50