Sound Magic Co. Ltd. China Ensemble Virtual instrument

China Ensemble is designed to represent a big traditional Chinese orchestra.It features all ensembles of traditional Chinese instruments.

The most detailed full traditional Chinese orchestra

China Ensemble is designed to represent a big traditional Chinese orchestra. Presently, very few people are aware that modernised traditional Chinese orchestras might even be larger in scale compared to the full symphony orchestras we commonly see.

Sampling such big orchestras is never an easy task, even with enough money, time and technology. To make things worse, the combinations/settings of the instruments used in the orchestras also differ in different areas of China. So, nowadays, the Chinese orchestras found on the market usually fall short of the standard ones—they lack both in depth and details. That’s why we feel it is our job to represent a full, detailed traditional Chinese orchestra.

We began the project 12 years ago, after a detailed plan was made. The project is so big that it seems to be an endless one. As the combinations/settings of the instruments are quite different in different parts of China, we need to record the same instrument ensembles with different numbers of players. Thousands of players, hundreds of recording sessions, hundreds of people who work in front of the computers and million-dollar bills/costs consisted of the major memory of this remarkable project.

This deeply sampled collection has over 6,310,000 samples, 24 instruments ensemble sections. Every instrument ensemble section is recorded with multi velocity layers, round-robin samples and multi-microphone positions.

Historic Sound Meets Innovative Technology

China Ensemble is powered by Sound Magic’s latest Neo Orchestra Engine. This 36th TEC Awards nominee engine utilizes the 7th generation universal hybrid modelling technology that Sound Magic keeps developing over 10 years. What is more, on some instruments like Erhu, Sound Magic firstly utilizes Music Domain Synthesis, our latest cutting-edge audio technology.

The beautiful and historical sound of Chinese instruments has inspired us to expand our Modeling Legato technology to bring you even more creative musical freedom.

It is capable of supporting any technique, patches, or articulations with more control over the parametric. This allows you to manipulate shapes and sound variety in real time with smoother transitions between notes than a sampled legato.

Hybrid Vibrato and Tremolo

We further expanded our technology to achieve more authentic sounds from sampling without sacrificing creative control. For perspective, this means starting with non-vibrato and then fading in vibrato sustain while changing depth and speed. Or, you can also change Tremolo speed in real time while optimizing control or leveraging human behaviors in the vibrato for enhanced realism in the final version.

Limitless Sound-Shaping Possibilities

China Ensemble offers far more sound-shaping options than a sampling instrument with five bands parametric EQ and more control over the harmonic partial sounds. This means you can quickly change timbre with a simple turn of a knob or tune every single note with the Scala tuning system.

We’ve also made it possible to finish all techniques on a single track with our performance keyswitch system that allows Neo Erhu to be used in live performances without compromising quality or efficiency.

Product Features

• Over 6,310,000 samples, 11 TB uncompressed content
• Modeled Vibrato, Legato, Tremolo, Glide, and Glissando
• Multi Velocity layers samples
• Round Robin on most techniques
• Up to 4 Microphone Perspectives
• Innovative Performance Key Switch system
• Embodied high-quality reverb and EQ
• Comprehensive Envelope system
• Scala Tuning System can emulate different tuning systems
• DFD/RAM system enables users to relocate resources and ensure the best performance under every individual project
• Different GUI mode for standard resolution and 4K resolution