The Joshua Bell Virtual Violin is a collaboration between renowned violinist Joshua Bell and Embertone.

This Virtual
Instrument captures the incredible musicality of Mr. Bell, the tone of his priceless Stradivarius, with all of the detail and
love that you can expect from an Embertone release....to achieve the ultimate composing and recording
experience.

CONCEPT
We wanted to capture the natural sound of Joshua’s stunning 15 million dollar Stradivarius violin, so we tried to
capture an immense variety in sound and articulation… capturing multiple transition layers, (12 to be exact!),
multiple dynamics, a variety of short articulations with plenty of round robins, speeds, same notes (a note repeat
with re-bowing), slurs, bow changes, portamentos. We even recorded harmonics transitions!

This product represents more than 2 years of loving work… time spent experimenting, discovering new
techniques to build on all we picked up over the last half decade. Friedlander Violin was our first serious foray
into the wide world of classical strings, and with this release we intend to show how much our approach has
evolved. It’s a thrill for us to finally share this gorgeous, advanced, MUSICAL virtual instrument with you!
 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Kontakt/Kontakt Player 5.6.8+ This is a product for the FREE KONTAKT PLAYER

That means that no additional software is required when you purchase this instrument! Once you’ve purchased and downloaded the
Joshua Bell Violin, head here to download the FREE Kontakt Player:

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-5-player/free-download

(If you already own the FULL version of Kontakt, that will work too)

Confused about the difference between Kontakt and Kontakt Player? You’re not the only one! For more info, visit https://www.native-
instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-5-player/kontakt-player-vs.-kontakt/

Mac OS X 10.10, 10.11 or macOS 10.12 (latest update), Intel Core 2 Duo

Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 (latest Service Pack, 32/64-bit) Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2

An Internet connection and a graphics card that supports OpenGL 2.1 or higher are required to download and activate this product. Once
installed and activated, the product can be used offline.

4 GB RAM (6 GB recommended for large KONTAKT Instruments)

NKS Ready
The Joshua Bell Violin comes ready for NKS Compatible devices, such as the Komplete Kontrol keyboard above, as well as Maschine,
Komplete Kontrol and Kontakt/Kontakt Player software. That means your NI Device will load with custom presets on its hardware!

If you own a NI Keyboard, you, dear sir/madam, are in for a delightful treat!

Blue Keys – The range of the violin, from G2 – G6

Red Keys – Indicates a LATCHING Keyswitch. When you press

this down and release, whatever articulation/style is assigned to
this key will remain afterwards.

Yellow Keys – A MOMENTARY Keyswitch. When play this

keyswitch, the articulation/style assigned to it will revert upon
release. In other words, the articulation does NOT remain.

Green Keys – An INSTANT Keyswitch. The Keyswitch itself

triggers the articulation, and reverts upon release. This is a really
fun way to trigger trills and tremolo!
 ARTICULATION LIST
GROUP DETAILS
Sustain P / MF / F / FF
Soft attack, Norm. attack, Sharp attack, Harsh attack
2x – 4x Round Robin Reps
Normal, Con Sordino*, Sul Ponticello, Sul Tasto

True Legato Slur, Bow Change - Normal Speed

P/MF/FF - Non Vibrato
P/MF/FF - Natural Vibrato

Slur, Bow Change - Immediate Speed

P/MF/FF - Non Vibrato
P/MF/FF - Natural Vibrato

Portamento with real-time speed / dynamic control

Non Vibrato and Natural Vibrato

Normal Speed Note Repetitions – 4x Round Robin

P/MF/FF – Non Vibrato
P/MF/FF – Natural Vibrato

Immediate Speed Note Repetitions – 4x Round Robin

P/MF/FF – Non Vibrato
P/MF/FF – Natural Vibrato

Emotional Note Repetitions

P/MF/FF – Non Vibrato
P/MF/FF – Natural Vibrato
Contour Sustain Crescendo – Short/Long
Decrescendo – Short/Long
Swells – Short/Long
Tremolo MP/F
Normal, Con Sordino, Sul Ponticello
Trill MP/F
Half and Whole Step
Normal, Con Sordino
Harmonics MP dynamic only
Sustains
True Legato Transitions: Bow/Slur/Portamento
Staccato P/MF/F
8x Round Robin
Spiccato P/MF/F
8x Round Robin
Ricochet Separated – For custom scales/passages. 2x-8x Round Robin
Performances – on single notes
Pizzicato P/MF/F/Bartok(Snap)
4x Round Robin
Releases P/MF/F/FF Natural Note Releases
Soft Release performance trigger
Harsh/Dramatic Release performance trigger
 MAIN

We built this user interface with lots of things in mind… but three important elements were (1) An aesthetic that we feel
represents Mr. Bell and his personal style (2) Real-time feedback connected to YOUR performance (3) Easy access to
articulations and customization.

Performance Indicator AND Articulation Button The heart and soul of the instrument! This
element responds to your performance, showing you the articulation by text and musical notation, as well
as the dynamic and any extra markings, such as con sordino, sul pont/tasto. This area doubles as the entry
to the articulation view, where you can select and purge all of the articulations from a single place.

Dynamics This element controls the dynamics/intensity throughout the instrument. You’ll notice the
articulation indicator in the center of the UI will change according to the position of this slider. When the
dynamics control is assigned to velocity, the slider will move in response to every notes’ intensity. When
assigned to a CC, it will smoothly respond to your performance.

Vibrato Controlled via the modwheel by default, the vibrato slider is one of the most important elements of
the instrument. At the lowest position, non-vibrato samples are triggered. New notes that are performed
when the slider is 50% or above will result in Joshua’s natural vibrato. If you play a new note with the slider
below 50%, you can manipulate the non-vibrato samples with our scripted vibrato. Note that once a natural
vibrato sample is triggered, it cannot transition back to a non-vibrato sample… and conversely, a non-vibrato
sample cannot transition to natural vibrato.

Reverb Wet/Dry At the lowest position on the left, you will hear Josh’s sample performances without any
additional reverb. As the dial moves up, the wet/dry balance will shift gradually. Note that you can change
the reverb type from the CHARACTER page.
 Poly/Mono By default, all sustains in the instrument are in monophonic mode, meaning that only one note
can be played at a time. (Note that independent of this control, there is a multi-stop attack control on the
INTUITION page that will allow you to play an initial attack as a chord, then reverting back to monophonic
mode afterwards). With this control activated, an advanced polyphonic legato system is used, allowing for
real-time performance of multiple melodies and/or realistic double stops.

Settings Navigate to the advanced settings menu with this button. Among other things, you’ll be able to
set a custom dynamics curve, change vibrato speed, and alter round robin settings.

Info Pages Learn more about Joshua Bell, his priceless Stradivarius Violin, the team that made this
instrument a reality, as well as some details about how this VI came about in the first place.

ARTICULATIONS**

Navigate around the huge variety of sample performances from Mr. Bell. A few pointers on this page below…

Purge Button That little blue button on the top right will purge samples for that specific articulation. Note
that the purge button only appears when you mouse over an articulation box… and also keep in mind that
the SUSTAIN articulation cannot be purged, since it is the basic foundation of the instrument.

Sub-Articulation Selection Only for two articulations, this allows you to switch between Maj and Min
trills, and between Ricochet COMBINED and Ricochet SEPARATED performance samples.

Crescendo, Decrescendo, Contours These samples have real, recorded dynamics shifts built in. This is
great for beginnings/ends of phrases, or for a bit more expression than real-time dyn shifts allow for.

**For more information about specific articulations, refer to our website for multiple video walkthroughs (including a video
devoted entirely to the articulation page)
 CHARACTER

Create numerous variations on your virtual violin by altering the color/EQ and space/REVERB

TONE 6 character EQs for varied tone personalities. The “Natural” tone is the natural, unfiltered sound of Joshua’s
Stradivarius violin.
SPACE 8 High-quality Convolution IR Impulses for various room types. The amount of reverb is controlled from the lower
left REVERB dial.
 INTUITION

Bring your virtual violin to life with an advanced set of humanization and randomization controls!

SLUR / BOW VARIANCE Part of that “live” violin sound is the variation between slurs and bows. You can choose when to
bow and slur deliberately, OR use this control to decide when for you! The proportion of bow changes to slurs depends on
the position of the slider.
VIB / NON VIB VARIANCE Similar to the slur/bow control, this one will alternate between non-vibrato and natural
vibrato performance samples. Again, you can deliberately choose when you want vibrato and non-vibrato… but if you’d
rather let the program decide, you can set the proportions via this slider.
CONSTANT DYNAMIC MOVEMENT Give your virtual violin a natural dynamic arc, one that can stand on its own OR
work in combination with your own custom dynamic performances. The larger slider controls the strength of the effect, the
smaller slider to the right controls the length of time to complete one “cycle” from low to high dynamics.

A NOTE ON THE INSTABILITY EFFECTS

A live violinist does not play every note uniformly… with computer-like perfection. The effects below allow you to
realistically randomize tuning imperfections in specific contexts. For the next three effects, the slider controls the intensity.

ATTACK PITCH INSTABILITY A brief moment of pitch fluctuation during and slightly after the initiation of a note.
SPEED PITCH INSTABILITY The faster you play, the more notes vary in pitch/tuning.
INTERVAL PITCH INSTABILITY Wider intervals result in slightly more tuning imperfection.
MULTI-STOP ATTACKS When activated, one can play an initial chord/multi-stop. If the instrument is in monophonic
mode (the default), it will revert back to one-note at-a-time after the initial attack. The 1-2 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 1-1-2 controls refer to
the way a multi-stop chord (whether triple or quadruple) can be split… and the rightmost slider controls the delay between
the split(s)
 CONTROL - Main

The backbone of this instrument, where you can choose what methods to trigger articulations and other instrument
controls… Keyswitches, CC’s, Aftertouch, Pitch Wheel, Performance Speed, etc.

PRESETS Choose a basic scheme for control here, and then tailor-make it for performance perfection!
PRO CONTROLLER CONFIG – Meant as a good starting point for a seasoned composer with a high-quality MIDI
controller, this preset has all dynamics on CC11/Expression pedal and Vibrato amount on CC1/Modwheel.
Legato articulations are controlled via keyswitches along with all of the articulations.
SIMPLE KEYBOARD CONTROL – For a composer on the go, this preset is especially useful if you have a small
controller, or if you want immediate gratification! The nicest thing about this mode is that dynamics are
controlled via velocity, so it feels super expressive and responsive to raw keyboard playing.
INTUITIVE SHORTS – The distinguishing feature of this preset is that you can trigger staccatos simply by playing
very quick/short notes on the keyboard. Try it, it’s fun! You’ll notice that in this mode, there is a bit more
performance lag. It’s also worth noting that we assigned Long AND Short Dynamics to CC1/Modwheel.
MASTER MODWHEEL – CC1 is central here, it controls Long Dynamics and Vibrato Amount simultaneously
(Short dynamics controlled via key velocity). Another great feature here is that legato articulations are triggered
by velocity – extreme low velocity for PP portamentos, medium velocity for slurs, higher velocity for bow change
and highest velocity for F portamentos.
CUSTOM – Make your own! Don’t forget to be a good composer and save your work, just in case ;)

EDIT PRESET … Click on the right side of this page to edit a preset in great detail. Get ready to
go down the rabbit hole!
 CONTROL – Edit

Edit with care! This page is designed for more experienced users – knowledge of MIDI control is a must. This is where you
can create your own performance scheme.

ELEMENT These are the articulations, legato styles, dynamics, vibrato (i.e. things that you want to perform).

TRIGGER These will cause the above elements to sound à Velocity, CC, Pitchbend, Keyswitch, Speed, Aftertouch.

VALUE Once a TRIGGER is assigned to an ELEMENT, specify what range you want to apply.

RANGE Specifying a range gives you another dimension of control. In other words, here you can hone in on a smaller
subsection of the trigger. HINT: You can use this to assign multiple elements to a single CC… or even multiple velocities to
a single Keyswitch (Mind = Blown?)

For Velocity, it is possible to include or exclude any range using the slider.
For Keyswitches, a range of velocities can be specified. This is helpful if the goal is to create a keyswitch that can
behave differently when it is pressed with a low velocity and a high velocity.
For CC Control, a range will act as a “hot zone”, triggering the element when that range is active.
The Aftertouch range basically let’s one dictate what strength of aftertouch “wiggling” will activate the element.
Similarly, the Pitchbend range allows the user to focus in on a subsection of the full available range, opening up
the possibility of assigning multiple elements to it.

BEHAVIOR Deciding whether you want the trigger to stick (latch) or not.
LATCH – When selected, the element will remain active, even after the trigger is released
INSTANT – Applicable only to keyswitches, when selected, the trigger itself will cause the element to switch. This is
incredibly useful! An example would be going between sustain and tremolo. An INSTANT keyswitch would cause
the sustain to become a tremolo immediately, and then back to sustain upon release of the keyswitch. With a
normal keyswitch, the tremolo would happen when the NEXT note is articulated.

AND/OR You can assign multiple triggers to a single element. With “AND”, all of the assigned conditions must be met in
order to trigger the element. In other words, the element won’t be active until all of the triggers are used. With “OR”, any of
the assigned conditions will trigger the element.

INVERT/EXCLUDE RANGE Take whatever range that will trigger an element and invert it. A range of 10 – 120
inverted would become 1-9 and 121-127… Essentially blocking the values instead of activating them.
 RESET If you messed something up and want to get back to the DEFAULT setting for the preset currently
being edited, press this button!
LOAD and SAVE Make your own presets (saved as NKA files), share them with your friends. We think a set of
presets would be the PERFECT birthday present for your parents.

SPECIAL NOTES ABOUT THE CONTROL AREA

• This thing is really advanced. You can mess the instrument up if you cross the wires, so… keep track of what triggers you
assign to different elements! And if all hell breaks loose, there’s always that handy RESET button J
• Make use of the AND/OR feature! This creates a dimension of articulation triggering that can make your workflow very
convenient.
• If you’re not confident about tweaking an advanced control like this one… (1) Take a few deep breaths. (2) Make yourself
some chamomile tea (3) Make use of the presets! (4) Watch our video walkthrough to see it in action.

Settings

A few advanced options. Most items here are NOT meant for real-time control.
DISABLE LEGATO – This will remove those pretty transitions between notes… which is what makes this instrument feel so
organic (in our humble opinions). This is useful if you want to save a LOT of RAM.
RELEASE SAMPLES – When enabled, you will hear a subtle release sample when you release a note (doesn’t apply to short
articulations)
REMOVE PIZZ RESONANCE – When a violinist plays pizzicato, often the open strings will resonate. You can remove the
resonance of the open strings here.
ROUND ROBIN CONTROL – When OFF, the instrument won’t feature realistic repeats of notes (applicable to both long and
short articulations. When ON, sequenced RR will offer a predictable pattern of 2x/4x/8x RR, depending on the articulation. If
you don’t want any predictable RR patterns, choose RANDOM.
VIBRATO SPEED – This will control the speed of the SCRIPTED VIBRATO only. In other words, when you trigger Mr. Bell’s
natural vibrato, you cannot edit the speed of that.
INTUITION LAG WINDOW – Certain advanced features of the instrument require a small amount of lag before notes,
because the script is waiting to see what you’re going to do. For example, if you assign staccato or spiccato to QUICK
RELEASE (in the CONTROL area), you can trigger that articulation intuitively by playing and releasing very quickly. This lag
window will determine how long the script will wait to see if you release that note.
DYNAMICS – Set to linear by default, you can alter the curve to change the path from PP à FF. Move the CURVE DIAL
clockwise to make the quiet dynamics progress more quickly to the louder dynamics. Move it counter clockwise to make
quiet dynamics progress more slowly to the louder ones.

RANGE – When off, the instrument will have very little VOLUME range across dynamics. As you move the dial up, the quiet
dynamics will get quieter, resulting in a wider volume range from PP à FF. At the highest point, PP dynamics are barely
heard.

Tips from your friends at Embertone

• PRO TIP - for smooth, fast and accurate playing, hold down the sustain pedal (CC# 64)!
• Vibrato is a living, resonant, emotional thing. It can’t stagnate for long or else it will sound artificial. Ride
those CCs to alter the intensity of vibrato!
• We’ll be posting a bunch of video walkthroughs and tutorials. Check our Youtube channel for details

Credits
Recording Artist Joshua Bell
Instrument Production Alex Davis and Jonathan Churchill
Recording Engineer Richard King
Recording Location Avatar Studios, New York City
Artist Management David Lai and Ross Michaels
Publicity and Social Media Jane Covner, Alicia Edwards, Jonathan Miller
Programmer Andreas Lemke
Sample Editor Soundemote
Art and Graphic Design Creative Mints, Jonathan Churchill, Big Splash Design
Additional Sample Work Dustin Painter, Scott Haskin
Custom IRs, Personality EQs Ernest Cholakis, Numerical Sound

Thanks
Thank you to Ali for rolling with us during such an
unpredictable production timeline… and a special thanks to
Lizzie, Kate, Julian and Eliana for putting up with our crazy
all-night editing binges J

NOW GO MAKE SOME MUSIC!

Enjoy - and if you have questions or concerns, email us at support@embertone.com. We will get back
to you ASAP with answers/assistance. Huzzah!

Love,
The Embertone Team
Our License Agreement

What You Can Do

You can use these sounds in your music, your arrangements, music productions, and live performances
without worrying about royalties or permissions at all! If you highlight our instrument in your music
and want to credit us, we wouldn’t be against that. J

What You Cannot Do

The Joshua Bell samples cannot be re-used in a competing product. Do not copy, distribute, transfer,
share, trade, or loan, our instrument – because it’s meant solely for you!

The right to use the The Joshua Bell Violin is granted to the original purchaser only. The license may be
transferred, but only through Embertone directly. The Product will only work with Native
Instruments Kontakt Player 5.6.8 (and up), but is not designed/intended for any other sampler. The
sounds are licensed “as is” without warranties of any kind.

Once you download the Joshua Bell Violin, we cannot accept refunds or returns. Our support is limited
to the samples themselves. All support with respect to Kontakt must be directed to Native Instruments.
This license agreement is effective from the moment the product is installed by any means.

Watermarking
This product uses a user-identifying watermark. We do this to protect ourselves in the case of theft and
misuse. Please support us if you want more insanely sampled instruments like this one!

…and PLEASE read through our documentation before seeking tech support!

© 2017 Embertone, LLC / All Rights Reserved, ® Embertone