Capsule User Guide BST Main
Capsule User Guide BST Main
Berlin Strings
CAPSULE
USER GUIDE
www.orchestraltools.com
CONTENT
I About this User Guide
II Introduction
IV Instrument Collections
10
11
12
13
IX Maximum Voices
14
X GUI Overview
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28
37
49
XIV Appendices
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Collection
2.0
Capsule
2.5
Kontakt
Player 5.5.1+
Important
This User Guide does not cover downloading, installing and registering Capsule-powered collections.
These topics are explained step by step in the respective Installation Guide, which is linked to in your
download email (the email containing your download code/serial number). You can also find it in our
Helpdesk.
II
Introduction
Welcome to the Orchestral Tools CAPSULE User Guide!
CAPSULE (Control And Performance Symphonic Utility Engine) is Orchestral Tools groundbreaking scripting
technology powering a growing number of collections.
Capturing details, the creation of emotive tools with a maximum of efficiency and a dedication to the sound
led us to the Berlin Series. An ambitious project over many years with the vision to create the most complete
and flexible Virtual Orchestra. Capturing the beautiful details, gestures and colors of a symphonic body
inspired us to new innovations in the industry.
Recorded in Berlin, we took advantage of the unparalleled acoustics of the room - not too wet to stay
flexible and focussed or to dry to be able to create a fully blendable orchestral body where all the single
instruments and sections come together to a single entity. We engaged renowned musicians from the most
famous orchestras in the world and conceived a whole new workflow, which will instantly support you
realising more realistic results in a shorter time.
After years of development we were the first to present the Adaptive Legato Concept. Capsule senses the
speed of your playing and does not only switch automatically between 3 available legato slots, but also
adapts all important controllers and variables in the background to offer you the most fluid legato you ever
played. Entering the world of Orchestral Tools also means to be on board on a journey infused with new
ideas and the introduction of tools never built before. The Runs Builder lets you create the most convincing
fast runs based on pre-recorded micro runs. These are just a few examples of our investment into the future
of orchestral sampling.
Using our extensive set of articulations efficiently is fundamentally important. Thats why we didnt just
develop yet another tool; we conceived a radically new workflow which will instantly support you:
The Control And Performance Symphonic Utility Engine.
Capsule keeps all our different colors with care and integrates perfectly into Native Instruments Kontakt at
the highest possible system efficiency. We simply improved everything. A for a long time desired multi
articulation facility exists now in parallel to fully flexible single articulation patches.
You can easily apply True Legato to any long notes of your choice. There is so much more potential in these
brilliantly sampled collections to exhaust. So why simply switch between articulations, when you are able to
blend them? Like a painter mixing colors to create new shades, you can easily do the same with
articulations. Doing this in a time-efficient way leads to a wholly new technique:
Polyphonic Keyswitching enables you to stack different colors over each other. Simply press up to 4
keyswitches simultaneously and choose how you want to blend or switch the chosen articulations. Choose
between equal power crossfading, velocity switching, MIDI controller switching or open up a whole new
world of sounds with our 2D equal power morphing. With an assigned midi CC this is even easier to do.
You dont need to waste time anymore setting up complicated sample mappings. Your samples are now
intuitively and easily playable.
| Introduction |
We redefined the way how you mix within a Capsule Patch. With the innovative Auto Gain the overall
volume stays at the same level while you morph between the different microphone positions. A feature that
helps you to keep the natural orchestral dynamics in balance. Fast tools like the chaining option or the
purge all function will support you to find the sound and timbre to your personal taste in a faster and more
elegant way. Every channel can now be routed to an output of your choice.
To allow all these articulations to stack, switch and morph, we completely overhauled the Berlin Series. A
dedicated team re-arranged the natural orchestral dynamic balance between all Berlin instruments and
articulations, matched the mic position volumes to each other and developed a new approach to set up the
release samples in a more natural and organic way. Now each articulation sits wonderfully and
convincingly in the best-balanced room you ever heard.
One of our key visions for the Capsule is to save time, especially when composers build their own
templates. Capsules Controller Table holds all assigned elements and midi controllers in a dedicated list.
Once you have set up a custom controller table, you can save it in a preset on your computer to share it
between different Capsule instances. It has never been so fast and easy to set up your Berlin Orchestra.
Flexibility in Capsules single articulation patches is just paramount. Now you can create your very own
Round Robin rules. With only one click you can use the neighboring zones to triple the available number of
Round Robin samples to add a more organic feel and to avoid any kind of machine gun effect. Also each
Round Robin can be controlled individually. Turn off specific dynamic layers to adjust the dynamic range to
your needs or apply our new Niente option to any articulation, where the dynamic range starts with
completely silence. This is an important feature especially with strings, where a tone can evolve from total
silence as well as for use with a breath controller. Almost every feature here is available for each
articulation in the multi articulation patches as well. But of course, you dont have to change anything. We
already designed a very playable and optimized setup for you. Just load a patch and play.
Orchestral Tools is a sampling project driven by a few composers like you with their vision of a growing
orchestral palette. We develop Expansion Sets for all our Main Collections which will extend your personal
library in an organic way. Orchestral Tools is a growing project - always up to date. We constantly work
on existing collections to make them even better and to unleash their full potential. Maybe it is the whole
package of an unparalleled sound, innovations, captured details and intuitive handling which has made our
products standard tools for many composers over the world.
| Introduction |
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IV
Instrument Collections
This section lists details about all instrument collections this User Guide applies to, including a description
of the included instruments, features specific to these collections as well as technical details.
This document is a special version of the User Guide that only contains features applicable to the
collections listed in the About this User Guide section.
You can download the full User Guide that applies to all Orchestral Tools collections in our Helpdesk.
| Instrument Collections |
4.1
Berlin Series
The Berlin Series is Orchestral Tools' ongoing journey to harnessing the sound of the Teldex Scoring stage
in an all-purpose orchestral sample collection.
Every major section of the orchestra is represented by one Main Collection, which contains all essentials
instruments and articulations and forms the backbone of any symphonic piece. These collections are
expanded and continued by special expansion collections, which add additional instruments or playing
techniques.
The following table lists all Berlin Series Collections currently released - underlined names jump to a
description of its content and unique features. You can download a version of this User Guide that applies to
all released Collections on our Helpdesk.
When you load any Berlin Series patch inside Kontakt, the instrument slot will show an icon representing the
orchestral section as shown below.
Berlin Woodwinds
Berlin Brass
Berlin Percussion
Berlin Strings
Main Collection
Additional Instruments
Soloists I
Soloists II
SFX
Horn SFX
Main Collection
The Timpani
Main Collection
Special Bows I
Special Bows II
SFX
4.1.1
Berlin Strings
Berlin Strings is our flagship string library featuring the talents of Berlin's best string players to provide you
with an unparalleled assortment of sampled string articulations for your compositions.
The string section is unmatched in its expressiveness and versatility. To make intricate arrangements possible
with all the sonic possibilities of the instruments, we went to great lengths to our knowledge unparalleled in
orchestral sampling so far. BST sports a huge array of short articulations with sometimes more than 20 RRs,
deep-sampled legato with an innovative script adjusting to your playing and of course a large complement
of pre-recorded runs. All runs are compatible with Berlin Woodwinds, so you can play woodwind/string
runs in perfect sync. We also again included Playable Runs patches which allow you to play custom runs.
Whole Ensemble
Violins I (8 players)
Violins II (6 players)
Violas (5 players)
Celli (5 players)
Basses (4 players)
This structure is identical for Single Articulation, Multi Articulation and Time Machine-enabled patches.
The Violins II section is played by different musicians on different instruments, and does not reuse any existing
samples.
You have free choice between four microphone positions, Close, Tree and Surround, as well as an A/B
setup. All Violins I patches have a special Concertmaster position which you can dial in to your taste to add
presence.
These microphone positions are switchable in the GUI. Additionally, all core articulations have been
recorded with multiple velocity layers for realistic dynamics.
All samples have their natural panning.
The texts are displayed in Kontakt's Info Pane. To show this pane, click on the Info Button in Kontakt's
toolbar. Hover over an interface element to see its associated QuickHelp text.
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VI
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VII
12
VIII
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IX
Maximum Voices
Every patch in Kontakt is assigned a maximum number of voices it is allowed to play. If that number is
exceeded while playing, Kontakt will automatically stop the earliest played voices still sounding.
Kontakt reserves a bit of system memory for every possibly playing voice. That means that if this number is
set far higher than needed, superfluous memory will be used.
By default, all Capsule patches have been set with a default maximum voice limit tailored to how the
particular patch is generally used. That means that Legato patches will have a higher value than for example
Trills.
Multi Articulation patches have a rather high value to enable complex articulation routings.
M ax i m um Voi ce s
If you use a lot of microphone positions (esp. in Berlin Percussion) and/or have a very dense orchestration,
you might encounter dropped notes. In this case just raise the maximum voices limit in the Kontakt patch UI.
Experiment with the setting to find the sweet spot for your applications. After you have found the value that
works for you, just save the patch and it will be recalled every time you load this patch.
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| Maximum Voices |
GUI Overview
Capsule collections have two distinct types of patches, Single Articulation Patches as well as Multi
Articulation Patches. Both share some common features and UI elements, but they differ in one big respect:
While the Single Articulation Patches feature one articulation each, the Multi Articulation Patches allow you
to combine multiple articulations in groundbreaking ways thanks to the power of Capsule.
The following sections show the general UI for both patch types with detailed explanations of the features
these patches offer. Note that not all features apply to all patches. If you do not see a particular UI element,
the patch does not support this particular feature. Note that screenshots show various products depending on
which collection is best suited to show that particular feature. Also things might look a bit different on your
screen if you have changed the default settings of patches.
De f ault
Pre se t
Individual Presets
You can also create individual presets that can be saved under a unique name and loaded any time. Saving
and loading works the same way as with the default preset. Just click the respective button at the top right of
the UI. A standard Save/Load dialog will appear giving you access to your file system. You can store these
presets anywhere you like; they do not need to be in the collection folder.
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| GUI Overview |
Te m po Opti ons
Lock to Host
This option makes the instrument follow the tempo set in your host sequencer (or Kontakt if you are using
Kontakt standalone). Capsule always calculates tempo-synced patches in real time. That means if you
change the tempo while a note is playing, Capsule will adjust the tempo to the new value. This also works
with tempo ramps, but there might be TimeMachine artifacts doing so.
Auto Tempo
If enabled, the script will automatically set the Tempo Slider to the best-sounding value for the current tempo.
Tempo Slider
This slider allows you to play the sample in double tempo, half tempo or a triplet feel.
Lock to Beat
If enabled, Capsule will synchronize the start of the sample to the next beat. This helps for example when
playing multiple trills at the same time in perfect sync.
Manual Tempo
If the Lock to Host option is off, the instrument switches to Manual Tempo mode. Use the slider to set the
tempo. If Manual Tempo is active, the instrument does not follow your host tempo.
You can also map the Manual Tempo slider to a MIDI CC in the Controller Table.
M anual Te m po
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10.3 UI Views
All patches within the our collections use a tabbed UI separated into four pages, or "views", as we call
them.
This section describes these four views along with all their features. Individual features may only be
present in certain instruments.
Vi e ws
Se le ctor
Transpose
All patches have a < TR > transpose section in their lower left.
This feature allows you to transpose the playable range of the whole patch without affecting
Transpose
keyswitches and other non-playable keys.
The transpose controls are very useful if you want to either shift the playable range to conform to a different
tuning system (or to play in your favourite key together with instrumentalists when using Capsule live). This
feature is also well suited for stacking custom ensembles with octave-shifted instruments, for example Violins I
and II in octaves.
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Mixer Channels
The mic positions incl. playing noises appear in the mixer as individual channels. Each channel has the same
basic feature set and layout, as shown here with the Tree microphones:
Name : At the top the name of the channel is displayed. Click on the name to load or unload that position.
Panning: This slider allows you to set the panning of the selected mic position. Ctrl/Opt-Click the slider to
reset it to Center.
Sol o/M ute : These work like the Solo/Mute buttons in your sequencer.
Vol ume : Adjust the fader to lower or raise the volume of the mic position. While playing a level meter to
the right of the slider will show the current audio level. Ctrl/Opt-Click the fader to reset it to its default
value.
db Indicator : Below the volume fader, you can see the current db setting. 0.0 is default.
C hain B utton: Press this button to chain all channels with the indicator lit together. Every action performed
to any track will also apply to all other chained tracks.
Output Se l e ctor : Click to select the Kontakt output for this mic position. You may need to configure
Kontakt's output matrix first.
Tre e
Channe l
Stri p
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Global Options
To the right of the Mixer View you will find a number of options affecting all mic positions together. These
largely save you from needing to press the corresponding button on each individual mic position.
Auto Gain: If enabled, the combined volume of all mic positions will stay the same when you change the
level of any position. This preserved the dynamic relation of your mic mix while allowing you to put a single
position in the foreground or background. Auto Gain only affects unpurged (loaded) channel strips and needs
at least two active channels.
C hain Al l : This button chains all positions together, so changes to one position will affect all others
equally. Of course Auto Gain will only work if at least one channel is not chained.
Sol o/M ute : Soloes or mutes all channels.
Pur ge : Enables or disables and loads or unloads all mic positions.
Pur ge Re l e ase s: Enables or disables and loads or unloads all release samples.
Pur ge Le gato Tr ansitions: Enables or disables and loads or unloads all legato transitions.
Global
Opti ons
Legato Volume
In all patches that use legato transitions, the Legato Volume knob lets you adjust the volume of
the transitions. This is useful if you want a less pronounced legato effect or if on the opposite
you want the transitions to be more apparent. You can assign a CC to this feature in the
Controller Table.
L e gato
Volum e
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Microphone Positions
All patches in the collections have several adjustable microphone positions. You will find faders with on/off
buttons for all positions in the Mixer View of each patch: If you switch off a position, its samples will be
purged from memory. Conversely, as soon as you switch a position on, the samples will be loaded. Not
every instrument has all microphone positions. For example for a lot of instruments an M/S position makes
little sense.
Note that all microphone positions are identically set up in all collections and correspond to the respective
mic setups that are used when recording a musical work at the scoring stage. That means that the Close
position is much drier in Berlin Strings than it is in Berlin Percussion, because the percussion section is at the
back of the orchestra. This is intentional to preserve the orchestral balance and spacing. To get a really dry
sound, use the Spot mics or M/S.
Spot
The spot microphones have been positioned as close to the instrument as possible and give you the driest
and most direct sound.
Close
Increase the amount of the Close position if you want to have a more direct sound with less response of the
room. Raising the volume of the Close mics will also increase the playing noises made by the musicians,
providing added realism for intimate settings.
Tree (Room in BWW)
The Tree microphones provide a balance between Close and Surround. Use them to add presence to the
sound by allowing some room response in, while still keeping the sound relatively controlled. This is the
recommended mic position and is activated by default.
Surround
Increase the amount of the Surround position if you want to have as much room information as possible. The
reverb will increase while the direct sound decreases.
A/B
The A/B position features a wide stereo image and is of great use as a supporting microphone
Concertmaster (BST Violins I only)
The Violins I have a special concertmaster microphone, which lets you add the concertmaster (1st violinist)
prominently.
Note:
You do not need to think about adjusting the mic positions if you do not want to! When you load any
instrument into Kontakt, the Tree will be active, which is perfect for most applications.
Noise (select instruments)
The playing noises made by instruments add a lot of realism to a sampled performance. This is why most
instruments feature sampled playing noises which can be added to taste. These appear as an extra mic
position in the mixer and are extensively controllable. You can even make them independent from regular
velocity layer switching (see Settings View).
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Dynamics
The dynamics area lets you select how the collections shape the dynamics when you play.
Dynam i cs
Nie nte : If enabled, the lowest dynamic setting (usually CC1 at 0 or key velocity at 0) will cause the
instrument to be completely silent. Use this setting when using your instruments with a breath or wind
controller.
Soft Low Laye r : If checked, the lowest dynamic layer will first be increased in volume when controlling
dynamics and only later the next layer will begin to fade in, allowing softer low dynamics.
Ignor e Noise s: This option makes the playing noises (wind or bow, depending on the library) not be
affected by the Niente option. This way the noises will still be present even if playing very softly.
Layers
The Layers section lets you enable or disable specific velocity layers.
L aye rs
Volume Range
This slider adjusts the volume scaling of the recorded velocity layers to allow for greater or narrower
dynamic range.
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Volum e Range
Cutoff Filter
This slider enables or disables the cutoff filter. This filter applies special EQ settings to the sound that enable
for example more realistic piano dynamics. The filter influences the high frequencies, but also the core
resonance. Each patch uses its own customized filter setting tailored to the use of that particular patch.
Cutof f
Attack/Release
This area has three rotary encoders to intelligently adjust the ADSR curve of the samples.
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Round Robin
The RR area gives you detailed control over the round robins in each patch. The options shown below are
present in all patches with multiple Round Robins. If a patch does not have recorded Round Robins you will
only see the Fake Neighbor RRs option.
Round Robi n
Fak e Ne ighbor RR: If checked, the instrument will create faked RRs by "borrowing" samples from
neighboring notes and pitching them.
Random RR: This options randomizes the order of played RRs. If disabled, RRs will be played in sequence.
Pol yphonic RR: If enabled, only one RR is advanced in the sequence (or randomized) when playing chords.
Ne w Note Re se ts: This option resets the RR sequence when a new pitch is played.
Re se t RR afte r ms: If no notes are played, the RR sequence resets to the start after the time in milliseconds
entered here.
RR Layers
The RR Layers area features one checkbox for every available recorded RR. You can enable and disable
(and by this purge/reload from memory if used in a Single Articulation patch) specific RRs here.
If no RR Layers is visible, the patch does not have recorded Round Robins.
RR L aye rs
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When a controller comes in (by CC or keyswitch) its respective entry in the Controller Table will show a
small dot in front of the name.
The current value of a controller is displayed by a highlighted area at the bottom of the Controller Table.
Acti v e Controlle r
Assigning Controllers
There are several ways to assign a feature to a specific note or controller.
Auto Assign
You can directly assign any feature in Capsule by holding Alt (Windows) / Option (OSX) and clicking on the
parameter you want to assign anywhere in any view of the patches. This will immediately take you to the
respective assignment in the Controller Table view. Now just press a key on your MIDI keyboard you want
to assign (if the controller you want to assign can be assigned to a MIDI Note), or move any fader to send a
MIDI CC. Your selection will then be mapped to this feature. You can assign multiple controllers to the same
MIDI CC or Note.
M anual Assignme nt
Alternatively, select the feature you want to assign by using the next page/previous page buttons until you
see the function you want to assign. Click on it to select it.
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Controller Curve
The middle of the Controller Table prominently features a graphical display of the current control curve. You
can draw your desired curve in with the mouse or use the preset button to open a menu with a number of
commonly used curves.
Available Controllers
The Controller Table hosts all - that is ALL - options and settings you can adjust in any patch. Therefore the list
of available controllers is very long. To let you make best possible use out of the plethora of available
options, we have compiled a reference of all available controllers with their default values in the Controller
Table - Annotated List.
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XI
Info View
The Info View pane at the bottom of the Performance View shows the patch name as well as the version of
this particular collection and the version of Capsule used by this collection.
When any keyswitched feature is triggered (like the Round Robin Reset, Soft Release, etc...), the InfoView
shows the triggered feature by its name.
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Main Knob
The Main Knob is a key component of using any collection. It allows you to select one of two ways to
control the velocity of played notes:
1) Velocity (how hard you press the keys on your MIDI keyboard)
2) X-Fade (lets you control the volume via the modwheel)
Legato and sustained articulations are set to X-Fade (modwheel) by default. Portato uses X-Fade. Staccato
and Staccato Short use Velocity by default because they are much more easily playable this way. Click on
the Main Knob to toggle between these two settings. Note that some articulations are fixed to the X-Fade
mode and can not be changed.
M ai n Knob
You can re-assign the CC used for the X-Fade setting by Alt/Opt-Clicking on the Main Knob. This will open
the Controller Table where you can assign a new CC by moving your corresponding fader/encoder or
whatever input source you are using.
In the middle of the Main Knob, the current velocity layer is displayed. As you morph through the layers, this
value will change to reflect the active layer. If no text is visible, you are in the middle of two layers. Note
that this display represents the actual recorded samples. So if you have p / mf / f in the display, that not
only tells you that there are three actual layers per note, but also which one is currently active. This is a
huge help when creating realistic mockups because you are told by the library that right now those violas
are playing mf. When the display says mf, what you are hearing is the actual sound of the violas playing
mf, not just a random sample lowered or raised in volume!
If an articulation has only a single velocity layer, the Main Knob will show "Single Layer" in the lower
portion.
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Vibrato
Most Sustain patches have multiple vibrato levels. Depending on the patch, you have Romantic Vibrato,
Progressive Vibrato, Without Vibrato and Strong Vibrato. Use the vibrato toggles to switch between the
different vibrato types. By default, CC3 is assigned to the vibrato styles. You can reassign this to any CC
you wish by changing the setting in the Controller Table.
Vi brato
Be rli n Stri ngs Se ri e s and Nocturne Se ri e s
Con Sordino
We integrated a sophisticated Con Sordino simulation into all strings patches from the Berlin Series as well
as the Nocturne Series. The CS switch switches the con sordino effect on and off. You can assign it to any
CC in the Controller Table.
Con Sordi no
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Adapti v e L e gato
You can solo a particular Legato style by clicking on its S icon. This will make the instrument play this style
only.
In addition, if you click on the name of the Legato style as opposed to clicking on the S icon, this style will
be soloed, too, but also the other styles will be purged from memory.
You can adjust the volume of the transitions with the Legato Volume knob in the Mixer View of each legatoenabled patch.
Ve l.
Thre sholds
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Vibrato
Wherever it makes sense, legato instruments feature up to three (four in the Nocturne Series) vibrato styles.
You can see which vibrato style is active by looking at the interface. The highlighted button shows the
currently selected style.
By default, CC3 switches between the vibrato types. You can reassign this to any CC you wish by
changing the setting in the Controller Table. Make sure to not use any CC already in use.
Vi brato
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Notation View
At the left of the GUI you see a helpful tool for your orchestrations: The notation view, a huge timesaver if
you want to notate trills in your written scores. It shows you every trill you are playing, regardless of the
number of notes you play.
Notati on Vi e w
Note
While you are playing, the delay between the start note and the end note can be very short, you can
roll up the chords very quickly. But it is important to always roll them up; pressing two or more keys at
exactly the same time will not work.
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Note
Just find out which mode is good for your current needs and choose accordingly: If you want to play
flickering chords for example, choose the End Tone = Start Tone mode. If you want to play two different
trills, each between two notes, you should choose the Start Tone = Always New mode.
Tip
You can blend the sfz trills perfectly with the regular trills to achieve a sharp attack at the beginning of a
long sustained trill.
Measured Trills
Measured Trills patches allow you to play trills synced to your host tempo. These patches work the same
way as all other TO patches, but they have additional tempo options in their Performance View. They have
been recorded at multiple tempos and are played in perfect sync to your host tempo by the script. By
default, the script conforms to the host tempo. If you want to adjust the tempo yourself, set the tempo switch
to manual and use the BPM slider to set the tempo. Please note that the samples are time-stretched using
Kontakt's TimeMachine. With extreme tempo settings you might hear artifacts cause by the time stretching
algorithm. If this happens, try half or double tempo trills.
Te m po Opti ons
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11.4 Doubles/Triples
Be rli n Se ri e s
Berlin Woodwinds has recorded double tongue and triple tongue samples for most instruments. In a
painstaking process we recorded real double and triple tongue notes and made them react to your
playing speed.
Berlin Strings extends this concept to Double and Triple Bowings, which work the same way.
Doubles
Play a note and the first note sounds. Release the key and the second note is played. Basically you only
need to play every second note, with the gap between notes determined by how long you keep the key
pressed.
Triples
Playing tripled notes requires a bit of practice, but it is easily worth it: Press a key and the first note sounds.
The second note sounds when you release the key and Capsule will automatically sound the third note after
an equal period of time. This is very useful for playing triple-tongued triplets or short triple bowings in the
strings!
Tempo Detection
All Doubles/Triples patches use two distinct sets of samples for slow and fast playing. Depending on your
playing speed, the script will automatically switch between these two sample sets.
11.5 Repetitions
Many collections feature recorded 16th note and triplets repetitions. These have been recorded at multiple
tempos and are played in perfect sync to your host tempo by the script. By default, the script conforms to the
host tempo. If you want to adjust the tempo yourself, set the tempo switch to manual (see Tempo Options)
and use the BPM slider to set the tempo.
Please note that the samples are time-stretched using Kontakts TimeMachine. With extreme tempo settings
you might hear artefacts cause by the time stretching algorithm. If this happens, try half or double tempo
repetitions.
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XII
Empty slots have . . . as their slot name. Occupied slots show an abbreviation for the articulation loaded in
them with an icon for that articulation displayed beneath. The icon in a graphical way tells you a bit about
how the articulation sounds.
A slur left of the slot name (like in the 1st slot above) means that legato transitions are active for that slot.
Choosing Articulations
If you click on a slot, a menu will open that allows you to select an articulation. Use the scroll arrows to
cycle through the different articulation pages.
Click X or click the articulation name again to close the menu. The menu will also close when selecting an
articulation.
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The vertical CLEAR Button to the left of the slots clears all currently loaded articulations so all twelve slots
are empty.
L e gato Style s
You can select up to three different legato zones accessed by playing speed. If you only need one or two
types of legato, just set two or even three slots to the same legato type.
The other settings displayed on this page correspond to the settings of that particular Single Articulation in
the Settings View.
Note
The setting made on this page apply only to the selected articulation. Global settings are set in the
Settings View .
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Selecting Articulations
There are multiple ways of selecting an articulation:
1) Click on the icon displayed below the slot name to select an articulation.
2a) If the KS Mono/KS Poly switch is set to Mono, you can use freely assignable
keyswitches to select any of the 12 slots. Use the <KS> buttons in the lower left of
the patch to move the keyswitches. In this mode you can switch articulations any
M ono/Poly KS
time and the newly selected articulation will become active with the next played
note even if notes are still held in polyphonic playing.
2b) It is also possible to select any slot with a MIDI CC. You can assign any MIDI CC you like to the MI Slot Switch CC
If both the original slot as well as the slot switched to has legato enabled, a legato transition will be played
connecting the slots enabling fluent changes between legato articulations. If the slot switched to does not
have legato enabled, the original slot will still be connected and afterwards muted, but without a further
transition after the initial connection.
Tip
Ctrl/Cmd-Click on the <KS> buttons to move the keyswitches directly adjacent to the lowest playable
note of the patch. On very low instruments the keyswitches will be moved adjacent to the top of the
range.
Shift-Click on the <KS> buttons to move the start of the keyswitches to C0. Very low instruments (like
BST Basses) will have their keyswitches start at C6.
3) If the KS Mono/KS Poly switch is set to Poly, the full power of Capsule is unleashed with Poly
Keyswitching and Morphing.
Attention
The playable range of an articulation is displayed via coloured keys in Kontakts on-screen keyboard. If
monophonic keyswitching is active, the displayed range is the range of the currently selected slot. If any
polyphonic switching/morphing mode is active, the displayed range is the combined range of all slots.
In this case single articulations (for example flageolet) may have silent notes.
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Polyphonic Keyswitching/Morphing
Capsule introduces the ability to have more than one keyswitch (or, in this case, slot) enabled at the same
time. You can select up to four slots at a time by pressing multiple keyswitches at the same time. The newly
selected slot(s) will become active for all new notes as soon as all already sounding notes are released.
Already sounding notes are not affected and will also not be cut off when selecting other keyswitches.
KS M ode s
Capsule not only allows switching between multiple selected slots via different means, but also morphing
freely between them. There are two modes for switching and two for morphing, selected by either clicking
the respective button or by a CC defined in the Controller Table:
C C Switch
With this option selected, the CC assigned to X Fade/Switch in the Controller Table will switch between
the selected slots. For this, by default the range of the CC is divided by the number of selected keyswitches,
for example 128/4 if four slots are selected.
Ve l Switch
This option works in a similar way to CC Switch, but instead of a MIDI CC, the slots will be switched by
key velocity. Again by default the number of selected keyswitches determines the value range in which each
slot will react.
C C XFade
Instead of switching through the selected slots, this option will morph between them using the X Fade/Switch
CC. by default the number of selected keyswitches determines the value range in which each slot will react.
Note
When using the CC Switch or CC XFade modes, the lower portion of the Active Slots display will show
the current state of the respective CC by highlighting that section of the display.
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C C XFade 2D
The 2D XFade allows you to morph freely between up to four slots using equal power crossfading. Each
corner of the graphic displayed in the UI represents one of the slots soloed. Use the CCs assigned to X
Fade/Switch and Y Fade (2D) in the Controller Table to move between the slots.
2 D XF ade
In any of the modes you can change the selected slots at any time simply by pressing different keyswitches.
41
Click the Lock icon next to the preset controls to enter or leave Locked View.
A locked patch is frozen with its settings (active articulations, KS mode, velocity layers, RRs, etc...) as they
were set at the point of entering Locked View. When locked, all samples not currently used are purged from
memory.
As long as Locked View is active, not articulations can be changed and the instrument is immune to any
settings changes via CC, as well.
Interface
When the Locked View is shown, the Multi Articulation UI changes to an interface more alike to Single
Articulation Patches:
The Main Knob in the middle of the interface shows the current velocity or CC assigned to layer switching.
Note that Velocity/X-Fade control are set per patch in the patch options in the Slot View, not by clicking on
the Main Knob like in Single Articulation patches.
The right of the interface shows the enabled articulations.
The Locked View essentially serves to enable creating and storing custom-built articulation patches that
behave similar to Adaptive Single Articulation patches like the Legato patches.
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12.3 Longs
Each articulation is represented in Multi Articulation patches by an abbreviated articulation name in its slot.
Here are all abbreviations used for all "Longs" articulations:
SUS Imm Without Vibr
SUS Imm Romantic Vibr
SUS Imm Strong Vibr
SUS Soft Without Vibr
SUS Soft Romantic Vibr
SUS Acc
SUS Blurred
SUS Imm Flageolet
SUS Imm Sul Ponticello
SUS Imm Sul Tasto
SUS Soft Sul Tasto
Tremolo
Tremolo Flageolet
Tremolo Sul Ponticello
Tremolo Sul Tasto
Tremolo Acc
Tremolo Acc Sul Ponticello
Trills+1
Trills+2
Trills+3
Trills+4
Trills+5
Trills+6
Trills+7
Trills Acc +1
Trills Acc +2
Trills Acc +3
Trills Acc +4
Trills Acc +5
Trills Acc +6
Trills Acc +7
Measured Trills +1
Measured Trills +2
Measured Trills +3
Measured Trills +4
Measured Trills +5
Measured Trills +6
Measured Trills +7
Pizzicato Tremolo
Espr Short
SUSIW
SUSIR
SUSIS
SUSSW
SUSSR
SUSA
SUSB
FLSUS
SUSIR
SUSIR
SUSSR
TREM
TREM
TREM
TREM
TREMA
TREMA
TR+1
TR+2
TR+3
TR+4
TR+5
TR+6
TR+7
TRA+1
TRA+2
TRA+3
TRA+4
TRA+5
TRA+6
TRA+7
MTR+1
MTR+2
MTR+3
MTR+4
MTR+5
MTR+6
MTR+7
PZTRM
ESPRS
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Espr Long
ESPRL
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12.4 Shorts
Each articulation is represented in Multi Articulation patches by an abbreviated articulation name in its slot.
Here are all abbreviations used for all "Shorts" articulations:
Portato Short
Portato Sul Tasto Short
Portato Long
Portato Sul Tasto Long
Portato Blurred
Repetitions 16th
Repetitions Triplets
Staccato
Staccato Sul Ponticello
Staccato Flageolet
Staccato Short
Staccato Bold FFF
Staccato Blurred
Spiccato
Spiccato Blurred
Spiccatissimo
Doubles
Triples
Sforzando
Grace Notes +1
Grace Notes +2
Grace Notes -1
Grace Notes -2
Changing Notes +1
Changing Notes +2
Changing Notes -1
Changing Notes -2
Trems Sfz
Trills Sfz +1
Trills Sfz +2
Trills Short +1
Trills Short +2
Trems Hook
Trills Hook +1
Trills Hook +2
Pizzicato
Pizzicato Perc
Marcato
Martele FFF
Col Legno
PORTS
PORTS
PORTL
PORTL
PORTB
REP16
REP/3
STAC
STAC
STAC
STACS
STACF
STACB
SPIC
SPICB
SPICS
DBLS
TRPLS
SFZ
GRC+1
GRC+2
GRC-1
GRC-2
GRC+1
GRC+2
GRC-1
GRC-2
TRSFZ
SFZ+1
SFZ+2
TRS+1
TRS+2
TRMHK
HK+1
HK+2
PZ
PZPC
MARC
MART
COLGN
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12.5 Dynamics
The dynamics patch provides you with a vast complement of pre-recorded dynamic notes. You can select
any combination of different crescendo and decrescendo dynamics by loading them into the 12 slots of the
multi patch.
Each articulation is represented in Multi Articulation patches by an abbreviated articulation name in its slot.
Here are all abbreviations used for all available dynamics:
p-ff-p 2LL
p-ff-p LL
p-ff-p L|L
ff-p L
mf-p L
p-f-p L
p-ff L
p-mf L
ff-p S
mf-p S
p-ff S
p-mf S
<<>>
<>
<|>
ff>
mf>
<>
<ff
<mf
ff/>
mf/>
/<ff
/<mf
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C-UP
C#-UP
D-UP
D#-UP
E-UP
F-UP
F#-UP
G-UP
G#-UP
A-UP
A#-UP
B-UP
C-DN
C#-DN
D-DN
D#-DN
E-DN
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F Maj Down
F# Maj Down
G Maj Down
G# Maj Down
A Maj Down
A# Maj Down
B Maj Down
F-DN
F#-DN
G-DN
G#-DN
A-DN
A#-DN
B-DN
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XIII
Getting Help
We hope this Guide showed you how to unleash the potential of all collections.
If you have any additional questions or need help installing collections, we have a number of options for
you to get help as fast as possible.
1. The OT Helpdesk
Before sending us an email, please first refer to the OT Helpdesk at helpdesk.orchestraltools.com, which
has answers to the most common user questions.
There you will also find detailed Folder Listings to verify that all your collections are correctly installed. The
Helpdesk covers a lot of topics and chances are high you will an answer there in a fraction of the time it
would take you to contact us.
Here are a few important topics:
Downloading the newest Installation Guide and User Guide
Everything about download and installation
Folder Structure listings of all Orchestral Tools collections
49
| Getting Help |
XIV
Appendices
This section contains several appendices like a list of all controllers available in the Controller Table, how to
configure Kontakt's outputs, etc...
Dynamics
Dynamic XFade
Used by: All "Long" articulations; but can be set and used for "Shorts", too.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC1 (Modwheel)
Description: The assigned CC controls the dynamics of the instruments by morphing through the enabled
velocity layers. This is the default control scheme for "Long" articulations, though you can also enable and
use it for "Shorts", too.
XFade /Ve l ocity M ode
Used by: All Single Articulation patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC14
Description: The assigned CC switches between dynamic control via the CC set at Dynamic XFade or by
keyboard velocity.
Instr ume nt Vol .1
Used by: All patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC7 (Volume)
Description: The assigned CC along with its Instrument Vol.2 counterpart controls the patch volume.
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| Appendices |
51
Performance
Vibr ato Sl ide r
Used by: All "Long" Single Articulations with multiple vibrato styles.
Assignable to: MIDI CCs
Default Value: CC3
Description: The assigned CC switches between the different vibrato styles available for the current
articulation.
C on Sor dino
Used by: All Berlin Strings patches.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC24
Description: The assigned CC switches the Con Sordino simulation on or off.
Al te r nativ e Tr ansition
Used by: All Nocturne Series legato articulations.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: CC64
Description: The assigned CC toggles Alternative Transitions.
1st Le gato Zone
Used by: All Legato Single Articulations.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: A-1
Description: The assigned CC makes the current Legato Patch use the 1st Legato style.
2nd Le gato Zone
Used by: All Legato Single Articulations using a 2nd Legato Zone.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: Bb-1
Description: The assigned CC makes the current Legato Patch use the 2nd Legato style.
3r d Le gato Zone
Used by: All Legato Single Articulations using a 3rd Legato Zone.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: B-1
Description: The assigned CC makes the current Legato Patch use the 3rd Legato style.
4th Le gato Zone
Used by: All Legato Single Articulations using a 4th Legato Zone.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: B-1
Description: The assigned CC makes the current Legato Patch use the 4th Legato style.
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Re tongue d Le gato
Used by: Selected Berlin Woodwinds Soloists Legato Single Articulations.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: CC52
Description: The assigned CC makes the current Legato Patch use the Retongued Legato style.
X Re v e r se
Used by: Selected Berlin Woodwinds Soloists Legato Single Articulations.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC or MIDI Note treats the velocity of the first note in a sequence as usual (i.e.
low velocity = decresc), but any following note with the opposite setting (i.e. cresc in this case).
B r e ath Noise
Used by: Berlin Woodwinds Soloists Legato Single Articulations.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: B-1
Description: The assigned CC or MIDI Note plays a breath noise for added realism.
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Instrument Options
RR Re se t Ke y
Used by: All patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: A-1
Description: The assigned CC or MIDI Note resets the Round Robin counter to zero.
Lock To Host
Used by: All patches using Time-Stretching in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC switches between patches following the host tempo or following a Manual
Tempo set inside the instrument.
Te mpo M ode
Used by: All patches using Time-Stretching in all collections..
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC50
Description: The assigned CC moves the tempo mode slider.
Auto Te mpo
Used by: All patches using Time-Stretching in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC switches between patches automatically selecting the best-sounding option for
the Tempo Slider and you needing to move this slider manually.
M anual Te mpo
Used by: All patches using Time-Stretching in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC51
Description: The assigned CC selects the BPM used for the articulation if Lock To Host is off.
Nie nte
Used by: All patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: Off
Description: With the assigned CC or MIDI Note, the lowest dynamic setting (usually CC1 at 0) will cause
the instrument to be completely silent. Use this setting when using your instruments with a breath or wind
controller.
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55
Attack C ur v e
Used by: All patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC74
Description: The assigned CC controls the articulation attack curve.
Re l e ase
Used by: All patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC72
Description: The assigned CC controls the articulation release parameter.
Time Str e tching
Used by: All TimeMachine-enabled patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC51
Description: The assigned CC controls the time stretching parameter.
Pe dal Sound
Used by: All patches with recorded pedal noise.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC controls the level of pedal noise.
Hamme r On/Pul l Off
Used by: All Electric Guitar patches.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC or MIDI Note moves the attack startpoint of any played note to omit the
sound of the plectrum.
Le gato Vol ume
Used by: All Legato patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC controls the volume of the legato transitions.
M ute Instr ume nt
Used by: All Single Articulation patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC mutes and unmutes the instrument.
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Mixer
Te l de x IR
Used by: All Soloists Series patches.
Assignable to: MIDI CC, MIDI Note
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC or MIDI Note switches the Teldex Impulse Response on or off.
Te l de x IR Dr y
Used by: All Soloists Series patches.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC controls the amount of dry signal in the patch.
Te l de x IR We t
Used by: All Soloists Series patches.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC controls the amount of wet signal in the patch.
Te l de x IR Pr e de l ay
Used by: All Soloists Series patches.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC controls the pre-delay time in the patch.
<NAM E > Fade r
Used by: All patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Depends on Mic Position
Description: The assigned CC controls the fader level of the mic position.
<NAM E > Sol o
Used by: All patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Depends on Mic Position
Description: The assigned CC controls the solo state of the mic position.
<NAM E > M ute
Used by: All patches in all collections.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Depends on Mic Position
Description: The assigned CC controls the mute state of the mic position.
57
58
59
M I - Y Fade (2D)
Used by: All Multi Articulation patches.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC23
Description: The assigned CC controls the Y Axis in the 2D XFade.
M I - Sl ot Switch C C
Used by: All Multi Articulation patches.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: Off
Description: The assigned CC switches between Slots.
Le g Ar tic <n> On/Off
Used by: All Multi Articulation patches.
Assignable to: MIDI CC
Default Value: CC30
Description: The assigned CC switches the legato on or off for the respective slot in the Multi Articulation
patch.
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Capsule 2.5
Important: Capsule 2.5 now requires Kontakt 5.5.1 or higher.
Lower RAM Usage and optimized loading times
All patches now use 7-10 MB less system memory per patch and load much faster. The backend has been
optimized for speed and redraw speeds should be much faster now, too.
Idle connection times improved (VE Pro / Cubase disabled tracks)
When using Capsule patch in Vienna Ensemble Pro or in Cubase, connection times will be much faster. This
affects connecting to VE Pro instances hosting Capsule as well as enabling disabled tracks in Cubase.
When using Bounce in Place/Freeze, rendering times are much faster now, as well.
Transpose Playable Range
It is now possible to transpose the playable range of all patches with the < TR > section in the bottom left.
This feature shifts the playable range only, preserving keyswitches and works great for creating octave
shifts.
Legato Transition Volume
The Mixer View now has a knob to adjust the volume of the legato transitions. This knob is assignable to a
CC in the Controller Table.
Clear all slots for Multi Articulation Patches
All Multi Articulation patches now have a new button to clear all slots with one click.
Use CC to select Slots in Multi Articulation Patches
You can assign a MIDI CC to the MI - Slot Switch CC controller in the Controller Table that will switch
between the loaded slots in a Multi Articulation Patch. Note that this feature is only active if no Poly KS
mode is enabled.
Velocity/CC Thresholds for Multi Articulation Patches
It is now possible to set custom switch/morph thresholds for the selected slots in the Multi Articulation
Patches. This allows you to set the CC or Velocity range in which a certain articulation will trigger.
Mute Instrument Keyswitch for Single Articulation Patches
In all Single Articulation Patches, a keyswitch can be assigned to mute/unmute the instrument. This is
especially useful when using multiple patches on the same MIDI channel either for stacking or to reduce
track count.
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Capsule 2.2
Monophonic Keyswitching while notes are held
When in monophonic mode, switching between slots in Multi Articulation Patches is now possible while
notes are still held.
Capsule 2.1
Tempo Sync follows tempo changes
All tempo-synced patches (like the Trills Measured) will now dynamically follow your host tempo while you
change it. This means you can have trills that get faster while playing without having to retrigger the note.
Poly KS/Fade will now show the state
When you use Poly KS/XFade, you can now see the current state at the bottom of the articulation view. The
current setting will light up.
Locked View
All Multis now have a Locked View represented by a lock icon in the lower left. It works this way: Set up
the multi patch as you want it, then press the lock button. Everything else not selected will be purged and a
UI similar to the Single Artic Patches will show up. Click the lock again to go back to the regular Slot View.
Single Layer articulations show "Single Layer" in the Main Knob
When an articulation has a single velocity layer, it will now show "Single Layer" in its Main Knob.
Lock to Beat
When enabled, all tempo-synced patches will start at the next beat. So for example when playing a Trill or
a run, it will be enough to press it before the beat you want it to start on. Capsule will make sure it will be
triggered exactly on the beat.
Incoming Controllers shown in Controller Table
The Controller Table will now show a lit dot in front of the respective Controller Table entry when that
controller comes in.
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3) Press Ok and the new settings will be applied and saved as the default.
63