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Pedal Steel Guitar - Frequently Asked QuestionsHere are some questions you may have about the Wavelore Pedal Steel Guitar. Please look through them if you have a problem with your library or if you are considering purchasing a copy. If your question is not answered here, you're welcome to drop us a line at info@wavelore.com Products Page Product Info Audio Demos Go to Shop
Q: What is a Pedal Steel Guitar? A: A pedal steel guitar is an instrument with (usually) ten strings, housed in a recangular cabinet that sits on four legs. It has pedals and knee-operated levers that, when activated, allow the player to re-tune specific strings on the fly. The most important results of this mechanism are i) the ability of the player to access alternate tunings at a moment's notice, and ii) the ability of the player to play chords and arpeggios within which certain strings will bend while other strings remain static, or even to bend two or more strings by different amounts at the same time, even in different directions. Because of the degree of complexity involved in playing the pedal steel, accomplished players are highly sought-after. Q: What kind of lunatic would endeavor to play such a monstrosity? A: You don't have to be a lunatic, you just have to fall in love with the beautiful sounds this instrument is capable of making. Obviously, because it is so complicated, it's a difficult instrument to master, but any accomplished player will tell you that the rewards are great for someone who puts in the work. Pedal steel is undoubtedly one of the most difficult instruments out there to learn, but its expressive possibilities are almost boundless. Q: What kind of lunatic would endeavor to create a sample library that could emulate such a monstrosity? A: Well, this isn't about me, but suffice it to say, someone who should almost certainly be institutionalized. If this wasn't the case before work on the library was begun, it's definitely the case now. Q: Is the Wavelore Pedal Steel a collection of sampled licks and phrases, or a true virtual instrument that I can play however I want? A: There are no licks or phrases in this library. The huge array of possibilities with the pedal steel immediately suggested that we should take the approach of developing something as playable as possible. This meant avoiding the recording and organization of licks, because for every lick you can record, you can record it again at a great number of tempos, in all keys, all dynamics, and on and on. It would literally have taken a lifetime to create a comprehensive lick library, and it still would not be comprehensive enough. Instead, we availed of the feature set of Tascam's GVI, which is ideally suited to creating an instrument that uses samples as its basis, but models that instrument's behavior using a rich feature set that allows a tremendous range of expressive abilities. Think about it: Compare the aforementioned gargantuan lick library (let's say its size is 100 Gigabytes or even more) to this one, which is about 2 Gigabytes, and is actually capable of playing a practically infinite number of licks. No brainer, right? Right. Q: How does that work, anyway? How on earth can I do what you're describing on a keyboard? A: We sampled all ten strings. Then we programmed them to "interlock", so that, when laid out on the keyboard, certain strings would occupy certain note ranges, and where one leaves off, the next begins. This gives us the ability to perform portamento (slides/bends) within certain note ranges (representing certain strings) by playing legato within those ranges. When a range is exceeded, a new string begins, thus giving us the ability to play typical pedal steel chords, and to bend our choice of notes within those chords. For example, you can play a C-Major chord, and use your keyboard technique to bend just the E to an F, and the G to an A, spelling an F-Major chord. Cool, huh? If you wanted to just bend the F, it's just a matter of leaving the G where it is. That's just a simple example- The Wavelore Pedal Steel can do this kind of thing with arpeggios too, and can cover all keys, tempos, positions on the guitar neck, play open harmonics, and bend notes at any speed you want. A whole world of pedal steel licks right under your fingers! But BE WARNED: By creating a virtual instrument that gives you the power of the pedal steel guitar, we've also given you its complexity. This thing won't play the way any other keyboard instrument does. Unless you study the included tutorial files and practice using the instrument, you'll be absolutely confounded. Well, maybe not if you can already play pedal steel, but we'll assume that's not the case. It will also help if you have a good grasp of music theory, particularly in the areas of harmony and transposition. Q: What's the deal with the release samples? A: We didn't just sample the notes of the guitar, we sampled two different ways of stopping notes from sounding: Pick Damps, and Palm Damps. Pick Damps occur when a guitarist stops a souding note with his or her pick. Depending on the volume of the note and the material the pick is made form, a pick damp will give a variety of possible clicking sounds at the moment that the string is stopped. Palm Damps occur when a guitarist stops a note with the flesh of his or her palm. This can be a much more subtle effect, resulting in a slight "buzz" at the moment that the note is stopped. In the Wavelore Pedal Steel Guitar, both of these techniques can be accessed at any time, and can be adjusted in volume in realtime (or offline) to suit your taste. Q: What EVER. I think release samples are a waste of space. Can I get rid them? A: We've already programmed alternate versions of the instruments that do not include release samples, since we recognize that they're not always needed. We thought it'd be a nice thing to include- especially the Pick Damps, since they can do a lot to add a certain grittiness to the sound, which is great for certain styles of playing. It won't be ready just yet, but we've already planned a patch updater for those wishing to delete the releases from their hard drives. Drop us a line if you think this might be something you're interested in. We're at support@wavelore.com. Q: Are the samples recorded direct, or through an amplifier? A: The samples were recorded direct. We did it this way because it allowed us to eliminate any room or amp formants from the sound, which means two things: i) The morphing filters in GVI that allow believable bends and slides to be synthesized using static samples are more convincing when room sound and cabinet resonance are not included, and ii) The amplifiers that are included as Gigapulse resonance models benefit from the absence of these elements in the source samples. Combine the two, and you get a very "true" picture of a pedal steel guitar, run through your choice of amplifier. Q: What's all this "Gigapulse" stuff?? Can you even speak plain English!?? A: I'm trying, OK!?? Gigapulse is TASCAM's convolution engine. It comes with Gigastudio 3 and 4, GVI, "Powered by GVI" Libraries (like the American Zither), and is available as a VST plugin as well. For a better understanding of the different versions, what they are, and what they do, you can visit: http://www.tascam.com/products/gigapulse.html In the meantime, just so you know, its relevance to the Pedal Steel library is that we used Gigapulse Pro (included with GS3 Orchestra and GS4) to design amp and room models to complement the guitar sounds. As explained above, these models help consolidate the sounds that you play, since the dry samples, together or individually, pass through the amp and room, just like the signal flow of a real guitar rig. Q: Can I get a free trial version? If so, how? And what does it include? A: Sure, you can get a free trial! We can arrange a download for you, and provide you with a time-limited license for the full or lite editions just send us an e-mail at info@wavelore.com. The trial includes all features of the version you choose. See the products page for details on specific features of our libraries, or read the next question/answer for a comparison of the two flavors of the Wavelore Pedal Steel Guitar. Q: What do I get in the full version that I don't get in the Lite Version? A: The full edition of the Pedal Steel library has eight round-robin samples per note, where the lite edition has just two. The advantage here is that users of the full edition can get more mileage out of the instruments when performing or sequencing fast repetitions. Of course, not many typical pedal steel riffs rely on this ability, but the other factor is that we believe the more round-robins are in an instrument, the more natural it sounds, since a real instrument basically can't ever play the same note the same way twice. Round-robins help to fool the ear into thinking it's the real thing, even when notes are not repeating consecutively. For example, an arpeggio that ascends and then descends through the same notes still contains repeated samples, and this kind of gesture will sound more realistic if there are round-robin samples in use. Both versions contain alternate instruments that use fewer samples: The lite edition contains instruments with two way round-robin samples, as well as instruments with one sample per note (no round-robin). The full version contains instruments with eight-way, four-way, and two-way round-robins, as well as one sample per note. Both editions also have alternates of all these instruments that do not use the release samples. In addition to the number of samples per note, there are two differences between the lite and full edition of the Wavelore Pedal Steel Guitar: The full version has 17 amp models, based on three amps, and the lite version has just 3. Lastly, the full version comes with natural harmonics at the 5th, 7th, and 12 frets above each open string, as well as an extra compliment of all-in-one instruments that incorporate these harmonics with the rest of the playing techniques. Q: I am a Mac user. Can I install and run the Wavelore Pedal Steel Guitar?? A: Not yet. TASCAM is working hard on making the GVI engine Macintosh compatible, and when that happens, this product will be as well. It's coming very soon. Q: How do I get my hands on this crazy thing? A: Visit our shop. We use secure PayPal transactions, so we'll get your payment, you'll get your product, and nobody's important private information will be shared with anyone who is not a party in the transaction. Q: So how do I play this thing? Whenever I do something with my hands, pitchwheel, or sustain pedal, it makes all these wonky noises.... A: You're not trying to tell me that you didn't read the manual, are you??? You should start there. It will take you step by step through all the controllers and technical understanding of the instrument that you'll need. After that, you should proceed to the tutorials, which will walk you through a bunch of musical examples that will make you comfortable with the expressive possibilities of the instrument. If you're still having problems playing it after that, you can always drop us a line at support@wavelore.com, and we'll do our best to fix you up. Q: Can I re-assign controllers for things like vibrato, release control, and portamento speed? A: Absolutely. You can actually do a whole lot more to edit this library to fit your preferences. All you need to do is open each string's edit menu (it's the little green "edit" button next to each string name in the MIDI mixer view), and look through the available tabs. These contain all the parameters that have been assigned specific automation controllers. Portamento controls are accessed through the "mono mode" button at the top right of the editor view. The manual contains detailed instructions and examples for different scenarios you may encounter. Q: What's an "Includes TASCAM® GVI™" or "Powered by GVI™"? A: That means that this sample library comes bundled with and is tied to TASCAM's software sample playback engine (Giga Virtual Instrument, or GVI) which is based on their flagship software sampler, Gigastudio. The bundled software engine is essentially a "player", in that it cannot be used to "create" new samples or virtual instruments. It is simply bundled as a convenient way for you to own and use the library without having to purchase a separate sampler. It has the added benefit of running as a VSTi plugin, so you can use it in your sequencer of choice just like any other VSTi. Q: Can the GVI player edit sample libraries at all? A: It can't edit the actual wave data that the library contains, but that's about all it can't do. Other than that, you can use it to edit just about any aspect of the library's content. You get access to common controls like envelope parameters, LFO's, fine/coarse tuning, etc. Typical sampler stuff. You can also create your own stacked instruments and keyswitch setups, as well as remap keys just like in Gigastudio and GVI. Any such edits you perform can be saved as user presets. You can also apply TASCAM's included NFX plugins, including reverb, chorus, delay and EQ, and you can tweak the included iMIDI rules as much as you like. You do not get access to things like the ability to export/edit/import audio data, combining articulations at the instrument level, crossfade edits, etc. It is our promise that we have covered all the bases you'll need to use this library right out of the box. If you feel something about the library needs improvement, or would like to see a specific add-on, let us know, and we'll gladly issue an update. Just e-mail your request to support@wavelore.com. Q: Can I use it to play my existing Gigastudio/Gigasampler libraries? A: No. Currently a single instance of the player is required to run each GVI-powered library that a user owns. If you own the new Gigastudio 4, you can run the pedal steel library inside it, and put your other samples under the same hood. Q: Can I play the Pedal Steel in Gigastudio? A: Not in Gigastudio 3, but in Gigastudio 4. The Wavelore Pedal Steel uses a format which is proprietary to the GVI Player, as distinct from GVI itself. The only applications that can play the samples are the bundled software engine and GS4. Q: Can I play the Pedal Steel in GVI? A: No. The Pedal Steel uses a format which is proprietary to the GVI Player, as distinct from GVI itself. The only applications that can play the samples are the bundled software engine and Gigastudio 4. Q: What is the Syncrosoft License Control Center (LCC)? A: The Syncrosoft License Control Center is a piece of software that manages your license(s) for software that is copy-protected by the Syncrosoft eLicenser. All "Powered by GVI" libraries use this protection scheme, as well as GVI itself, The Vienna Symphonic Library's VI products, and others such as products by Steinberg and IK Multimedia. A Syncrosoft eLicenser (commonly referred to using the blanket term for USB protection devices, "dongle") resembles a common USB memory stick, though it stores software licenses, and no other data. A single eLicenser can store hundreds of licenses, all of which are downloaded using the LCC software which is installed at the same time as the samples and the GVI engine. All you need to do is run the application, enter your authorization code when prompted, and download your license to the eLicenser. Q: Blah Blah. I already own an eLicenser. It came with my copy of blah blah, which is protected by Syncrosoft. Are you gonna make me use up another USB port? A: Heck, no! You can save a few bucks, and order a copy of the Wavelore Pedal Steel Guitar with no eLicenser included! You'll just have to use the LCC to download your license to your current eLicenser. A: It's a simple five step job:
Now that you know how to authorize your Wavelore Pedal Steel Guitar, take comfort in the fact that your eLicenser will arrive fully loaded. That is to say, you won't actually have to perform steps 3 and 4. They'll already be done, unless you don't order an eLicensor, in which case you'll still need to download your license. Q: How about if I'm installing it on a machine without an internet connection? A: This process simply involves two extra steps, for a total of seven:
Now that you know how to authorize your Wavelore Pedal Steel Guitar on a machine without an internet connction, take comfort in the fact that your eLicenser will arrive fully loaded. That is to say, you won't actually have to perform steps 2 thru 5. They'll already be done, unless you don't order an eLicensor, in which case you'll still need to download your license. Q: Can I use the Pedal Steel Guitar on more than one computer? A: No. You can install it on as many machines as you'd like, but you can only use it on one at a time, since your eLicenser must be connected to a USB port in order for the GVI engine to run. Q: What if I break or lose my eLicencer? A: Contact us. We can work out a way to get you back up and running for a small fee. (TBA, this will be pretty inexpensive, but we have to charge you for the new dongle, license and shipping. Total: approx. $40 USD. Q: What are the system requirements for playing the Wavelore Pedal Steel Guitar? A: We've copied below what TASCAM has to say about the kind of computer you need to run the GVI engine. The Pedal Steel Guitar alone is not as demanding (in terms of polyphony, and thus CPU/disk streaming and RAM) as a large orchestral template, but CPU demands do increase significantly when running Gigapulse. It is also reasonable for us to expect that you will use it along side other digital audio applications and/or virtual instruments. For this reason, we strongly suggest using their "Recommended" system specs, as shown below. If possible, your system should even exceed these requirements. Also note that the Pedal Steel Guitar is a perfomance-oriented virtual instrument, and as such, you will get more out of it if you have a MIDI controller with at least a four-octave range, a modwheel, sustain pedal, expression pedal, and either 8 assignable knobs/faders, or 4 buttons/4 faders for realtime control of all the instrument's performance features. Notes on changes to TASCAM's specs: Under "Application Hard Drive Space", we have increased the values of 1000MB to 3000 MB under both the minimum and recommended specifications, as compared to TASCAM's GVI system requirements. This reflects the inclusion of the Pedal Steel Guitar's approximately 2500 MB of samples with the GVI engine. We have also increased the RAM amounts to twice their original value, from 256MB and 512MB to 512MB and 1024MB respectively. Used by permission of TASCAM: As with all audio software, GVI's performance is directly proportional to the speed of your PC system. With disk-based sampling the hard disk speed and CPU speed govern the overall polyphony that can be achieved. A. General System Requirements Minimum: required for GigaVi to run. Recommended: B. Sofware/Audio Card compatibility GigaVi requires either,
C. Some hard drive considerations If any disk drives have thermal calibration or other control processes that may detract from real time continuous data transfer from the hard disk, there may be audible pops in the audio and use of these drives should be avoided. Some A/V drives that do NOT guarantee data integrity should be AVOIDED. Hard disk 'compression' should not be used. Periodic disk de-fragmentation is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, please use the Windows de-frag utility only. ©2007 Wavelore Instruments. All Rights Reserved. TASCAM is a registered trademark and the TASCAM logo and GVI are trademarks of "TEAC" a Teac America Inc. Company. All other product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Wavelore Instruments or TASCAM. 
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