OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL EASTWEST SOUNDS 1.0.6 < CONTENTS OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL INFORMATION The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of East West Sounds, Inc. The software and sounds described in this document are subject to License Agreements and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by East West Sounds, Inc. All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Solid State Logic (SSL) Channel Strip, Transient Shaper, and Stereo Compressor licensed from Solid State Logic. SSL and Solid State Logic are registered trademarks of Red Lion 49 Ltd. © East West Sounds, Inc., 2021. All rights reserved. East West Sounds, Inc. 6000 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028 USA 1-323-957-6969 voice 1-323-957-6966 fax For questions about licensing of products: [email protected] For more general information about products: [email protected] For technical support for products: http://www.soundsonline.com/Support < CONTENTS OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL CREDITS PRODUCERS Doug Rogers, Nick Phoenix, Thomas Bergersen PRODUCTION COORDINATORS Doug Rogers, Blake Rogers, Rhys Moody PROGRAMMING / SOUND DESIGN Justin Harris, Jason Coffman, Doug Rogers, Nick Phoenix SCRIPTING Wolfgang Schneider, Thomas Bergersen, Klaus Voltmer, Patrick Stinson ART DIRECTION Doug Rogers, Blake Rogers, Nick Phoenix, Wolfgang Kundrus, Eike Jonas, Steven Gilmore, Thomas Merkle, Jonas Sellami, Daniel Lepik, Elisabeth Kiviorg OPUS SOFTWARE Wolfgang Kundrus, Wolfgang Schneider, Eike Jonas, Klaus Lebkücher; QA by: Gerrit Haasler Inspiration by: Doug Rogers, Nick Phoenix, Blake Rogers, Rhys Moody, Justin Harris, Jason Coffman VIDEO PRODUCTION Blake Rogers USER MANUAL Jason Coffman DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF Rhys Moody < CONTENTS OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 WELCOME 1.1 THE OPUS SOFTWARE ENGINE 1.1.1 What’s Included 1.1.2 System Requirements 1.1.3 Sequencer Compatibility 1.2 ABOUT EASTWEST 1.2.1 Doug Rogers 1.2.2 Nick Phoenix 1.2.3 EastWest Studios 1.3 SUPPORT 1.3.1 Live Chat 1.3.2 Online Resources 1.3.3 User Manuals CHAPTER 2 GETTING STARTED 2.1 HOW TO INSTALL 2.1.1 Setup An EastWest Account 2.1.2 Install the Installation Center 2.1.3 Install Opus and Product Support 2.1.4 Activate Licenses 2.1.5 Set the Installation Path 2.1.6 Download Libraries 2.1.7 Update Libraries 2.1.8 Instrument Downloads 2.2 INITIAL SETUP 2.2.1 Welcome to Opus 2.2.2 Audio and MIDI Setup 2.3 OPUS PREFERENCES 2.3.1 Audio Engine 2.3.2 Audio Drives 2.3.3 MIDI 2.3.4 Locations 2.3.5 Other 2.4 USER INTERFACE OVERVIEW 2.4.1 Opus User Interface (UI) 2.4.2 Navigation Bar < CONTENTS OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL 2.4.3 Browse Page 2.4.4 Play Page 2.4.5 Perform Page 2.4.6 Mix Page 2.4.7 Instrument Rack 2.4.8 Virtual Keyboard 2.4.9 Inspector 2.4.10 System Usage 2.4.11 Menu Options 2.5 PLUGIN WALKTHROUGH 2.5.1 Load Opus as a Plugin 2.5.2 Selecting an Output Configuration 2.5.3 Loading With Effects Off 2.5.4 Loading an Instrument 2.5.5 Using Multi-Outputs 2.5.6 Using Opus as a Multi-Timbral Plugin 2.5.7 Shaping Dynamics and Expression 2.5.8 Articulation and Expression Maps CHAPTER 3 BROWSE 3.1 OVERVIEW OF THE BROWSE PAGE 3.1.1 Description Box 3.1.2 Browse Modes 3.1.3 Database Categories 3.1.4 Sound Previews and Quick Load 3.1.5 Loading Instruments 3.1.6 Individual Instrument Downloads 3.2 EASTWEST LIBRARIES 3.2.1 Drive Space Requirements 3.2.2 How to Produce Realistic Performances CHAPTER 4 PLAY 4.1 OVERVIEW OF THE PLAY PAGE 4.2 THE PLAYER WINDOW 4.2.1 Unique and Common Controls 4.2.2 Control Types 4.2.3 Effects Processors 4.2.4 Master Channel 4.2.5 Tune 4.2.6 Channel Routing 4.2.7 Stereo Double 4.2.8 Envelope 4.3 THE MIDI TOOLS WINDOW < CONTENTS OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL 4.3.1 Arpeggiator 4.3.2 Chord Scales 4.3.3 Chorder 4.3.4 Glide 4.3.5 Humanizer 4.3.6 MIDI Compressor 4.3.7 MIDI Echo 4.3.8 Pocket Recorder 4.3.9 Restrict to Scale 4.3.10 Transpose 4.4 THE AUTOMATION WINDOW 4.4.1 Automation Parameter 4.4.2 Macro Parameter 4.4.3 MIDI Controller Mapping 4.5 THE ARTICULATIONS WINDOW 4.5.1 How To Use Trigger Options CHAPTER 5 PERFORM 5.1 OVERVIEW OF THE PERFORM PAGE 5.2 ZONES WINDOW 5.2.1 Zone Options 5.2.2 Trigger Options 5.3 ALL INSTANCES WINDOW CHAPTER 6 MIX 6.1 OVERVIEW OF THE MIX PAGE 6.1.1 Mix Console 6.1.2 Effects Rack 6.2 OVERVIEW OF EFFECTS 6.2.1 EQ 6.2.2 Dynamics 6.2.3 Distortion 6.2.4 Modulation 6.2.5 Harmonics 6.2.6 Delay 6.2.7 Reverb < CONTENTS OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL CHAPTER 1 WELCOME 1.1 THE OPUS SOFTWARE ENGINE 1.1.1 What’s Included 1.1.2 System Requirements 1.1.3 Sequencer Compatibility 1.2 ABOUT EASTWEST 1.2.1 Doug Rogers 1.2.2 Nick Phoenix 1.2.3 EastWest Studios 1.3 SUPPORT 1.3.1 Live Chat 1.3.2 Online Resources 1.3.3 User Manuals 7 < CONTENTS OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL 1.1 THE OPUS SOFTWARE ENGINE Our brand new Opus software engine replaces Play and has been years in develop- ment. “Many improvements were made to the Play software engine over the last decade but we suddenly had a unique opportunity,” says producer Doug Rogers, “we were able to bring Wolfgang Kundrus in as head of software development. He was the mastermind behind the creation of Cubase, Nuendo, and Studio One. Then we were able to bring in Wolfgang Schneider, the creator of Kontakt. With these two titans of music software development now on our team, we decided it was time to develop a brand new software engine from the ground up. The Opus software engine is the realization of this effort. Not only is it faster, more powerful, more flexible, and better looking than Play, it comes with some incredible new features such as individual instrument downloads, customized key-switches, new effects for the mixer page, scalable retina GUI upgrades for legacy products, a powerful new script language, and many more features that allow you to completely customize the sound of each instrument. It’s one of the most exciting developments in the history of our company and will be the launching pad for many exciting new products in the future. PLEASE NOTE: Opus and Play are two separate software products, anything you have saved in your projects will still load up inside the saved Play version of the plugins. You can update your current/existing projects to Opus if you so choose, or leave them saved within Play. < CHAPTER CHAPTER 1: WELCOME 8 < CONTENTS OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL 1.1.1 What’s Included EastWest Opus Software Engine includes: • Opus standalone application (MacOS and Windows) • Opus plugin (VST, AU, AAX) • Opus Software Engine User Manual (PDF) • Installation Center application to install software and documentation An iLok account is required for a machine-based (electronic) license to be placed on your computer. You may also place the license on an optional iLok 2 or 3 key. The iLok 1 key is not longer supported. An internet connection is required for several things: • The first time download of the EW Installation Center and Opus software • The first time activation of perpetual licenses • The renewed activation of subscription licenses (ComposerCloud) • The download of EW Libraries (see below for other options) 1.1.2 System Requirements Below are the minimum and recommended hardware and software specifications for using Opus on Windows and MacOS systems. Minimum System: • CPU: Quad-core (four cores), running at 2.7 GHz (or above) • RAM: 16 GB • OS: MacOS 10.13 (or later); Windows 10 with ASIO sound drivers • Drive: SSD Recommended System: • CPU: Octa-core (eight cores), running at 2.7 GHz (or above) • RAM: 32 GB or more • OS: MacOS 10.13 (or later); Windows 10 with ASIO sound drivers • Drive: NVMe SSD < CHAPTER CHAPTER 1: WELCOME 9 < CONTENTS OPUS SOFTWARE MANUAL 1.1.3 Sequencer Compatibility The chart below outlines the MacOS and Windows 64-bit operating systems and se- quencers that are officially supported (fully tested) with the latest version of Opus. PLEASE NOTE Most DAWs (Sequencers) are VST2, VST3, AU and AAX plug-in format compatible, but only those specified in the chart below are officially supported. Sequencer Operating Systems DAW Software Version MacOS (10.13 +) Windows 10 EW Opus Stand-Alone 1.0 + √ √ Ableton Live 10.0 + √ √ Apple Logic Pro 10.0 + √ - Apple Garageband 10.3 + √ - Avid Pro Tools 2018.1 + √ √ Bitwig Studio 3.0 + √ √ Cockos Reaper 6.0 + √ √ Image-Line FL Studio 20 + √ √ Motu Digital Performer 9.0 + √ √ Steinberg Cubase (1) 9.0 + √ √ Steinberg Nuendo (1) 8.0 + √ √ Presonus Studio One 4.0 + √ √ VSL Vienna Ensemble Pro 6.0 + √ √ Notation Software Avid Sibelius (2) 7.0 + √ √ MakeMusic Finale (2) 25.0 + √ √ Steinberg Dorico (2) 2.2 + √ √ (1) VST3 Usage is recommended. (2) Notation programs work with Opus, but do not support the full feature set of some East West Libraries, such as those that use WordBuilder.