Silzel Performance System™ Setup and Support

The Silzel Performance System™ ("Silzel") Support Forum provides answers to FAQ's, articles on troubleshooting, and even a Plugin Library where you can find recommended effects and sound fonts. If you own a licensed copy of Silzel software you may register for the Silzel Support Forum where you will be able to exchange support and information with other Silzel users. For personal assistance or troubleshooting you may email to silzel@electricviolinshop.com or Contact Us during business hours for friendly help over the phone.

Please refer to the topics below in order to get up and running quickly with your Silzel Performance System™ software.

-Silzel Overview

-Installation and Setup

-Patches & Performances

-Finding & Installing New Plugins

-Setup with the Behringer UCG-102

-Troubleshooting Guide

Silzel Overview

Silzel Performance System™ is a computer software program that interprets the analog input signal from any electric violin (or pickup) and translates that signal into the digital MIDI language. Silzel Performance System™ is a hosting program. It hosts VST "plugins"-- small software bits that process or generate sound. The beauty of Silzel Performance System™ lies in the fact that by hosting others' plugins, it's capabilities aren't limited to effects or synthesizers developed by us. In fact, countless free effects, VSTi and sound font plugins can be found for simple download and integration with Silzel Performance System™! To achieve high speed audio streaming with extremely low-latency, Silzel uses the Steinberg ASIO audio standard.

To run Silzel Performance System™, you will need to have an ASIO driver for your sound card/audio port or else download and install the (FREE) ASIO4ALL driver that is available at http://www.asio4all.com. The only hardware you will need to run Silzel Performance System™ is a USB audio interface to connect your violin to your computer. It is strongly recommended that you NOT connect your violin directly to your computer's sound card through the line-in input. This is because these sound card inputs have a low voltage output that can actually damage your instrument or pickup over time. Doing so you would also run the risk of harming your instrument or computer in the event of tripping on the cable. (Read more about the dangers of connecting directly to the sound card here). The better, highly recommended connection solution is through a USB interface. If your violin has an active onboard preamp (you'll know because it has a battery), then a simple, inexpensive interface such as the Behringer UCG102 will work fine for inputting your signal to the computer. For passive instruments and pickups (those with no battery), and even for active instrument, the ART DualPre two-channel USB interface is strongly recommended as it will boost gain and provide gain and input level controls that will help you optimize your use of Silzel Performance System™ . Electric Violin Shop offers the ART DualPre at a discount when purchased with Silzel Performance System. Simply select it as an option before adding Silzel Performance System™ to your cart to receive the bundled pricing.

Installation and Setup

Once you purchase Silzel Performance System™ software from www.electricviolinshop.com you will be emailed a download link and a unique registration code. After downloading the install package you may run the installation using the 'setup wizard.' Once installed, connect your violin to the computer using a USB interface. Launch the Silzel Performance System™ software and confirm that the ASIO driver is ready by choosing the ASIO Driver in 'ASIO Driver Select' under Silzel Performance System's™ 'Configure' menu. The lower left-hand corner of the main window should indicate that the driver is "(READY)." Next you will need to set your input level using the 'GTune' plugin. Under the 'File' menu, select 'Load Plug-in' and open 'GTune.' Then open the 'Input Level' dialog under the 'Configure' menu. The graph should correspond to your playing. While bowing your violin, monitor the graph and adjust the gain level slider until your signal peaks fall within the boxed region. You should be able to hear your violin through the speakers. Set the audio buffer size by selecting 'ASIO Driver Panel' under the 'Configure' menu. For low-latency performance, use the smallest buffer size that does not cause clicks, dropouts or buzzing. A good starting point is 256-sample. At this point, the basic setup of Silzel Performance System™ is complete. If you are having difficulty, please consult the setup instructions in the manual. You may contact Electric Violin Shop for further assistance if needed. View the following video for demonstrations of the setup steps outlined above.

Patches & Performances

As outlined in the overview, Silzel Performance System™ is a hosting program designed to work with plug-ins. These VST plug-ins come with presets that you may want to adjust to suit your taste. Silzel Performance System™ allows you not only to adjust these presets, or 'patches,' to your liking, but also to store them as 'Performances.' This allows you to instantly recall a setting you like for a particular tune or venue. This video will guide you in loading plug-ins, storing 'patches', and saving and recalling 'performances.'

Finding & Installing New Plugins

Looking for some new sounds for your electric violin? With Silzel it's easy to enlarge your library of effects and virtual instruments. This short video demonstrates how to find and use new effects and virtual instruments by searching, downloading, and opening VST plugins. A growing but incomplete listing of available plugins on the Silzel Performance System™ Support Forum's Plugin Library. Plugins can also be searched for and found for free download online or purchased from music retailers.

Silzel Setup With the Behringer UCG-102 USB Audio Interface

This video will take you through to possible configurations for use with the Behringer UCG-102 USB Audio Interface. The first method uses the free ASIO4ALL driver; the second uses the Behringer device's own driver. The procedure for use with other interface devices and drivers may be similar to the one shown here, but remember that other driver interfaces may look quite different.