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Berlin Brass (and Glory Days) - Fanfare for the Common Man

shawnsingh

Senior Member
A rendition of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man using OT libraries. 99% Berlin Brass, 1% Glory Days. And Berlin Percussion. Comments/feedback/discussion welcome!

https://suonlabs.com/copland-fanfare-OT.mp3

I mainly used Glory Days as an extra layer on the few long notes that needed extra power. Berlin Brass Marcato Longs actually provide most of the bite and power, which kicks in around 2:10. But for some of the very long notes the Marcato Longs aren't long enough to hold the note. I had to use sustain articulations, which don't have the same silvery bite. So I used Glory Days trumpet 3 and trombone 2 as extra support on those notes and to enhance some of the crescendos.

I followed the score from this link - https://memory.loc.gov/natlib/ihas/service/patriotic/100010473/100010473.pdf

I've also found that EWQL Hollywood Brass layers pretty well to complement Berlin Brass and Ark 1. Not used in this song, though.

Cheers!
 
Great stuff. I've been meaning to noodle with Glory Days in the mux with Berlin Brass.

Did you find certain players from either library worked better? I mean I'd default to Trumpet 1 from both libraries but did you find that there were more appropriate combinations?

Percussion sounds fantastic as well; what did you do mix wise here?
 
My main suggestion would be to add (subtle) dynamic variance within the held notes to help create an even more realistic performance. Overall sounds great though.
 
Thanks!

The mix is 100% tree-only mic position for all instruments and all libraries. I love the tree-only sound, and it's lighter on resources anyway.

For this mix I added a tiny amount of Valhalla Room. But in this scenario it was important to turn off all Mod Depth. Algorithmic reverb modulation seems to conflict with instruments that have stable pitch - like brass or piano - the detuning effect stands out in an odd way and doesn't feel natural.

I haven't fully experimented with all Glory Days instruments. So far I found that Trumpet 3 and Trombone 2 have the right stage position with respect to the tree mic, so that it sounds like it's part of the Berlin Brass section. That was my only criteria so far, but we should definitely experiment more.

I also want to experiment more with EWQL Hollywood Brass gold. In my previous template, by luck the Metropolis Ark series tree-only matched surprisingly well with my EWQL mix. The EWQL mix is very simply just QL Spaces, San Francisco Hall preset, with the predelay set to zero, and the default -8.5 dB wet level. In my random tinkering so far, I feel these two sound similar enough - the silvery overblown sound of EWQL trumpet, or the sputtery overblown sound on the horn - they add a wonderful layering option to berlin brass. The shorts also layer really well.

My main suggestion would be to add (subtle) dynamic variance within the held notes to help create an even more realistic performance.

Yeah, thanks for the suggestion! I hear it now that you point it out.o_O
 
Thanks!

The mix is 100% tree-only mic position for all instruments and all libraries. I love the tree-only sound, and it's lighter on resources anyway.

For this mix I added a tiny amount of Valhalla Room. But in this scenario it was important to turn off all Mod Depth. Algorithmic reverb modulation seems to conflict with instruments that have stable pitch - like brass or piano - the detuning effect stands out in an odd way and doesn't feel natural.

I haven't fully experimented with all Glory Days instruments. So far I found that Trumpet 3 and Trombone 2 have the right stage position with respect to the tree mic, so that it sounds like it's part of the Berlin Brass section. That was my only criteria so far, but we should definitely experiment more.

I also want to experiment more with EWQL Hollywood Brass gold. In my previous template, by luck the Metropolis Ark series tree-only matched surprisingly well with my EWQL mix. The EWQL mix is very simply just QL Spaces, San Francisco Hall preset, with the predelay set to zero, and the default -8.5 dB wet level. In my random tinkering so far, I feel these two sound similar enough - the silvery overblown sound of EWQL trumpet, or the sputtery overblown sound on the horn - they add a wonderful layering option to berlin brass. The shorts also layer really well.



Yeah, thanks for the suggestion! I hear it now that you point it out.o_O
Great sounds. Great percs !
 
I've updated the original link with a new version
- added more subtle dynamic variation on the held notes. But I also tried to not overdo it, so maybe it still is slightly flat sounding in places, not sure
- I found the Glory Days trumpet blended better with an EQ that reduced 9-12k region by around 6 dB.
- Slightly improved articulations on the lower brass

I think I'll leave this as the final version. Excited about the potential of layering Glory Days as the power layer over Berlin Brass :2thumbs:
 
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