Audiobro Modern Scoring Brass (MSB)

[Nick Batzdorf]

That's why developer walkthrough videos are really the best

Actually, I don't think you can really get a feel for any library without fondling it, but Andrew does have a video walkthrough up there.

 

[kevthurman]

This one is a bit better than the last as well.

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/festive_overture-mp3.19604/][/AUDIOPLUS]

 

[zolhof]

I use the EWI, and love it.

Initially, it's a bit weird playing without the keys moving - sort of like playing a broomstick (or a recorder, for that matter).

It takes very little breath, so if you play a wind instrument already, you need to scale back a lot, and possibly let some air out through the sides of you mouth.

Once you work out the basic fingering, you should check out the extensive alternate fingerings, as they can come in quite handy.

You can make a wireless USB EWI with off the shelf hardware for about $150 in additional parts:

1. Yamaha UD-BT01 ($50)
   
2. CME Widi Bud ($50)
   
3. Short USB cord ($10)
   
4. Portable cell phone battery charger ($15)
   
5. Velcro ($5)

I'd highly recommend going that route if you do any live playing. The additional hardware weighs virtually nothing, and it's much nicer than being tied to a USB cable.

David, thank you for your thoughtful response.

 

[tack]

The MSB example of Star Wars was horrifying (with apologies to the well-intentioned creator of that example for the strong language). And I'm afraid as much as Noam praised the CSB version, I found myself cringing throughout.

Lest we forget Sample Modeling could do this 7 years ago:


Granted, we don't know how much time and effort was put into each and the skill level of those involved (Sami behind this video is undoubtedly a programming master). But on the face of it, given what we have to work with, I'm left somewhat demoralized about the state of our brass libraries relative to where we were almost a decade ago.

 

[jbuhler]

The technical side of the library—the stuttering, the large RAM footprint, the difficulty some seem to be having in controlling it—seems more worrisome to me than the sound. A good sound can be got from the library, though how difficult it is to draw a good sound from it remains unclear to me. I'm really hoping for more walkthroughs to be able to assess better the library's functionality and workflow.

 

[dgburns]

The horns in MSB have something to them I rather like.

 

[Duncan Krummel]

Quite apart from the comparison, a very nice piece. Your own? Wondered if you had a MIDI that you'd be OK sharing. Obviously, no problem if not!
Thanks!

Thanks! The demo was just something I fiddled with when I first purchased CSB. Wasn't meant to be anything more than those 40 seconds. So to that point, I'd be happy to share the MIDI:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s00sdd2atux7w76/MSB Demo Chorale.mid?dl=0

Were you using indivudual tracks for all the instruments or did you use the combined tracks?

Used individual tracks. I was working on a short fanfare for @sekkosiki, but I'm struggling a bit with it tonight. Need more sleep, me thinks. But for this I was experimenting with combined patches and the auto-divisi. I can see how this would be extremely helpful when writing in the context of a larger orchestra or when you just need brass to be brass, but to be honest - when writing exposed - it just makes so much more sense to me to plan it out per-instrument.

 

[I like music]

Thanks! The demo was just something I fiddled with when I first purchased CSB. Wasn't meant to be anything more than those 40 seconds. So to that point, I'd be happy to share the MIDI:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s00sdd2atux7w76/MSB Demo Chorale.mid?dl=0



Used individual tracks. I was working on a short fanfare for @sekkosiki, but I'm struggling a bit with it tonight. Need more sleep, me thinks. But for this I was experimenting with combined patches and the auto-divisi. I can see how this would be extremely helpful when writing in the context of a larger orchestra or when you just need brass to be brass, but to be honest - when writing exposed - it just makes so much more sense to me to plan it out per-instrument.

Wonderful! Thank you so much. So that I understand the tracks correctly, how many of each instrument did you use? Don't think I could find the info in the MIDI. Going to try to remock it with IB if that'd be OK with you!

Thanks!

 

[sinkd]

Sorry for the confusion! Mucusman had it right, I was referring to the demo with CSB. CSB only contains a single C trumpet patch, so I pitch shifted it down a whole step and transposed the MIDI up a whole step to account for the difference. Ergo, my Frankensteinian Bb trumpet.

MSB on the other hand has dedicated Bb and C trumpets, so this wan't needed. I should also mention both that I used separate instances for each instrument instead of the auto divisi here, as I was moving MIDI parts between libraries and also needed independent CC control, and also that - while yes, I did copy parts from a previous demo - I did manipulate the MIDI CC data and wrote CC2 data just for this for the vibrato. But I also wanted to make the point that it copies very nicely by default from CSB, with only minor tweaks. That will certainly be a huge timesaver for me, and I imagine for many others with both libraries as well.

Thanks for the clarification (of my confused reading) of your post. I am just diving in to MSB myself, but my initial impressions are all very good.

 

[Duncan Krummel]

Wonderful! Thank you so much. So that I understand the tracks correctly, how many of each instrument did you use? Don't think I could find the info in the MIDI. Going to try to remock it with IB if that'd be OK with you!

Thanks!

Should be just 5 tracks, yes? Trumpet 1, trumpet 2, horn, trombone, tuba.

 

[jaketanner]

Lest we forget Sample Modeling could do this 7 years ago:

That excerpt was very good! I always thought sample modeling was best used with a breath controller...hence why I never got into it..I prefer straight up mod wheel. But the sound is great. I mean, even the demos on East West's site for their Hollywood orchestra sound pretty good...but as another mentioned, it's not real-world examples of how a working composer uses the libraries...those demos have countless hours behind them...I think we all want libraries that work well out of the box, with minimal fussing.

 

[I like music]

Should be just 5 tracks, yes? Trumpet 1, trumpet 2, horn, trombone, tuba.

Sorry, my mistake. There were 20 tracks but I realise that its just those 5 tracks duplicated somehow. Perfect.

Wonderful piece. You should write some more

 

[Vadium]

I replaced the CSB instruments with their MSB counterparts in the second demo below.

So, MSB example sounds exactly as "wear someone else's shoes". I hope that MSB can much more if create an example with MSB from scratch.

 

[ProfoundSilence]

So, MSB example sounds exactly as "wear someone else's shoes". I hope that MSB can much more if create an example with MSB from scratch.

I should hope, CSB has niente - and to my knowledge - MSB is NOT. So right out the gate, that makes the entire dynamic curve and midi programming different.

 

[Lode_Runner]

Thanks! The demo was just something I fiddled with when I first purchased CSB. Wasn't meant to be anything more than those 40 seconds.

That composition is far too beautiful to just be left as a forty second fiddling, even if that's how it began, it is gorgeous and could be expanded out to a longer composition.

Also it has completely changed my perception of MSB. Audiobro really should seek to use it as one of their demo tracks.

 

[I like music]

That composition is far too beautiful to just be left as a forty second fiddling, even if that's how it began, it is gorgeous and could be expanded out to a longer composition.

Also it has completely changed my perception of MSB. Audiobro really should seek to use it as one of their demo tracks.

I made the same suggestion. I'd be keen on hearing that music expanded a few more minutes for sure!

 

[FriFlo]

I should hope, CSB has niente - and to my knowledge - MSB is NOT. So right out the gate, that makes the entire dynamic curve and midi programming different.

And be aware that while niente is certainly ok to use for strings and some of the woodwinds (I still prefer a combo of dynamics via CC1 and additional loudness via CC11, though), but it is absolutely wrong to use on brass and double reeds. It will not yield realistic sound and you should not use it if you care for that kind of stuff. Brass simply does not fade to silence ...

 

[ProfoundSilence]

And be aware that while niente is certainly ok to use for strings and some of the woodwinds (I still prefer a combo of dynamics via CC1 and additional loudness via CC11, though), but it is absolutely wrong to use on brass and double reeds. It will not yield realistic sound and you should not use it if you care for that kind of stuff. Brass simply does not fade to silence ...

It's the sole reason I don't use CSS(and the reason despite how well made it is I don't want CSB)
Strings you could argue could **almost** go to niente…. but with CSB it looks like the most "bottom dynamic" is really like 30-40 cc1, and the rest is just fading out.

Silky smooth transitions - but that alone makes me not even use CSS.

 

[Go To 11]

It's the sole reason I don't use CSS(and the reason despite how well made it is I don't want CSB)
Strings you could argue could **almost** go to niente…. but with CSB it looks like the most "bottom dynamic" is really like 30-40 cc1, and the rest is just fading out.

Silky smooth transitions - but that alone makes me not even use CSS.

That's really good to know. Why not just make 30 your minimum then and use it like that to get realistic results?

 

[remembrance]

Is anyone able to compare this library to VSL brass?