Eq-ing bbcso brass

[dylanmixer]

So BBCSO is famously weak in the brass department. Has anybody had any luck processing it using EQ, compression, saturation etc to get a better tone out of it? I was experimenting a bit with EQ and Fabfilters Saturn on it to give it a bit more of a bite. I have other libraries to supplement it but there are still a few patches I'd like to use from the BBCSO library if I can get them to sit right.

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[Joël Dollié]

Yep. Cut a lot of mids. Like a lot. I didn't saturate though.

Spitfire libraries I believe are raw or barely processed.

 

[Michaelt]

I wouldn't cut mids unless you specifically want that scooped sound. I kind of hate it. It's not what would occur to me if you're feeling the brass is "weak."

If you want a little more bite/air, you could try boosting a bit around maybe 14k, that neighborhood. That's the only tweak I've found necessary to get the BBCSO brass closer to certain live orchestral references.

 

[DS_Joost]

So BBCSO is famously weak in the brass department. Has anybody had any luck processing it using EQ, compression, saturation etc to get a better tone out of it? I was experimenting a bit with EQ and Fabfilters Saturn on it to give it a bit more of a bite. I have other libraries to supplement it but there are still a few patches I'd like to use from the BBCSO library if I can get them to sit right.

Parallel processing is your friend here. Take something like Waves Vitamin, or Nomad Factory Cosmos (something that can excite both bass and mids/highs) and process the hell out of the parallel channel. Like, really the hell out of it. That's the point of a parallel channel. Put some heavy saturation on there too, if you like. Then, bring the fader up slowly until the two signals blend perfectly. You might have to EQ the parallel signal to taste.

Works super well. It's an odd technique when working with orchestral libraries, but I've found this perfect. Too many people stick to traditional orchestral mixing techniques in the sample worlds. I'm from a different perspective. I feel like samples are many times missing raw power. This gives it back, makes it feel more lively.