What's new

Solo Tuba library


Thanks for your vote! Unfortunately I don't like very much the sound of the low register... It's too brassy like a bass trombone but with a tuba you're looking as a player to get the most large and round sound... So not very realistic in my opinion...
 
Sample Modelling will probably offer the most versatility in playback, though the sound may leave something to be desired and require lots of 'mixing.'

Spitfire Audio, for both their brass libraries, sample an Eb bass and a CC contrabass. The Eb comes with legato and mutes too. Lots of articulations and lots of samples from Spitfire but playing them won't be as simple as Sample Modelling. However, there's Cimbassi in the Spitfire stuff too! That may interest the Tubist in you if you know what they are ;)

Sorry to hear about your health. I've been having trouble with mine too, as a Bass Trombone player I can sympathize how it feels being unable to play your horn... I've got some nasty chronic acid reflux and have been getting abdominal pains when holding anything heavy for more than a minute, so playing a heavy instrument is a no-go until I get my condition diagnosed and sorted.
Best of luck to you!
Thanks for your comment. I'm really considering Sample modelling. It's not too expensive and sound quite well....

Spitfire audio would be a luxury choice but unfortunately it's not in my budget for the moment... but the difference between the Eb and the CC is very interesting because in the reality it's two totally different instrument for different uses.

I'm sorry to hear that you cannot play anymore. We are both in trouble... I wish you a speedy recovery !
 
Last edited:
Did this make anyone's day when a tuba player is picky about a solo tuba library? I salute you. Sad that you can't play anymore. I still have M Weston 3 valve tuba that I got for $350 in the last century. I once met a tuba player that had 16 tubas and his wife made him get rid of (get this) 3 of them.

BTW VSL has it one sale.
 
The one christmassy CSB demo impressed me as far as tuba in a way that no other demo ever has-despite its short length.
 
I don't know if you health problems would allow to use a breath controller. If so I would highly recommend the TEControl and either Samplemodeling or WIVI (or maybe the cheaper WIVI Band) from Wallanderinstruments. The tuba in WIVI sounds convincing and is very playable via breath controller. It would also be the most natural feel to control an wind instrument via breath.

I added a small noodling example with my WX7 wind controller: First 24 seconds are Wivi, second half is Samplemodeling.

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/tuba-wivi-sm-mp3.18425/][/AUDIOPLUS]
 

Attachments

  • Tuba Wivi & SM.mp3
    1.6 MB · Views: 67
VSL sounds very realistic to me, very full. Another one to check is Xsample's. Release recently, it includes several extended techniques.

Paolo
 
It's interesting, that Tuba and Horn are the two instruments where I diverge from a "common template" (which usually is VSL-based) and have to pick for each song. This past week, I did more research into the history of the tuba and the libraries I own, thinking maybe they had made different choices, but they all seem to have sampled a Bass Tuba in F.

I tend to use Sample Modeling's Tuba a lot even in classical contexts, but also VSL, the new Spitfire Studio Brass, and increasingly a bit of Chris Hein as well. The same goes for Horn.

Sample Modeling is a great way to start, on almost any piece, as it interprets your phrasing to decide the articulations, and as the tuba is "slow to speak" it also seems to give a very realistic image of the attack of the instrument.

I'm really happy with all of the above choices. Horn is a little trickier because VSL's can sometimes be too tame, but I don't find quite as much timbral differentiation between the Tuba sources, and of course some of those also offer Contrabass Tuba, which sometimes is necessary for the range or for heft.

If I'm working with more of the upper range of the Tuba, or Tuba is substituting for bass due to the era or the genre, I find the Sample Modeling is usually the one whose attack, sustain, and timbre fit in the best.

Note that the Chris Hein library I am talking about for Tuba is the Horns Pro package that is meant for jazz and almost anything other than classical symphonic work, but I find that whole package amazingly versatile, and often use it over the orchestral libraries. They're both great though.

There's also the Alpine Folkmusic library from best Service.

Really though, if you are just starting to build your high-end library, you can't go wrong with Sample Modeling as you get both Tuba and Horn in one package, and way more so than the other instruments in this series, they apply well across almost every genre as they have a convincing timbre for classical as well as jazz, pop, etc.
 
I have a lot of the Xsample stuff, but usually don't know when they've added something. I find the new system a bit hard to understand and get a handle on, compared to their old GUI, so am hesitant to expand at this point. Most of the features I've tried to learn, have not worked for me, and I run out of time for the most part. But the Xsample stuff is recorded really well and is kind of an unknown gem in the sampling world. Maybe eventually I'll figure out their new GUI approach. Not sure if I have the Tuba yet as a result of their lack of marketing. I have something that shows up on disc as "Tuba Melton 4460", but it doesn't sound quite like a tuba to me (though similar).
 
I don't know if you health problems would allow to use a breath controller. If so I would highly recommend the TEControl and either Samplemodeling or WIVI (or maybe the cheaper WIVI Band) from Wallanderinstruments. The tuba in WIVI sounds convincing and is very playable via breath controller. It would also be the most natural feel to control an wind instrument via breath.

I added a small noodling example with my WX7 wind controller: First 24 seconds are Wivi, second half is Samplemodeling.

[AUDIOPLUS=https://vi-control.net/community/attachments/tuba-wivi-sm-mp3.18425/][/AUDIOPLUS]
Oh thanks for this contribution @Saxer ! It's really helpful.
Unfortunately a breath controller is not very suitable for me. But I keep that in my mind if I feel better!
I find the Wivi sound really good but the Samplemodeling as definitely a more precise articulation... So I have to decide what I want...:emoji_joy:
 
I keep forgetting I own WIVI. I tend to buy modeling based software because I'm a mathematician and I will always be intrigued by what progress is made in this arena. But more often than not, I gravitate back towards VSL and the like, and just put in the time. Anyway, I had forgotten that WIVI covers the Tuba, so should remember to load that up this weekend and see if I can offer a recommendation or not.
 
It's interesting, that Tuba and Horn are the two instruments where I diverge from a "common template" (which usually is VSL-based) and have to pick for each song. This past week, I did more research into the history of the tuba and the libraries I own, thinking maybe they had made different choices, but they all seem to have sampled a Bass Tuba in F.

I tend to use Sample Modeling's Tuba a lot even in classical contexts, but also VSL, the new Spitfire Studio Brass, and increasingly a bit of Chris Hein as well. The same goes for Horn.

Sample Modeling is a great way to start, on almost any piece, as it interprets your phrasing to decide the articulations, and as the tuba is "slow to speak" it also seems to give a very realistic image of the attack of the instrument.

I'm really happy with all of the above choices. Horn is a little trickier because VSL's can sometimes be too tame, but I don't find quite as much timbral differentiation between the Tuba sources, and of course some of those also offer Contrabass Tuba, which sometimes is necessary for the range or for heft.

If I'm working with more of the upper range of the Tuba, or Tuba is substituting for bass due to the era or the genre, I find the Sample Modeling is usually the one whose attack, sustain, and timbre fit in the best.

Note that the Chris Hein library I am talking about for Tuba is the Horns Pro package that is meant for jazz and almost anything other than classical symphonic work, but I find that whole package amazingly versatile, and often use it over the orchestral libraries. They're both great though.

There's also the Alpine Folkmusic library from best Service.

Really though, if you are just starting to build your high-end library, you can't go wrong with Sample Modeling as you get both Tuba and Horn in one package, and way more so than the other instruments in this series, they apply well across almost every genre as they have a convincing timbre for classical as well as jazz, pop, etc.
You're perfectly right when you said that for a beginner, that's quite tough to start a good template... And with the fact the tuba and the horn have to be separated from your common template. Both are conical instruments, which means a colorful sound but also much more problems when have to sample them.
I also observe the fact that most of the library have sampled a bass F-Tuba but only a few libraries seemed to have understood that it exists a beautiful contrabass tuba and that their sounds and uses are different... We need to change that! We don't ask to a flute player if the piccolo is a real instrument. So same thing for the tuba !
Thanks for the info for the Chris Hein's library. If it's more a jazzy sound, it might be not the best choice for me at the moment. I'm seriously considering now to buy the Samplemodeling library....
 
I keep forgetting I own WIVI. I tend to buy modeling based software because I'm a mathematician and I will always be intrigued by what progress is made in this arena. But more often than not, I gravitate back towards VSL and the like, and just put in the time. Anyway, I had forgotten that WIVI covers the Tuba, so should remember to load that up this weekend and see if I can offer a recommendation or not.
Oh great! I am really excited about that!
 
Top Bottom