Wanted:Killer Brass library like EarthWind&Fire/TowerOfP

[Eleventh Hour Sound]

If I could hire them I would <grin>, But short of that, can someone recommend a great (and affordable) Brass Library that has a lot of attitude, that's good for Rock and Roll stuff, easy to use and works with Kontakt2, or SampleTank2?

I've heard lots of loops and phrases that are great, but I want to be able to write the parts and play it live...

(Although, if you know of amazing loops and phrases let me know too : )

[mikebeckmotu]

I've heard very good things about AMG's Kick-Ass Brass. I haven't used it myself, but it's on my radar. I have horn samples, but most of them tend toward more symphonic usage, which I don't really do.
AMG Product page: http://www.samples4.com/catalog/product ... cts_id=680
KABRass Demo mp3 (if I can get link to work): http://www.samples4.com/catalog/demo//V ... s-demo.mp3

(edit) if you go to the product page, there is a better sample up near the top that showcases the sound better than the mp3 link I posted.

[Eleventh Hour Sound]

Thanks, that's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. I think I was at one of their pages last night, but I thought the product came out in '04 and was discontinued. There's some great demos on their main product page. Looks like version 1.05 is the latest. Works on PPC but is not Uinversal Binary. I wonder if they're going to update it?

Brit Horns had a few good sounds $50...

Anyone else?

I've heard very good things about AMG's Kick-Ass Brass. I haven't used it myself, but it's on my radar. I have horn samples, but most of them tend toward more symphonic usage, which I don't really do.
AMG Product page: http://www.samples4.com/catalog/product ... cts_id=680
KABRass Demo mp3 (if I can get link to work): http://www.samples4.com/catalog/demo//V ... s-demo.mp3

(edit) if you go to the product page, there is a better sample up near the top that showcases the sound better than the mp3 link I posted.

[Frodo]

I've been in search of something entirely similar for quite a while, being a hopeless EWF/TP fan myself.

The Phoenix Horns actually did a sample collection that looked promising-- demos were great, but the collection was little more than a bunch of licks lifted from some of their recordings. There wasn't a lot to work with, and because it was this particular brass section who'd worked with EWF (and many others) it proved to be a let down.

Sounds like KAB has a lot of the right elements. In a track these could be quite effective with enough variety of elements. A breath controller would be most helpful and *almost* necessary for user-played passages to avoid that 'hint' of machine-gunning. Capturing that organic, soulful sense of expression has always been my biggest challenges. Trying to get this kind of brass section to sound real is one thing-- but just getting it not to sound fake has been where I've failed.

SoniVox has the right idea, I think. This particular VI was designed for big band, but whether or not it sounds "real" it seems that they've figured out how to avert many of the pitfalls of VI programming. I've often wondered if its expressive flexibility could be applied to EWF/TP style tracks???

http://www.sonivoxmi.com/mp3/AmitPoznan ... heMove.mp3

If only they had an EWF-type brass section!

[Eleventh Hour Sound]

Wow, I just sent an eMail to AMG asking about an Intel version and got an eMail back minutes later saying they were working on it and hoped to have some available in May.... That's service!

I've been in search of something entirely similar for quite a while, being a hopeless EWF/TP fan myself.

The Phoenix Horns actually did a sample collection that looked promising-- demos were great, but the collection was little more than a bunch of licks lifted from some of their recordings. There wasn't a lot to work with, and because it was this particular brass section who'd worked with EWF (and many others) it proved to be a let down.

Sounds like KAB has a lot of the right elements. In a track these could be quite effective with enough variety of elements. A breath controller would be most helpful and *almost* necessary for user-played passages to avoid that 'hint' of machine-gunning. Capturing that organic, soulful sense of expression has always been my biggest challenges. Trying to get this kind of brass section to sound real is one thing-- but just getting it not to sound fake has been where I've failed.

SoniVox has the right idea, I think. This particular VI was designed for big band, but whether or not it sounds "real" it seems that they've figured out how to avert many of the pitfalls of VI programming. I've often wondered if its expressive flexibility could be applied to EWF/TP style tracks???

http://www.sonivoxmi.com/mp3/AmitPoznan ... heMove.mp3

If only they had an EWF-type brass section!

[sndhse]

Here's another possible candidate.
http://www.bigfishaudio.com/4DCGI/detail.html?769
http://demo.bigfishaudio.net/demo/FCHR1demo3.mp3

John

[Eleventh Hour Sound]

Thanks John!

I've gone from nothing but orchestral horns to a bunch of nice possibilities... I'm gonna have to get my friend to write some horn parts now!

Has anyone been able to compare any of these different packages?

Here's another possible candidate.
http://www.bigfishaudio.com/4DCGI/detail.html?769
http://demo.bigfishaudio.net/demo/FCHR1demo3.mp3

John

[Eleventh Hour Sound]

Hey Guys... I just got what seems like a giant Red Flag from AMG regarding authorizations of Kick Ass Brass...

Me: <<With the hardware changing so fast, I tend to upgrade my machines pretty often.

I've had the G5 for a year and a half, and want to uprade soon, but
it's fast enough for the project I'm on now and don't want to change machines midstream...>>

AMG: <<Yeah but then you don't want to put KAB on it if you also change computers more than we might consider reasonable too.>>

Me: <<Have you guys considered iLok?>>

AMG: <<Yeah but then you're dealing with lots of other issues.>>

[mikebeckmotu]

I don't remember where AMG is located, but to give them the benefit of the doubt, I wonder if there is a language issue in their response. I would guess they are trying to say that if you requested many authorizations for many computers, they'd have to question it. This is the only thing that bothers me about non-dongled authorizations - namely, C/R.
On the other hand, most of the developers I've dealt with have been very easy-going about it despite any stern licensing, and I think they ought to be, since users are vocal about being penalized with inconvenience for being legitimate users.
As a beta tester for a number of companies, I've been known to have to clean my system and reauthorize things. So far, I haven't had any problems with it, and emails to developers have been responded to in a very friendly manner. This also goes for when I used to use a PC as my main audio computer, and was constantly tinkering with hardware upgrades that forced system ID changes.
Let's hope that AMG aren't overly strict about this, as I hope to get Kick-Ass Brass at some point, too. I hope we can get something more specific from them about authorizing.

[Eleventh Hour Sound]

Me too...

I own a ton of software and it's a lot of work managing the hardware/software combination that keeps everything running smoothly.

I've never had a problem in the past when I needed to request a new authorization from a company. Most are very reasonable. IKMultimedia allows a fairly generous amount of installs and companies like Native Instruments now allow you to de-authorize a computer so that when you upgrade you can wipe your hard drive and start all over with a new machine.[/i]

I started another thread specifically for this...

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 762#138762

[Michael Sexton]

This dog is too old to learn many new tricks as the learning curve for software these days is so steep, but the sounds in Garritan's Jazz and Big Band Library are outstanding. I've just started to dabble in it and it's like an early Tom Clancy book-hard to put it down. Can't wait to commence to tweakin' stuff and find out what it can really do. But all the sounds are there.

[Rick Averill]

The Garritan JABB is not available for Intel Macs. They've been promising it for at least six months, but there's no telling when it will actually be available. I've got it, but I can't use it in DP until it's UB. I've only been able to use it in Finale, opening in Rosetta. In that environment, the brass and saxes don't exactly blow me away, so I'm anxious to see what they do in DP.

[kwg]

deleted

[dosuna11]

I like Garritan. AS with most things some horn samples are better than others. The flexibility is tremendous. All horn samples have to be tweaked. That said for an out of the box. Try this. Funk City I like it as REX files.
http://www.bigfishaudio.com/4DCGI/detail.html?1085
http://demo.bigfishaudio.net/demo/FNCT12.mp3

[Eleventh Hour Sound]

Oh my Gosh, I couldn't help smiling ear to ear while I listened to those great demos.....

So are they loops or samples? I have Reason, but haven't messed with Rex much...

I like Garritan. AS with most things some horn samples are better than others. The flexibility is tremendous. All horn samples have to be tweaked. That said for an out of the box. Try this. Funk City I like it as REX files.
http://www.bigfishaudio.com/4DCGI/detail.html?1085
http://demo.bigfishaudio.net/demo/FNCT12.mp3