virtual 2nd line drums???

[stainless]

anybody know of believable 2nd line samples? Zydeco/Cajun???

I have Kontackt and Superior

BigFish Gumbo.... isn't doing much for me

thanks for any ideas

[Shooshie]

Garritan's Jazz and Big Band might have some helpful samples for that. Off the top of my head I can't remember everything it has, but I do remember that it has an exorbitant number of saxophones, brass instruments, and odd percussion instruments. Surely there's a sousaphone, some trombones, euphoniums, an assortment of saxes and brass, and some portable percussion that would work for that stuff. Making it sound like it's outdoors may be a job for Altiverb.

Found the instrument list:

• 16 SAXOPHONES
  Sopranino saxophone, Mezzo Soprano sax, 2 Soprano saxophones, (1 straight, 1 curved), 3 Alto saxophones, C Melody saxophone, 4 Tenor saxophones, Baritone sax, Bass saxophone, Contrabass saxophone, Sub-contrabass saxophone, plus derivative ensemble instruments.
  
  6 TRUMPETS (with mutes)
  5 Bb Trumpets (all with extended range, one with extreme range) open and with straight mute, cup mute, Harmon mute, and bucket mute, Flugelhorn, plus derivative ensemble instruments
  
  5 TROMBONES (with mutes)
  Including 4 Tenor Trombones and Bass Trombone open and with straight mute, cup mute, Harmon mute, and bucket mute, plus derivative ensemble instruments
  
  ADDITIONAL WINDS
  Piccolo, Alto Flute, C Flute, Bb Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tuba, Harmonica, plus derivative ensemble instruments
  
  KEYBOARDS
  Steinway B grand piano, Vintage electric piano, Jazz Accordion, Rock Organ
  
  GUITARS
  2 Electric guitars, Acoustic guitar, Banjo
  
  BASSES
  2 Upright acoustic basses, 2 Fretless electric basses, 2 Fretted electric basses
  
  DRUM KITS
  Classic Stick kits, Fusion Stick Kit, plus separate instruments (kick, snare, toms, hi-hat, cymbals), Brush kit (with controllable stirs) plus separate instruments
  
  PERCUSSION
  Vibraphone (hard and soft mallets), Wide variety of percussion including Latin percussion, bongos, congas, timbales, wood blocks, shakers, bells, whistles, etc.

While it's oriented toward big-band, fusion, and small jazz groups, I think you can find the basic instrumentation for a 2nd Line. After all, 2nd Line is basically anyone who shows up. Just play the style, and play it a little more loosely, maybe with a trombone and a sax in the ensemble playing a little flat, and you're basically there. There is a tuba; it could do as a sousaphone, maybe with a little EQ. The tricky thing is getting the ambience. Altiverb has a few outdoor spaces. Maybe if you're changing some elements of the space with automation, adding some very late reflections from time to time to simulate the group's walking past streets and buildings, you'd get what you're looking for.

I haven't heard of anyone sampling an actual 2nd Line band. That might be hard to do!

Shoosh

[Shooshie]

While I was on the Garritan pages, I was reminded of the World library (which I use, and which has a number of instruments suitable for Zydeco), and the Marching Band library, which has Sousaphones, euphoniums, mellophones, and other instruments liable to be heard in a 2nd line band.

Zydeco depends heavily on the rub board (washboard, in a pinch), accordion, fiddle, and bass, sometimes electric versions of those, and often saxophones. Between the Jazz & Big Band library and the World library, you could piece together a believable zydeco band. The real trick, as always, is style.

There are surely other collections that work as well or better, but I think whatever you use, you'll be piecing together instruments from multiple libraries.

Shooshie

[stainless]

Thanks Shoosie I'll take a look at the Garritan libraries!

the drums are what I'm having the hardest time finding. I played Zydeco for a while and the drummers (the good ones) had a really good control/feel for 2nd line which most other drummers I've played with struggle to pull off . It's like a military cadence with soul. I've got some fairly decent cadence samples (Platinum Samples- great bang for the buck), but it's not quite there

as to rub board- I have one...though I'm a bit spastic when trying to play it (especially with spoons... i do much better with thimbles)

[kinnylandrum]

I actually went on this same search recently, having lived in New Orleans and worked with Toussaint and the Meters. Without a doubt, the absolute best is the Terrence Higgins DrummerPack for DrumCore. Great and I'm sure you know who he is. But of course you have to have DrumCore to use these samples. DrumCore BTW is great and will be updated to DrumCore 4 in 64 bit next year.

But I did find one interesting thing here: http://www.spectrasonics.net/products/l ... _strut.php
After all this time I'm not sure where the money goes, but the one demo seems fine.

I also saw this and almost bought it, but then DrumCore offered a deal on the Higgins thing and I too it:
http://www.platinumsamples.com/ps/Stant ... rooves.php

[Shooshie]

Trust Kinny! He'd know. I've never tried to make Zydeco music, though I grew up right next to its roots, in East Texas. I can tell you when it sounds authentic, but I've never done it myself.

Still, for the brass and winds, and maybe some of the other instruments, too, if you can't find exactly what you are looking for, a band cobbled together from Garritan's offerings can probably be made to sound like the real deal if you work closely with the ambience and nail the styles.

Shoosh