If any VSL people read this forum post, please consider making a Brass Band Sample Library. This is one area that is not really covered by any sample maker, and with the Dimension approach, VSL would be the perfect company to take on the task. Bras Bands continue year after year to have a very loyal and large audience. Brass Band musicians are active amatueurs and there are large numbers of them. It is not sales to Pro comoposers that keep sample companies like VSL in business, there just are too few Pro composers. It is the sales to the much larger market of amateurs that generate far more revenue. Thanks for all of your fine products VSL. I bet Dimension Woodwinds will be next, but after that, how about Brass Band!
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Brass Band Library
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Brass band would be a good thing. Lot's of instruments are already covered by VSL but still missing more clarinets and flutes, tenor horns (euphoniums) and flugelhorns (section, not solo) are missing. It would be great to have more than one section sound for phasing free unisonos of first/second/third clarinets (more than one instrument per voice) first/second flutes, flugelhorn sections etc.
I made a concert band template with mainly VSL but had to add a lot of other developers stuff. Would be great to have it all VSL.There's a big pro market for composers and arrangers in the concert band aera. I don't think it's an exotic niche.
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Well, I guess this could be yet another sample library request for the VSL folks. Why not a Swing Band Brass/Winds too while we're at it. They could do both at the same time? Maybe?
Oh! And please don't forget my Boys Choir request that I put in years ago. I'd even settle for a Girls Choir if that would be easier.
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Why not a Swing Band Brass/Winds too while we're at it. They could do both at the same time? Maybe?
Or even Latin Brass😉
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When I heard "Brass Band" I just thought a song from SWEET CHARITY.
A set of instruments for Concert Band would be wonderful! I just use most of the solo instruments for what I need. The sound seems to work overall. More sections would be nice such as Saxophones and Tubas. I think some of the lower instruments would only one or two players in a real situation. Adding a Baritone Horn and a Contra-alto clarinet might fill in a couple of missing instruments.
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The traditional brass band includes an Eb Cornet, Eb Alto/Tenor Horn, and both Eb and Bb tubas in addition to Cornets, Flugelhorn and Trombones.
VSL has no Eb Cornet, no Eb horn and sadly I find the VSL cornet dissappointing.
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No, the VSL Cornet is one of the great sampled instruments. It is molto espressivo and the ultimate performance and recording quality.
However, I do agree that the concert/symphonic band could be an area where VSL can create a very unique sound. The large number of clarinets and flutes, trumpets, cornets, and some specific instruments now available allow a clarinet ensemble of 5 Bflat, Eflat high clarinet, alto clarinet (bassett horn), bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, 5 flutes, piccolo, (not to mention alto and bass flutes), all the saxes in solo versions, 5 oboes, (not to mention two English horns), 5 bassoons, contrabassoon. So what is missing in woodwinds is another massed ensemble of clarinets - perhaps six. Because if you use transposition/pitch shift then you have at least two doublings of each group. This would create a huge concert band sound in woodwinds.
On Brass there are: 16 trumpets in the high range - 6 trumpet ensemble, 3 trumpet ensemble, c trumpet, B flat trumpet, Cornet, Dimension trumpets, not to mention bass trumpet, piccolo trumpet and flugelhorn. In horns there are way more horns than any concert band I ever played in - 18. There are also 10 trombones, euphonium, 2 tubas. Those are the sounds that already exist. But there could perhaps be sampled additionally a Sousaphone as well as the bigger clarinet ensemble. Perhaps there could be a "Special Brass and Woodwinds II"?
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I'm glad you like the VSL Cornet. As a solo instrument, it does work well.
I use VSL within Sibelius, so I'm not sure how much that effects my experience with the VSL Cornet. But my problem occurs when I try to use 2 or 3 cornets. There seems to be so much baked in vibrato that the sound is unusable. I have to use 2 or 3 dimension trumpets instead. And using the "ord" or "senza vibrato" expression text does not seem to help.
I love the Euphonium, which I know some purchasers have complained about, but I find to be awesome.
It seems highly unlikely that every musician on earth would ever be in 100% agreement about anything.
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Yeah I overstated that. I can see what you are saying about the vibrato with several cornets. That would be another great Dimension instrument to have for this purpose. I have been experimenting with getting a big, symphonic band sound but when you consider how the clarinets in band are almost as numerous as violins and violas in orchestra and are used in a similar way, it is not easy. So if there were a dedicated sample library for it that would be fabulous.
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Very impressive work William! In fact, I liked it so much that I listened to all of your new YouTube posts, and find your work to be really wonderful. I like your harmonic style, with its mixture of classical romantic era and film music influences. Awesome work.