Creating A Horn Section

Mick EmeryMick Emery
edited April 2011 in General Questions
I was wondering if anyone on the forum uses The Sample Modeling instruments as a horn section when playing live.



In particular, I wanted to know if there was any advantage to playing in stereo & panning the instruments?

I'd like to get some separation vs. a "muddy mono mix".



I realize that stereo disappears as you get farther away from the stage, but I'm still curious.



Any ideas would be appreciated.



Mick

Comments

  • Phil999Phil999
    edited 10:26AM
    a mono mix doesn't have to be muddy. Playing every voice separately, or live with several players, it can sound very impressive. And I don't hear much stereo in all SM instruments, I always treat them as mono. In fact, to my knowledge the level meter always shows equal on left and right (I don't exactly remember because I automatically route one instrument to a mono track). Panning the instruments is of course a good thing, but in my opinion not always necessary. True, mixing an entire section to one mono track does not sound very spectacular like in a film score or other orchestral recording, but there are many examples where it works very well - depends on the rest of the music.



    Just to have the option to use stereo and wide panning does not mean we always have to use it. Sometimes less is more I think.



    But I must add that I make my own music. If you work for a client you may not have these liberties. It's funny somehow, in earlier days everyone was dreaming of today's options, and now there are some people like me who keep recording in a restricted way. :)
  • Mick EmeryMick Emery
    edited 10:26AM
    I'm not talking about recording. I'm talking about "live", "on stage".
  • Phil999Phil999
    edited 10:26AM
    me too, although it also implied recording situations.



    How many players are there in your section? I've never seen more than one Samplemodeling instrument on stage. Are you guys using wind controllers or keyboards, or a combination?
  • Mick EmeryMick Emery
    edited 10:26AM
    I reread my original post. I don't see anything that "implies" recording.



    I am the horn section.



    Not to be rude...but do you play a horn section live on stage? That's who I'm looking for advice from.
  • Ben HBen H
    edited 10:26AM
    Hi Mick,



    I'm not sure if you have read this already, but there was a great discussion about getting a good sounding horn section by using different IRs on each instrument.



    Sample modeling, the best way for brass ensemble at unison ?



    There are also some other useful tidbits in there which are quite pertinent to your goal.



    Hope this helps, Ben.
  • Mick EmeryMick Emery
    edited 10:26AM
    Man! Thanks Ben!!!



    What a great read! It took some searching to find out what IR was. (There's my ignorance)

    Now I need to figure out how to apply it in Kontakt.



    Thanks again.

    Mick
  • Phil999Phil999
    edited 10:26AM
    :D



    it seems there have been a couple of misunderstandings in this discussion. Anyway, it's good that you finally have found the answer to your question.



    Besides, there are a couple of threads here dealing with IR's, I'm sure you get it going in no time.



    Best wishes.
  • Giorgio TommasiniGiorgio Tommasini
    edited 10:26AM
    The topic of IR has been discussed earlier in this forum, but just to remind:



    1) The Trumpet includes three different Bb trumpets, each one differently tuned, pitch modulated, with a different portamento time, different velocity response, and different IR. They should be therefore suitable to yield a convincing ensemble sound out of the box, even when driven from the same source, as in the real time case. No doubt, best result are obtained by using separate midi tracks, though.



    2) The Trombone includes two different Tenor and one Valve Trombone, with different early reflections IR and different tuning, modulation, etc. The same concepts described above for The Trumpet apply to The Trombone.



    3) The Saxophones are provided as single instruments. If one plays two instances on the Tenor Saxophone, they will show a very similar behaviour, except for a slightly different pitch modulation. Detuning, panning, changing some preset parameter, will help. Different external IR may be required for optimal results though.



    Best,



    Giorgio
  • Mick EmeryMick Emery
    edited 10:26AM
    Thanks to everyone for their responses. This is exciting.

    It gives me a plan of action and will also help me get more familiar with the instruments.



    Mick



    BTW>>>I am not getting notifications of replies. Maybe it's my ISP? Has anyone else experienced this?

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