This SONiVOX marketing stuff had me in stitches...
When you need to add real brass to your project for that "just so" feel, nothing less than the real thing will do. Artificial sounds and less-than-authentic details will sabotage even the best-intentioned efforts. It's like a history buff watching a movie about World War I and seeing a 1960's-era clock on the fireplace mantel in the background. The credibility is shot and the production is ruined.
You only get one chance. Don't blow it.
...
In case you're interested (and we know you are, because that's the care and attention you pay to your music), here are the technical details:
*proceeds to list non-technical details about the performers, space, etc.*
Very remarkable with "dual velocity patches" (a fancy way of saying "two dynamic layers", i.e. the standard in the mid 90's on hardware units like the EMU ESI-32).
For fun, here's the marketing drivel with all the
superlatives, hyperbole, etc. taken out and [[snarky comments]] and [corrections] put in instead:
Quote:When you need to add real brass to your project for that "just so" feel, nothing less than [[double negative]] the real thing will do [[so basically, you are telling people to record real brass rather than use your product?]]. Artificial sounds and less-than-authentic details will sabotage even the best-intentioned efforts [can sound pretty good if you know how to use MIDI in the slightest, but we don't figure you do]. It's like a history buff watching a movie about World War I and seeing a 1960's-era clock on the fireplace mantel in the background [[who the heck wrote this!? Please still don't be pissed off about that scene in Pirates of the Caribbean where the guy was wearing a t-shirt in the background...]]. The credibility is shot and the production is ruined. [[well that's highly debatable... what if it's a time travel film?]]
You only get one chance. Don't blow it. [[OK, coach! In real life, see, the client would go, "um, that sounds like Ocarina of Time, can you make it sound EPICER?"]]
That's the seriousness [bollocks] with which we took the creation of Orchestral Companion Brass.
The SONiVOX design team has produced over [>=] 80 outstanding brass programs [[I'm sorry, each "brass" is a set of instructions for a computer to process? That's the definition of a 'Program', m8...]], each one meticulously crafted [designed] to deliver an accurate and convincing an experience as possible [sound]. That's what you demand, so that’s what we did. [[actually, I demand extremely shitty noise-filled brass libraries made from recordings from cassette tapes]]
There is a comprehensive collection of full orchestral brass ensembles, and also a full array of smaller brass sub-groups [[WHAT THE HECK IS A SUB-GROUP!? IS THAT LIKE A WOLFPACK!?]]. In addition, we provide you with a complete selection of solo instruments. All the major instruments are here, including solo trumpets, trombones, bass trombones, French horns [[seriously, they're not French]], and tuba. Double and flutter tonguing, sustained and staccato notes, plus instrument mutes, swells, sforzando, and marcato voicing [articulations] provide you with the depth of content you need for convincing brass parts and tracks. [[If someone could explain the difference between a "brass part" and a "brass track" (as opposed to a 'brass tack'?), that would be greatly appreciated...]]
However, what really sets the [differentiates] SONiVOX Orchestral Companion Brass apart from other seemingly similar products is this:
We spared no effort or expense in seeking [sought] out the best musicians playing the best-sounding instruments, and we took the necessary steps to record[ed] them correctly in the most lifelike manner possible. We paid attention to every detail—we crossed every 't' and dotted every 'i.'
All because we knew you wouldn't accept inauthentic [shitty] brass sounds in your production any more than you'd accept a 1960's clock in your 1914-era movie. [[aaand the award for greatest Adult Fiction goes to...]] [[also: Fragment; consider revising.]]
In case you're interested (and we know you are, because that's the care and attention you pay to your music) , here are the technical details:
World-Class Musicians; Top-Tier instruments
We recorded the Orchestral Companion Brass in the legendary Futura Productions studios in Massachusetts. Members of the Boston Pops and/or Boston Ballet Orchestras played all performances, with the same premium instruments they use for their actual [[as opposed to their fake or imaginary performances?]] concert(s) galas and events [[gala == event, moron]]. A combination of spot and ambient mic’ing capture(s) every instrumental nuance [sounds], while preserving the refined acoustics and intimacy of the performance space itself.
State-of-the-Art Sampling Sessions
Under the expert guidance of SONiVOX musical sound connoisseur [[producer/designer]] Jennifer Hruska, each sample session was faithfully recorded by Emmy award-winning engineers Antonio Oliart and RIAA award-winning engineer John Bono. The players were positioned using orchestrally-correct [orchestral] seating [['orchestrally-correct' is not a word]], and measures were even taken to [we] compensate(d) for the sound-absorption of any players [[who had better things to do in 1995]] absent on that particular day. In order to retain a realistic "organic" feel [not have it sound like shit], we used absolutely minimal post-recording electronic processing [[uh... what other kind of processing is there, biological? magnetic?]]. We used two B&K 4011 microphones to preserve the highly-desired front-of-hall sound (you know, the "good seats") [at the front], while superior-grade spot mics accurately captured each instrument's individual detail [sound]. Benchmark-caliber preamps fed Troisi Octal A/D convert(e)rs to complete an uncorrupted signal chain. [[even the cheapest converters and preamps in 2001 were 'uncorrupted' unless they were broken]]
We expended more effort and care on this system than most crazed get-a-life audiophiles do on their own systems, but that’s how important it was to us...because that's how important it is to you. [[once again, putting words in my mouth and thoughts in my head. Thank you, I was totally unable to figure out what I wanted by myself!]]
Playable Programs [[you'd better damn hope I can play them or I'm getting a refund!!!]]
Each patch and preset is easily playable by virtually every level of performer [[what about someone who can't play piano or doesn't own a computer, WHAT THEN!?]]. All instruments are presented in multi [have two] velocity layers, with natural swells available via the modulation wheel. MIDI key switching provides on-the-fly articulation for select patches. The internal [[dear God, I was worried you were going to talk about the external sound engine!!]] sound engine provides additional modulation (LFO) sources, dynamic envelope control, and studio-grade reverb/effects [[so basically what my $20 1995 General MIDI DS-330 can do]] to allow creative customization of the onboard sounds. [[onboard... wait, I thought this was software! I am so very confused...]]
Plug-In Proficiency [Formats] [[As opposed to Plug-In In-proficiency... I can see why they chose Proficiency!]]
In addition, Orchestral Companion Brass runs as a fully compatible plug-in with any VST (32 or 64 bit), AU (64 bit) , and AAX (32 or 64 bit) for ProTools 10.3 or higher Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software.
Features
State-of-the-art captures of world-class brass instruments
24-bit [[because we should make things unnecessarily larger than they should be, particularly with brass!]], dual velocity [2vl] patches provide expressive textures
Over 5 GB of data content [[SHIT, I thought this was Analog content!! Crap, time to return the tape mellotron...]]
80+ patches covering brass ensembles, sectionals & solo instruments
Full Brass Ensembles; Brass Sections [[you LITERALLY just said that]]
Solo Trumpet, Trombone, Bass Trombone, French Horn, and Tuba
Diverse articulations, dynamics, and muted instruments
16 patches with full articulation switching using MIDI keys [[i.e. "16 keyswitchable patches"]]
Internal FX, LFOs, and envelopes for unlimited creative freedom
32 & 64-bit; VST, AU, RTAS, and AAX
Here it is all cleaned up!
Quote:When you need to add brass to your project, the real thing will do. Artificial sounds can sound pretty good if you know how to use MIDI in the slightest, but we don't figure you do.
That's the bollocks with which we took the creation of Orchestral Companion Brass.
The SONiVOX design team has produced >= 80 brass programs, each one designed to deliver an accurate sound.
There is a collection of orchestral brass ensembles, and also smaller brass groups. In addition, we provide you with solo instruments. All the major instruments are here, including solo trumpets, trombones, bass trombones, horns, and tuba. Double and flutter tonguing, sustained and staccato notes, mutes, swells, sforzando, and marcato articulations provide you with content for brass parts.
What differentiates SONiVOX Orchestral Companion Brass from other similar products is that we sought out musicians playing instruments, and we recorded them correctly. We paid attention.
All because we knew you wouldn't accept shitty brass sounds in your productions.
Here are the technical details:
Musicians; instruments
We recorded the Orchestral Companion Brass in Futura Productions studios in Massachusetts. Members of the Boston Pops and/or Boston Ballet Orchestras played all performances, with the same instruments they use for their concerts. A combination of spot and ambient mic’ing captures sounds, while preserving the acoustics of the performance space
State-of-the-Art Sampling Sessions
Under the guidance of SONiVOX producer/designer Jennifer Hruska, each sample session was recorded by Antonio Oliart and John Bono. The players were positioned using orchestral seating, and we compensated for the sound-absorption of any players absent. In order to not have it sound like shit, we used minimal post-recording. We used two microphones at the front, while spot mics captured each instrument's sound. Preamps fed A/D converters to complete a signal chain.
We expended effort on this system.
Programs
Each patch and preset is playable. All instruments have two velocity layers, with swells via the modulation wheel. MIDI key switching provides articulation for select patches. The sound engine provides modulation (LFO) sources, dynamic envelope control, and reverb/effects to allow customization of the sounds.
Plug-In Formats
In addition, Orchestral Companion Brass runs as a plug-in VST (32 or 64 bit), AU (64 bit) , and AAX (32 or 64 bit) for ProTools 10.3 or higher Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software.
Features
captures of brass instruments
24-bit 2vl patches
5 GB of content
80+ patches covering brass ensembles, sectionals & solo instruments
Solo Trumpet, Trombone, Bass Trombone, Horn, and Tuba
articulations, dynamics, and muted instruments
16 keyswitchable patches
Internal FX, LFOs, and envelopes
32 & 64-bit; VST, AU, RTAS, and AAX
My version is 418 words/2,760 characters, while the original version is 603 words/4,684 characters. That's an approximately 40% reduction in the amount of text and time spent reading by just cutting out the fluff and bollocks. I could still remove more, such as the bit about how the Boston Pops players play the same instruments they normally play (totally irrelevant information intended to impress the reader: it's common sense they would play the same instruments...).
I think the thing that bothers me more than prices is the insane amount of drivel. The Garritan site is like watching a train wreck of marketing bollocks and reality in real time 24/7.
Quote:Garritan is the world’s leading provider of quality virtual software instruments. We are committed to creating new standards that are consistently in the forefront of music technology, yet remain focused on the human elements of music and real performance... ... Garritan sounds are widely used in television, film, game audio, and on the world’s greatest concert stages.
World's leading provider is totally EastWest without a doubt, probably followed by Vienna or Native Instruments or maybe now even Spitfire (that is, if we ignore free stuff), so that's just an outright lie. Even Gary Garritan apparently once remarked GPO was not designed as a quality professional instrument set but rather a sketching tool for use in notation software exclusively.
Garritan probably hasn't done anything regarding "new standards" or "forefront of music technology"-ish since the late 90's. SFZ/ARIA was a collaboration admittedly, but definitely isn't at the forefront of anything (remarkably SF2 is still holding on tooth-and-nail and most people seem to vastly prefer VSTi/AU such as Maize-based instruments despite their own obvious shortcomings). I don't see them doing combined sample-synthesis fusions, acoustic modelling, granular resynthesis, advanced DFD, true legato, advances in crossfading, advances in articulation switching, or anything else that hallmarks the current line of 'new standards' in the industry.
I don't think they are widely used in anything aside from Finale mock-ups and some people who don't know or can't afford better. XD
