SoniVox Symphonic Brass Collection Virtual Instrument

Recorded in the same hall, using the same award-winning engineers, and featuring Boston Pops musicians, this collection packs a truly unique set of features including the largest set of brass articulations available, multiple section sizes (1st chair, 2nd & 3rd chair, 1st - 3rd chair, and 1st - 6th chair), up to 4 alternate takes on staccato, ta, ka, and sfz articulations, plus release samples and looped sustains. Extra realism, a perfect blend with the string collection, and Sonic's well deserved reputation for superb playability and quality, make this the brass collection of choice.

Recording Notes
Produced by veteran sound-designer Jennifer Hruska, and recorded by Emmy and RIAA award-winning engineers Antonio Oliart and John Bono at Sonic Temple Studios, the same hall used to record the Symphonic String Collection. To ensure a perfect balance with the string collection the players were placed in the hall in the correct orchestral spatial positions with the same B&K 4011 front microphones placed in the same front-of-hall position. We even took measures to simulate the absorption qualities of the string and woodwind players! Even though we had top-notch players, we ran short recording days (no more than 3 or 4 hours per section) with alternating chairs playing to preserve the players lips, resulting in a beautiful tone for all recordings.

The Musicians
Boston has no shortage of world-class players and we were lucky enough to welcome them to this project. Members of the Boston Pops and Boston Ballet Orchestras shared their incomparable musicianship and beautiful instruments. Recordings include Solo French Horn, 2 French Horn Ensemble, 4 French Horn Ensemble, Solo Trumpet, 2 Trumpet Ensemble, 3 Trumpet Ensemble, Solo Baritone Trombone, 2 Tenor Trombone Ensemble, Baritone & 2 Tenor Trombone Ensemble, and solo Tuba.

Section Sizes
Unique to the SONiVOX Symphonic Brass Collection is the versatility of the brass choir section sizes. Composers can now control their section sizes according to what's required for their musical parts. For example writing different parts for 1 st chair trumpet and 2 nd & 3 rd chair trumpets, 1 st part French horns and 2 nd part French horns, baritone trombone and tenor trombones, etc. Recorded and programmed ensembles are included for fast composing or a large section sound.

Sound Design Team
All programming was done exclusively in-house at SONiVOX studios. SONiVOX' team of five sound designers worked in close consort throughout all aspects of production to ensure a consistent sound throughout the entire project. Very limited processing was utilized in preserving the natural recorded sound.

Technical Specifications
Microphones include two B&K 4011 front-of-hall mics, two Cole 4038 ribbon spot mics on the trumpets, two Lawson L47MP Mark II tube spot mics on the French horns, two Shure KSM32 spot mics on the Trombones, and a Neuman TLM170 spot mic on the Tuba. Like the strings, this allowed us to capture a rich balance of spatial and instrument detail. Benchmark preamps and Troisi Octal A/D converters recording direct to Pro-Tools completed the chain.

Sampler Programming
In keeping with our basic design philosophy, we created an assemblage of instruments within each section and articulation that is comprehensive yet practical; providing the user with an abundance of options while avoiding unnecessary duplication and superfluous programming. You'll also find that we kept the instrument list identical between sections to ensure a uniform consistency that will reduce the time you spend managing this collection and greatly increase the time you spend enjoying it.

The Final Product
Our goal, from the first days of pre-production to the last hours of careful polishing was to create a collection that would enable musicians and composers to evoke the true essence of an orchestral brass section, in all its complex shading and color, with unsurpassed clarity and ease. The opportunity to harness this vast potential now rests at your fingertips. Enjoy.