Hi there,
Okay, who's ready for 20 minutes of extensive mutes showcase? Me neither! And yet, here we go.
DISCLAIMER: not a brass player
I've selected my favourite mutes for each section, and applied them to the best orchestral brass libraries I have: CineSamples Cinebrass Core, Audio Imperia Jaeger, and 8Dio Century Brass Solo Bundle. I've used the same(ish) MIDI clips for each library, so even though the CC1 lane would have benefited from some tweaking, I couldn't be bothered.
I turned off the internal reverb for all sample libraries, and added some as a send/return bus (Valhalla Room Default patch, which is a large room). Not that it makes a big difference, but I figured it would be cleaner to add the reverb after Sordina.
Here are patch notes for each sample library:
- CineBrass Core: Dennis Sand mix, without the internal reverb;
- Jaeger: Modern mix, without the internal reverb;
- Century Brass: B mix.
What you see is what you get: no extra EQ applied, no compression, no extra tweaking of LPF, HPF or gain with two exceptions: Century Brass Solo Trombone Denis Wick Cup, with a bit of LPF to tame the buzzing, and some gain reduction of Jaeger's Trumpet Harmon Denis Wick Stem In, which hit the VU meters too hard.
If it buzzes, it's from Sordina (except for 8dio's Flugelhorn naked legato, which I decided to include "as is"), but it's most likely a combination of a sample library and a mute model. Nothing that cannot be adjusted by reducing the gain before hitting Sordina, or using the dedicated LPF knob.
MUTE ORDER :
Trumpets:
- Bucket Jo Ral Brass Bottom
- Cup Denis Wick Adjustable 1
- Harmon Denis Wick Stem In
- Harmon Humes & Berg Stem In
French Horns:
- Stop Humes & Berg Stonelined
- Straight Humes & Berg Philharmonic
- Cup Humes & Berg Stonelined
Trombones:
- Bucket Humes & Berg Bucket
- Cup Denis Wick Cup
- Harmon Jo Ral Bubble Stem In
Flugelhorn (only for 8Dio's Century Brass Solo Bundle):
- Bucket Humes & Berg Velvet Tone
- Cup Humes & Berg Stonelined
- Straight Humes & Berg Aluminium
And now, additional notes!
- Unfortunately, Jaeger does not have a legato patch for the trombone, so please excuse the poor sustain line.
- Some mutes get very loud, like the Trumpet Harmon Denis Wick Stem In, which is why I've had to turn it down a notch.
- Some issues with crackling happening, maybe it has to do with the input gain. Ex.: TP Humes & Berg Harmon Stem In & CineBrass, or Century Brass Solo to a lesser extent. Usually bringing down the gain in, or using the built-in LPF knob gives it some headspace. Notice that Jaeger handles it just fine.
- Some noise gets added with some of the most "extreme" mutes, which I didn't necessarily include. A bit of EQ afterwards helps with it.
CONCLUSIONS:
This plugin has clearly been made with love
Thank you to
@d.healey for it, your creation will be very useful!
Before getting Sordina, I was actually considering getting some dedicated muted brass library. But given what I'm hearing now, I have no reason to do so. I'm especially after a good Harmon sound, and I'm really happy with all of the options we have here. There's plenty for all instruments, especially the trumpet obviously. The stopped horns are brilliant as well.
I really appreciate the built-in LPF and HPF knobs, they're very useful and a sensible option for this concept.
I haven't tried the Wah option yet
All in all, well, WELL worth the $15 for the hobbyist that I am, and that would also be worth the full price if you're a professional composer, given how much it would cost to get a dedicated muted brass library.