Jan 13, 2018 Brass 2 is a collection of a trumpet, a saxophone and a trombone, all delivered in software format. You can play each of these instruments independently.

The new version of Arturia's Brass instrument attempts to create realistic‑sounding trombones, trumpets and saxophones, so just how successful is it? The main interface of Brass 2.0, in Live mode.

Here all four sound slots are loaded with instruments, and several take advantage of the in‑built automation system for some of their parameters. The French company Arturia are well known — and deservedly so — for their range of outstanding virtual synths. But tucked away in their product range is a different kind of virtual instrument, one that uses physical and acoustic modelling techniques to generate a range of trumpet, trombone and saxophone sounds that span the stylistic spectrum. Brass 2. Vectora Lt Std Font. 0 was developed in conjunction with boffins at the IRCAM institute in Paris, and claims all sorts of benefits over its sample‑based competitors. These include potentially greater levels of expressivity, especially for soloing, and a freedom from the arguably limiting, inflexible nature of lick- or phrase‑based sound libraries. Additionally, Brass 2.0 promises to be a friend to all laptop owners: its installation footprint is comparatively small, and there's absolutely no reliance on streaming samples. Modelling acoustic instruments is a tricky business, though, so how have Arturia got on with this latest attempt?

The MIDI Preset editor opens up in the central area of the main window, and lets you assign various MIDI controllers to instrument parameters. According to Arturia, to run Brass 2.0 you need a PC with Windows 2000, XP or Vista, or a Mac with OS 10.4 or higher.

It's a universal binary, so both PowerPC and Intel users are supported. Microsoft Monthview Control 6.0 (sp4). For both platforms, 512MB RAM and a 2GHz dual‑core processor are minimum requirements. Arturia use Syncrosoft copy protection, which means you can get your licence on a Syncrosoft USB dongle if you wish, or use a straightforward disk‑based method.

The authorisation process looks a little convoluted, but is actually really easy and well described in the manual, and a further advantage of the Syncrosoft approach is that you can swap a disk‑based authorisation onto a dongle — or vice‑versa — any time you choose. Brass is also available as part of Arturia's 'One' package, which consists of a DVD costing 229 Euros $249 and containing eight of their software instruments, with a license for 15 days use. The idea is that at the end of the 15 days you choose your favourite instrument and assign the single permanent license to it.

Brass 2.0 runs as a stand‑alone application on Mac and Windows, and as a VST, RTAS and Audio Units plug‑in. There's no essential difference between the stand‑alone and plug‑in versions, so for the purposes of this review I'll concentrate on the plug‑in. The user interface appears in a 900 x 640‑pixel window (beneath whatever title‑bar paraphernalia your particular host sequencer displays), and with several alternative modes and configuration displays on offer, it takes a few moments of clicking around to uncover exactly how the is configured.

Essentially, Brass 2.0 offers up to four instrument 'slots', which can be occupied by any combination of trumpet, trombone and sax. In Live mode, you get to play your modelled instruments as you would any other synth or sampler, although there's built‑in harmonisation available for quick and easy 'section' recreations.

In Riff mode, a built‑in sequencer is revealed, and now MIDI inputs trigger sequenced phrases, of which around 150 are supplied, categorised by style, and fully editable. Although Riffs can be triggered perfectly well by a single MIDI keypress, Riff mode will also respond to chordal input, analysing what you play and 'bending' the Riff's scale accordingly. Revista H Junio 2012 Rar. Onboard harmonisation makes it easy to generate harmonically rich horn sections and octave doubling by playing just single notes. Presets are supplied, or you can roll your own in a dedicated editor. Before we get bogged down in too much detail, let's look at Brass 2.0 in use. With no sample-loading time, it's ready to go as soon as you instantiate it, and it defaults to Live mode, ready to be played in real time.

Basic operation is then quite intuitive. You can choose descriptively named instrument presets for the four slots from pop‑up menus on the left of the window, and tweak them in the instrument slots. The parameters that appear there differ slightly between saxophone and trumpet/trombone models, as the main screenshot shows. This being a modelling‑based instrument, you're not going to be finding Filter Cutoff and Resonance amongst those parameters, so here's a run‑down of what's available: ATT (Attack): Controls the speed and quality with which a note 'speaks'. PRS (Pressure): Essentially how hard the virtual instrument is blown.