OK, now what about Jazz/Big Band sounds?

[kevinmathie]

You all have been very helpful on the thread about my brass issues, so I thought I'd expand it just a bit.I have a non-Taxi project that makes it necessary for me to record a big-band type of sound. The budget doesn't allow for recording a real big band, so it has to be MIDI. The client understands the loss in quality, but budgets are what budgets are.I've taken on this project knowing up front that I'm going to have to buy more sounds, because I don't have great jazz/big band type of sounds. So, I've built that into the price I quoted my client.Based pretty much solely on the demos, I'm seriously considering the Garritan Jazz & Big Band library. The cost is pretty reasonable -- $259. The downside is that it's still pretty synthy, but I don't know of a library that's better.So, before I buy this, is there something else you all would recommend? Since Matto on the other thread suggested the EWQL Gold for good movie-esque sounds, would that collection be good for this project as well? Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone. Or would the Garritan library be better for this project? The big band sound has to be as authentic as possible, with the obvious limitations that are going to happen using MIDI instruments rather than the real thing.Thanks!Kevin

[avillaronga]

First Call Horns from Big Fish Audio sounds pretty good. Mazz posted a track some time back that used that collection and it sounded really nice. Is it a one song project or multiple songs? If it's just one song, I'd consider spending $300 on real musicians as opposed to $259 for samples. HTHAntonio

[matto]

If you have the money my friend, you are in luck!http://www.sonivoxmi.com/ProductDetail. ... strumentsI have the Garritan JABB and it's okay, and if you're a real tweakhead and don't mind spending tons of time fine tuning everything you can get very decent results...But listen to the Fablesounds demos and hear the difference! And from the reviews I've seen it works quite well and it's easier to get convincing results than Garritan. That's why it so much more money. You get what you pay for. And no Gold would not work well for this I'm afraid.

[kevinmathie]

Quote:If you have the money my friend, you are in luck!http://www.sonivoxmi.com/ProductDetail. ... strumentsI have the Garritan JABB and it's okay, and if you're a real tweakhead and don't mind spending tons of time fine tuning everything you can get very decent results...But listen to the Fablesounds demos and hear the difference! And from the reviews I've seen it works quite well and it's easier to get convincing results than Garritan. That's why it so much more money. You get what you pay for. And no Gold would not work well for this I'm afraid.Holy crap! That's a great library! Thanks for pointing me to it.When I checked out the computer requirements, the website said that it didn't support Intel Macs yet, which is a problem, but I shot off an email to them to verify that. Hopefully it's a case where the software is updated but the webpage is not.Either way, I've bookmarked that page. I would really like to pick up that library. The cost is high, though. Whew! But, I can see why it's so much more money.Thanks!Kevin

[kevinmathie]

Quote:First Call Horns from Big Fish Audio sounds pretty good. Mazz posted a track some time back that used that collection and it sounded really nice. Is it a one song project or multiple songs? If it's just one song, I'd consider spending $300 on real musicians as opposed to $259 for samples. HTHAntonioThanks! I'll check out that library too -- especially if the Broadway Big Band won't work for me because of its lack of Intel Mac support.And, yes, it's a multiple song project. In my proposal, I gave my client two different prices. One with live musicians, and one with just MIDI -- including a little bit extra for a new library -- and even with the little extra for the library, the MIDI option is cheaper.However, as the project progresses, they may be able add one or two live players to the mix. Even one lead player would really help out the sound.

[matto]

Yeah you're right on all points. I've done a lot of salsa stuff where it's all midi except me playing one or two live trumpet tracks, and it sounds real believable. Granted Big Band is even a lot more horn heavy.The Fable sound library IS very expensive...but, as many reviewers (including our tech guru Nick) have pointed out, it's incredibly useful in so many styles beyond just Big Band (like all styles that need "pop" horns...RnB, Funk, Salsa, Reggae etc etc) that it may ultimately be a worthwhile investment for composers who work in many of these styles.

[mazz]

I'm lusting after the Fable Sounds library myself. I gave up on Garritan because it just takes too much tweaking and time to get anything that sounds even OK. Not ready for broadcast in my opinion.First call horns is very good for funk and rock, Tower of Power type stuff but I wouldn't feature it in a big band setting where you need sophisticated harmonies and real sublte phrasing.If I was going to do a project that needed this style and the budget was there, I'd budget in the Broadway Big Band library plus a lead player for each section, alto sax, lead trumpet and 1st bone.They say Intel Mac support coming soon, I wonder how soon?The MIDI version might be cheaper monetarily but how much time would it take you as opposed to doing quick mock ups and writing out charts and bringing in the horns? Could you bring in two players from each section and have them record 1st and 2nd and then 3rd and 4th parts in another pass?Sounds like a fun project either way!Mazz

[nickbatzdorf]

The one you want is BBB. It's a lot of money, but it's 50 miles ahead of everything else.That wouldn't matter if anything else were capable of doing good pop horn parts, but unfortunately everything else has severe limitations.

[backtalkunlimited]

Reply to Moderator: This whole sound library business reminds me of treasure hunting. Most treasure hunters find that their chosen profession offers slim pickings, at best. But the guy who sells metal detectors to treasure hunters retired years ago with a million bucks in his bank account.We treasure hunters must persevere.

[nickbatzdorf]

Meaning what, if you wouldn't mind putting clarity ahead of subtle poetics? I think you know that I publish a magazine called Virtual Instruments, but I'm also as enthusiastic a user of these toys as anyone else - which is why I launched the magazine. And it so happens that I reviewed BBB a few months ago. As far as I'm concerned, this is the most significant new library to come along in years. All other sampled horns suck whale dingus by comparison, and these guys got it right.And I'm not trying to sell you a metal detector, I'm just voicing my opinion - an opinion that really isn't all that far out there!Sorry if I misunderstand what you're trying to say, but if you're looking for sampled pop horns, there is no other treasure to be found.