Vienna Symphonic Library Forum
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  • Trumpet Range

    F
    F

    I know all the text books will say top C is the top of the Bb trumpet range but any session player worth the money can go at least to a concert D or E and some much higher. Its a little irritating therefore that Fanfare Trumpets and as far as I can gather all the other VSL trumpets stop at C when a lot of film score writing would use the top D quite regularly.
  • J
    J

    You should be able to use your daw's pitch shifter to get those last few notes.[Y] 
  • michiM
    VSL Team
    michiM

    our Fanfare Trumpets are a group of six players and we believe the high "c" is a pretty good attempt for a big group playing in unison. our Solo Trumpets, for example the Bb-Trumpet, are recorded all the way up to the high "f" .

     

    all the best, michael
  • F
    F

    Adding a solo trumpet  is a good idea.   Would be nice to be able to edit the mapping in VSL. At that altitude an extra tone probably wouldn't make a lot of difference. Do I remember there's a pro version of the VSL instrument in the works somewhere? Maybe we'll get that when it comes along.
  • RaymondeR
    RaymondeR
    last edited
    last edited

    @flashman said:

    Do I remember there's a pro version of the VSL instrument in the works somewhere? Maybe we'll get that when it comes along.

    You have heard correctly

    'Vienna Instruments PRO will offer a host of new features that will not only make your creative work easier, but also add human behavior to your music'

    http://vsl.co.at/en/65/71/1877/1528.vsl

    I agree though quite vehemently, high school players in my band, struggle though they did, could play the D6 and also E6; the acoustics of the instrument do allow at least G6; that is  2 and one half octaves above middle C. Why the Vienna Symphonic Library does not include this is beyond me, the players certainly had the G6 in their range and more I'm sure!

    Ray Phenicie

    Southfield, MI 48033

    USA
  • PaulP
    VSL Team
    PaulP

    Hello Ray,

    recording an instrument or an ensemble takes a minimum of 1 year. Thousands of samples are recorded in long sessions, every week, throughout the whole range. I know that´s easy to forget, but a Performance Legato patch has around 1.000 samples average available in the background.And the goal is that each sample fits perfectly to every other. You have to be able to switch from one articulations to another anytime.

    That´s totally different from a score, where the brass players have to hit high notes ONCE, plus being "covered" by the rest of the orchestra.

    Now, each sample is recorded several times, and we are picking only the best samples. All samples are also recorded at peak level, even the pianissimo ones - you hear much more than you would hear from any real life performance, both in our recording suite and our editing suites.

    Michael Hula has been directing these performances for 10 years now. With hundreds of musicians. You wouldn´t believe how tough this work is, for both the musicians and the musical director, to get ultimate results. If you have the time, come and visit. You´ll understand after 1 hour what this is all about, especially when the high ranges are recorded. These musicians are heroes, seriously! And Michael knows very well where to set the limits to be able to finish these recordings.

    Best,

    Paul

    Paul Kopf Product Manager VSL
  • F
    F

    I completely appreciate what you are saying but almost all contemporary film scores  at some point go over top C and as Fanfare Trumpets  - like Epic Horns -  are clearly designed to appeal to the more media rather than concert composers I would have thought this is an omission. Most libraries do go higher than this and one at least in legato mode. Fanfare Trpts is a wonderful library but this gives some of us a big problem. It seems daft that - in terms of range -  the sample library can't do what a live orchestra can.
  • D
    D

    Actually it's quite rare to have Trumpets going above a concert C. Solo Trumpet yes, but ensemble trumpets that high is not really good orchestration (for various reasons). I'm not saying that it shouldn't be available, but the "it happens often" argument doesn't really stand up IMO. French Horns is a different matter though.

    DG
  • F
    F

    Can you imagine a Bond movie with John Barclay, Maurice Murphy and the others all sticking to top concert C? Its an exhilarating sound used in moderation and personally I would prefer to make those creative choices rather than VSL.
  • PaulP
    VSL Team
    PaulP

    Hi flashman,

    I totally get your point and I´d love to have these notes, too.

    What I´m trying to say is: We already recorded everything that was possible in the given time-frame (10 years). I didn´t say that there might be upgrades available sooner or later, if the interest is there and we can convince our players to go through this torture. However, it´s not scheduled.

    I´m not a trumpet player myself, but I´ve seen quite some musicians suffer with these high notes. It all looks different from a keyboard player´s perspective.

    Best,

    Paul

    Paul Kopf Product Manager VSL
  • D
    D
    last edited
    last edited

    @flashman said:

    Can you imagine a Bond movie with John Barclay, Maurice Murphy and the others all sticking to top concert C? Its an exhilarating sound used in moderation and personally I would prefer to make those creative choices rather than VSL.

     

    I may be wrong, but I don't ever remember hearing more than one player on the super notes. Certainly not 6 players. [:O]

    DG
  • J
    J

    With all the numerous tools at our disposition like Melodyne and others, getting those last few notes shouldn't be a problem.