Blow your own with Arturia Brass 2.0

By Paul Dakeyne

July 27, 2009 | Posted in Music Technology

I’ve always been into the creative layering and usage of brass lines in dance/pop music. Looking back into my record collection at the 80′s wonders Yello (with tracks like ‘The Race’), Herb Alpert’s dalliance ‘in the groove’, and right up to date with a track like ‘Mary Jane’ by Major Lazer, a well formed Brass hook can have the ‘involuntary hip movement’ effect that no other synth or acoustic instrument can achieve.

So, apart from the uber-cool Arturia Brass instrument getting a whopping price cut recently, we now have version 2.0 soon to arrive. From the beginning, ‘Brass’ was never your bog standard sample playback tool. No Siree, this ‘lil baby has models.. three of them to be precise (trumpet, saxophone and trombone).. and they’re good.. very good! This physical modeling philosophy allows much more control, flexibility and personal interpretation over the produced sound, which kinda makes it a ‘real’ instrument in its own right.

What’s New in V2?:

Saxophone model: Based on a tenor saxophone by Buffet-Crampon (famous, and long established French woodwind company). and features two different ‘mouthpieces’, one classical and one jazz

Harmonization: Playing up to four instruments simultaneously, the new harmonization engine makes simulating duets and trios now possible.

MIDI integration: Improved MIDI settings allow easy control options using a basic midi keyboard, a breath-controller, Akai EWI, Yamaha WX5, and then some..

Riff organisation: The software also comes loaded with many pre-written phrases. These are arranged in groups of differing musical styles (such as Urban, Latin, Rock, Jazz and [!] Military), which make it possible for non-players to add realistic brass parts to their songs.

Arturia Brass, especially at the current price point, is pretty much a no-brainer purchase. The upgrade path to the power and flexibility of V.2 being free.. erm, also helps Anyway, grab a coffee and check out the video stack below to remind you of the capability of luscious, funky Brass licks and how this sound could work within your music.

About Paul Dakeyne

Paul Dakeyne has written 589 post in this blog.

Paul Dakeyne is a DJ/Producer who has dedicated the past two decades of his life to dance music production and DJ'ing. For six years, he toured globally for the world famous Ministry of Sound and has played DJ sets for the likes of U2 and for the legendary, Kraftwerk, Although remixing around 250 records in his career, as an artist in his own right, Paul landed one of dance music's seminal crossover moments with his "18 Strings' monster hit by Tinman - scoring a UK top ten in 1994. He also co-wrote and produced the music for BBC's Watchdog and Crimewatch when they were both revamped in 2001 and '06 respectively. His other career highlights have included an A&R stint for Mercury Records, lecturing in 'DJ culture and music technology' and creating mash-up mixes for Radio 1's, Chris Moyles. Paul joined the DV group in 2003 leading to his role as blog and feature author here at the DV Mag.

• View all posts by Paul Dakeyne →
• Blog

Tags: arturia, Brass, Buffet-Crampon, Herb Alpert, saxaphone, trumpet, Yello

No Comments