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Brass sounds in GPO

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:39 pm
by BandManG
Hello all. Public School band director here with nearly 30 years of experience. I run finale 25 on windows 10 on a newer PC. I have GPO and also COMB2. My problem is this:
I find the woodwind and percussion sounds to be acceptable.
I find the upper brass sounds (trumpets, especially) to not sound good at all. Specifically, it seems that the 'edge' or 'attack' of the sound is off, at least the way I am used to hearing brass instruments. Even in MakeMusic's own posted demos the brass sounds are Very unconvincing to me.
I have tried:
*Copying the brass part into multiple layers and sending each layer to a different channel to try to create a layered sound
*Using the resonance and convolution settings to adjust tone and reverberation
*Putting the trumpets and horns in their own bank and cranking that bank up to maximum - for some reason this gives them more of the 'edge' and attack I think they are missing, but it makes balancing a score nearly impossible
*Kontact and various available trumpet sounds

I purchased a Yamaha MX61 to use as a DAW to try to get better brass sounds but not satisfactory so far.

Is it possible to put each instrument from a finale score into something like cubase and edit/filter each channel that way?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Re: Brass sounds in GPO

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 12:54 pm
by Bill Reed
There are many, many sample libraries of brass instruments on the market at all different price points. Instead of buying Cubase, you might consider a purchase of one.

Re: Brass sounds in GPO

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 3:06 pm
by BandManG
Could you point me in the right direction please? I got cubase as a free download with my Yamaha workstation. I have looked at the cinebrass and cinesamples library, but I have read that they do not play well with finale (articulation issues). I was really looking for something the Aia player engine could use so I don;t have to involve a secondary program for playback.
Any help would be appreciated!

Re: Brass sounds in GPO

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 5:38 pm
by Bill Reed
I'm not aware of any other libraries for Aria than Garritan, but perhaps someone else can jump in if they do.

Finale can work with any VSTi sample library, it's just that you need to create your own set of Human Playback preferences to get the proper articulation switching. What would your typical orchestration be? I'll look at what's around based on that.

Note that some libraries require a full version of the Kontakt sample player, which would be an additional cost. Others can use the free Kontakt player, and still others have their own (free) player.

Re: Brass sounds in GPO

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 4:51 pm
by BandManG
I mainly write for wind band: flute, oboe, bassoon, full clarinet and sax sections, trumpets, cornets, horns, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, full percussion. I write some string music and chamber music but I am primarily concerned with the brass sounds for indoor (concert) band and outdoor (marching) band. I have Kontact (the free version) but haven't really used it.
Thank you for your help!

Re: Brass sounds in GPO

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 10:19 pm
by gogreen
I find the trumpet GPO5 and COMB2 sounds to be tinny. To make them sound better (with no DAW--only the Aria player and Finale), I turn down the EQ highs to -7 or -8. I also try to incorporate a pleasing reverb amount.