VSL’s New Brass – Trumpets, Horns and More

The Vienna Symphonic Library just released two new brass libraries. They recorded them in their second studio, the Silent Stage. This studio has a controlled environment.

The Studio Brass collection has all the usual solo instruments and groups in an orchestra. It’s got trumpets, horns, trombones, and tubas. The Studio Special Brass collection adds even more options. It includes unique instruments like the cimbasso, euphonium, and Wagner Tuba. There are also muted instruments and large ensembles like a group of 6 trumpets and 8 horns.

Both collections have many different articulations, such as how the musicians play the notes. There are short notes, long notes, and special effects like flutter tongue and trills. They also recorded fast note changes, arpeggios, and scales. One cool feature is the trumpet ensemble’s “out of tune” sustains. This mimics what sometimes happens in real orchestras when the trumpets don’t hit the note perfectly at the start.

Some talented musicians played on these recordings. Freddy Staudigl, Marcus Schmidinger, and Johann Schodl are members of a famous group called Brassissimo. They’re also soloists and orchestra players. Christoph Kiene, a well-known tuba player and teacher, joined them, too.

The Silent Stage studio is pretty dry-sounding. This lets users put the instruments wherever they want in the stereo field. They can also add different virtual spaces, from small rooms to big concert halls. It makes the brass sounds really flexible, so they fit well in any mix.