update . Inspired by icons of film and classical music, this extensive collection of brass instruments gives you access to carefully selected ensembles, traditional orchestral sections of various sizes, and soloists. All based on popular soundtracks and covering the classic symphonic repertoire. Consistently recorded in normal form and with various types of mutes, Afflatus Chapter II: Brass makes writing music for orchestral brass easier and more enjoyable than ever before.
After 5 years of conceptual recordings and polishing, Chapter 2 of the Afflatus series is finally here. Expanding the concept far beyond the first installment of the series, Afflatus Chapter 2 Brass is a comprehensive, no-holds-barred collection of brass instruments based on 100% user feedback and the core strengths of Chapter 1, making it a true workhorse of a brass selection.
Afflatus Chapter 2 features several signature ensembles based on some of our and your favorite film soundtracks and pieces from the classical repertoire, featuring conducted musical performances as opposed to static generic samples. \ These highly specialized and inspiring patches deliver instantly satisfying results beyond what traditional multisamples are capable of. Recorded with varying articulations and dynamic layers, these curated ensembles are much more than one-trick ponies; they are serious scoring and music production tools.
From the giant Barbarian Low Brass ensemble capable of playing thunderous “walls of brass” while still maintaining a clean and organic sound, to the 10 phantom horns amplifying themselves through Marshall amps, feeding back into the hall in reproducible, expressive and gentle waves of brass (The Chosen One), as well as muted trumpets with vibraphones and saxophones (Noir Brass), the available colours are numerous and it took a lot of testing sessions to get the most out of the concepts they are based on. We are proud to say that we have 9 different curated ensembles with multiple articulations as well as dynamic layers in the 1.0 release of Afflatus Chapter 2 Brass. For more details, please check out our overview content list.
- Barbarian Brass
- Iceberg Brass
- Phantom Brass
- Mountain Hotel Normale and Cup Muted
- Space Horror
- Noir Brass
- Chosen One
- Hunter Brass
- Imperial Brass A and B
On top of all this, Chapter 2 also features a comprehensive and consistently sampled collection of workhorse brass instruments, containing various sizes of ensembles and soloists of each section, recorded in normal mode and with various mutes (where applicable) for the various instruments. Featuring the latest variations of our famous polyphonic true legato and a completely new user interface, allowing you to customize each articulation and sound to your liking. Particular attention has been paid to the smooth transition between dynamic layers and tightness when looping edits. The upper dynamics are explosive fff, while the lower dynamics are soft pp. For each instrument, played in normal mode and with mutes where possible, a wide range of different lengths are available for performing marcato, as well as for playing crescendos sfz, slides, wt / ht trills, flutter.
The library has been edited with playability and performance as the key focus. Only minimal offsets, if any, are necessary to achieve 100% performance.
Included section sizes and soloists in v1.0:
- 4 Horns
- 2 Horns
- Solo Horn
- 3 Trumpets
- Solo Trumpet
- 3 Trombones
- Solo Bass Trombone
- Solo Tenor Trombone
- Solo Cimbasso
- Solo Tuba
- 2 Tubas
- Low Brass Ensemble
Like the previous chapter, Afflatus Brass also dives deep into the unknown. So we’re happy to announce that the experimental subfolder is also present in Chapter 2. These highly playable patches are processed and mapped in unusual ways and allow you to achieve sounds that go beyond the traditional orchestral perception of brass instruments.
Overview
- Boutique brass collection featuring hand-picked ensembles, traditional sections and soloists
- Dynamic range from ppp to fff with seamless transitions between dynamic layers
- Recorded in a medium-sized ambient hall with 4 microphone positions (Close, Section, Decca and Hall)
- Polyphonic true legato adapted to choral brass writing, as well as open monophonic true legato
- Corrections for quick sketching
- Signature ensembles based on orchestrations from film scores and classical symphonic repetitive music
- Sequentially recorded muted brass collection with different variations for different types of muted instruments
- Experimental sections with processed recordings
- Completely new user interface allowing customization of each individual articulation
- Customizable Human Tuning and Hall Noise options
- Dynamic Speed control for additional control over polyphonic legato voicing
- Powered by Native Instruments’ free Kontakt player and compatible with NKS
- Delete the Instruments folder and the Afflatus Chapter II Brass.nicnt file from the library
root folder. 2. Copy and replace the folder and distribution files to the library root folder. - New instruments:
- New category – Sparks: 50 unique pads in 2 categories, each with 4 separate controllable layers
- Curated Ensemble – 2 Horns 4 Cellos: Articulations: sustains, legato, flutter (with tremolo), marcato, tenuto, staccato, staccatissimo
- Curated Ensemble – Greek Horns (Horn ensemble combined with
analog synth): Articulations: sustains, legato, flutter, marcato, tenuto, staccato, staccatissimo - Curated Ensemble – Hybrid Low Brass (Low brass ensemble combined with analog synth): Articulations: sustains, legato, marcato, staccato
- Experimental – It Feeds Among Us: Sound designed brass swells
- New MIDI CC controls:
- CC14 is assigned to allow easy switch between Sustains and Legato type
- CC22 is assigned to Close mic volume
- CC23 is assigned to Decca mic volume
- CC24 is assigned to Sections mic volume
- CC25 is assigned to Hall mic volume
- Improvements to mod wheel and transitioning between dynamics for long articulations
- Various small bug fixes, tuning and mapping editing fixes