PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples

Index

Print Thread

Go To

Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples #175971 10/11/12 12:52 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA D Dan Tong OP Apprentice
OP Dan Tong Apprentice D Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA	Here's what you can do with an EWI-USB or EWI-4000s Wind controller and some of the fantastic samplemodeling sounds. They just released Clarinet, but I haven't tried it yet. The clarinet in my samples is a real one recorded using a microphone, everything else is BnBox and Samplemodeling. My Heart Belongs to Daddy [Rhumba] (smTenor Sax) http://soundcloud.com/dstong/my-heart-belongs-to-daddy-by So In Love [Bolero] (smTrumpet) http://soundcloud.com/dstong/so-in-love-by-cole-porter Someone to Light Up My Life [Bossa Nova] (French Horn) http://soundcloud.com/dstong/someone-to-light-up-my-life-by Django's Manoir de Mes Reves [Gypsy Jazz] (French Horn) http://soundcloud.com/dstong/manoir-de-mes-reves-by-django All the Way [Bossa Nova] (French Horn) http://soundcloud.com/dstong/all-the-way-by-j-van-heusen-s For me there is no question that these synth samples are in league all by themselves -nothing comes closer to the real thing with respect to tone, dynamic harmonic richness, and responsiveness. Dan https://soundcloud.com/dstong

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples Dan Tong #175972 10/11/12 07:27 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 8,333 London, Ontario, Canada John Conley Veteran
John Conley Veteran Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 8,333 London, Ontario, Canada	Very cool. I think the samples are great, but for me it's a bit 'busy'. I know jazz these days seems to be about virtuosity, however I like implied notes, and the smooth stuff. I am however on the down side of 60, and that seems to make a difference. Keep up the great work. I'll give them all a listen. As I tell my little vocal students, try to dream the words, shout a whisper at times. That said I struggle to voice the piano the way I'd want to hear it, rather than fire off tones that in the end, are not really part of the words. I guess we all have our system. The above is just MY opinion. You put the work into it, and if it makes you happy with the end result, ignore the ramblings of this old guy. John Conley Musica est vita

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples John Conley #175973 10/11/12 02:26 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,259 CA Shastastan Expert
Shastastan Expert Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,259 CA	Thanks for posting those. I enjoyed listening to them and they inspired me to get out my ewi-usb which I'm barely learning. I'm a trumpet player in real life. Not sure which horn you selected for the trumpet on the bolero number. I always seem to want to use my cornet and/or flugel on bossa numbers. I like less "edge", but we are all different. Nice job on those pieces, Dan. Stan Cornet Curmudgeon

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples John Conley #175974 10/11/12 05:08 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA D Dan Tong OP Apprentice
OP Dan Tong Apprentice D Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA	John, Thanks for your comments. I appreciate your suggestions, so please feel free to suggest style improvements as you listen to individual pieces. Be as specific as you please. I haven't been visiting the Forums much so I have not heard about your state of health. Have you pretty much gotten back your "wind" ? Thanks, Dan Last edited by Dan Tong; 10/11/12 05:10 PM. Dan https://soundcloud.com/dstong

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples Shastastan #175975 10/11/12 05:23 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA D Dan Tong OP Apprentice
OP Dan Tong Apprentice D Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA	Shastastan, I'm delighted that you are inspired to get out your EWI-USB, that was my main reason for posting. It is so much fun playing an instrument that has responsive high quality sounds especially with the improvements that BnBox Real Tracks bring to the accompaniment that I want more people to know about Wind Controllers and the excellent samplemodeling instruments. I think I used Trumpet2 for "So In Love", if that is the piece you are talking about. I also like the Flugelhorn, which I have to play with less force to get it to sound more mellow. I often use the Flugelhorn for Bossa Nova pieces, for the same reason you gave. In my hands I don't get a very different sound with the Cornet sample, but I need to use it more to learn to hear the more subtle differences in it's sound. I think that the Bolero Real Track is one of the most beautiful of all the newest styles, no? Are you using the Brass fingering or the Flute/Sax fingering on your EWI? Dan https://soundcloud.com/dstong

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples Dan Tong #175976 10/12/12 05:22 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 8,333 London, Ontario, Canada John Conley Veteran
John Conley Veteran Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 8,333 London, Ontario, Canada	Dan, I have numerous albums by Chris Botti. I love his style, but realize that there must be some great recording tricks in many of his tracks. That said the tone and the sparse notation give me a great experience. All music is affected to each individual based on their listening experience and background. This means kids into heavy metal will not be pleased with smooth jazz, and vice is versa (2?). Add and a von and a two an a tree... So I have certain tastes that might go against the grain. My wife and I went to the Jazz at the Lincoln Centre show, and there was great virtuosity. The virtuosity got in the way of the heart of the music, it was more a show off thing for each of the 15 members. I left with an overall ambivalent attitude. Yes they could play, and it was packed full of complicated runs and motifs. But it was hard to recognize the actual piece, at times it was buried so deep it was impossible to say which thing they were even playing. This statement from them is astounding. Jazz equals Democracy? That's presumptuous in the extreme. "We believe that Jazz is a metaphor for Democracy. Because jazz is improvisational, it celebrates personal freedom and promotes individual expression. Because jazz is swinging, it dedicates that freedom to finding and maintaining common ground with others. And because jazz is rooted in the blues, it inspires us to face adversity with persistent optimism." Who we are is interpretive. At the end of the day, each phrase in an improvisation should have meaning, and be expressive on it's own, standing as a statement, articulated by the author, and interpreted by the listener as intended when it was played. Thus the musician must understand the audience and use their instrument to inspire. That becomes a very complicated matter. Three octaves on a trumpet over a 3rd minor diminished means what??? I'm often unsure. And what if the listener has a very limited history and scope?? Another can of the proverbial fish bait. All that said, I love sparse. Play 2 bars, make it sparkle. Leave it hang, and then feed me again. Wow, the thyroid medications have lifted a huge fog that hung over me for 3 years. I can read again. I can be complex and play inside. Now if only I found the time to get out the EWI in lieu of the Euphonium or Piano(s)/Organs and progress with it, trumpet fingerings only... Have at it, play every phrase with the weight on your shoulders, but I'm not sure you'll communicate Democracy in an election year. Perhaps RE-publish-can-ism? Perhaps I should interpret the Musical Joke...M. Mozart might like it. Play in the key of life, or B natural. John Conley Musica est vita

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples Dan Tong #175977 10/12/12 06:04 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 24,715 Hamlin NY MarioD Veteran
MarioD Veteran Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 24,715 Hamlin NY	Very impressive indeed! I concur that Samplemodeling’s instruments are the most realistic sounding instruments. Someday I will have enough money set aside to purchase them. How do you like the Swain engine? Is it better than Kontakt? I am a little leery of buying the Sax brothers if sometime in the near future they will be converted to the Swain engine. I am a hacker on the EWI-USB. Like Stan I use the brass fingerings. However you sound like you have played the clarinet and possible the sax for years. You really sound great on these songs. Thanx for inspiring me. OK, a random thought; Why does toilet paper need a commercial? Who's not buying it? 64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples John Conley #175978 10/14/12 05:03 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA D Dan Tong OP Apprentice
OP Dan Tong Apprentice D Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA	Hey John C, I always get a kick out of your posts. I laugh a lot. I think you will find me much in agreement about your experience at Lincoln Center. As much as I envy the technical virtuosity of a lot of musicians, I find it boring and more akin to being a virtuoso on scale exercises, and not just because it is my greatest weakness. I very much enjoy fewer notes such as the style of Miles Davis and Chet Baker, that immediately comes to mind). It is, just as in writing, far more difficult, to say something with fewer words. I'll be making an attempt to do so. I'm very happy that you are much better, health-wise! Grab that EWI and show us what a real F. Horn player can do with it. Thanks, Dan

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples MarioD #175979 10/15/12 04:03 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA D Dan Tong OP Apprentice
OP Dan Tong Apprentice D Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA	Quote: Very impressive indeed! I concur that Samplemodeling’s instruments are the most realistic sounding instruments. Someday I will have enough money set aside to purchase them. How do you like the Swain engine? Is it better than Kontakt? I am a little leery of buying the Sax brothers if sometime in the near future they will be converted to the Swain engine. I am a hacker on the EWI-USB. Like Stan I use the brass fingerings. However you sound like you have played the clarinet and possible the sax for years. You really sound great on these songs. Thanx for inspiring me. Re: Kontakt vs SWAM engine Not in my opinion but it's probably a bit more complicated. The SWAM, as you may know, was only introduced with the Soprano Sax. Up to that time, in my experience, all of the instruments (Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn, Tuba) with the exception of the Saxophones (Alto, Tenor, Bari) played really beautifully right out of the box -hardly any tweaking needed at all, except for adjustments for the vibrato. That you need to changes to the parameters if you want more user control of the vibrato. All of this was done in Kontakt and after awhile you got pretty familiar with the Kontakt interface (including idiosyncrasies). The registration used to be a real pain, but that was fixed a bit later and it is not too bad. However, in my experience, getting the Alto, Tenor and Bari Saxophones to play well took me a lot of time and tweaking. Since I found it so frustrating, relative to the Trumpet etc., I did not sit down for 8 solid hrs of tweaking until I had a good sound, so it took me a month or more before I had put in enough time of reading and re-reading the manual, asking questions, and twiddling. Again, other people did not appear to take as much time because they were pretty satisfied with the sound they got, whereas I wanted a mellower, breathy tenor sound. This reflects the crazy variation in acceptable Sax tones vs the acceptable Trumpet, Trombone tones. I don't much care for the Duck Call School of Saxophone, but that's just a matter of preference in Pop, Rock, and Jazz. Classical Sax sound is an entirely different animal and unfortunately, I don't know of any samples of that type. My first experience with SWAM (Soprano Sax) was terrible. I couldn't get a half decent sound at all. This was partly because, the interface is totally different, and in my opinion, pretty strange at first and also because I did not have a good VST host program. Instead of radio buttons to turn things on and off, you have to move them horizontally (L to R). It's a real disservice to the user to force them to give up tried and true interface conventions without a really good reason (there is none in this case). Another weird decision was rather than putting the choice of Keyboard vs Wind Controller right in the Main Window Menu System, SWAM requires you to load the Keyboard or Wind Controller file. Again this works against the new user in my opinion -certainly it is a problem for anyone used to the Kontakt interface. If you already have a VST Host program that you are familiar with, then you run SWAM in that program. If you don't they recommended a free program that was absolutely horrible. The only way it would run SWAM was with a command line interface where you had to type in a bunch of parameters with the SWAM program name. If I were to grade Kontakt vs SWAM, for ease of learning (also perhaps for ease of use, but not as much) I would give Kontakt an B+, and SWAM a D. Keep in mind that as far as SWAM vs Kontakt Engine performance goes, I don't have anything useful to say. The reason SWAM was created was because the developers felt that Kontakt was not good for what they needed to do. My guess is that Kontakt works well enough for Brass samples than for reed wind instruments. My second experience with SWAM after installing the Clarinet was much better, because, I tried a second free program that they mentioned (Cantabile Lite) which has an excellent interface (including a web video tutorial), and I realized, after about 15 minutes, that there was a way to tell SWAM that I was using a Wind Controller. Partly my fault, that I did not read the User Manual right away, because somewhere toward the middle they tell you to choose between the Keyboard (default) and the Wind Controller setting. As far as your worry about all the Saxes switching to the SWAM, why don't you ask them? It's possible that they may do that, but they may not charge anything for the new version. They have not charged for any updates to improved versions of the existing samples so far. I hope that answers some of your questions. Dan https://soundcloud.com/dstong

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples Dan Tong #175980 10/15/12 07:17 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 24,715 Hamlin NY MarioD Veteran
MarioD Veteran Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 24,715 Hamlin NY	Yes it does thank you for your time. I have Kontakt and I’m familiar with it. Personally I like the Kontakt approach over the others that I have tried, like Garritan, Sonivox, etc. Kontakt is a lot more complicated but in return it offers a lot more in tweakability. Did I just make up a work? Thanx again. OK, a random thought; Why does toilet paper need a commercial? Who's not buying it? 64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples Dan Tong #175981 10/15/12 02:59 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,259 CA Shastastan Expert
Shastastan Expert Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,259 CA	Hi Dan. As Mario says, I use the trumpet fingering. Mario is the one who's getting me started on the EWI. of course to me, it's a lot harder to play than the trumpet. I doubt that I'll be playing any trumpet stuff on it since I bought it to be able to play other instruments such as strings. I'm just an amateur musician having fun. My wife and I like the old standards so that's what we mostly play on our gigs. We mostly play the "old" pop style. I use both my flugelhorn and cornet for bossa because I like the more mellow tone. Matt Finley is really great on flugel and also flute on his bossa recordings. He has a really nice feeling for bossa, IMO. Yes, there are some nice bossa real tracks. As to the difference in sound between the trumpet, cornet, and flugel, the difference with the flugel is quite pronounced, IMO. For notes in and below the staff, this difference is easily heard. Above the staff it's still there but not as marked. The difference between the cornet and trumpet is that the cornet is both more mellow and "darker/warm". These real instruments are fairly easy to distinguish. Of course, with the right mouthpiece, you can make a trumpet sound real close to a cornet. In fact, I have a trumpet mp model named "TF" (trumpet flugel). It has a long deep funnel shaped cup and produces a very dark tone--still not a flugel tone though. With a shallow cornet mouthpiece, a cornet can sound very close to a trumpet. I don't really know anything about samplemodeling, but the sound between the trumpet and cornet should be very noticeable. Maybe I'm too critical, but so far I haven't heard any hardware and/or software synths that produce a trumpet sound that impresses me in a big way. Of course, I don't own or have access to any of the really expensive stuff either. Just sayin........ Stan Last edited by Shastastan; 10/15/12 03:17 PM. Cornet Curmudgeon

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples Shastastan #175982 10/19/12 01:11 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA D Dan Tong OP Apprentice
OP Dan Tong Apprentice D Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 262 Chicago, IL USA	Thanks for your explanations of how the trumpet, flugelhorn, and cornet sound different. I have no problems identifying flugel on any live or recorded music (it's a huge difference), but I never really paid much attention to cornet vs trumpet. However, I will now try top sharpen my senses so I hopefully I will be able to learn to tell this more subtle difference in sound. Dan Dan https://soundcloud.com/dstong

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples Dan Tong #641094 02/08/21 11:34 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Nov 2018 Posts: 5 R Rotobob Newbie
Rotobob Newbie R Joined: Nov 2018 Posts: 5	Dan, Could you share your settings for tenor sax? I’ve just bought the SWAM saxophones and am struggling to get that mellow breathy sound. Robert

Re: Samplemodeling Trumpet, French Horn, TSaxophone EWI Samples Dan Tong #641106 02/09/21 01:50 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 27,572 Hudson Valley & Lake George NY Matt Finley Veteran
Matt Finley Veteran Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 27,572 Hudson Valley & Lake George NY	Robert, welcome to the forum. Dan’s last post in this thread was nine years ago. I don’t recall if he is still around. I did enjoy reading the thread. There was a compliment of my playing. I also could have helped explain the difference in sound between trumpet, cornet, and flugelhorn as I play these professionally. My favorite line, though, was the “duck call school of saxophone”. Very funny. If you would like advice on computer sound, 2021 vintage, start a new thread and we can help. BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.

Go To

Moderated by Andrew - PG Music, Callie - PG Music, Catherine, Jeff Yankauer, PeterGannon, pgmoderation

Link Copied to Clipboard

ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News

April 28, 2026

XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!

All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!

It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.

What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?

XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!

Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!

The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.

The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.

The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.

Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.

The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!

April 22, 2026

Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos

With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.

Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.

Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!

April 21, 2026

Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.

Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!

Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box^® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box^® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.

2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box^® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.

April 02, 2026

Holiday Weekend Hours

As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:

April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours

Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!

— Team PG

March 24, 2026

Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!

If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.

March 12, 2026

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!

If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.

March 12, 2026

Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® users: Build 1237 is now available!

Already a Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows user? Stay up to date and download the build 1237 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.

More News