Acoustic Samples V Horns Alto Saxophone

Thanks to our proprietary H.A.T. (Harmonic Alignment Technology), VHorns is not just another heavily multi-sampled instrument - you can play articulations exactly like a live player would, with just a mod wheel to control air flow (or even just by drawing in automation).

There are no elaborate keyswitches involved to play staccatos, marcatos, legatos or double tongues - you simply load up the instrument in your DAW and play. Vibrato can even be automated.

Authentic Vibrato
We carefully measured the different parameters that change when a saxophonist uses vibrato and combined everything into a highly realistic and customizable vibrato for VHorns Saxophones.

There are multiple ways to control the vibrato: automatic, automatic depending on time, and manually.

Legato Transitions
Fast legato transitions are often the main 'tell' that an instrument is virtual rather than real, so we spent a considerable amount of time and effort carefully extracting every tiny detail of several recorded live transitions to make ours indistinguishable from a real performance.

These transitions range from lightning-fast note changes to extremely slow bends, with and without extra attack. We covered everything - and you have complete control.

The legatos' behaviour can be adjusted and even randomized for more life-like performances.

Multi Microphone Recording
Recording a saxophone can be done in various ways and at different positions. We used 4 different microphone positions so that you can get the exact sound you want, as if you had chosen the microphone placement yourself.

This can produce even better results when using the "virtual space”, detailed below.

You can apply reverb and EQ to mix it completely to your taste.

Virtual Space
The Virtual Space perfectly replicates a real recording of an ensemble, using convolution.

When you record a big band, you usually place a pair of microphones in front of the musicians and they naturally take position in the stereo field depending on where they are in the room. The Virtual Space does exactly the same thing; you can place the musician wherever you like.

When using this with multiple tracks, you immediately have the feeling of being in front of a real horns section.

Advanced Editing
There is an endless number of ways to play a brass instrument, and we took the time to talk to world-class players about the different variations they incorporate into their playing on a regular basis.

Based on these discussions, we decided to incorporate an 'Advanced Editing' tab into all our VSeries libraries - giving you near-infinite control over these instruments.

Keyboard, Breath Controller or Wind Controller
VHorns can be played using a keyboard by selecting the notes on the keyboard and controlling the air flow with a MIDI controller like the modulation wheel or a breath controller.

You can also use a wind controller like an EWI, an Aerophone a Sylphyo or any other brand, in which case you need to use the appropriate controller menu in the MIDI section.

MPE support and microtuning
The VHorns Saxophones support MPE, so you can use them with your preferred MPE-enabled hardware.

Microtuning is controllable and editable on the 'Tuning' box (pictured), giving you the option to play using non-traditional scales.

Ensemble
If you load multiple instruments at the same time, it will play unisons exactly at the same time.

We added some smart features that first can change the timbre of the instruments, transpose everything by a fixed interval and also act on the MIDI performance.

For example, you can have all 6 instruments with a different transposition value play the same C minor scale, so no matter what you play on the keyboard, it will sound in key.