JXL Brass - Orchestral Tools

[Luciano Storti]

I’d peg them exact opposite, though I’m listening on an iPad. First one sounds very even at soft dynamic, crescendos very well through the layers, and has a nice overall warmth in the middle range.

That's exactly why I think it's CSB.

(Maybe I was ambiguous in my earlier post. I meant that I thought the first example is CSB, which I preferred slightly due to the mellower sound and smoother transitions, and the second one is JXLB.)

You were clear, Jason, actually. I guess I’m just hearing the hall size and number of instruments in the first example as JXLB. The second one is lovely but seems slightly less balanced, smaller in numbers, and I’m also hearing less of the hall reflection. Again, on iPad, but will listen again properly in a few hours.

[tack]

Noam don't leave us hanging for too long.

[NoamL]

The first is CSB, the second is JXLB.

Good lord VI-C is going crazy, I can't keep up. Three threads.

[tack]

[Mod note: moved Guy's film review post and Noam's reply to the Film Review Corner topic]

[Guy Rowland]

(sorry about that Jason - I thought I'd moved it already. Doh!)

[Luciano Storti]

I'm going to clean my ears now. Also throw the iPad out with the bathwater. In one way though I'm very happy, don't need to get JXLB.

Edit: listening back on proper speakers, I'm very surprised at how much better I like the first example. They're exchangeable for the passage, sure, but overall that softer dynamic is very smooth in CSB, and despite it apparently having a less dynamic layer, it's buttery smooth from pp to ff. I'm really not quite sure why I would spend the money on JXLB at this point. The many mics? The low brass?

[NoamL]

There are some new demos up on the OT site. YMMV. I like the low brass. For horns and trumpets I think I'm all set

[FriFlo]

Oops! If I needed any convincing not to buy this library, these demos have achieved it! Not as drastically as the first teaser did, maybe - almost everyone had some reservations hearing that - but within these demos there is not a single one that would entirely convince me regarding the brass - pretty new experience for me with OT releases! Well, good for my Christmas savings!

[Dave]

Yikes...rollout moving smoothly...

Feel bad for OT having last minute issues.

[Tobias Escher]

We're not live yet... people are just trying to download before getting their download email

[Tobias Escher]

...and we're live!

[tack]

We're not live yet... people are just trying to download before getting their download email

In a sense that's a good problem to have, but I know first hand how problematic that can be. Years ago, the company I work for was doing a big coordinated launch of a new product, but the mobile client leaked early. We weren't able to stage the introduction of the client country-by-country in the app stores to smooth out registrations and instead a horde of enthusiastic users stampeded the infrastructure. We had to pull the plug.

Hope your launch goes better.

[Tobias Escher]

so far all seems good. downloads going smooth.

[Tanuj Tiku]

A brand new demo from OT.

Sounds like a hug step back for me. I was thinking about JXL but this demo is not inspiring any confidence.

I can't even understand the phrasing and perhaps not the best work from Sacha either. Compositionally, it makes little sense to me, other than a weak curation of JW's work. Some parts are dangerously close.

Anyway, I guess, I am back to thinking of getting Berlin Brass and will give this a pass.

Sorry OT, I am sure a lot of work went into this but I think this one is geared at something a bit different. I like the Berlin Brass demos a lot more.

[riffwraith]

I can't even understand the phrasing

You aren't the only one. Man, from this demo, and others I have heard, the lib sounds like a complete train wreck. The only was to tell for sure, of course, is to work with it, but I do not like what I hear at all.

[Guy Rowland]

"Train wreck" feels overstated somewhat. The first part in particular is a very busy composition and feels like quite a lot of timing issues actually, like it could have done with another day or to to really finesse. Some of the later passages fare much better to my ears - the trumpet fanfares at 3'39 sound great, for example.

But I do share some concerns - the little phrase at around 56s stood out both times I listened, not in a good way. The horns in general seem to smear an awful lot in transitions. Has there been any independent walkthroughs yet that can show stuff naked?

[riffwraith]

"Train wreck" feels overstated somewhat.

Not to me. Someone on the VI forum did a "Godzilla" thing, and someone else did something called "soft test". Both of those sounded pretty darn good. But the many of the rest of the demos I hear is where the term trainwreck comes from.

That said, the SINE player looks really cool. Hopefully at some point they will license the player to others, and it will start competing with Kontakt.

Cheers.

[Lawrence]

As I commented earlier in the thread, any sort of connected legato with any speed sounds overlapped to me. Does that equal “smear”?

I’m tiresome on the issue of agility, but gosh-if EW could achieve it pretty well lo these many years ago with HB, modern libraries should be even better. From my ownership of Metropolis Ark 1 to JXL demos, I’ve gotten the feeling that this is not a huge priority of OT’s with horns. They generally do tone beautifully though.

When their woodwinds expansion B goes on sale again, I’m grabbing it. I like the strings too, though they’re too pricey for me right now and up until now I don’t think I had a powerful enough computer to run them.. They don’t sound like they have the agility issue.

[NoamL]

The only demo that has truly impressed me musically is prodigalson's on VI-C here:

https://vi-control.net/community/attach ... mp3.25750/

It's got a lovely musicality & consistency at the lowest dynamics that I struggle to get from my current brass. Having more "modwheel room" down there at the bottom really pays off as you can do swells without verging into mezzoforte. Gotta give props to OT for recording a tremendous dynamic range and doing it consistently across the instruments.

All the other demos (not just including the JW-at-the-Olympics demo)... well, this is why I stopped preordering after getting Berlin Brass. If these demos had come out before the pre order ended there would have been no question of people thinking this library could replace CSB or even some of the older libraries, in people's templates.

[Pablo Crespo]

Resurrecting an old thread, I am looking for some (mainly) low brass to compliment CSB. I am getting some trailer jobs and this could be useful.

I was first thinking in Ark 1 since I can also buy a la carte....what do you think? what are the highlights of JXL Brass? I am not completly sold on the overall sound yet

[Jack Weaver]

JXL would be fine for that.

Also, VSL Hercules is great. Probably less money and a fantastic interface.

I have both and am happy with them.

.

[Pablo Crespo]

Great! what Junkie XL instruments would you recommend?

I am leaning towards the cimbassi and bass trombones, and I would like some french horns and trombones but can´t decide about the number of players

[Jack Weaver]

Well, if you're looking for Low Brass the Cimbassi and Bass Trb would be the automatic answer.

.