VHorns Brass Section

Air flow is controlled by the central dial on the main page of the interface.

When this is set to 0, there will be no sound produced, just as if you didn't blow any air into a trumpet.

You can of course control this value with different CCs. We set it to the modulation wheel by default because it's available on almost every digital keyboard, but you can use anything you like, for example CC2, which is the default for most breath controllers - all you need to do is click on the small dot next to the CC number and move the controller you want to assign.

Vibrato can also be controlled with the air flow - to enable/disable this, go into the PREFS panel and change the "allow vibrato with air flow" value. Once this is enabled, moving the air flow controller up and down will begin to add pitch variation to the sound.

In some rare cases, and sometimes when using MIDI files imported from softwares like Sibelius, you only get velocities, so at the bottom of the CC list we added the possibility to control the air flow with the incoming velocity - just select "VEL".

You also have the option to use the pitch bend as the input CC, you can do so by choosing "P. BEND" from the list.

Many features listed here are already explained in detail above, but here are the remaining few. Please note that all of the features in the preference tab that have a small die next to them which turns on randomization for an even more unpredictable and life-like performance. Randomize means that the value for that setting will be randomized for each new note, between the minimum value and the value you set.

At the top, you will see a tuning button which opens a panel allowing you to tune each note to your liking. This is very useful for performing music not written for standard tuning systems, or for music that doesn’t use traditional Western classical scales.

Pitch section:

1- The max glide interval controls the maximum interval that you are able to create a continuous glide between. On a trombone for example, the maximum possible glide is from position 7 to position 1, so 6 semitones. We allow for more than 6, but to play something natural, it's better to lower that value as in reality most players will glide a maximum of 3 or 4 semitones and "cheat" the rest. Above that value, our engine will "cheat" as well and skip some notes while still ending up on the target note.

2- The note pitch imprecision is exactly what it says - it will make the notes sound very slightly out of tune, completely at random, between 0 and the value you set. A value of 100% will randomize +/-1 semitone.

3- The attack pitch variation is a bit different, it is technically a fast bend ramp that is almost always present in live performances. It is more or less super-human to play every single note perfectly in tune from the first attack, so in order to create a more realistic sound, this is set slightly above 0 by default. Increasing the value will control how much bend you want (in other words; how far away the sound will be from the note you’re playing) and the attack pitch variation time will decide how quick that ramp is.

General section:

1- The growl/flutter value controls how much growl/flutter effect is added to the sound. A MIDI controller can be assigned to control this in real time.

2- The natural variation air and pitch values control that very quick and almost undetectable variation that even the best brass players can't avoid when they play. Since the air flow should never be always perfectly constant, the timbre and pitch vary all the time and you can control how much of each you want. By default, it is set to 100% which is representative of a very good player with the least variation possible and you can go above that to make the playing more natural.

3- The valve noises lets you control how much noise you hear from the individual valves being pressed on the instrument.

4- The tongue noises lets you control the volume of the small noise produced by the tongue as it blocks the air flow when a note is stopped.

5- The round robin menu lets you control if you want no round robin, a 3x round robin alternating on adjacent notes all the time or a smart round robin which only alternates in fast passages.

MIDI section

1- Pitch: You can pitch the whole instrument up or down up to +-12semitones. This affects the tone of the instruments and can be useful to cover other instruments that have a different range. Pitching the flugelhorn down can make it sound similar to a trombone, for example.

2- TRANSPOSE: This is just a MIDI transposing tool, so for example, a value of 2 semitones will play a D instead of a C. If you use the pitch and transpose at the same time, but opposite values, you will hear the correct note and will only change the timbre and range.

3- The Ensemble will be detailed in the ensemble section below.

4- The type of controller you use can induce a few internal changes. The EWI for example requires some tweaks to play legatos as it does not overlap MIDI notes by default. You can select the type of controller you use from the list here.

5- Next to the controller selection, there is a small dial that controls the reactivity of the controller. On some keyboards, for example, the mod wheel can be non-continuous and have small gaps that lead to unnatural-sounding variations. To fix this, just increase the value on the dial. If you use a breath or wind controller though, make sure this value is set to 0 - otherwise it will be hard to get very sharp attacks. Selecting the right controller will take care of this value change for you.

6- You can change the position on the keyboard of the few keyswitches we use. Here is what the keyswitches do:

• C#1 will trigger a fall from any note you are playing.
• D1 will trigger a pitch fall ‘drop' from any note you are playing.
• D#1 will trigger a pitch rise ‘doit' from any note you are playing.
• E1 will repeat the note you are currently playing, this is known as "static tonguing"
• F1 will produce a half-valve bend half a semitone downwards.
• F#1 will produce a half-valve bend half a semitone upwards.
• G1 will create a half-valve effect with no pitch change and its velocity will control how much half-valve effect is added to the note currently sounding.
• F1 will create a half valve bent half a semitone down. We already detailed many features above, but here are the few ones that are left. Note that all of the features in the preference tab that have a small dice next to them can be randomized for an even more natural performance. Randomize mean that the value for that setting will be randomized for each new note between the minimum value and the value you set.

7- You can control the response of the instrument to your MIDI controller using the air curve. If for example you don't want the instrument to reach the highest volumes, you can just cut the top end of the curve. Since the curve is not big or precise, you can make sharp changes and hit the smooth button a few times until the curve is perfectly smooth. Changing the MIN value will reset the curve and set what the volume for the minimum of air flow is.