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Afflatus Brass? - Strezov "The Adventure Continues"

Trash Panda said:
Nah. It's the lack of a video walkthrough and influencer reviews combined with pre-order only discounting and a high base cost after the pre-order period.

With all due respect to Strezov, you have to have a much stronger brand (we're talking Spitfire and Orchestral Tools level brand strength) to be able to rely on your reputation and demos alone to make a pre-order only discount on a non-refundable, high dollar purchase work. Even these bigger brands still have a walkthrough video ready when pre-orders open.

It's just an out-of-touch marketing strategy with the current market landscape and economic outlook.

Many customers also hate the whole idea of pre-orders. It holds zero benefit for the consumer when there is no appreciable limit on inventory. Sample libraries aren't the same thing as Playstation 5's and Nintendo Wii's.
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Yeah. I hope no more catch on to the pre-order sales pitch. If company wants me to buy, show me some walkthrough and demo videos. When Spitfire started doing it, it almost gives the appearance of cut out any negative review until the sale is over.
 
Hmmm... reading through all the comments it is quite interesting to see all the different perceptions and thoughts.

Sound: Tbh, when I heard the Mahler Brass part in the session I mentioned before, I was blown away. I own all kinds of libraries (and work with them professionally every day), BB (one of my biggest library disappointments besides a few exceptions like the Solo Horn 1), JXL, CB, worked with Opus, ARO, and many more. With none of those libraries, I am going to manage to create this sound. Neither in the level of dynamics, transitions nor phrasing (Sample Modeling is probably better in Phrasing, but will take much more time/effort and the overall sound is.... yeah, different). And the more natural blowing sound (sorry, can't find the correct English word, the first second of blowing into the instrument when starting to play a note...)

Do I need it?
This is also something I read here all the time. Depends on what you want, right? You can create amazing Mock-Ups with Opus and we all know about their unbeatable prize package. So obviously you want something else, maybe looking for something to squeeze out just a bit more out of your score or a different sound. For me another thing that is nice about this library, connecting to the Sound topic. Maybe I can get somewhat closer to the libraries mentioned above to the Aff Brass example, but it will take me much more effort. Here it is just the samples/articulations with some basic CC1 and I guess CC11? I guess there will be more information on that soon, hopefully with a video of the Midi playthrough. And this is for me one of the most important questions, especially as a professional composer: Is this thing making my life easier? If it just sounds a bit better than another library, but I am 3x faster in reaching my goal, then it is worth the money.

Pre-Order: Hmmm I guess this is just the nature of Pre-Order. Same in Games. In the end, it comes down to just how much you trust a company. And how reliable your ears are to get as much information out of the given material, plus experience....
 
Honestly, no one needs new sample libraries...

But if you work on deadlines like some of us do, needing to deliver really polished stuff that sounds consistent and the way it was programmed, and needs to perform neatly when played in... then these certain libs from few devs that deliver every time, really come to their own.

Speaking of sound and features... If you can hear what I'm hearing in the demos, then you're gonna buy it, no doubt, and you're going to be very very happy with your purchase. The pick of articulations and consistency are really something that George and his team have finessed here. They've really studied how the top people do their thing, what the parameters there are, how to improve on that, and worked up a product that without compromise delivers whats on the can. This really performs like a tool.
And then they've thrown in a bunch of crazy fun stuff like ridiculous horn ensembles on the studio balconies playing trough distorted guitar amps live in the room, ensemble crashes and swells with brass and percussion, classic hollywood orcehstration stacks and all that stuff recorded live playing togehter.

If I had to have one brass library this would probably be it. And it's dirt cheap like what the fuck? You'd have to buy like 5 libraries to get the stuff in this one piecemeal... And it all just works together. Put it into the arrangement and hit export.

Also I'd be willing to bet my kidney, all the big boys and girls over in hollywood, who you bunch look up to, already bought it lol... That's how it sounds to me. And I know they all have ears for it as well.

ps.
Thanks for the kind words on the demo! It was a ton of fun to write :) Tried to make something that feels like some of these 2020s blockbusters and I think it gets there no problem!
Lots of keyboard warrior action happening there, so nothing very fancy in terms of programming. Just smashing keys with nice samples with good energetic performances!
 
Hey everyone,

Here are three new playthrough videos, so everybody can see the brass live in action and the amount of work required to make it sound impressive, which is minimal.

First @Vartio Henri Vartio's demo showing that Solo Trumpet Carbon Mute Legato can sound like a middle eastern reed instrument as well as many of the curated ensembles including Barbarian Brass, Imperial Brass and Phantom Brass, which by the way all include multiple shorts, monophonic and polyphonic true legato and therefore work smoothly next to the more traditional workhorse patches of the library.



And also @JGRaynaud Jean-Gabriel's hybrid demo Nemesis, which features the experimental Mega Brass as well as the curated Iceberg Brass (Timpani, Low Strings, Low Brass, Anvil and Bass Drum) next to the traditional workhorse low brass and 3 trombones. The Iceberg Brass was recorded in such a way that it offers you flexibility regarding the usage of the percussion, so you don't end up with bass drum hits on every short note. Who knows the movie and composer this was inspired by? ;)



Finally @Nathan Einhorn Nathan's Noble Quest showing Muted Brass, Normale Brass as well as the Mountain Hotel Ensemble. Probably a bit more difficult to find out the movie this curated ensemble is from. But excited to hear your guess.




We are working on more content and also want to announce that there will be a AMA with George next Tuesday November 7th at 5pm CET on YouTube.
 
StrezovSampling said:
Hey everyone,

Here are three new playthrough videos, so everybody can see the brass live in action and the amount of work required to make it sound impressive, which is minimal.

First @Vartio Henri Vartio's demo showing that Solo Trumpet Carbon Mute Legato can sound like a middle eastern reed instrument as well as many of the curated ensembles including Barbarian Brass, Imperial Brass and Phantom Brass, which by the way all include multiple shorts, monophonic and polyphonic true legato and therefore work smoothly next to the more traditional workhorse patches of the library.



And also @JGRaynaud Jean-Gabriel's hybrid demo Nemesis, which features the experimental Mega Brass as well as the curated Iceberg Brass (Timpani, Low Strings, Low Brass, Anvil and Bass Drum) next to the traditional workhorse low brass and 3 trombones. The Iceberg Brass was recorded in such a way that it offers you flexibility regarding the usage of the percussion, so you don't end up with bass drum hits on every short note. Who knows the movie and composer this was inspired by? ;)



Finally @Nathan Einhorn Nathan's Noble Quest showing Muted Brass, Normale Brass as well as the Mountain Hotel Ensemble. Probably a bit more difficult to find out the movie this curated ensemble is from. But excited to hear your guess.




We are working on more content and also want to announce that there will be a AMA with George next Tuesday November 7th at 5pm CET on YouTube.
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What about divisi?
 
To be fair on the walkthrough scene, this doesn’t come out for another week (based on original estimate). Would’ve been nice to have a walkthrough instead of the highly produced premier video, but as long as a walkthrough appears several days before preorder ends I’ll be more comfortable with a decision (though I still loathe preorders for software and might skip this until a sale in a future year).
 
Evans said:
To be fair on the walkthrough scene, this doesn’t come out for another week (based on original estimate). Would’ve been nice to have a walkthrough instead of the highly produced premier video, but as long as a walkthrough appears several days before preorder ends I’ll be more comfortable with a decision (though I still loathe preorders for software and might skip this until a sale in a future year).
Click to expand...
If the walkthrough shows up several days before the pre-order period ends, then that's fine. But I think many will remain very apprehensive until it appears. There's lots that's promising in what has been demonstrated, but there is much more that is just a big festering question mark.
 
Mountain Hotel = The Shining? ;)

and Iceberg = Titanic perhaps?

The playthroughs are less useful than a walkthrough would be. But I still spotted + heard a lot to like.

1. @Nathan Einhorn was using the poly legatos in his demo. It's good to know this isn't just a fluff feature. The combination of polylegatos + having so many different ensembles to choose from, could really make this library powerful in arranging... in a way that Berlin Brass was trying to be, but never really achieved for me.

2. I thought the Don Davis Matrix swells (sorry, "Chosen One" swells! ) were just a gimmicky extra thing... but you can see them playing a subtle, not "Look it's the Matrix" role, in the demos... they are more like long portatos. Check out the horns at the start of 'Ancient Beasts', and the trombones in the middle of 'Noble Quest.'

3. The Phantom Brass (aka HZ Batman Horns) also appears very usable and not a gimmick. The feature in the middle of 'Ancient Beasts' has a really nice aggression to it. And same with the middle of JGR's demo 'Nemesis'. It reminded me of the bright and edgy horn sound in a lot of Mark Petrie's work. I think it's interesting that you get this sound AAAND there is also a plain 4 horn legato patch! (you can see the latter at 1:45 in 'Noble Quest'). It kind of gives you this cool option between Solo Horn, 2 Horns, 4 Horns, and then a 10 horn quasi-trailer patch.

4. The Barbarian Brass low ensemble has some really nice growl to it, reminded me of Symphobia... I know a few composers who still use Symphobia all the time just because of the attitude of the low brass.

5. Pay attention to the 2horns and their CC1, right at the start of @JGRaynaud 's demo, those crossfades are SMOOTH. And the top dynamic is not lacking. Same thought about the 2horn+3trombone legato feature in the middle of 'Noble Quest.' They keep up with the strings and don't sound sloppy.

6. I was kind of relieved that the brass parts that I felt were the most off-center tonally, when first hearing the demos, were actually the mute patches.

7. I'm still not impressed by the solo tpt and solo hn, but CSB covers those so well already.
 
PS - it's interesting how the Afflatus naming scheme & marketing affects the reception of these instruments.

I was working yesterday on a cool jazz strings mockup for a composer, who wanted a John Barry sound, and I kept trying to get there with CSS... didn't think about Afflatus until late in the evening because the patches there are called 'Scene d'Amour' instead of straight forward 'Muted Chamber Strings.' But when I used them on the demo the composer loved that sound.

Similarly if you put together, let's say, all the horn sounds in Aff2 you've got

Horn Solo
Horns a2
Horns a4
Horns a10 (= 'Phantom Brass')
Horns in three different mid/low brass orchestrations (= 'Barbarian Brass', 'Hunter Brass', 'Iceberg Brass')
Horn Ens in 8ves with Trumpets (= 'Imperial Brass A')
Horn Ens with unison Solo Tbn for edge (= 'Mountain Hotel')

it starts to look like a lot, but it's not so apparent until you add it up. As compared to a product like JXL Brass, where the simple naming scheme gives you a better overview.
 
Is anyone (Strezov or testers) able to say how many gb the library is on disk?

I'm just trying to wrangle the basic information for this post:

Afflatus Brass - Just the Basic Info

This post is just meant to be a reference with the basic info at a glance. (We already have two active threads discussing Afflatus Brass: Official and Unofficial.) Links: product manual. Official product page. Let me know if I missed anything or made mistakes, and I will try to update...
vi-control.net vi-control.net
 
Land of Missing Parts said:
Is anyone (Strezov or testers) able to say how many gb the library is on disk?

I'm just trying to wrangle the basic information for this post:

Afflatus Brass - Just the Basic Info

This post is just meant to be a reference with the basic info at a glance. (We already have two active threads discussing Afflatus Brass: Official and Unofficial.) Links: product manual. Official product page. Let me know if I missed anything or made mistakes, and I will try to update...
vi-control.net vi-control.net
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I'm neither but it's on the website. 108 GBs.
 
NoamL said:
Mountain Hotel = The Shining? ;)

and Iceberg = Titanic perhaps?

The playthroughs are less useful than a walkthrough would be. But I still spotted + heard a lot to like.

1. @Nathan Einhorn was using the poly legatos in his demo. It's good to know this isn't just a fluff feature. The combination of polylegatos + having so many different ensembles to choose from, could really make this library powerful in arranging... in a way that Berlin Brass was trying to be, but never really achieved for me.

2. I thought the Don Davis Matrix swells (sorry, "Chosen One" swells! ) were just a gimmicky extra thing... but you can see them playing a subtle, not "Look it's the Matrix" role, in the demos... they are more like long portatos. Check out the horns at the start of 'Ancient Beasts', and the trombones in the middle of 'Noble Quest.'

3. The Phantom Brass (aka HZ Batman Horns) also appears very usable and not a gimmick. The feature in the middle of 'Ancient Beasts' has a really nice aggression to it. And same with the middle of JGR's demo 'Nemesis'. It reminded me of the bright and edgy horn sound in a lot of Mark Petrie's work. I think it's interesting that you get this sound AAAND there is also a plain 4 horn legato patch! (you can see the latter at 1:45 in 'Noble Quest'). It kind of gives you this cool option between Solo Horn, 2 Horns, 4 Horns, and then a 10 horn quasi-trailer patch.

4. The Barbarian Brass low ensemble has some really nice growl to it, reminded me of Symphobia... I know a few composers who still use Symphobia all the time just because of the attitude of the low brass.

5. Pay attention to the 2horns and their CC1, right at the start of @JGRaynaud 's demo, those crossfades are SMOOTH. And the top dynamic is not lacking. Same thought about the 2horn+3trombone legato feature in the middle of 'Noble Quest.' They keep up with the strings and don't sound sloppy.

6. I was kind of relieved that the brass parts that I felt were the most off-center tonally, when first hearing the demos, were actually the mute patches.

7. I'm still not impressed by the solo tpt and solo hn, but CSB covers those so well already.
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Well spotted! And yeah, those "Chosen One" swells are pretty useful, you have three length on each (trumpet, trombones and horns) and they do bring some very nice movement, even if you layer it with a regular patch (like I did with the trombones in the middle of my demo, that's why it sounds a bit like a portato)
 
Really appreciate the dynamic range they seem to have captured with these instruments.
Also positively surprised about the overall sound. While I'd still much prefer a bigger room, I expected it to sound worse judging from the Afflatus recordings.

Only thing I didn't like in the walkthrough was the repetition patches, it felt very disconnected from the rest of the articulations (almost like the instruments are 5meters closer to the listener, probably because they shortened the releases?).

Overall I'm liking it a lot though!
 
Orlu said:
Really appreciate the dynamic range they seem to have captured with these instruments.
Also positively surprised about the overall sound. While I'd still much prefer a bigger room, I expected it to sound worse judging from the Afflatus recordings.

Only thing I didn't like in the walkthrough was the repetition patches, it felt very disconnected from the rest of the articulations (almost like the instruments are 5meters closer to the listener, probably because they shortened the releases?).

Overall I'm liking it a lot though!
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Yes the repetitions have shortened releases, so you don't end up stacking the room ambience multiple times within seconds of a phrase. They sound a bit closer due to that, but you can always adjust the mic mix the way you like.
 
NoamL said:
PS - it's interesting how the Afflatus naming scheme & marketing affects the reception of these instruments.

I was working yesterday on a cool jazz strings mockup for a composer, who wanted a John Barry sound, and I kept trying to get there with CSS... didn't think about Afflatus until late in the evening because the patches there are called 'Scene d'Amour' instead of straight forward 'Muted Chamber Strings.' But when I used them on the demo the composer loved that sound.
Click to expand...
At least they're not named after random street names.
 
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