Recording - October 2011 - 78

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Fable Sounds Broadway Big Band

...where we bring you follow-up articles with application hints and upgrade news about gear already reviewed in Recording

Truth be told, many MIDI composers have a hard time over-

Kontakt Edition and Broadway Lites coming these acoustical challenges. That’s why most sampled

libraries feature the heraldic sound of large sections, often A phenomenal sample library upgrades to a standard-setting engine dripping in reverb to cover up the unpleasant overtones. But wait, you say, I grew up idolizing Earth, Wind & Fire records. They featured hot brass sections, and every note by Gary Eskow was spot on! True, but that’s because the ’80s was the n our January 2009 issue we reviewed Broadway Big Band, a vir- decade when the art of the punch-in onto 48–96 tracks of tual instrument designed to deliver the sound of winds, brass, tape was perfected. EW&F, Huey Lewis and the News... upright bass, percussion and a trap set (plus a few extras) into the these groups made records that featured a painstaking prohands of MIDI composers. A big library in every way, BBB rolled duction process and lots of doubling. If you’re not set up for out with about 100 GB of samples (delivered on multiple DVDs) sessions like those but you want that sound, BBB will quickand a hefty price tag ($2495). ly become a bargain. Enough talking, let’s listen to BBB. Audio clip #1 features a unison line played by trumpet, alto sax, and tenor sax. We discussed the outstanding legato implementation in BBB in our last coverage of the library, so we’ll skip over that element, but it’s worth noting that octave transposition is one of the new features; for key switching reasons not all instruments are centered around the same octave. Octave transposition lets you match octaves. Don’t the three instruments have a wonderfully authentic blend? Makes you want to slip into a cafe and break out your Jack Kerouac collection, right? Kontakt 4’s Multi feature makes it easy to create and save your own setups, which might include the multiple microphone positions that are part of the full version of BBB.

There was a lot to like about BBB back then, but we felt that developers Yuval Shrem and Amit Itzkovich made a mistake when they chose Steinberg’s HALion Player as the front end. The price also placed the product out of the range of many project studio arrangers, in our opinion. Fortunately, there are two new Fable Sounds products out now—both address the first shortcoming and the second one takes care of the other. Kontakt 4, the Native Instruments sample playback application, has become the de facto standard for much of the industry, and BBB has now been ported over to the free version of this player in BBB Kontakt Edition. The new Broadway Lites product offers much of the core library at a significantly reduced price, and a number of tweaks and improvements have been made as well, so we thought it was time to revisit this intriguing library. Making life easy Writing for small brass choirs is difficult! Recording them is no picnic, either. The overtones compete with one another, making it hard for even the best players to stay in tune. Think about it; when you slide into your seat at most theatrical productions, even in New York, on Broadway, and listen to the overture, you’re hearing an orchestra that’s reduced in size from the ensembles that were routine back in the day. Notice how the single alto sax and trumpet players are struggling to stay in tune—and they’re the best in the business! A flute and clarinet duo, with their rounded overtones, have it a lot easier!
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RECORDING OCTOBER 2011

Taking it on the road BBB has a number of improved features that make it more suitable for both studio use and live performance situations. Both versions offer not only the Legato mode with true legato samples for almost all instruments, but also a Polyphonic mode for chords; this mode now includes a somewhat convincing simulated legato that makes it easier to create authentic-sounding performances in situations where you can’t use true legato. By their very nature, the Polyphonic instruments can not duplicate the outstanding legato aspect of their Legato brethren, but for some arrangements you can build Multis of Legato instruments that let you play legato solo phrases backed by multiple solo instruments. Both versions offer the patented ability to shift articulations in mid-note—adding falls or vibrato, or even switching between clean and flutter-tongued notes. The latest version

Recording - October 2011

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