Funk Soul Productions Vintage Horns 2 [KONTAKT]

Vintage Horns 2 is a collection of virtual instruments specifically designed to emulate the sound of horn players from the 60s and 70s, including such classic styles as Vintage Funk & Soul, Cool Jazz, Roadhouse R&B and Rock ’n’ Roll, 60s Pop Rock, Vintage Film Noir, and Soul Jazz.

Like its best-selling predecessor, Vintage Horns, Vintage Horns 2 was not designed to be a perfect, pristine-sounding virtual instrument. Instead, our goal was to create a collection of brass and woodwind instruments that captured the character of horn players from the 60s and 70s, including the quirks and minor imperfections that made them sound so good.

Vintage Horns 2 is not just a re-make of Vintage Horns, it is a completely different library that includes complimentary instruments to its predecessor.

The inspiration for Vintage Horns 2 came from the iconic playing styles of such well-known musicians as Maceo Parker, Miles Davis, Junior Walker, King Curtis, Stan Getz, Freddie Hubbard, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Herbie Mann, Zoot Sims, and Gerry Mulligan.

To get the sounds we were after, we studied the playing styles of our inspirations, taking note of things like tone, vibrato, types of instruments, and special genre-specific articulations (growling, singing, flutter-tongue, etc). We deliberately left the tuning loose, and kept in some notes that other horn VIs would have deleted—the kind of honking, squawking, warbling, cracked, and slurred notes used by those classic players.

The end result is a set of sampled horns with real character - and a product that we think is unlike any other horn VI available today. We think you’ll agree, and hope that you enjoy using Vintage Horns 2.

► KOMPLETE KONTROL & MASCHINE INTEGRATION

Vintage Horns 2 has been designed for seamless integration with the KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series and Maschine, offering you a unique hands-on experience. Manipulate the interface using the controls of all NKS compatible hardware.

► KEYSWITCHES

The keys marked in red on the Kontakt virtual keyboard are known as Key-switches. By pressing a key-switch, you can change from one articulation to another - for example, from Sustain (the default for all instruments) to Staccato, Stab, Falloff, etc.

Key-switches are always arranged in the same order on the Kontakt virtual keyboard, as follows:

- Sustain
- Staccato
- Stab
- Falloffs
- Swell
- Doits
- Scoop or Effects
- Flutter-Tongue

► Complete Patch List

• 60s Cool Jazz Trumpet
  A cool and Jazzy sound with no vibrato, inspired by Miles Davis, circa the "Kind of Blue" album. In adition to typical Sustains, this instrument includes a set of Cracked Notes Sustain samples that can be triggered by playing high velocity levels; i.e., no key-switch is needed to activate this special articulation.
• Bass Flute
  A dark-sounding woodwind instrument that was a staple of classic melodrama, Horror, lm noir, and B-movie soundtracks. Works well for solo lines, and in a section, paired with other woodwinds.
• Bass Saxophone
  Popular in the 30s-40s, when it was used as a bass instrument in big bands. Rediscovered by UK R&B artists like Amy Winehouse and Clary Brown, where it has been used as a solo instrument and/or to double bass lines.
• Bass Trombone
  A favorite of movie studio orchestras from the early 1960s to the present day, adds a powerful low end to a horn section. Bass trombone was also used in many classic classic Spy and Thriller movie soundtracks, such as the James Bond lms.
• Classic Film Noir Alto Sax
  The cliche “sexy sax” sound with a very wide vibrato, used in so many lm noir movies and TV scenes. Can also be used for some Jazz applications where a softer, Paul Desmond-like alto sax sound is needed.
• Detroit Soul Piccolo
  A high-pitched woodwind instrument used in many Motown productions from the 60s and early 70s. Can also be used with large brass and woodwind ensembles, as in the higher register this instrument is capable of cutting through even a dense mix.
• Retro 70s Lead Trumpet
  A specialized instrument inspired by the lead trumpet players who played with 1970s-era big bands such as Maynard Fergusson, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Buddy Rich, etc. Lead Trumpet is an aggressive instrument designed be used as the “ rst chair” in a trumpet section. It only uses Loud and Medium-volume samples, and has a truncated low end.
• Retro R&B Alto Sax
  An edgy and funky sax sound inspired by the great Maceo Parker, who is best known for playing wth The God- father of Soul, James Brown.
• Retro R&B Tenor Sax
  An edgy tenor sax with extended false ngering range and some added e ects. Adds a nice edge to R&B or Funk horn sections.
• Roadhouse Tenor Sax
  A hard-edged sax sound recorded using an edgy, growling tone, inspired by the great Junior Walker and King Curtis. This sound were widely imitated and used by sax players in many bands, from Roadhouse Blues out ts to cheesy Vegas strip club bands, and later, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band, to name just a few.
• Soul Jazz Flugelhorn
  A brass instrument that has a big sound with a warm vibrato, inspired by Freddie Hubbard circa Red Clay. Works well for solo lines, or paired with tenor sax and/or ute for the type of small sections used on many retro Soul Jazz albums.
• Vintage Jazz Bari Sax
  A baritone sax with a smooth sound and rich vibrato, inspired by Jazz great Gerry Mulligan. Works well as a lead instrument, as well as in a section for Jazz ballads.
• Vintage Jazz Tenor Sax
  A smooth and breathy sound with rich vibrato, inspired by players like Zoot Sims and Stan Getz. Will also work nicely in a small Jazz ensemble setting, paired with the Muted or Open Cool Jazz Trumpet.
• Vintage Pop Piccolo Trumpet
  A high-pitched brass instrument that was famously used by the Beatles on the Sgt Pepper album. On Pop records, this somewhat specialized instrument generally only uses a limited number of articulations.

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