Lets not talk about nibbles then 
I don’t know how many people here get that joke. 
(With apologies to my sax playing friends/associates) Samplemodeling has recently developed a soprano sax VST called:
Ms. Sax S.
They also have a 'Mr. Sax A. (alto) Mr. Sax T. (tenor) and Mr. Sax B. (baritone) or, “The Sax Brothers.” They also have ‘The Trombone’ which is excellent.
For Ms. Sax S., the company developed its own proprietary sound engine (like Spectrasonics ‘Steam’ engine, they call it ‘SWAM’ engine), a departure from using NI’s Kontact sample player of it’s other instruments (trumpet, trombone, and the Sax Bros.
I currently have the trumpet (which includes flugelhorn, cornet, et al trumpet-like brass instruments) and I look to acquiring Ms. Sax S. for my writing tool box sometime during the new year.
Hmmm… I’m not convinced by the sound…
I also checked out the tenor sax they make, but it sounds fake to me.
The trumpet sounds much better and could be mistaken for the real deal!
A nibble is half a byte or four bits or a hex digit
I know, I know… techy humor is just not funny.
In terms of true artistic virtuosity (which I don’t have) it’s relatively easy to hear the ‘anomalies’ whenever any VSTi instruments are used (not excluding MIDI/sequenced parts where drums, bass, guitar, piano, et al ‘real instruments’) especially when an artist possesses a close relationship and real world chops and familiarity of a particular instrument over the years). It’s not only about ‘what’s there’ - but also ‘what’s not there’ in the details of a performance where a VSTi is used.
In a writing mode, however, these VSTi instruments become very useful in terms of creating essential parts of a composition (which can be performed LIVE - one would just record and convert MIDI to standard notation/lead sheets and bring in human players who can either read or are talented enough to pick up the stuff by ear). Usually, these VSTi anomalies can be heard in solo more often than not, and yet these same instruments can be useful in the mix of a recorded piece, e.g.,
http://www.sample-modeling.com/Demos/Soprano/AtNightWithSWAM.mp3
http://www.sample-modeling.com/Demos/Soprano/AtMorningWithSWAM.mp3
To knowingly record a piece where a real-life/world instrument VSTi used falls short of sounding ‘realistic’ has always been a slippery slope for me, as I will always question not only the believability in sound, but in the performance in what would represent actual physical execution possibilities.
For collaboration, I think VSTs help with the degree of communicating the musical ideas in a composition for what a particular part IS to be performed (versus writing out a solo for the soloist who is designated to rely on their own musicality and improvisational skills). In the end, it all comes down to a degree of choice because in spite of the tools one uses - it’s all music, be it Live or recorded, cool/uncool, performed good/bad, tasteful/not, sampled or original, dry/processed/sweetened, etc. … it’s all music.
Me neither, Steve. I purchased Melodyne and its saxophone library a couple years back for the purpose of creating more realistic sounding sax solos (mainly because I never heard a sax VSTi (or hardware synthe sax patch) that would consistently fulfill my expectations (while ‘in the moment’). I found that even real sax samples/articulations, when used out of context in a composition, the ‘believability’ factor still comes into question, and even still - some listeners find it acceptable for that unique quirkiness.
All that rambling [and post edits], still…
LIVE MUSIC IS BEST!
Happy New Year all, wishing you the best for 2012!
m a j i k
Wow. The sample modeling is rather neat. And although I’m sure Wim (or others of his caliber) could find nits with the VST, I couldn’t. And the price point is rather nice too.
Well, I think the sax VST will serve its purpose in a horn section, but not as a solo instrument.
Like I said earlier: the trumpet sounds much better to me (though trumpet players may disagree…).
Think I’ll have to rootitoot and have a listen
Never say never. Just think about how far we have come from the first samplers of early '80s. I really hope I can use a VSTi for lead guitar some day. But I’m afraid I won’t be in this world anymore when that day arrives.
Wim,
Help me learn. Pick a video on one of the product pages and point out a specific instance where it is obvious to you that the sound is simulated and not the real deal. I honestly couldn’t hear anything on the soprano, alto or tenor videos that would have caused me to think that it’s fake.
Lol. That was awesome.