CINEMATIC STUDIO BRASS
User Manual
GUI / Main Screen
2
Reverb and Mixer
2
Articulation Matrix & Key switch assignment
2
Articulation-specific controls
2
Long Note Articulations
3
Sustains / Legato
3
Legato speed
3
Marcato
4
Repeated Notes
4
Chords
5
Other Long Note Articulations
5
Trills
5
Muted Short Notes & Sustains, and Flutter Tongue
5
Short Notes
6
Repetitions, Staccatissimo, Staccato and Sfz
6
Double Tongue
6
Short Note Delay
6
Additional Functions
7
Config Screen
7
Velocity Sensitive Key Switches
7
Key Switch CC
8
GUI / Main Screen
The GUI is divided into three main sections. On the left is the mixer and reverb dial, in
the middle is the articulation matrix, and on the right hand side there is a space for
special functions to pop up, depending on what articulation is currently selected.
Reverb and Mixer
CSB was recorded in the beautiful Trackdown Scoring Stage in Sydney. We wanted to
preserve all of its tone and punchy character, and so our preference is to use the
library completely dry, with the reverb set to zero - which is its default setting.
However we did include a hall style reverb preset, which can be configured by clicking
on the reverb dial itself and dragging left or right.
The mixer features four selectable channels. By default the “Mix” channel is active
when you load a patch. This channel is a pre-baked stereo mix of all three microphone
distances, which allows you to get the full studio sound at 1/3 of the RAM & CPU
usage. I recommend using this channel for most of your composing needs. However, if
you want extra control over the ambience and close detail, you can load in the
individual channels by clicking on the little power button icon below each fader:
Each channel can be routed to a specific output within Kontakt by clicking on
the small triangle icon beneath the text below each fader. For more information on
how to configure routing in Kontakt, please click here
Please note: it is not possible to activate both the Mix channel and any of the other
channels simultaneously. If you activate the Close channel, then Mix will automatically
deactivate, and vice versa. Deactivating a channel will unload it from RAM.
Articulation Matrix & Key switch assignment
The articulation matrix is made up of the square tiles in the centre of the GUI, and the
orange highlighted tile displays the currently selected articulation. The key switch
currently in use for each articulation is displayed in the top left of each tile. To change
the key switch assignment of an articulation, hold the shift key and click on its tile, and
then press the new desired key. The same functionality applies to the Legato and Con
Sordino switches. Shift+click on either of them, and then press your new desired key
to reassign key switches. Unneeded articulations can be removed from memory by
holding Alt and clicking on the articulation tile.
Articulation-specific controls
Staccato, Repetitions, Marcato and Muted all feature additional controls that will pop
up on the right hand side of the GUI when selected. These will be covered in more
detail in the following section.
Long Note Articulations
Sustains / Legato
The Sustains in CSB were sampled in four dynamics, from pp to fff (controlled via the
mod wheel CC1), and feature a wide expressive dynamic range, perfect for adding
warmth and power to any piece. As with any of the long-note articulations, you can
enable the Legato switch to play monophonic legato lines, or disable it to play chords.
Arguably the make-or-break aspect of any modern orchestral library is how musical
and expressive the legato engine is. We spared no expense in creating the legato
system for Cinematic Studio Brass. This meant sampling four distinct dynamics of
legato. Each dynamic of legato transition (including fff) was sampled in long-form,
which means there is no x-fading or trickery going on behind the scenes. Every time
you play a new note, you’re hearing an actual performance by musicians, not a tricky
script trying to approximate what that sounds like. Brass players tire easily, and so this
whole process was incredibly time consuming, and we spent over 250 hours in the
studio to record everything. Play a few notes though, and you’ll hear it was time well
spent.
Legato speed
In CSB, there are two articulations that allow you to play connected legato lines:
Sustain and Marcato. More on this below, but first, the rationale behind our legato
design philosophy is as follows:
When a musician transitions from one note to another, there is a subtle timbral and
dynamic shift as the players prepare for the new note. This effect can be heard while
listening to a solo bassoon or a group of french horns, and is a crucial factor in
creating a realistic sounding performance with samples. CSB has been programmed
to include these subtle swells before each new triggered legato note, and the end
result is a smooth, expressive sound. In practical terms, this means there is a delay
whenever you trigger a new legato note in any CSB instrument. The amount of delay is
determined by the velocity at which you play each new legato note. There are two
velocity zones: 0-64 and 65-100, which correspond to two legato speeds respectively:
Medium and Fast, as pictured below.
Medium has the most delay, (approx. 230ms for trombones, horns and tuba, 180ms
for trumpets), while fast has a smaller delay - approximately 100ms. However, the
amount of delay varies with each instrument, and we did this on purpose in order to
better accommodate the way the instrument itself functions. For example, the
trombone can’t move from one note to the next as quickly as a trumpet, and so this is
reflected in the feel of the legato. I recommend getting a sense of how each
instrument responds, and with a bit of practice, playing smooth connected lines
should feel natural and intuitive.
The two velocity ranges themselves are large, which means you
generally need to press the key softly to trigger a normal
expressive legato, and moderately hard to trigger a more
immediate-sounding faster transition. There is no gradual
increase of speed within any one range, so whether you hit a
key with a velocity of 20 or 58, you will be triggering the same
standard transition in both cases. I encourage you to practice
hitting each range, while observing the legato speed indicator
on the GUI. This will give you visual feedback so you can grow
accustomed to the various velocity zones while you practice.
Marcato
The Marcato articulation can also be used to play legato lines, but is geared to a more
aggressive, assertive playing style - perfect for heroic melody lines or dramatic action
cues. Similar to the Sustains articulation, Marcato also features the same two legato
speeds and associated velocity zones (0-64 = standard, 65-127 = fast).
The difference between Marcato’s standard and fast speeds is significant. When you
trigger a standard legato, you’ll hear more of the legato transition itself, while a fast
legato sounds much more immediate and aggressive. Also, if you have the Repetition
overlay setting switched on, any new legato note triggered as a fast legato (i.e. at a
velocity of 65-127) will also trigger a repetition sample on top, which is a great way to
accent notes during a melody.
Repeated Notes
Another powerful feature of the Cinematic Studio Series is the ability to perform a rearticulation of the same note. This is done by holding the sustain pedal and playing
the same note twice. Again, instead of a scripted emulation, you’re actually hearing a
sampled performance. In the case of strings it was achieved by the players performing
a re-bowing of the same note. For brass and woodwinds, it is a re-tonguing of the
same note. All instruments in the CSS range include this feature, across multiple
dynamics and with 3 x Round Robins.
Chords
Disabling the Legato switch enables the
playing of chords, and also causes the
envelope configuration panel to appear. This
allows easy setting of the fade-in and fadeout times of your chords. Control + click
returns each dial to its default setting.
Other Long Note Articulations
Trills
Trills in CSB are activated by pressing two keys simultaneously. Play two notes a half
tone apart to trigger a halftone trill, or a whole tone apart to trigger a whole tone trill.
The two notes themselves must be triggered at precisely the same time as each other
or the trill wont trigger - make sure the notes are no more than 25ms apart. The trill
itself will continue to hold for as long as any one of the two keys pressed is still held.
Switching Legato on or off allows playing of either monophonic legato or chords.
Muted Short Notes & Sustains, and Flutter Tongue
Short notes and sustains with straight mutes were sampled in up to four dynamics,
from pp up to fff, while the flutter tongue sustains were sampled in two dynamics: p
and ff. Same as with all the long note articulations, dynamics are controlled via the
mod wheel, and switching Legato on or off allows playing of either monophonic legato
or chords.
Note: all of the long note articulations will remember their own attack and release
envelope settings independently of one another.
Short Notes
Repetitions, Staccatissimo, Staccato and Sfz
CSB features 4 distinct short note types ranging
from short, energetic repetitions to long, powerfully
accented sforzando notes. These can be selected
via the mod wheel (CC1) by default. Right click on
the selector to change the CC assignment for this
switch. By utilising the mod wheel while performing
a passage, it’s possible to create interesting and
varied rhythmic passages.
Double Tongue
The double tongue articulation is a fun “extra” we included,
That allows you to play a stream of fast repeated notes,
which we sampled by chopping up double tongued
phrases. Similar to the measured tremolo articulation in our
string libraries, this double tongue articulation features a
switch to either sync these phrases to your host DAW’s
tempo, or manually apply your own tempo.
The lower slider can be used to select anywhere from 2 - 9 repetitions. By positioning
the slider at either its left or rightmost positions, you’ll see the setting change to X or
Hold respectively. X means you can play the repetition phrases manually, allowing you
to perform specific sequences rather than the standard one-shot triggering method.
Hold means that every time you press a key, the repetition sequence will continue until
you release that note.
Short Note Delay
Please note that there is a short delay of approximately 60ms from the beginning of
the short note samples to their “rhythmic peak.” We left this in the samples
intentionally as we believe this adds a significant degree of realism, and most
importantly, it ensures that the timing across all short note types is consistent. So
make sure you account for this when quantising short note tracks, either by applying a
negative 60ms delay to the whole track, or moving the the notes back manually.
Additional Functions
Config Screen
The Config screen can be accessed via the cog icon in the top right corner of the GUI.
Here you can change the CC assignment for Key switch CC (explained below),
Velocity X-Fade and Volume.
Velocity Sensitive Key Switches
Many of the key switches in CSB are velocity sensitive. This means that the velocity at
which the key switch itself is pressed will trigger additional actions. For example, the
Staccato key switch is velocity sensitive; if you press it at a velocity of 0-32,
Repetitions will be active upon changing to it; 33-64 will select Staccatissimo, and so
on (refer to the chart below). Another example is the Legato key switch. Pressing it at
a velocity of 0-64 switches them off, 65-127 switches them on. A full list of velocity
specific key switch functions is as follows:
Key Switch
Staccato
Velocity & Function
0-32: Repetitions
33-64: Staccatissimo
65-96: Staccato
97-127: Sfz
Muted
0-64: Muted short notes
65-127: Muted long notes
Marcato
0-64: Repetition Overlay Off
65-127: Repetition Overlay On
Legato
0-64: Legato Off
65-127: Legato On
Key Switch CC
Any of the functions within CSS that can be triggered via key switches can also be
triggered via a single CC: the Key switch CC. This is set to CC58 by default, and can
be changed via the Config screen. Moving this CC to any of the values listed in the
table below will activate their associated functions.
CC Value
Function
0-10
Sustain
11-15
Repetitions
16-20
Staccatissimo
21-25
Staccato
26-30
Sfz
31-40
Muted short notes
41-45
Rips
46-50
Trills
51-55
Flutter Tongue
56-60
Muted long notes
61-65
Double Tongue
66-70
Marcato without overlay
71-75
Marcato with overlay
76-80
Legato On
81-85
Legato Off
Choosing whether to use key switches or the key switch CC is a matter of personal
taste. Key switches are generally easier to access, and simply require pressing /
recording the appropriate keys within your sequence. However if you decide to
transpose a piece, you’ll need to be careful not to transpose any of these recorded
key switch notes along with your melody. This is something you won't need to worry
about if you’re using the key switch CC. Another benefit of using the key switch CC is
that as long as your sequencer’s MIDI chase function is enabled, you’ll be able to start
playing from halfway through your sequence, as opposed to having to skip back to
earlier in the sequence where the key switch notes were recorded.