MeldaProduction’s most recent addition to the MSoundFactory add-ons library brings the sounds of a full brass orchestra. Contributor Josh Turvey takes a look at PowerBrass.
Summary
Overall:
An excellent virtual instrument library that makes brass composition easy and expressive across a whole range of genres and applications.
Pros:
- Quality selection of presets.
- Instruments are well sampled and optimised.
- Quick, simple and easy to dial in highly useable results.
- MPE compatible.
- Plenty of options to program and automate expressive results, even for users without MPE controllers.
- Useful implementation of hybrid/creative features for sound design and modern production.
Cons:
- The articulations provided are relatively basic. More unique and interesting phrases/articulations would elevate the instrument and the workflow.
- Dated user interface. Easy to understand but not a massively inspiring working environment.
Intro
PowerBrass is the latest virtual instrument library that veteran developers, MeldaProduction, have added to their incredibly comprehensive (and often overlooked) MSoundFactory synth. Free for users of the full version and MSoundFactory LE, PowerBrass is also available in the free version of MSoundFactory for the generous intro price €9.
Serving up a variety of four different Brass instruments (Tubas, French Horns, Trombones and Trumpets) that can be combined in different ways, PowerBrass aims to cover an array of composition styles, from film/game-scoring to modern, pop-production. Here, we explore the Prague-based developer’s latest creation to see if it lives up to the claim of offering “an unparalleled experience in brass simulation with its lightweight yet powerful set of samples”.
Design & Features
Before delving into PowerBrass, it’s important to understand its status as a virtual instrument library inside MPowerSynth, which is a behemoth of a synth worthy of its own review, the features of which are beyond the scope of this article. Though the prospect of extracting the maximum utility out of MPowerSynth can be daunting, users of PowerBrass (or any of the included sound libraries) are spared this learning curve. PowerBrass functions as its own instrument and users do not need to have a deep understanding of MPowerSynth’s architecture to use it to its full capability. Consequently, this review will focus solely on PowerBrass and its feature-set.
PowerBrass is housed in a straightforward layout that will be familiar to producers comfortable working with the libraries found in industry staples, such as: Native Instruments’ Kontakt, UVI’s Falcon, Steinberg’s HALion and DecentSampler. The library’s design is easy to understand, with the various functions divided into five, clearly labelled headings situated below the Preset selector: Intro, Articulations, Creative, FX and Global. These provide different windows for the user to interact with in order to manipulate the samples and customise the sound according to their taste.
In Use
The ‘Intro’ tab is designed to get users up and running as quickly as possible and will likely be the window where most producers spend the majority of their time. This window makes it easy to select all of the brass instruments simultaneously or individually, and provides four macro controls to further shape the instrument’s tone and panorama. I found that automating the ‘Stage Spread’, ‘Piano/Forte’, ‘Dark/Bright’ and ‘Humanise’ controls added a lot of expression when composing, which really brought the instrument to life. Buttons for ‘Sustain’, ‘Legato’ and ‘Staccato’ give the user a choice between the three types of articulation, whilst further buttons are provided to enable voice stacking, which can be re-pitched and detuned according to taste.
The ‘Articulations’ tab provides many of the same options found in the ‘Intro’ section, but offers the user deeper control over the envelope of each brass instrument. Basic transposition and volume controls can also be found here, which can be useful for setting up a mix and creating harmonically richer arrangements.
The ‘Creative’ tab is an interesting addition to what would otherwise be a traditional, virtual instrument library. Options for ‘Synth Brass’, ‘Convolution’, ‘FM’ and ‘Diffusion’ can completely augment and elevate the original samples. This is an excellent feature for creative sound design, with thoughtfully added controls that enable the user to dial in the various effects from subtle to extreme amounts.
MeldaProduction are highly regarded for their excellent effects plugins, a healthy selection of which have been streamlined and distilled into the instruments’ ‘FX’ tab. Like the ‘Creative’ tab, each module is equipped with a range of controls to polish, transform and refine the overall tone of the instrument, with each effect performing admirably.
Lastly, the ‘Global’ tab provides control for instrument-wide parameters such as: Volume, Pitch, Voices, Velocity and MPE Assignments. These parameters can be locked so as to remain unaffected when switching between presets. This is a nice touch, which would also be a welcome addition to other settings throughout the instrument.
Conclusion
With the addition of PowerBrass, MSoundFactory continues to grow in stature as an excellent host for high-quality, virtual instrument libraries. PowerBrass punches above its relatively compact size and can easily be deployed across multiple genres in a wide range of composition and production use-cases.
Whilst I believe that the user interface could be improved so as to create a more inspiring working environment, PowerBrass excels in the most important area of audio quality, also ensuring that it’s easy for users to dial in emotive and expressive results. Its capacity for creative sound design is a big additional bonus, as are the onboard effects, all of which combine to create a library worthy of attention and consideration.
Technical Info
- Easy to download, install and activate. A root folder must be chosen in the settings of MeldaProduction’s MPluginManager so that MSoundFactory can locate the installed libraries.
- Relatively compact download size (±300mb) for such a comprehensive library.
- Mac & PC are both supported, with options for VST, VST3, AU and AAX.
- The manual for MSoundFactory is extremely detailed, but there is no separate manual for PowerBrass. A useful walkthrough is provided on the PowerBrass webpage.
- CPU is well optimised, but as with any sample library, it can quickly spike with multiple instances of MSoundFactory loaded. Engaging the voicing and stacking options in the library will also increase CPU usage.
Alternatives
- Augmented Brass (Arturia)
- Valves and Valves Pro (Native Instruments)
- Analog Brass & Winds (Output)
- Hollywood Pop Brass (EastWest)
- Horns of Hell (Sonuscore)
Thank you Josh, for your thoughts on PowerBrass! For those who are interested in purchasing the instrument library, it is offered at the introduction price of just 9 EUR / $10 USD until September 30th at the MeldaProduction store and from Plugin Boutique.
Josh Turvey is a musician, producer and an avid plugin enthusiast. He provides online, 1-2-1 tuition for guitar and music production for NoiseQuest.
