Monday , March 18 2024
I like the different setups very much. You have a lot of flexibility over what you are creating, and when you combine that with the different variations within the scope of the program, you have a lot to work with.

Music Software Review: Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks

Bravura Scoring Brass is the newest product from Impact Soundworks. This product provides you with a wide range of orchestral brass instruments that can be used in a wide range of applications including film, TV, game production, and sound design, as well as an accompaniment for your own musical compositions.

Bravura Scoring Brass is a highly expressive package that lets you quickly achieve great results. There are over 55,000 samples in both 16 and 24-bit mode. Bravura Scoring Brass combines with high-quality sound and an easy-to-use interface that gives you a truly musical workflow along with the ability to add a brass section to your music.

Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks
Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks

The goal of Bravura Scoring Brass package is to provide to you the sound of a tight, orchestral brass section. You get ensembles and soloists as well as aleathoric FX, recorded in a large scoring studio with great depth of sound. This library is meant to be agile and meticulous for use in the world of sound design as well as traditional composition.

Bravura Scoring Brass comes with four ensembles (trumpets, horns, trombones, and low brass), six soloists (trumpet, piccolo trumpet, flugelhorn, horn, trombone, and tuba), and sectional and ensemble FX. You also get Full Brass and the Impact Soundworks exclusive Chordmaker and Orchestrator. Bravura Scoring Brass is powered by either the free Native Instruments KONTAKT player, or through using the full standalone retail Native Instruments KONTAKT 5 packages.

Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks
Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks

While here I am looking at the complete Bravura Scoring Brass bundle, there are other bundles available such as Ensembles, Soloists, and Chords & FX, as well as a la carte packages such as Trumpets, Horns, Trombones, Low Brass, and more which can be purchased separately based on your individual needs. Check out the Impact Soundworks website for more information.

Bravura Scoring Brass is made up of 20 instrument patches, each of which contains a variety of sounds and articulations. These are broken down into the ensembles, solos, FX, Chordmakers, and Orchestrators. You simply load the ensemble patches or solo instruments you’d like, assigning each its own MIDI track.

Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks
Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks

Once you select an instrument patch, you will be presented with the main interface, which is laid out in three columns. In the mics and reverb column you can adjust the settings, with have three basic mic setups: Close, which sets the mic close to the instruments; Room A, with mics in the middle of the hall; and Room B in the back of the hall. You can adjust the volume, pan, and width, turn each mic on or off, equalize the High/Mid/Low bands, and control the characteristics of the reverb.

The center area is the Articulation Selector. Here you can control the various articulations: You can load and unload an articulation, change it, and control the various dynamics.

On the right side you have the performance controls. Here you can adjust the velocities of the instrument, change the tuning, alter the articulation dynamics, and transpose the MIDI input by octaves.

There are also advanced controls if you want to dive into the back end of the KONTAKT player. Here you can adjust the legato, transitions, release, and stack controls to further refine your sounds.

Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks
Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks

There are a few other unique features to this set of instruments. The Chordmaker Patch is a tool that allows you to create realistic, pre-orchestrated chords. These are not pre-recorded. The script within will generate custom chord voicing from single-note samples. You have a lot of options to work with, including voicing, spread, volume, and pan.

The Orchestrator Patch will automatically assign played notes and chords across multiple instruments! This is the fastest way of achieving a realistic orchestrated sound. You start with your lowest note first, or play a chord. In the case of a single note, the patch will assume you are building to a chord. Through this patch you can gain inspiration and achieve a realistic orchestrated sound.

Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks
Bravura Scoring Brass From Impact Soundworks

I really liked working with Bravura Scoring Brass. I like the different setups very much. You have a lot of flexibility over what you are creating, and when you combine that with the different variations within the scope of the program, you have a lot to work with.

Even better are the sounds that you are able to create with this package. By being able to go in and control so many variables, you can tweak the sounds in just about any way possible. Also, the crispness of the sound is superb. Again, the options give you a lot of flexibility – you can really manipulate to variables to get just the right feel. The Chordmaker and Orchestrator also make this package very unique and give it even more flexibility.

If I were to knock Bravura Scoring Brass on anything it is that it does take quite a bit of a memory footprint. In its defense, the nice thing is that you can unload the elements that you don’t need to free up a lot of space. I have worked with a number of other brass packages in the past and Bravura Scoring Brass really scores high on my list of favorite packages. For that reason I really highly recommend Bravura Scoring Brass.

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About T. Michael Testi

Photographer, writer, software engineer, educator, and maker of fine images.

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