Brass instruments are known for their strong character and are thus a staple in cinematic or “epic” music. But their versatility makes them useful for other genres such as jazz, marching bands, wind symphonies, 70’s TV soundtracks among many others.

Sustain Brass SFZ consist of the following instrument ensembles:

• 6 Trumpets (sustain)
• 8 Horns (sustain)
• 6 Trombones (sustain)
• 2 Tubas (sustain)

This SFZ library can be used with Plogue sforzando (free), a variety of Cakewalk plug-ins or the Linux Sampler (free).

Obtaining the library

This SFZ library is available in 3 different variations

• Full version at Gumroad (7.5 USD). Chromatically sampled with borrowed velocity layers in wav format. This is also bundled with other instruments at a lower combined price.
• Lite version at Sampleism (1.99 GBP). Sampled at minor thirds and in wav format.
• Lite version at Gumroad (Free or pay what-you-want). Sampled at minor thirds and in lossy compressed ogg format.

All samples are stereo and at 44.1 kHz. The wav samples are 16bit. All samples are looped in the SFZ file.

Be sure to check my Gumroad page for other sample libraries and discounted bundles.

Usage suggestions

The sample library’s velocity response has been adjusted to match the typically louder playing while allowing changes in timbre over different MIDI note velocities.

Brass players typically sit at the back of the orchestra (behind the string section). Hence, early reflections from the wall behind them and diffusion through the players in front will affect the sound. This can be attained with your favorite reverb plug-in. Of course, different considerations apply for different genres (e.g. jazz and band).

Long release or reverb?

A long “release” time has been implemented to give some “reverb like” quality to the sound (also since the portion after the looped region is removed to save space). This way, it is more usable on its own, even without a reverb plugin. However this is not true reverb, but more like a piano sustain pedal. Using the samples “dry” would not emulate a specific space. But this also avoids concerns of reverb like extra plug-ins required and potentially unwanted coloration effects. If using reverb, extended release tails could also prevent the danger of making the sound dull by relying heavily on reverb to achieve a desired release length.

The long release also makes the instrument samples sound more natural as it simulates the players not ending the note at exactly the same time. Hence, the loudness takes longer to die out as there are still performers left playing beyond the supposed the “end” of the note.

If a long release is not what you want, however, feel free to modify the line that says “ampeg_release” in the SFZ file to a smaller number of seconds (if it looks like a mess in Windows Notepad, use an advanced text editor like SciTE). The SFZ format is open and meant to be tweaked to your liking. I don’t mind if you modify the SFZ text file for your personal use.

Terms of use

This SFZ library is provided for creating music (whether free or commercial) and citing/attribution is optional. This SFZ library should not be used for creating another sample library or virtual instrument. The SFZ library should not be uploaded elsewhere without permission from Signal Experiments. Read the included readme.txt file for details.