From eslawson@comcast.net Tue Jan 21 02:15:37 2003
Subject:RE: OT: Horn sounds on keys

Ed,

Regarding your "CloneHorn" question: My answer is real horn players and if
those are not available, then an analog horn patch or another sound
altogether is the way to go.

I'm a purist when it comes to horn sounds and I have always had an aversion
to playing ROMpler-style horn patches to emulate real horns. To me,
keyboard horns have never really sounded like real horns and actually make
my skin crawl at times.

My personal opinion is that using keys to emulate horn sounds verbatim ends
up sounding cheesy 9 times out of 10. I've had the luxury of playing in
bands with horns, but on the occasions where I need to cop the horn licks, I
choose not to emulate the horn sound but rather to play the lick using a
keyboard sound like Hammond, clav or analog brass sounds. I don't mind
playing string sounds, but doing brass section on keys has never floated my
boat.

I like to take the arrangement in a different direction while staying
somewhat true to the original intent (if it's a cover song with a signature
horn riff).

I know that the technology allows for pretty realistic brass sounds, but
they still cannot get the inflection of a live brass player. There is still
a lot of old school mentality around using real horns and not putting
players out of work, etc. If you can't swing the horn section, then see if
you can do something else rather than requiring a specific trumpet section
preset.

One of the bands I play with has 3 horns (trombone, trumpet and tenor sax).
There have been occasions in which a 4th horn part is needed (example - bari
sax part in TOP's Soul Vaccination). This part fell into my hands and I
tried various saxaphone sounds and they all sound WAY cheesy. In the end, I
used a distorted wah clav sound and it captured the riff with a much more
wicked vibe than trying to make my keyboard sound like a sax.

Regards,
Eric
Moderator

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Fliege [mailto:k2mojo@groovedaddies.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 1:51 AM
To: CloneWheel@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CWSG] OT: Piano & other sound modules

OK, I broke down and put an OT in the Subject line, but I think this kind of
thread is relevant mainly because the majority of us play more than just
organ, right?, and who better to get opinions from than other guys who
already appreciate the beauty of the Hammond sound ;-)
Now that we've discussed pianos, I'd like to hear what horn patches you guys
are using in your live rigs. Specifically what keyboard/module and which
patch.