Musical Sampling – Atelier Series: Orb Trumpets

Orb Trumpets is a conceptual release based entirely on performances.

Recorded at Orb Studios in Austin, Texas, the goal was to create a trumpet patch that would allow our adventure-style programming methods to give a more natural sound using samples taken from phrases. It’s more difficult to program and master, but the resulting flexibility is impressive.

As with our larger orchestral releases, Adventure-style programming does not require key switching. For faster notes, you’ll want to play in the 1-100 velocity range. For longer notes, 101-127 provides a slightly wider attack. Switching between the two allows you to get an accurate sense of how brass players typically shape certain notes in different phrases.

The tuning was done by taste, not by software. We retained the natural variations in intonation range and dynamics, but used sharper notes, which resulted in a more natural temperament.