Saxophone VST(s)

Tristan

(I'm very sorry by advance if my English is not perfect)

Why there is so few amount of Saxophone VST plugin in the market ?

I asked this question to myself every time I'm looking for a great quality of a saxophone virtual instrument and not found it. Of course, I answer that is because it's an expressive and certainly difficult instrument to sample.

But, its an orchestral instrument too !

So, am I alone in this case?

billstokesmusic

Have you looked at the SWAM instruments? I haven't used them myself, but the demo videos sound pretty good.

https://audiomodeling.com/swam-engine/solo-woodwinds/swam-saxophones/

Here's a MidiGuitarist using a breath controller, getting a convincing sax sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WhVMTElmG0&t=13s

Bradley

This, and to a degree solo male vocals, are the white whales of VSTs. I desperately hope Spitfire eventually put their expertise into a comprehensive sax library for orchestra. I use them in symphonic arrangements all the time and just leave them out of my mock-ups.

ArturoAlbero

I think exactly the same. There isn't any good classical saxophone library (the ones that I know are too old or too jazzy). Lucky for me, I play the saxophone, but I don't have the AIR studio available to me to record my parts :P

So I wish Spitfire one day make a Classical Saxophone library. However, I don't think this is going to happen... You'll end up sooner if you learn how to play the saxophone :P

Richard Ferrando

I'd love to see this too. With a good legato. I wrote a piece recently where I wanted to use alto sax for the melody but couldn't find any VSTs that worked for the mood of the piece, so I wound up using clarinet instead. It certainly works, but it's not the sound that I was hoping for.

nativeVS

As I've mentioned in other threads here, a nice lyrical Soprano Sax (played in Lyndhurst Hall of course) would be an amazing alternative for the usual reed solos. Maybe I should pester Orchestral Tools again.

Martin Russ

There's quite a lot of discussion of Saxophones, SWAM and more in this (admittedly rambling at times, unhurried, relaxed...there's a definite style to it...) Benn Jordan stream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eYRLJrSkmk

The Breath Controller he uses is this one:

https://www.tecontrol.se/products/usb-midi-breath-controller

Which seems to be a modern take on the old DX7/WX7-era breath controllers from the 80s.... As with most blown instruments, I suspect that a breath controller is going to be a more appropriate controller for a sax than a mod wheel or a slider...

WizardAncient

I think the problem is this is not actual orchestral instrument or better say it seems not like orchestral instrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsfPS7pXg1E&ab_channel=DavidBruceComposer

Also problem is not a being expensive, or hard to sample. Violin it can be complicated to sample. Double bass is expensive like from 1k. Also a grand piano from 20k.

The problem is a low interest of it. And there other problems, low interest of making music on computer, using VST. For example: “Making music on computer, so stupid or soulless” People mostly agree with it. Mostly a reason for making instrument is a big interest of it. Also where is no interest there is no buyers and there is no sense to buy physical instrument to make a plugin. If you want to be repay.

But we have internet and it is a virtual instrument :D Maybe Spitfire Audio can find acceptable amount of musicians which gonna be interest in using sax plugin.

And I wanna soprano saxophone! XD And thanks for topic, I was thinking about spitfire sax some time ago. 

jwing

https://community.spitfireaudio.com/discussion/comment/1595#Comment_1595

To be fair there are all kinds of "non-orchestral" instruments that have made their way into modern film scores, from synths to electric guitars to all kinds of exotic world instruments and noisemakers. I don't think Sax is that unusual that no one would want or use it. There's plenty demand as it could add a unique timbre to an otherwise generic sounding orchestral score.

WizardAncient

https://community.spitfireaudio.com/discussion/comment/1745#Comment_1745

I didn't wrote "no one" I wrote "The problem is a low interest of it". 

Crevice

Breath controllers are great but are not a requirement for great sounding horns. I personally don't consider the sax an orchestral instrument. I started seeking out sax libraries for funk, jazz and other various music forms.

Some libraries to check out:

Vir2 MOJO2 Horn Section

Session Horns Pro

8Dio Glory Days Big Band Horns

ProjectSAM Swing! More

BigFishAudio Vintage Horns

Chris Heins Horns Compact

Chris Heins Horns Pro

Straight Ahead Jazz Horns

https://soundcloud.com/vir2-instruments/famous-horn-lines-przemyslaw

https://soundcloud.com/vir2-instruments/last-minute-plan-b

https://soundcloud.com/vir2-instruments/sundown-przemyslaw-kopczyk

https://soundcloud.com/vir2-instruments/got-my-mojo-back

jwing

https://community.spitfireaudio.com/discussion/comment/1796#Comment_1796

That's fine too, I didn't mean that so literally as you took it. I am just saying if Spitfire released a sax library, you might be surprised to learn the interest is higher than you realize.

Hans Jakob

Why doesn’t Spitfire Audio have a saxophone library? There are plenty of sax quartets like Delta-, Apollo- ao. Playing both classical and minimalist music like Nyman and Glass. There are also great musicians like John Lurie and Colin Stetson using saxophone in film music, albeit not in the «epic» style.

MaestroBarrett

I also would be very interested in SA creating an orchestral saxophone library. Please make one!

Retroblueman

I would definitely find it hard not to take the immediate plunge on a Spitfire sax library - or, possibly even better, a spitfire Big Band a la Nelson Riddle and Quincy Jones - countless movies have that on the score!