How do I get sounds to sound real (ie. horns, etc)

[Fmmahoganyrush]

OK, so it may not a "Cakewalk Only" question, but I use Cakewalk, so I put the question here. I'm finding it real difficult to reproduce the expression of certain instruments. The sounds on my NS5R are ok, and would probably suffice if I knew how to get the initial bright "POW" of a horn burst when trying to put together a brass/horn section for a song. I'm using a keyboard for a trigger (with pressure sensitive keys), but it's not really translating the sound via MIDI. Are there controllers that I should be playing with to get this, and if so, is it a shit load of tedious editting? Or is there a different "trigger" device for horns (I know they have one for woodwinds). The horns in the beginning of the Beatles song "Got To Get You Into My Life" is the sound I am striving for. Any clues? Thanx, Tom.

[crosstudio]

if you don't have a horn patch that 'blasts', and setting the attack (73) and decay (72) controller settings doesn't give you that 'blast', then you'd better start looking for a sample that you can record into cakewalk as audio.

another thing i've tried is to add another sound under the horns (orchestra hit, organ, stabbing synth) to help the attack point of the horns.

FYI, i've got the roland xv-3080 with the orchestra card, and the horns are quite good (not perfect) but nothing will be.

[Blue Bear Sound]

To get realistic-sounding samples, you have to keep in mind the register and timbre of the given original instrument, and also mimic the physical way the instrument gets played.

I find it notoriously difficult to mimic the playing feel of horns via a keyboard midi-controller, simply because the keyboard doesn't play anything like a horn does! Using a midi P/U-equipped guitar, I find I can mimic that horn feel much more closely simply because of the way the guitar responds vs. the way the keyboard does.

Bruce

[TimOBrien]

MIDI will not sound like a real horn. Too many things going on in the lips and fingers and throats of a real horn player (I'm a sax and flute player).

Try to find some real horn players to do your parts.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by TimOBrien
MIDI will not sound like a real horn. Too many things going on in the lips and fingers and throats of a real horn player (I'm a sax and flute player).

Try to find some real horn players to do your parts.

Well yeah... of course, that's self-evident! But sometimes that's not possible and for those times, you try and mimic it as closely as possible via samples and midi...........

Bruce