Output
106
FM
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SOUNDS & SAMPLES
Output - Analog
Brass & Winds $199
Given that one of last year’s big releases from
Heavyocity was NOVO: Modern Strings, it was only
a matter of time before the orchestral brass section
got a look-in. FORZO: Modern Brass does just that.
While NOVO was recorded on the Eastwood Scoring
Stage at Warner Bros Studios, FORZO moves
location to the equally ‘A-list’ Skywalker Sound
Scoring Stage. Like NOVO, there is a somewhat
hybrid approach taken to this package. After
installing the content (25GB when uncompressed),
you’ll find two instrument folders – ‘Traditional’ and
‘Evolved’ – which reflect the different personalities
FORZO has to offer. The first uses a more
conventional playback engine to access the various
sections, including 12 french horns, four trumpets,
trombones, tubas and a full ensemble. Within each
instance you can switch between nine articulations,
totalling over 100, taking in the usual suspects, as
well as some fantastic pulses and clusters. In the
‘Evolved’ folder you’ll find the Brass Designer, that
lets you combine up to three separate articulation
layers, and Loop Designer for mixing and controlling
the 400 tempo-synced loops. There are a host of
snapshots in both, with the Brass Designer taking
things into more eclectic sound-design territory.
FORZO is perfect for film or any genre requiring
interesting instrumental textures. Another highly
playable product from Heavyocity. Bruce Aisher
heavyocity.com
VERDICT 8.9
Heavyocity – FORZO:
Modern Brass $549
Like buses, the second product on
review this month is also a brass-
based Kontakt instrument, and comes
with the aspiring subtitle ‘Next Level
Air’. Output once again deliver a
distinctive interface within which to
bundle their raw content, based
around real and synthetic sources.
Each sound is built from two layers
that take samples from one of three
categories – Orchestral, Synth and
Creative. Each of these is then
divided into one shot, pad and tape
sections, with a choice of close or far
mic configurations for the Orchestral
category. The underlying orchestral
samples consist of recordings of
18-piece brass and wind sections,
and soloists from both, playing in a
range of styles. Things take an
interesting turn with the Synthetic
and Creative categories, where you’ll
find some tones that only just fit onto
the ‘brass’ or ‘air’ nomenclature – a
particular irony being that some of
these started life as a synthesist’s
best effort at emulating a real brass
section, but are now sought after in
their own right. Once you’ve chosen
your sources, Output’s engine goes to
work with all kinds of modulation,
looping, arpeggiation, sequencing and
effects options, turning them into
something entirely new. However,
with 500 presets included, and the
powerful macro modulation sliders,
you might easily decide to only make
the odd tweak. While it’s possible to
use Analog Brass and Winds for
simpler, more recognisable tones, it
excels in creating new ones that can
easily sit as the centrepiece of a
track. Bruce Aisher
output.com
VERDICT 9.0
FMU338.rev_sounds.indd 106 31/10/2018 15:14