I have been searching for the best acoustic instrument sounds to be had from midi synthesizers for over 15 years and mostly not found much. Many hardware synthesizers had uninspiring me too sounds that would hardly be competition for a good kazoo. Now and then I would find 1 or 2 samples in a hardware box that were pretty good, and another 1 in another expensive box or in a special expansion card. To get 6 or 7 decent instrument samples you had to cobble together 4 or 5 hardware synths at some totally ridiculous cost.
More recently I found the Ketron SD2 made in Italy, rather Japan, the most fruitful source of midi synths. This box with it's much more affordable price of under $370, has far more usable acoustic wind, brass, and string sounds than any other single hardware box. After posting some samples of these sounds on the PGMUSIC forum, the SD2 become a hit to such an extent that it's at the top of almost everyone's recommended list for Band-in-a-Box users, and PGMusic even decided to sell it. If you've ever heard it, you know the reputation is well deserved.
Although the SD2 unit does not have a setting for breath control, you set your wind controller to output volume and it works fine that way. It has the absolute best Breathy Tenor Saxophone sound I have ever heard from a Midi synth (hard or software based). The clarinet is also very good, especially in the high range where it really excells. Flute, violin, and even the trumpet sound very nice -as good or better than any hardware synth I've used or tested. I'm not a guitar player so my opinion is not all that useful, but the nylon and acoustic guitars sound pretty good. The vibes are very good and so are the accordions including the bandoneon. They're generally quite a bit or much better than the Roland samples with which I'm very familiar.
The exciting news for anyone who wants acoustic instrument sounds, and especially for MIDI Wind Controller players is the totally new sampling and playback techology from samplemodeling.
http://www.samplemodeling.comTheir Trumpet is by far the best I have ever heard. It has such a realistic sounds that my trumpet playing friends are amazed (I'm not a brass player myself). Not only does it sound so real, but it is the MOST RESPONSIVE wind controller instrument I have ever played. It has no delay and is super responsive complete with lots of nuanced control. The sound changes realistically with breath attack and breath intensity just the way the typical trumpet changes. You can hear the half-valve stuff.
They also do Saxophones, but out of the box, for me at least, this is not in the same league as the trumpet. The examples on the web site sounds great, but I can't get the variety of sounds that I want, and I hear other people doing. It's taken me quite a bit longer to get some respectable Sax sounds. It's very responsive, but I find it difficult to get a soft, mellow sound, rather than a harsh, growling tone. Hopefully soon, I will have mastered the secret of making it work the way I want.
The trumpet and the saxophone have special wind controller settings -HOORAY!!! If you are a MIDI Wind Controller player you will want to rush out and get the sample modeling trumpet. You will not be sorry.
Here are some links to some samples that I've posted:
My Funny Valentine
http://www.kara-moon.com/index.php?play_song_id=4882Angel Eyes
http://www.kara-moon.com/index.php?play_song_id=4884Night in Tunisia
http://www.kara-moon.com/index.php?play_song_id=4885If you have any questions about the sample modeling Trumpets, just ask.
Thanks for listening,
Dan
PS Samplemodeling now has a Trombone available. It's as good as the trumpet.
