The story
After I spent a weekend replicating some of Vangelis’ early Nemo work <a href=”https://youtu.be/jVSrqQdcBnU”>(see video)</a> I decided to try and also have a go at the sound we most associate with the Greek Master: the mighty CS-80 Brass. The weapon of choice was the Korg 700 (which also happens to be Vangelis’ first synth).
As the 700 is a relatively simple monosynth with only one oscillator the only way to achieve something close to the dual layer sound of the CS-80 was to of course layer the samples. To make it not too phasy and a bit more lively the two passes were recorded with some slight filter variations and moderate vibrato fiddling.
To make the final instrument sound more like Vangelis’ 80s work I decided to completely drench it in Splosh (courtesy of a Lexicon 224 IR).
In my opinion the end result is surprisingly similar in overall feel to it, but have a play for yourself.
Modwheel and Channel Aftertouch can be used to add some vibrato if necessary.
As I’m very kean to also have this sound availabe in lower registers, I’ll probably do a more thorough version at some indefinite point in the future.
All samples were recorded through a Studer console, with the input transformer slightly driven, into a RME Babyface.
Robert
Reviews for CS-700 Brass
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- Character
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Retro synth brass vibes!
This is a super nice synthy brass sound that in my opinion can be used in quite a few ways. It has been sampled really well and I can see it being very inspiring and useful for many. In my opinion, the vibrato should be somewhere indicated in the GUI, so it can easily be bound to a different CC or just for the sake of letting an uninitiated user know about its existence.
Lot of analog goodness here
This sound has just enough pitch tracking issues and just enough variation in the waveforms to make it feel very analog without crossing into "Gee that's really out of tune". The instrument is well recorded and well edited within Kontakt. I will say that the envelope settings on the filter in the recorded sample can wear on the ears a bit after a while, so this probably isn't going to be the only sound in a mix, but it certainly has character and flavor. Very cool indeed!
Not my vibe but might be great for others
Ive never really been into this sound so i would never really find a use for it but others might get alot out of it. I like using more organic sounding synth stuff like warm juno bells and vibey pads. This comes across bright and uninteresting to me. I wish it went lower on the keyboard maybe i would like it a bit more. This is a really good representation of the sound its sampling, I'm just not really a fan of it so naturally my review will reflect that. Good job though
