Suggestions for horn FX please

[Mozzer]

Hi
I have a new band with a 3-piece horn section (alto and tenor and trumpet).
Can anyone suggest any spectacular effects settings rather than just reverb and delay for either solos or unison playing please?

I’m looking for something different for a special occasion like a signature solo – not something I can leave on all night.
Thanks
Phil

[volounteer]

The best effect is NO effect except for playing extremely well.
And also having good music. Think Haydn trumpet concerto.

Is the signature solo for your ears only, apology to James Bond:)
Or is the signature solo for the audience/listener(s)?

Some possibilities would be a mute in the horn to lower the SPL.
Autotune might be useful. Maybe Clarifier andor high pass filter.
Possibly special EQ could do it for you.

If you are into noise then an exciter, shredder, or destroyer might be what you want.

[Mozzer]

Hi
It is a pop/rock cover band, so no Haydn or exotic bit crushing. Think “Call Me Al.”
There is probably a horn solo for one or another of them in half the songs.
Thanks
Phil

[volounteer]

I still think playing better and smoother with NO effects is best. YMMV.
When I said Haydn , I meant the sound of the true pros playing on those recordings is so far better than most live people I hear.
If there are f/x to clean up the raspy sound so many horn players have, then use that for sure.

You seem to have the SQ so look at the f/x that are built in.
Also available are a number of DEEP processor to buy as add ons.
I would think that possibly GEQ or hypabass could help you some. Or maybe not. Depends on your taste.
The built in f/x have a number of classics.

You really need to experiment with some and see what you think would be that signature sound you are looking for.

[Dave Meadowcroft]

A suitable reverb, probably hall or even arena, with a good balance between reverb time and return level is the best starting point. For horns I often increase the reverb’s pre-delay to give the natural sound time to “breathe”.
I’d have an Opto Compressor inserted ready to go as well with a ratio of 3 or 4 to 1 and 2 to 3 dB of make up gain as a starting point.
I disagree with the previous post – depending on the room and the sound you want to achieve of course. Effects can bring an otherwise flat sounding, but musically brilliant, performance to life when used correctly.

[volounteer]

Well… The OP said he was not looking for reverb.
And did want spectacular effects.

I still say the best effect is to play better, so the natural sound stands out by the lack of fx that many others do use.

Compression might suit @Mozzer, but he really needs to try things and see what he likes best.
For a ‘signature’ sound I still suspect that some sort of EQ would leave things recognizable as good horn sound, but also be different enough to be his signature sound.

Of course the room may need its own adjusting. I focused on a perfect room as given, and so only adjusting the horn as he had asked.

[Andre S]

As a special I like ADT or Chorus/Flanger on horns. Once the pitch shifter is available for SQ, I would put that one on the list, too.

[Author]

Posts