VSL Studio Dimension Brass II — Free Download

Ensemble Collection

This collection presents three muted brass ensembles—four trumpets, four French horns, and four trombones—all performed with straight mutes and recorded as a group. Each instrument was captured with its own dedicated microphone, giving you direct access to every voice within the ensemble. You can independently shape the sound, volume, articulation, and timing of each player in real time from within the Synchron Player.

The authentic ensemble character comes from subtle human interactions: players naturally adapt to each other in timbre, volume, and intonation. The library’s Humanize Presets let you adjust the performance accuracy of the four ensemble players to match your musical intent, from tight and precise to loose and human. This combination of isolation and interaction yields highly convincing ensemble performances.

Wagner Tuba Ensemble

A unique addition is the ensemble of four Wagner tubas, a rare instrument originally designed for Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle. These tenor horns, played with French horn mouthpieces and fingerings, produce a dark, archaic, and powerful sound that bridges the French horn and trombone. This ensemble is uncommon in sample libraries and adds a distinct, epic weight to your orchestrations.

The Wagner tubas are captured with the same multi-microphone technique, allowing individual voice control and placement. You can blend them with the muted brass or use them alone to create broad, grounded, and expressive passages. The library’s articulation set includes sustains, dynamics, and performance glissandos, making the ensemble suitable for both lyrical lines and dramatic accents.

Articulations and Control

The sample database has been re-mastered and expanded with new articulations. Performance glissandos for trumpets and horns can reach up to an octave, while trombones achieve up to a tritone, and these can be combined seamlessly with legato. Medium sustained notes are recorded in six dynamic layers without looping, preserving the instruments’ natural decay. Crossfading between layers via a continuous controller gives smooth transitions from soft to assertive.

Recorded crescendos and diminuendos of one, two, and three seconds are included, essential for realistic phrasing. Long portatos, about half a second, bridge the gap between short and sustained notes. In the Synchron Player, you can trigger short notes, portatos, sustains, glissandos, repetitions, and dynamic changes using one or two preconfigured controls, minimizing manual articulation switching. The player’s streaming engine handles the large sample set efficiently.

Ambience and Integration

The Synchron Player includes a convolution reverb derived from Vienna MIR Pro, reproducing the ambience of Synchron Stage Vienna’s main hall. Custom impulse responses and reverb settings are tailored for each ensemble group, placed in the stage’s acoustics. This adds the scoring stage’s signature sound in real time, allowing the library to blend with other Synchron Series products for a consistent spatial image.

This integration means the library is production-ready out of the box—you load it, and the sound is already placed in a realistic space. You can adjust the reverb and placement to suit your mix, but the default settings provide a cohesive, polished result.

Key features

• Three muted brass ensembles and one Wagner tuba ensemble
• Individual microphones for each instrument within the ensemble
• Humanize Presets for real-time performance accuracy adjustment
• Expanded articulations including performance glissandos and multi-second crescendos
• Medium sustained notes in multiple dynamic layers with natural decay
• Convolution reverb with Synchron Stage Vienna ambience
• Free Vienna Synchron Player with optimized streaming and one-control articulation management

Best for

Best for composers seeking authentic muted brass ensemble textures and a rare Wagner tuba sound, with the convenience of individual voice control and a built-in scoring stage ambience. Ideal for film scores, orchestral mockups, and epic or dramatic passages that require a cohesive, production-ready brass section.