Native Instruments Session Horns Owner's Guide
Manual
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Document authored by: musicandtext.com, David Gover
Software version: 1.0 (10/2012)
Disclaimer
Special thanks to the Beta Test Team, who were invaluable not just in tracking down bugs, but
in making this a better product.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1 Welcome to SESSION HORNS .....................................................................................
2 What is SESSION HORNS? ..........................................................................................
2.1 About KONTAKT / KONTAKT PLAYER ............................................................................................. 8
3 SESSION HORNS Controls ..........................................................................................
3.1 Basic Control Types .................................................................................................................... 9
3.1.1 Buttons ...................................................................................................................... 9
3.1.2 Selector Switches ...................................................................................................... 9
3.1.3 Knobs ........................................................................................................................ 10
3.1.4 Drop-Down Menus .................................................................................................... 10
3.1.5 Spin Controls ............................................................................................................. 10
4 The Two KONTAKT Instruments ...................................................................................
5 SESSION HORNS – Performance.nki ...........................................................................
5.1 Main Page .................................................................................................................................. 13
5.2 Sound Page ................................................................................................................................ 21
5.3 Control Page ............................................................................................................................... 25
5.1.1 Section Setup ............................................................................................................ 15
5.1.2 Velocity Switch .......................................................................................................... 15
5.1.3 Voicing Assistant ....................................................................................................... 16
5.1.4 Octave ....................................................................................................................... 18
5.1.5 Animator .................................................................................................................... 18
5.2.1 Sound ........................................................................................................................ 23
5.2.2 Humanize .................................................................................................................. 23
5.2.3 Stereo ........................................................................................................................ 24
5.2.4 Reverb ....................................................................................................................... 24
5.3.1 Dynamic Control ........................................................................................................ 26
5.3.2 Pitch Wheel ................................................................................................................ 27
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8
9
11
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Session Horns - Manual - 4
Table of Contents
5.3.3 Sustain Pedal ............................................................................................................ 28
6 SESSION HORNS – Single.nki .....................................................................................
6.1 Main Page .................................................................................................................................. 30
6.2 Sound Page ................................................................................................................................ 36
6.1.1 Section Setup ............................................................................................................ 32
6.1.2 Articulation ................................................................................................................ 32
6.1.3 Voicing Assistant ....................................................................................................... 33
6.1.4 Octave ....................................................................................................................... 34
6.1.5 Dynamic Control ........................................................................................................ 35
6.2.1 Sound ........................................................................................................................ 38
6.2.2 Humanize .................................................................................................................. 38
6.2.3 Stereo ........................................................................................................................ 39
6.2.4 Reverb ....................................................................................................................... 39
7 Credits ......................................................................................................................
30
40
Session Horns - Manual - 5
Welcome to SESSION HORNS
1 Welcome to SESSION HORNS
Thank you for choosing SESSION HORNS. SESSION HORNS is a highly expressive and versatile Horn section that lets you quickly achieve great results.
Woodwind and brass are among the most dynamic and expressive acoustic instruments, and
the interaction between the individual players of a horn section can be very complex both harmonically and rhythmically.
SESSION HORNS combines outstanding sound quality, an intuitive interface, and innovative
functionality not only to provide you with a truly musical workflow, but also to recreate the
magic that a soulful Horn section can add to your music.
We hope you enjoy using SESSION HORNS!
Yours,
Thomas Koritke
Manual Conventions
This manual uses particular formatting to point out special facts and to warn you of potential
issues. The icons introducing the following notes let you see what kind of information is to be
expected:
Whenever this exclamation mark icon appears, you should read the corresponding note
carefully and follow the instructions and hints given there if applicable.
This light bulb icon indicates that a note contains useful extra information. This information may often help you to solve a task more efficiently, but does not necessarily apply to
the setup or operating system you are using; however, it's always worth a look.
Furthermore, the following formatting is used:
▪ Text appearing in (drop-down) menus (such as Open…, Save as… etc.) and paths to loca-
tions on your hard drive or other storage devices is printed in italics.
▪ Text appearing elsewhere (labels of buttons, controls, text next to checkboxes, etc.) is
printed in light blue. Whenever you see this formatting applied, you will find the same
text appearing somewhere on the screen.
Session Horns - Manual - 6
▪ Important names and concepts are printed in bold.
Single instructions are introduced by this play button type arrow.
►
Results of actions are introduced by this smaller arrow.
→
To get the best from this instrument please read the manual in its entirety!
Welcome to SESSION HORNS
Session Horns - Manual - 7
What is SESSION HORNS?
About KONTAKT / KONTAKT PLAYER
2 What is SESSION HORNS?
SESSION HORNS delivers the sound of a tight, modern brass section and is aimed at Soul and
Pop producers. Brass found in genres such as R&B, Latin, Indie, Nu-Jazz and Reggae can also
easily be created.
▪ SESSION HORNS features authentic phrases and sound settings for a variety of different
genres.
▪ SESSION HORNS is a collection of four multi-sampled brass instruments which you can
use in different combinations or as a complete section.
The full section consists of one Trombone, one Tenor Sax and two Trumpets. SESSION
HORNS' intuitive approach lets you quickly produce authentic brass phrases and arrangements, even if you don’t have prior detailed knowledge of brass arrangement.
▪ True legato transitions on all instruments provide a smooth and natural sound for melo-
dies.
▪ SESSION HORNS’ unique Smart Voice Split allocates each note of a chord to the corre-
sponding brass instrument.
▪ The Animator turns chords into authentic brass phrases while maintaining real-time con-
trol-ability. The Animator will always follow the played chord and adjust the brass phrase
to proper voicing.
▪ A variety of creative mix and mastering presets provides a scope of inspiring sound im-
ages.
2.1
About KONTAKT / KONTAKT PLAYER
SESSION HORNS is an Instrument powered by KONTAKT; you will, therefore, have to have
KONTAKT or the free KONTAKT PLAYER installed on your computer in order to use SESSION
HORNS. Refer to the KONTAKT / KONTAKT PLAYER documentation to learn how to load and
configure KONTAKT Instruments.
Session Horns - Manual - 8
SESSION HORNS Controls
Basic Control Types
3 SESSION HORNS Controls
This chapter introduces you to SESSION HORNS’ specific controls, which are part of the Performance View section of the Instrument within your KONTAKT / KONTAKT PLAYER software.
The Instrument Header
To learn how to operate the Instrument Header’s controls, please refer to the documentation of your KONTAKT or KONTAKT PLAYER software.
3.1 Basic Control Types
SESSION HORNS includes six basic types of controls: buttons, switches, knobs, faders, dropdown menus and spin controls.
3.1.1 Buttons
Buttons can have different shapes (“LED” or square) and are all toggles — click once to turn
on, again to turn off. All buttons change their background color when actuated, which reflects
the new state.
3.1.2 Selector Switches
Selector switches are used to select one of several options.
▪ Click the round “LED” next to the desired option to select it.
The Animator section contains two special selector switch types:
▪ The Phrase selector in the Animator (looks like an octave of piano keys) — click any of
the “white” keys to select one of the available phrase.
Session Horns - Manual - 9
SESSION HORNS Controls
Basic Control Types
▪ The Tempo selector in the Animator, where you can choose one of three available play-
back speeds.
3.1.3 Knobs
▪ To change a knob value, click on it and drag up to move the knob clockwise, or down to
move it counter-clockwise.
▪ Knobs can be fine-tuned by holding down your computer keyboard’s [Shift] key as you
move the knob.
▪ [Ctrl] + Click (Mac OS X: [Cmd] + Click) resets a knob to its default value.
3.1.4 Drop-Down Menus
Drop-down menus can usually be recognized by a small downward-pointing arrow. To access a
drop-down menu’s entries, click on the menu. A list holding several entries drops down.
To select one of the entries, move the mouse to the corresponding entry so that it gets
►
highlighted, then release the mouse button. The Instrument takes whatever action you’ve
requested, then closes the menu.
3.1.5 Spin Controls
Spin controls are pairs of two small horizontal arrows which provide a second option for selecting items; for instance drop-down menu entries. Click on either arrow to step through the available items.
▪ The left arrow lets you step backwards through the list.
▪ The right arrow lets you step forward through the list.
Session Horns - Manual - 10
The Two KONTAKT Instruments
4 The Two KONTAKT Instruments
SESSION HORNS provides you with two separate KONTAKT Instruments (*.nki files): SESSION
HORNS – Performance and SESSION HORNS – Single Articulation. Each one of these *.nki files
holds all the relevant controls for shaping the sound of the included instruments.
▪ The SESSION HORNS – Performance.nki is designed for real time performance. It features
pre-programmed but very flexible brass phrases using SESSION HORNS’ unique Animator
function as well as a ‘standard’ keyboard mode, where different articulations are accessible via velocity switching and pitch wheel.
The SESSION HORNS engine can also intelligently split chord notes and assign them to
individual section instruments if required. The SESSION HORNS – Performance.nki has
three separate pages which you can access by simply clicking on the tabs on the bottom
margin of the program window.
▪ The SESSION HORNS – Single Articulation.nki is meant to be used for single articulations –
ideal for production and sequencing work.
All Articulations are available in the Single Articulation.nki file. In order to provide a minimum RAM footprint , they are automatically loaded and unloaded depending on your selection. The SESSION HORNS – Single Articulation.nki has two separate pages. These can be
opened by clicking on the tabs on the bottom margin of the program window.
Session Horns - Manual - 11
The Two KONTAKT Instruments
SESSION HORNS – Performance.nki
Session Horns - Manual - 12
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