Sounds & Samples

Like buses, the second product on review this month is also a brassbased Kontakt instrument, and comes with the aspiring subtitle ‘Next Level Air’. Output once again deliver a distinctive interface within which to bundle their raw content, based around real and synthetic sources. Each sound is built from two layers that take samples from one of three categories – Orchestral, Synth and Creative. Each of these is then divided into one shot, pad and tape sections, with a choice of close or far mic configurations for the Orchestral category. The underlying orchestral samples consist of recordings of 18-piece brass and wind sections, and soloists from both, playing in a range of styles. Things take an interesting turn with the Synthetic and Creative categories, where you’ll find some tones that only just fit onto the ‘brass’ or ‘air’ nomenclature – a particular irony being that some of these started life as a synthesist’s best effort at emulating a real brass section, but are now sought after in their own right. Once you’ve chosen your sources, Output’s engine goes to work with all kinds of modulation, looping, arpeggiation, sequencing and effects options, turning them into something entirely new. However, with 500 presets included, and the powerful macro modulation sliders, you might easily decide to only make the odd tweak. While it’s possible to use Analog Brass and Winds for simpler, more recognisable tones, it excels in creating new ones that can easily sit as the centrepiece of a track. Bruce Aisher output.com VERDICT 9.0