[A weird way to do vibrato]

This is weird but the result is brilliant

 

[video:youtube]

[Famous virtual sax riffs with SWAM and breath controller]

a keyboard is a lousy controller for reed, brass and string modeled instruments, even with fancy AI between the input and the model. As good as your chops may be, playing a reed model on a wind controller will sound more accurate than from a keyboard.

 

And that is why a breath controller is absolutely fantastic in combination with a keyboard and SWAM instruments. In my opinion, better than a wind controller.

 

[Famous virtual sax riffs with SWAM and breath controller]

I also don"t like the visual of the headset/mouthpiece and wonder what it would sound like without it.

 

I wouldn't bother. Having had a VL-1 card with a breath controller in my S-90, I can say that without the breath controller, you might as well be playing rompler sax.

 

I can confirm this. I have several SWAM and Samplemodeling VIs. They are both good but what really makes them shine is the breath controller (I've had one made by TEControl for several years and highly recommend it).

[Famous virtual sax riffs with SWAM and breath controller]

I'm a trumpet and flügelhorn player for 30-some years and to be honest, these instruments sound fake.

I think the thing is that if you play the instrument being modeled, you hear the fakeness. But if you don't play the instrument, you're pretty happy with the sound. I'm a sax player so the saxes sound fake. You're a trumpet player so the trumpets sound fake. But to us non-trumpet players, the trumpet sounds are close enough to the real thing that we'll accept it as a trumpet. I imagine it's the same with all instruments being modeled â if you play that instrument, it's fake; if you don't play that instrument, it's pretty damn good.

 

You are probably right, but the fact remains that SWAM is by far the best approximation to the real thing. It is very enjoyable to play, particularly when using the breath controller as shown in the first video, and of course also affordable, unlike "hiring a real sax player" as also suggested (I assume that wasn't a serious comment, just a provocation)