Brio Latin Percussion Ensemble | Indiginus

Brio Latin Percussion Ensemble

Brio has an 8 channel drum machine style Pattern sequencer that is easy to use and just plain fun! We give you 21 Patterns to get you started.
Also included is Brio Ensemble, an instrument that maps all of Brio's sounds on the
keyboard at one time for easy access.

Instruments included-

High Conga
Low Conga
Bongos
Timbales(2)
Djembe
Tamborine(2)
Guiro(2)
Cabasa
Egg Shaker
Tube Shaker
Claves(3)
Cowbells(3)
Castanets

The Congas, Bongos, Djembe, and Timbales are all tunable and have 3x round-robin in an irregular pattern. Congas and Bongos have 10 velocity layers, the Djembe and Timbales have 8, and the smaller percussion pieces vary.
 
for Kontakt 4, 5
$ 42  USD
0.5 MB Download
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9e190W87TM#t=11
 
http://indiginus.com/
 

This looks like it'll be a lot of fun.
 
I like to use shakers and congas and such, but playing them live is hit-and-miss, loops are too limiting, and playing them on the keyboard or plugging them in via the PRV is tedious. A sequencer like this might be just the ticket for repetitive percussion patterns.
 

Looks pretty yummy. And their prices are usually very reasonable. Me likey.

Nah, loops <> repetitive patterns. They're repetitive, true. But a hassle to edit.
 
To successfully use loops, you've got two options:
- maintain a huge collection and spend hours sifting through them in hopes of finding the right one, or
- resign yourself to some generic, good-enough selection that more-or-less works OK if you don't listen too closely
 
The problem usually isn't with the patterns themselves. After all, there are only so many shaker and tambourine patterns. Where loops fail to fit is in the dynamics. Maybe you want the accent on a different beat, or to be more or less prominent, have a second accent, or alternating accents/articulations. 
 
 

bitflipper
Nah, loops <> repetitive patterns. They're repetitive, true. But a hassle to edit.
 
To successfully use loops, you've got two options:
- maintain a huge collection and spend hours sifting through them in hopes of finding the right one, or
- resign yourself to some generic, good-enough selection that more-or-less works OK if you don't listen too closely
 
The problem usually isn't with the patterns themselves. After all, there are only so many shaker and tambourine patterns. Where loops fail to fit is in the dynamics. Maybe you want the accent on a different beat, or to be more or less prominent, have a second accent, or alternating accents/articulations. 
 
 

I know Bit..........just yankin yer chain a bit.

I'm not that fussy. Loops, patterns, actual tracks via a percussionist.
They're all fine as long as it works in the tune.

You're not. Honest.

I swore that I would not buy another piece of gear, this year!  Oh well, this is not the first lie I've told myself! 

The idea that playing a percussion part is drudgery seems counter-musical.
 
Just pick one up and play the darn thing into a microphone.
 
If it takes more than one pass... you need the practice. :-)
 
Tambourines start at $3. Shakers can be cheaper than walking a soup can to the recycle bin. Every one should own their own hand drum... just saying.

"...I won't know if they're really what the song needs until afterward."
 
That idea perplexes me.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As an aside; Have you ever watched the video about Tom Petty and the Damn the Torpedos album?:
 
""Jim Keltner was in the hallway with the shaker," he (sic Tom Petty) recalls. "He was standin' outside the door playin' this, and I came out and Jim said: 'This is what that track needs.' So Jim Keltner came in... and put this shaker on, which, believe it or not, if you put the drums on [adjusts the sound] it's okay, but it's not really got the mojo, you know. So, Jim Keltner, we owe him a lot.""
 
 
Anyways... I'm just throwing out an idea... not looking to force a disagreement.
 
All the best,
mike

bitflipper
At least I'm not alone in my loop aversion.

Not alone at all!!!
 

bitflipperAll I really want is to take some of the drudgery out of shakers, congas, bongos and tambourines.

That's what I keep thinking... although I wouldn't have called it drudgery, just a LOT of extra work (set up microphones, dig out hand percussion toys, play them... when I put it that way it doesn't seem like a lot of work<G>!)
 

bitflipperI have a tambourine. I have multiple shakers and maracas. I can even play them reasonably well - for 30 seconds or so, then my timing starts getting shaky and the dynamics become increasingly inconsistent.

I'm in the same boat, but I've learned to get 16 or 32 bars of a couple patterns and then re-use them cause no one will notice!
 

bitflipperBut I won't know if they're really what the song needs until afterward. On many occasions I have inserted sampled shakers and deferred the decision to use them until the final mix,

 
This is where I part ways with you good sir, or at least I try to. I've spoken before about the 'benefit' of low track counts in the days of old. You had to really think through the process, and more-or-less hear the finished track before you started. I try to do that now, but it is very easy to be seduced by unlimited tracks, unlimited processors, sampled instruments, etc. Very easy!
 

bitflipperand only then put up a mic to record them.

 
So this is my 'trick' to try to manage my laziness. I have two amplifiers with microphones placed, the guitars are always out and tuned, and there are a couple other microphones set up for whatever else I might want to record. In theory all I need to do is select the right input, arm the track, and go. It doesn't keep me from being lazy every time, but it does help.

Is NI's Cuba any good for percussion?

Cuba is very good...but limited.  Which was it's intention.

Actually, I think you can. I've never used the Matrix View either, but I've seen it done in a demonstration by Seth Perlstein. He put the bass parts in that way, too. Made a whole song using the step sequencer and matrix. I thought it was pretty clever. Not a technique I'd use, but clever.
 
I do use the step sequencer often, but just for click tracks. I think it just might do an adequate job for stuff like this. At least, as a quick 'n dirty starting point. I'll have to give it a try with the Jamstix Percussion Pack, my usual go-to library for tambourines and shakers.

I'm really happy about this thread. It reminded me about Solid State Symphony.  Boy that is a load of fun. I found out I was on version 1_2, and the new version is 1_4. I shot an email to Terry, and Brenda, got back to me really quickly, and supplied me with the new version. I want Brio, for a number of reasons. As Bit, said, it looks like you can quickly lay down a nice percussion part. But I'm going to purchase it, also because Terry makes some amazing instruments for Kontakt, that are not only incredibly useful, fun to play, but are also amazingly, and reasonably priced! Thanks Terry, and Brenda!!!