This has been discussed before, but I'd like to solicit some more opinions on horn instruments. I have Garritan JABB, but the trumpets sound a little thin to me, and the saxes aren't too realistic (the 'bones aren't too bad though). I also have orchestral packages like EastWest Orchestra and Garritan GPO, but I'm mainly interested in using these for jazz band/orchestra style arrangements - mostly section use but, perhaps, the occasional solo.
I'm thinking of getting Chris Hein Horns. It seems that I can get the "compact" version for ~$200 , not cheap, but not a major budget buster. Another alternative is SampleModeling, but each instrument/section costs about the same as the entire Chris Hein Horns compact version.
Anyone have experience with CHH-compact? Do you get good results? Easy to program? Or do you need to go for the full (much more expensive) version. How about SampleModeling? Anything else in this price range worth looking at?
Note: I understand that results depend strongly on how the instrument is driven, and nuance in the form of automation can make or break the performance. I'm not a horn player, however, so intuitive program-ability would be a big help (I saw a sax vst recently with a primary control knob labeled "sex"! - maybe a little over-the-top but definitely intuitive!)