Vintage Horns 3 by Big Fish Audio Kontakt horn instrument interface

Vintage Horns 3: Kontakt Horn Instrument Collection for Vintage Styles

Vintage Horns 3 is a Kontakt instrument collection from Big Fish Audio with 17 multi-sampled brass and woodwind instruments that recreate horn sounds from the 1930s through the 1970s.

REQUIRESKontaktHost player sold separately

KontaktWindowsmacOS64-bit

AVAILABLE ATPlugin Boutique

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01Overview

Vintage Horns 3 is a sample-based collection for Kontakt, covering soloists and sections across several decades of horn playing. Big Fish Audio built it around the raw, imperfect character of period players rather than a clean, polished tone. Each instrument is tied to a specific era and style, from Detroit soul baritone to New Orleans trombone, so you can pick a sound that matches the genre you are writing.

Best for

Motown-style horn sections
Funk and R&B horn lines
New Orleans jazz brass
Soul ballad flugelhorn
1970s rock tenor solos
Jazz flute and sax solos

Developer: Big Fish Audio
Category: Kontakt Instruments
Requires: Kontakt
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

17 multi-sampled brass and woodwind instruments
Sounds inspired by 1930s through 1970s horn styles
Velocity layers that get edgier at higher dynamics
Key-switches for Sustain, Staccato, Stab, Falloffs and Doits
Flutter-tongue and sung-flute articulations on the flute patch
15 convolution reverbs with vintage recording space emulation
Tape saturation, bass and treble controls on each instrument
Four-knob ADSR envelope control

03In depth

Sound Character and Articulations

Big Fish Audio says the library keeps the loose tuning, honking, squawking, warbling and slurred notes that other virtual instruments often remove. The instruments are multi-sampled across velocity layers, so tone changes with playing dynamics. Louder layers are described as edgier and rougher, which suits solo lines that need bite.

Articulations are switched with red key-switches on the Kontakt keyboard. Sustain is the default, with Staccato, Stab, Falloffs and Doits (mainly for brass) mapped to fixed keys. Not every instrument includes every articulation, and keys without red markings are unavailable for that patch. Flute patches add flutter-tongue and sung-flute samples.

Controls and Workflow

Each instrument has a simple front panel. Reverb sets the amount of effect, and a drop-down offers 15 convolution reverbs that emulate different vintage recording spaces. Tape Sat adds tape saturation for a warm, analog feel. Bass and Treble are bi-polar knobs for boosting or cutting the low and high end.

Four ADSR knobs (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) let you reshape the envelope of each instrument, which is useful for turning a sustained solo into a short stab or a softer pad-like line.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

Developer	Big Fish Audio
Type	Plugin
Category	Kontakt Instrument
Requires	Kontakt
Formats	Kontakt
Operating systems	Windows, macOS
Architecture	64-bit

05FAQ

Questions, answered

What do I need to use Vintage Horns 3?

Vintage Horns 3 is a Kontakt instrument and requires Kontakt. The listed system requirements are Kontakt 7 Player or Kontakt 7 (Version 7.10), 4GB RAM or more, and about 3.5GB of disk space once installed.

Which operating systems and formats does it support?

The library is listed for Windows and macOS in the Kontakt format. Windows requires Windows 10 or higher (64-bit), and macOS requires macOS 12 or higher (64-bit compatible), with Intel Core i5 or later or Apple Silicon Macs.

What are the key-switches used for?

Red keys on the Kontakt keyboard switch between articulations. B selects Sustain, Bb Staccato, A Stab, Ab Falloffs and G Doits, which is mainly for brass. Not every instrument has every articulation.