MOJO: Horn Section

The heart and soul of pop, funk, and big band horn sections

Inspired by legendary groups like Tower of Power and the big bands of decades past, MOJO is capable of emulating everything from a sultry sax solo to a screaming full big band playing at the top of their lungs.

Now at the tips of your fingers is the most versatile horn section in the world, MOJO: Horn Section, which offers the most flexible and innovative approach to pop, funk, jazz, and big band horns ever created in a virtual instrument.

Pushing the boundaries of sampling and scripting technology far beyond traditional sample libraries, MOJO offers a simple but feature-packed interface. No need to decide in advance which articulation you want to play. Simply load the instrument, turn the Ensemble knob to specify how many players you want playing that instrument (from a soloist to a dectet) and begin controlling the instrument from the keyboard. More than a dozen articulations are instantly loaded and intelligently handled via performance features and keyswitches. Behind the scenes, a humanizing function, smart release layers, and custom legato and vibrato tools assist the player in reproducing the ultimate dimensions in realism. Crescendos and swells sync instantly to host tempos and can be triggered in real time.

Included in the instrument collection are: soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, trumpet (open, muted, and piccolo), flugelhorn, trombone (open and muted), bass trombone, and clarinet. The articulation list varies for each instrument, but generally includes sustains, stabs, staccatos, trills, slurs, shakes, octave runs, rise to hits, falls (including four different lengths), doits, bends, stylistic riffs, special effects, and tempo-synced swells and crescendos. All samples are recorded in 24-bit stereo using the finest preamps in the world, including a vintage Neve 1073 and a LaChapell Audio 992EG, and mics by AKG, Neumann, and Coles.

MOJO is powered by the popular Kontakt engine, offering total integration into all major sequencers via its AudioUnit, VST, and RTAS plug-ins, as well as standalone operation.

At the heart of MOJO are twelve core instruments: Trumpet, Trombone, Trumpet Muted, Trombone Muted, Piccolo Trumpet, Bass Trombone, Soprano Sax, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Bari Sax, Clarinet, and Flugelhorn. Using MOJO is as simple as deciding which instrument to load. Solo and ensemble playing is built into each individual core patch, as are all articulations and release types. MOJO makes it as easy and straightforward as possible to begin playing without having to make too many decisions or sifting through dozens of patches. When any of the twelve core instruments are loaded, this interface is displayed.

The first two knobs allow you to control how many players should be playing this instrument (from one to ten) and which mode they should be playing in (polyphonic, monophonic, or legato). These knobs, as well as virtually every other parameter in the MOJO interface, can be controlled via MIDI, so these knobs can be programmed and adjusted on the fly. Using these features, it's easy to sequence a stacked trumpet section, then switch to a solo trumpet, then return to the section, all within one MIDI track or performance.

As you add players to the ensemble, MOJO intelligently spreads the ensemble around the stereo field and gives you control over their spread, tuning variation, and other aspects of the group.

The onscreen display shows you which articulation and release type is active at any given time. Each instrument includes various articulations and release layers which are triggered via keyswitches, such as bends, runs, crescendos, swells, doits, falls, staccatos, stabs, and more.

Doits, falls of various speeds, and up-slurs are available as releases and are also triggerable via keyswitches. In other words, hold down a sustain chord, then hold down the keyswitch trigger, then exactly when you release the original chord, MOJO will play the release articulation, ascending from the original notes you played.

Swells and crescendos are programmed to sync to the tempo of the host sequencer. Using MOJO's advanced automatic timestretching, you can configure MOJO to play swells and crescendos that are the exact number of beats you want, from 1 beat to 18 beats. MOJO will also follow a changing tempo, so if the tempo changes in the middle of the song, swells and crescendos will adjust automatically.

Each core instrument includes a full suite of integrated effects, such as compression, limiting, reverb, EQ, and more.

Many other engines and controls have been integrated into MOJO, including physically modeled vibrato, advanced humanization, character control (allowing adjustment between mellow vs. aggressive playing), attack control for more percussive playing, and EZRoom one-click convolution reverb.

In addition to the twelve core instruments discussed above, MOJO includes prerecorded riffs and special effects.

Riffs

MOJO includes an extensive library over over 1600 riffs spread across the twelve instruments. Each riff has been recorded in specific keys and has been tempo-synced, and the MOJO engine allows for instant transposition and time-stretching of the riffs.

The interface of each riffs patch looks like this (click to enlarge). Each patch is notated with the instrument, original BPM, and original key.

Controls in the bottom right corner allow for the instant transposition into other keys. Tempo-syncing is done automatically; MOJO reads the tempo of the host sequencer and adjusts the riff accordingly.

MOJO also includes hundreds of stylistic special effects. These are typically one-shot samples which can be added to enhance realism when recording instruments in MOJO.

Humanize Engine

The integrated humanizing engine works to provide variety in sample selection and differentiation. The core library includes two distinct takes of nearly everything in the MOJO library, and the humanizing engine works to select alternate takes and introduce tiny randomization elements to avoid the dreaded machine-gun effect and to make playback sound as real and varied as a real horn ensemble. Full control over the extent of the humanization (as well as complete bypass) are offered in the interface.

Character Control

MOJO offers an adjustable Character control that lets you tailor velocity response to different styles of playing, in six degrees from mellow to aggressive. A Punch knob allows you to add additional attack intensity for rhythmic playing. All parameters are controllable by remote MIDI CC's.

Physically Modeled Vibrato

MOJO includes several distinct types of physically modeled vibrato. Going far beyond traditional LFO vibrato, the physically modeled vibrato engine recreates authentic vibrato types created by analyzing real horn players. This special vibrato is available in all MOJO instruments except for the saxophones, where real sampled vibrato is used instead.

EZRoom

EZRoom is an integrated convolution reverb option, allowing the user to instantly place the percussion instruments in one of more than fifty different custom sonic spaces; everything from chapels and halls to caverns, small rooms, and unique esoteric spaces is included. When EZRoom is activated, new knobs for dry and wet levels appear, allowing full control over the level and balance of the convoluted sound.

Included Instruments

• Alto Sax / Bari Sax / Bass Trombone / Clarinet / Flugelhorn / Piccolo Trumpet / Soprano Sax / Tenor Sax / Trombone / Trombone Mute / Trumpet / Trumpet Mute

Articulation List

(Varies by instrument)

• Sustain / Octave Run Up and Down / Stab / Staccato / Bend Down / Crescendo (tempo-synced) / Swell (tempo-synced) / Rise to Hit / Shake / Trills

Release Types

(Varies by instrument)

• Standard / Doit / Slur Up / Falls (4 different speeds) / Shake

Riffs

• Over 1600 riffs included / Tempo-synced / Transposable / Organized by instrument, key, and tempo

Effects

• Hundreds of special effects samples

Ensembles

• Instant adjustment between 1 and 10 players per instrument / Intelligent and adjustable stereo positioning / Adjustable accuracy and sloppiness

Integrated Engines

• Physically modeled vibrato / Advanced humanization / Character control / EZRoom Convolution Reverb

Playing Modes

• Polyphonic /. Monophonic /Legato

Built-in Audio Effects

• 3-Band Equalizer / Compressor / Saturation / Distortion / Chorus / Reverb / Delay / Stereo Width / Limiter

Other

• Remote MIDI CC control over almost every parameter / Lite patches with fewer samples for faster loading / Individual articulation instruments

System Requirements

• MOJO is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows platforms and includes the standalone Kontakt Player application as well as AudioUnit, VST, and RTAS plug-ins. All of these versions are included.
• The Macintosh version requires a G5 or faster, 1GB of RAM, a DVD drive, and OS 10.4.x or higher. For optimum performance, Vir2 Instruments recommends a 2.0GHz processor or faster, and 2GB or more of RAM. The library requires 15GB of free hard drive space.
• Windows IconThe Windows version requires a processor speed of 1.4GHz or higher (Pentium or Athlon XP), 1GB of RAM, a DVD drive, and Windows XP SP2 (32-bit) or Windows Vista or Windows 7 (32- or 64-bit). For optimum performance, Vir2 Instruments recommends a 2.0GHz processor or faster, and 2GB or more of RAM. The library requires 15GB of free hard drive space.
• MOJO will run in standalone mode and is also compatible with every major sequencing package in the world, including but not limited to: Apple Logic and GarageBand, MOTU Digital Performer, Digidesign Pro Tools 7 & 8 (TDM, LE, and M-Powered), Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo, Ableton Live, and more.