The Breath of the Orchestra

From delicate whispers to vibrant motion, woodwinds bring life, color, and warmth to every orchestral score. Recorded on the grand Stage A of Vienna Synchron Stage, the Vienna Synchron Orchestra’s acclaimed woodwind players breathe musicality into every note. Their expressive phrasing, tonal variety, and the luminous acoustics of the hall combine to create an inspiring palette of orchestral colors that blend seamlessly with all Big Bang Orchestra collections.

Overview

• Ensemble of 13 woodwinds, playing in unison and octaves
• Perfectly balanced blend of the entire woodwind choir
• FX of high and low woodwind ensembles
• Multiple microphone positions, additional close mic positions
• Flow View for easy, intuitive and effortless playing

The Flow of Symphonic Air

BBO Woodwinds includes the full sample content of the previously available BBO Packs Neptune (Tutti Woodwinds) and Solaris (FX Woodwinds) in one easily accessible package. Enhanced by our new Flow View for intuitive browsing and uninterrupted creativity, this comprehensive library gives you immediate access to mesmerizing woodwind ensembles – from refined tutti passages to dynamic runs, clusters, and textures.

Tutti Woodwinds

The Tutti Woodwinds patches unite all instruments of the woodwind family into one expressive ensemble – 13 players performing in unison and octaves, perfectly balanced to achieve a natural blend from the piercing brilliance of the piccolo to the deep resonance of the contrabassoon.

Ensemble instrumentation:

1 Piccolo • 3 Flutes • 2 Oboes • 1 English horn • 2 Clarinets in Bb • 1 Bass clarinet • 2 Bassoons • 1 Contrabassoon

This unique recording approach merges the entire woodwind family into one harmonious body. The musicians’ instinctive phrasing and intonation create a perfectly balanced tone that embodies the refinement and warmth of Vienna’s orchestral tradition.

For greater flexibility, you can exclude the piccolo from the tutti ensemble via key switch if you prefer a rounder timbre. Whether used for lyrical melodies, orchestral swells, or dynamic tutti accents, these performances deliver immediate inspiration with a natural cinematic character.

FX Woodwinds

The FX Woodwinds patches expand your orchestral palette with two specialized ensembles – Low Winds and High Winds – offering a wealth of articulations, clusters, runs, and arpeggios for instant texture and rhythmic drive.

The Low Winds ensemble (3 contrabassoons, 2 bassoons, 1 contrabass clarinet, 2 bass clarinets) provides deep, resonant foundations. Performances include short and long notes, espressivo, swells, sforzatos, sforzatissimos, flutter tonguing, and more – available in unison, octaves, and clusters. A crossfade patch lets you morph smoothly between unison and clustered sounds, opening up endless creative options for tension cues and dark textures.

The High Winds ensemble (1 piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 4 clarinets) showcases the virtuosic brilliance of Vienna’s top players, performing dazzling runs and arpeggios with breathtaking precision. Runs are available in major and minor keys, diatonic modes, chromatic and whole tone scales, while arpeggios cover major, minor, diminished, augmented, and seventh chords. You can trigger ascending or descending patterns – or both simultaneously – to create evolving, shimmering motion.

Articulations

Tutti Woodwinds

• Short notes, bold and agile
• Sustained, marcato, espressivo
• Sforzato, sforzatissimo, swells short and long, soft swells
• Flutter tonguing, half and whole tone trills
• Fast repetitions, staccato at 120/140/160 BPM

FX-Woodwinds High

Sustains

• Octave runs, C to B major, plain and perform octave
• Octave runs, plain and perform octave, Ionian (major), Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian (minor), Locrian, chromatic, and whole tone
• Arpeggios up, down, and cross at 80/100/120 BPM, major, minor, dominant 7, major and minor 7, minor with major 7, diminished, and augmented

FX-Woodwinds Low

• All articulations regular and cluster
• Short notes, bold and agile
• Long notes, regular, espressivo, soft swell
• Dynamics, sforzato, sforzatissimo, short and long swell
• Flutter tonguing

Mixer Presets

Room Mix Presets

The most resource-friendly presets: Based on a room mix we created from all available room microphones, you will get an impressive sound that will help you to manifest your orchestral ideas on every device.

Stereo Decca Tree Presets

The "Decca tree" is the microphone tree that is the heart and soul of every orchestral recording. It consists of a main stereo channel and a mono center channel and captures the details of the room from the conductor’s perspective.

Surround to Stereo Presets

Enjoy the massive sound of all available room microphones, including the decca tree mics, down-mixed to a stereo signal. You will get a great impression of the huge sound our Synchron Stage Vienna is known for.

Surround Presets

If you insert your Synchron Player as a surround plug-in in your sequencer, these presets will provide the starting point for your surround setup.

Processed Presets

We have added some compression using the integrated compressor to achieve an even more powerful sound of the Big Bang Orchestra. Feel free to add more FX as you create the symphonic sound of your desire.

Microphone Setup

• Main (Decca tree stereo)
• Main (Decca tree center)
• Main surround stereo
• High stereo
• High surround stereo
• Mid microphones
• Flutes
• Oboes
• Clarinets
• Bassoons