LinPlug has announced the release of the SaxLab 2 Saxophone Synthesizer for Windows. A Mac OS X version will follow as soon as possible.

SaxLab is the result of many years of investigation and programming. It uses not one technology but a very carefully balanced mixture of various techniques to obtain the most realistic sax sound you can get from a virtual instrument. Authenticity, Expression and Variation is a must to obtain believable sax sounds.

The main concern in this upgrade was to present easy handling, improve the sound quality to obtain the best possible result and to support all types of saxophones, so SaxLab 2 is the "one and only" solution for virtual Saxophone sounds.

The main features of SaxLab 2 are:

• High-Quality Soundsets for bass, baritone, tenor, alto and soprano saxophone.
• Monophonic with "real sax" behaviour.
• Adjustable mix of the "Air" layer, the "Keys" layer and the main tonal layer.
• User-definable, velocity-sensitive amplitude envelope.
• Tonal characteristics of the instrument's overall sound are user definable.
• Real-time control of amplitude, brightness and the "roaring" of the sound.
• Three modes of mono performance: Legato, Retrigger and Alternate.
• Separate control of Up/Down PitchBend and Scoop.
• Adjustable pitch, air and body frequency deviation per note.
• Envelope, LFO and MIDI-controlled vibrato and tremolo.
• Specialized Stereo Chorus and Stereo Reverb effects.
• Full Micro Tuning capability (loads TUN files).
• MIDI Learn available for every control.
• Sample accurate timing, full automation and settings are saved with the song.

Pricing & Availability

SaxLab2 is available now for Windows in the VST instrument plug-in format with the Mac OS X VST/AU version to follow as soon as possible. The license fee is $199 / €149 including a comprehensive 38 page manual in English, French and German. Anyone who purchased SaxLab 1 on 1st December 2007 or later will be shipped a free SaxLab 2 upgrade license on 24th or 25th June, for other users the upgrade from SaxLab 1 is $39 / €39. A demo version is available.

Main changes from SaxLab 1 to SaxLab 2:

• The sample library has been re-recorded with a world class saxophone player and by using some of the finest recording gear available. Careful post-processing of the samples means that SaxLab produces simply the best sax sound that a virtual instrument can produce
• The "Velocity to Envelope" control present in the first version of SaxLab has been replaced with a new control for enhancing the attack transients of notes. The "Velocity to Envelope" function is still present however it is no longer adjustable by the user. The new control can be used to improve the sound of attack transients and increases realism in the case of staccato or funky sax playing.
• A fine control named Crossfade Time has been added to SaxLab's Mode section for automatic articulation depending on the tempos at which notes are played. It controls the time that a note's pitch takes to reach the target note when the instrument is in Legato mode.
• The Performance section has been completely reworked and now contains many more control sources and destinations for real-time control and expression. The Performance section features a new MIDI Exp subsection which is a small modulation matrix customised for sax playing.
• A new effect has been added to reproduce the "growl" sound which is a typical component of the sound of a saxophone.
• The LFO has been improved and now uses a new waveshape. It also has a better "attack" characteristic so as to create a more natural sound.
• The Air parameter now has a dedicated control in the Deviation section. This means that each note's "Air" component can be randomised, creating more timbral variation from note to note.
• The reverb algorithm has been improved so that it sounds more natural. In addition to this, the Reverb Mix parameter is available as a modulation destination in the MIDI Exp section.
• The microtuning system used in previous version of SaxLab system has been updated so that the instrument now uses standard TUN files. This means that the number of microtuning systems available for use is vastly increased.
• Instrument Presets are now managed using the standard LinPlug system which is found on all other LinPlug instruments.