Big Bang Orchestra: Hercules

Introduction

Welcome to the Vienna Symphonic Library's series of Synchron Instruments! As the name says, Big Bang Orchestra furnishes you with a selection of full-orchestra articulations, at the same time allowing you (if you haven't done so already) to explore our powerful Synchron Player software. If you're looking for that extra dramatic effect or want to highlight a passage in your composition, this bonus library could be the solution, or at least point you in the right direction.

Multiple large metal sheet percussion instruments, possibly thunder sheets or gongs, arranged on stands in a recording studio or concert hall.
Overhead diagram of Synchron Stage Vienna, illustrating microphone and instrument placement for recording Synchron Strings I. The diagram shows violin, viola, cello, and double bass sections, with specific mic types like Close Mic, Mid Mic, Back Mic, and the Main Decca Tree array, indicating Standard Library and Add. Full Library mic options.

BBO Hercules and BBO Izar feature low brass and low brass clusters, respectively.

Included Presets

Children's choir recording Big Bang Orchestra: Ymir at Vienna Symphonic Library Synchron Stage, with conductor direction and music stands.

BBO Hercules furnishes you with the raw power of low brass instruments. The Preset's basic articulations can be changed with keyswitches from C5 to F#5, and the keyswitches for these articulations' types start at C6. For some Types, there are variants with and without contrabass tuba.

  • Range: G1–E4 (glissandos less according to interval)
  • Articulation Keyswitches: C5–F#5

Short notes

Bold and agile, without and with contrabass tuba (one octave lower).

  • Bold/agile: C6/C#6
  • Without/with contrabass tuba: C1/D1
Vienna Symphonic Library Synchron Instruments interface showing articulation, type, and contrabass tuba settings like short notes, bold, legato, dynamics, and glissandos.

Long notes

Long notes with and without fff layer, soft, marcato, and espressivo. Except espressivo, all types are available as variants without and with contrabass tuba (one octave lower).

  • Type keyswitches: C6–E6
  • Sustain without/with fff layer: A0/B0
  • Without/with contrabass tuba: C1/D1
Vienna Symphonic Library Big Bang Orchestra Hercules Synchron Instruments interface showing articulation, type, fff layer, and contrabass tuba controls for sound parameter selection.

Marcato

Marcato attack can be added gradually to the basic articulation with the help of Dim.Ctrl/A (MIDI CC1, modwheel).

Vienna Symphonic Library Big Bang Orchestra Hercules interface showing articulation, type, contrabass tuba, and marcato control options including long notes, marcato, and sustain with fff.

Legato

Legato regular with and without fff layer, and soft.

  • Type keyswitches: C6–D6
  • Regular without/with fff layer: A0/B0
Software interface displaying articulation, type, and fff layer settings for Big Bang Orchestra: Hercules, with Legato and Regular selected.

Dynamics

Sforzato, sforzatissimo, swells short and long, soft and very soft swells, and soft diminuendo. Without and with contrabass tuba (one octave lower) except the "soft" articulations.

  • Type keyswitches: C6–F#6
  • Without/with contrabass tuba: C1/D1
Vienna Symphonic Library Synchron Instruments Big Bang Orchestra user interface showing Articulation, Type, and Contrabass tuba settings with selectable musical expressions like Dynamics, Sforzato, and CBT options.

Flutter & trills

Flutter tonguing, half and whole tone trills.

  • Type keyswitches: C6–D6
User interface showing musical articulations and types, including short notes, long notes, legato, dynamics, flutter & trills, fast repetitions, glissandos, fluttertongue, halftone trills, and wholetone trills for Vienna Symphonic Library Synchron Instruments.

Fast repetitions

Staccato repetitions at 120, 140, and 160 BPM. These are already prepared for timestretching, i.e., all Patches have the original tempo they were recorded with entered as their source tempo. This allows you to adapt your repetitions automatically to the tempo of your project with only two mouse clicks.

  • Tempo keyswitches: C6–D6
User interface displaying articulation and tempo options for a Vienna Symphonic Library Synchron Instrument, including Fast repetitions and 120 bpm settings.

Glissandos

Glissandos, minor and major second, and fourth, up and down. Please note that the actual playing range is diminished by the glissando interval – for instance, minor 2nd upward glissandos can only be played up to D#4 where E4 is the target note, downward ones down to G#1 where G1 is the target note.

  • Interval keyswitches: C6–D6
  • Up/down keyswitches: A0/B0
Vienna Symphonic Library Synchron Instruments interface showing articulation, interval, and up/down settings for music production, with Glissandos selected in the Articulation column and Minor second selected in the Interval column.