SWAM Contrabassoon

What it does

The lowest of the SWAM double reeds, physically modelled instead of sampled, with a taut low tone Jade describes as almost rubber band like. Expression, velocity, vibrato, growl, breath noise and key noise shape the note while it plays and each one takes MIDI learn. A timbre page steps through warm and bright versions, and effects, master tuning, transpose and an onscreen play surface are included. Standalone or AUv3.

In the demo

Jade plays it against the bass clarinet to place the two next to each other, runs the variations, then turns key noise up until the mechanism is clearly audible in the tone. She finishes by holding the expression pedal right down so there is no breath in the sound at all, then raising breath noise on its own to isolate it.

Worth knowing

Sold on its own, with a Double Reeds bundle covering it alongside the bassoon, oboe and English horn. The register is very low and specific, so it suits orchestral colour rather than general use.