Trumpets Comparison: Berlin Brass vs Tom Holkenborg's Brass

Tom Holkenborg's Brass is with no doubt a great brass library, but Trumpets are the library's weak spot. A common piece of advice is to use the Trumpets from Orchestral Tools' other flagship brass library Berlin Brass instead, as they were recorded in the same room. In this video I wanted to take a quick look at the actual difference in tone between the two libraries. The video features a short legato phrase, a technical test of how well the libraries handle dynamic crossfades and a short phrase that makes use of various short articulations.
If you have Tom Holkenborg's Brass but not Berlin Brass you will often be advised to use the unprocessed mics instead of the processed ("AMXL") mics, which is why I included them as well.
As always I'm happy to read your questions, feedback and sugestions in the comments! If you like this kind of content, please consider giving the video a like and subscribing to my channel. Also check out my main channel if you want to hear my original compositions: / @c-m-laurin-lenschow
...and consider following me on Instagram for more music content: / laurinlenschow.music

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

PLEASE NOTE: I made a small mistake when I programmed the midi for the trumpet shorts at the end of the video. As a result the Marcatos from Berlin Brass are too soft - that's my fault and not a problem with the library.
As always I'm happy to read your questions, feedback and sugestions in the comments! If you like this kind of content, please consider giving the video a like and subscribing to my channel. Also check out my main channel if you want to hear my original compositions: www.youtube.com/@c-m-laurin-lenschow
...and consider following me on Instagram for more music content: instagram.com/laurinlenschow.music/

[@The_Rock_That_Floats]

Would be interesting to see more comparisons between these two libraries. If possible I’d love to hear how they sound when layered as well :)

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll put another trumpet-comparison video on the agenda - I can't promise anything as to when it might happen though.

[@batelgroun]

I'm actually surprised about THB trumpets. Most of the demos of them are with the AMXL mics which are just too much over the top. The longs sound really nice, the shorts not so much, still weird. So in the longs I would rate THB non processed, BB and then THB AMXL.
On a side note, what happens with the sorts of BB? It seems that you are using the marcato articulations. But those arts in SINE are always handled with CC1 (can be changed to velocity though). It isn't a problem with THB since the marcatos there doesn't go below mf.
And, which do you prefer? Could you do the same with the solo trumpets?

[@c-c-laurin-lenschow]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Regarding the short notes for BB: You're of course absolutely right. I think I forgot to program the modwheel data into the midi clip, so when I closed and later re-opened the session the dynamics of the marcatos were set back to their default. I recorded and uploaded the video in a hurry, so I didn't double check everything like I usually do and this error slipped past me. Thanks for pointing it out - I've edited the pinned comment to make people aware of this.
Personally I think the trumpets from THB are not as bad as some people make them out to be - I wouldn't use them in an exposed situation but I think in a full mix they can work quite well. Overall the tone of the trumpets from BB sounds more natural to me, though the extra bite and definition from THB's trumpets can be an advantage in some situations.
Regarding solo trumpets: I certainly could! Maybe I'll make a dedicated Solo Trumpet comparison at some point, featuring more libraries than just these two - thanks for the suggestion!