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User Guide
A complete reference for all interface controls, effects, presets, and installation.
VG Wind Ensemble offers three control modes — Keyboard, Wind, and Breath — each optimized for different performance setups. Click any image to enlarge.
Keyboard mode
VG Wind Ensemble is an expressive and expandable virtual instrument platform built for musicians who value nuance, control, and natural wind performance. Built on a unified performance engine, it delivers consistent expressive behavior across all instruments, whether you're playing with a MIDI keyboard, wind controller, or breath controller.
The platform is available in three editions, each offering a different level of content while sharing the same full performance and expression capabilities.
The Core edition includes the complete VG Wind Ensemble performance engine along with four sound sets, allowing you to explore and experience the full functionality of the instrument. This edition provides a focused and flexible entry point into the VG Wind Ensemble ecosystem.
The Essential Collection expands the Core with 17 carefully curated instruments, including selected synthesizer sounds, saxophones, trumpets, flutes, harmonicas, and other essential brass and woodwinds chosen for their musical versatility and playability across a wide range of styles.
The Complete Collection unlocks the full VG Wind Ensemble experience, expanding the Essential Collection with additional synthesizer sounds, brass, woodwinds, and unique voices such as trombones, clarinets, tuba, flugelhorn, and more. This collection includes all currently available instruments and continues to grow as new sounds are added.
Designed as a growing ecosystem, VG Wind Ensemble allows you to build your instrument collection over time while maintaining natural dynamics and expressive response across all instruments. Whether you are shaping subtle phrases, layering bold ensemble parts, or writing expressive lines for jazz, modern production, or cinematic scoring, VG Wind Ensemble brings the character and feel of live wind instruments into your studio — with room to grow.
It works with Windows and Mac as a standalone application and will run as a plugin in all major DAWs (Cubase, Logic Pro, Ableton, REAPER, etc.) as VST / VST3 / AU.
The instrument allows you to blend up to three sound sets simultaneously using three independent sampler layers. Each layer can host a different instrument and has its own controls for volume, pan, and transpose.
Load different instruments into each layer and experiment with new sonic combinations — for example, blending a saxophone, trumpet, and trombone into a single expressive sound.
The Save Session function stores the current state of all instrument settings — which instruments are loaded, their volumes, pans, transposes, effects, and all other parameters.
This feature is designed for the standalone application. When you save a session and relaunch the application later, a dialog will appear offering to restore your last saved state. If you decline, the instrument loads with default settings.
To select an instrument sample, click the window displaying the currently loaded instrument at the top of the section. This will open a list of all instruments available in your VG collection (as shown in the picture).
Keyboard, Wind, Breath buttons change performance modes: playing on keyboard instrument / playing with wind or breath controller (TEControl, EWI, Aerophone, Yamaha WX, Robkoo R1, DigiBrass Tilt, Tipsy, etc.)
Dark, Normal, Bright — make the tone darker or brighter using these buttons.
Reverb, delay, and stereo controls.
Reverb, Delay and Stereo — switch corresponding effects on/off.
Delay Level
Change the level of the Delay effect.
Reverb Level
Change the level of the Reverb effect.
Reverb Size
Adjust the size of the simulated room. This affects the duration of the reverb trail.
Reverb Damp
Control high-frequency reduction in the reverb tail for a warmer, natural sound.
Stereo Spread
Collapse (counter-clockwise) or expand (clockwise) your signal's stereo base.
Coarse Tune, Fine Tune, Transpose, Volume, Panorama
Use the controls on this panel to make coarse or fine adjustments to pitch, transpose the overall tuning of the entire instrument, and modify overall volume and pan.
Dynamic effects controlled via faders, mod wheel, breath, or aftertouch.
Expression, Vibrato, Growl, Expression2, Attack, Wah — switch corresponding effects on/off. This panel allows adding effects to your sustain samples via a fader or mod wheel for dynamic performances.
The Expression and Expression2 effects enhance the volume, brightness, and richness of the sound.
The Vibrato effect adjusts dynamically based on the position of the mod wheel or the breath intensity when using a breath or wind controller. We recorded some samples with natural vibrato to preserve sound quality. Therefore, you may occasionally hear a slight pulsation even if the Vibrato button is OFF.
The Growl effect emulates the vocal growling technique, a common sound production method used by brass and wind players to create a raspy, expressive tone.
The Attack effect adds emphasis to the beginning of each note. The intensity of the accent can be adjusted using the corresponding fader.
The Wah effect emulates the sound produced by guitar Wah pedals. You can activate one of the preset Wah settings by pressing any buttons numbered 1 to 5. To disable the effect, press the active button again. The Wah effect is controlled using the mod wheel or breath intensity on a breath or wind controller.
You can change the sensitivity of the Expression fader by adjusting the Sens knob.
For the Vibrato, Growl, and Expression2 effects, there are additional sliders located to the right of the faders that allow you to set the maximum intensity for the corresponding effects.
Set Control Change (CC#) number in the CC# box in accordance with your MIDI (Breath, Wind) controller settings. Typically, this is 1, 2, or 11. To adjust this parameter, click on the number and drag it up or down.
Aftertouch ON/OFF buttons switch corresponding effects on/off. Vibrato, Growl, and Expression2 effects will be triggered when the aftertouch is on.
It displays all currently available articulations and corresponds to the C1 to B1 key range on your MIDI keyboard.
Articulations that start a phrase.
These articulations will only be in effect while the keyswitch is held.
C#1 Soft Attack
D#1 Accented Attack
F#1 Squeeze Short
G#1 Squeeze Long (press at least 200 ms before the note to avoid delay)
A#1 Bend
Articulations that end a phrase.
First hold the main note in the C2–C6 range, then press a keyswitch corresponding to the selected articulation.
C1 End Short
D1 End Long
E1 Fall Short
When you use these keyswitches, the sound will completely fade out. To restore the sound's volume, you need to release all keys for a brief moment.
Sustain notes with the Vibrato and Growl effects.
To add a Vibrato effect, press and hold one of the three keyswitches:
G1 — light vibrato
A1 — regular vibrato
B1 — intense vibrato
F1 — Growl effect
Three small round knobs located on the G1, A1, and B1 keys control the vibrato intensity for the corresponding keyswitches.
Wind Mode Control via Motion or CC Messages.
When the instrument is in Wind mode, a button labeled Live Monitor appears on the interface. Enabling Live Monitor allows you to dynamically turn on or off each of the three instrument sections (Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone) using incoming MIDI CC messages.
This feature is especially useful during live performance with wind controllers that include motion sensors, such as the Roland Aerophone Pro, Robkoo R1, or Clarii mini. It can also be used with smartphone-based motion controller apps like MusiKraken or similar.
At the top of the Live Monitor panel, there are three On/Off switches. Each switch activates control for one instrument section. A practical way to imagine it:
The left switch is triggered by leftward movement of your controller (e.g., to activate the saxophone).
The right switch responds to rightward movement (e.g., to activate the trombone).
The center switch responds to upward movement (e.g., to activate the trumpet).
Below each switch:
A small display box lets you assign the MIDI CC number that will control that instrument section.
A circular knob sets the CC threshold value — when this value is reached or exceeded, the corresponding instrument will be activated.
This setup enables expressive motion-based control for live performance with any motion-capable or CC-generating device.
FX1 panel
FX2 panel
Creates a smooth glide between consecutively played notes.
| Glide Time | Glide duration in milliseconds. Higher values produce a slower, more gradual transition. |
| Legato Threshold | Maximum gap between notes for portamento to trigger. |
| Always Glide | When enabled, portamento is always applied during legato playing. |
| Both Directions | When enabled, glide works in both directions (up and down). |
| Detached Mode | Enables portamento between detached (non-legato) notes within Detached Time. |
| Detached Time | Maximum pause between notes for Detached Mode to trigger. |
| Fast Passage | When enabled, disables portamento for fast passages, preserving clear note attacks. |
| Min Note Time | If notes are played faster than this threshold, portamento is not applied. |
| Section 1 / 2 / 3 | Enable or disable portamento independently for each instrument layer. |
Allows smooth mixing or morphing between the three instrument layers in real time using a MIDI CC controller.
| Section 1 / 2 / 3 | Enables CC volume control for that layer. |
| CC | MIDI CC number (0–127) that controls the volume of this layer. |
| Reverse | Inverts the control direction. With Reverse off: CC=0 is silence, CC=127 is full volume. |
Adds a soft, slightly detuned doubling of the sound for a sense of width and depth.
| On / Off | Enables or disables the effect. |
| Rate | Speed of the LFO modulation in Hz. |
| Width | Spread of the modulation across the stereo field. |
| Feedback | Feeds a portion of the processed signal back into the effect. Increases richness and resonance. |
| Delay | Base delay time. Shorter values produce subtle thickening; longer values push toward flanger territory. |
| Mix | Balance between the dry and processed signal. |
| Reset | Restores all Chorus parameters to their default values. |
Creates a characteristic sweeping or rotating sound by shifting the phase of specific frequencies.
| On / Off | Enables or disables the effect. |
| Frequency 1 | Lower frequency of the phase shift range (20 Hz – 20 kHz). |
| Frequency 2 | Upper frequency of the phase shift range (20 Hz – 20 kHz). |
| Feedback | Amount of signal fed back into the phaser. Increases intensity and resonance. |
| Mix | Balance between the dry and processed signal. |
| CC# | MIDI CC number for real-time control of the frequency sweep. |
| Reset | Restores all Phaser parameters to their default values. |
Emphasizes or suppresses a specific frequency range.
| On / Off | Enables or disables the effect. |
| Frequency | The center or cutoff frequency of the filter. |
| Gain | Boost or cut applied at the selected frequency (in dB). |
| Q | Bandwidth of the filter. High Q = narrow focused peak; low Q = broad gentle curve. |
| CC# | MIDI CC number for real-time control of the filter frequency. |
| Reset | Restores all Filter parameters to their default values. |
An LFO-based pitch modulation effect — from a barely noticeable shimmer to an intense expressive vibrato. Depth can be controlled in real time via MIDI CC, making it equally useful with a mod wheel or a wind controller.
| On / Off | Enables or disables the effect. |
| Rate | Speed of modulation in Hz. Lower values = slow wide vibrato; higher values = fast tight wobble. |
| Depth | Intensity of the pitch modulation. |
| Attack | Time for modulation to reach full depth after note start. Longer attack = cleaner note onset. |
| CC# | MIDI CC number used to control modulation depth in real time. |
Detune
Toggles a slight pitch variation on or off to add a more natural, live-sounding character to the instrument.
DigiBrass
Displays a green bar above the keyboard showing the tilt level of DigiBrass controllers for easier visual feedback while playing.
VG EVI Keys
Opens the VG EVI Keys panel — a unique keyboard-to-valve converter that lets you play trumpet-style valve fingerings on a standard MIDI keyboard. Learn more →
Samples
Opens a window showing the current location of the audio sample files.
Settings (gear icon)
Opens a window where you can configure audio drivers, buffer size, sample rate, MIDI input and output devices, MIDI channels, and other system settings related to audio playback and MIDI connectivity. With the Lazy Load option enabled, samples will load into RAM gradually as you start playing them.
Quick Load
Opens a quick-access preset browser for the Quick Load folder. This is a convenient place to save your favourite and most frequently used presets for instant recall — without navigating the full preset library. Presets starting with K are optimized for MIDI keyboard playing; presets starting with W are designed for wind controllers.
Save
Saves the current state of all instrument settings as a preset.
Preset Browser
Click the preset name display to open the full preset browser. Here you can select any of the factory presets, save your own custom presets, or delete them.
Quick Load Browser
Preset Browser
Utility controls and display options.
The number above the pitch bend indicator sets the range in semitones (1–12). Set it to 2 for standard keyboard use, or up to 12 for wide EWI-style bends.
Immediately stops all sound playback and clears any stuck notes. Use it if a note gets stuck during performance.
Adjusts the interface size: 0.75 (smaller), 1 (default), 1.25 (larger). Choose the zoom level that best fits your screen and workflow.
Step-by-step setup for Windows and macOS.
Step 1 — Run the installer
Extract the installer archive and run VG WindEnsemble_Core Setup.exe. Check "Create a desktop shortcut" and complete the installation. The sample folder will be created at C:\Program Files\VG Sound Collection\
Step 2 — Add sound files (Essential and Complete Collection only)
Extract all sound library archives from your download and place all .vg5 files directly into C:\Program Files\VG Sound Collection\ — do not create subfolders.
Step 3 — Initial setup (required once)
Launch the standalone application by double-clicking the VG Wind Ensemble desktop icon. When prompted "Choose Sample Folder", select C:\Program Files\VG Sound Collection\ — then close and reopen the application. If instruments load correctly, installation is complete.
Step 1 — Run the installer
Extract the installer archive and run VG WindEnsemble_Core Installer.pkg. Follow the installation prompts. The sample folder will be created at Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/VG Sound Collection/
Step 2 — Add sound files (Essential and Complete Collection only)
Extract all sound library archives from your download and place all .vg5 files directly into Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/VG Sound Collection/ — do not create subfolders.
Step 3 — Initial setup (required once)
Open the Applications folder and double-click VG Wind Ensemble. When prompted "Choose Sample Folder", select Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/VG Sound Collection/ — then close and reopen the application. If instruments load correctly, installation is complete.
Minimum requirements for running VG Wind Ensemble on Windows and macOS.
| Operating System | Windows 7 or later (64-bit) · macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or later |
| RAM | 8 GB minimum |
| CPU | Modern multi-core processor recommended |
| Audio Interface | ASIO-compatible (Windows) or Core Audio (macOS) |
| Plugin Formats | VST, VST3, AU (64-bit) · Standalone application |
Download Size
| Windows | macOS | |
| Core | 558 MB | 1.14 GB |
| Essential | 2.95 GB | 3.51 GB |
| Complete | 8.62 GB | 9.20 GB |
Common issues and solutions.
This usually means the sample path is not configured correctly. Close the application, then manually set the sample path in the LinkWindows (Windows) or LinkOSX (Mac) file located in your user's Application Support folder.
Install ASIO4ALL from asio4all.org. In VG Wind Ensemble audio settings, select ASIO4ALL first, then switch back to your native ASIO driver.
If you upgraded and used a custom sample location, new samples install to the default folder while old samples remain in your custom folder. Move all new .vg5 files to your custom sample folder and restart.
Always use realtime export (realtime bounce) when rendering your MIDI track. This prevents timing errors that can occur with offline bouncing.
Windows: Delete the folder C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\VG Trumpet\VG Wind Ensemble\
macOS: Delete the folder ~/Library/Application Support/VG Trumpet/VG Wind Ensemble/
Then run the installer again.