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 | | | | Sep30Written by:Bruce Richardson
Saturday, September 30, 2000 6:00 PM DS Soundware has only one product so far, and with a title like The Ultimate Orchestral Percussion Sample Library, they're certainly inviting a bit of scrutiny. Good news for them and for you--they have more than lived up to their own hype. This is a library worthy of instant classic status. It is the absolute standard-setter in orchestral percussion samples.
All the basics are covered in very high style. There are beautiful quality multisamples of snare drums, bass drums, orchestra chimes, glockenspiel, cymbals, xylophone, timpani, temple blocks, and a slew of small instruments and assorted esoterica. The recordings are pristine, and capture the sounds of a dream section. These are best-of-class instruments being played by professional orchestra players.
The production concept here is a great departure. Mic positions were designed to achieve a realistic presence of the virtual percussion section in relationship to an overall ensemble. It pays off. One can quickly dial in a mix with these instruments that defies any question of realism.
Even when the "next big thing" comes along, you won't be putting any of these samples aside. This is an investment-grade library. Don't let the price, a scant $299, throw you. This is not only on the level of the best, it IS the best.
Every instrument is a stunner. The Fall Creek Glockenspiel is simply beautiful. You get a choice of four mallets, with each one programmed as a completely unique multisampled instrument. Same with the xylophone, chimes, and everything in the collection. Composers have long bemoaned the "one size fits all" sampling of percussion instruments, and you won't find any of that here. The samples from Frank Shaffer's exquisite Hinger timps (and his equally exquisite touch when performing the strikes for the samples) are worth the price of admission alone.
Indeed, every instrument sampled is an acknowledged best-of-class, and each note is expertly performed, sampled, and mapped. The crash cymbals are amazing. The triangles are gorgeous. The snares are gutsy and powerful at fortissimo, focused and detailed in piano. My single weak complaint is that I would love to have seen these snares covered by a full sixteen samples. But this is by no means an indication that they're not great as is.
Everything sounds great. Matter of fact, nothing can touch this library in terms of overall realism and detail. These are not just "one hit" sounds. They are playable virtual percussion instruments with personality and a huge range of expression. Hook those timp sounds up to a percussion pad and start playing, and you will be amazed at the feel and the control of timbre. The Ultimate Orchestral Percussion Sample Library is not only the best percussion library around, it's one of the most striking Giga-format libraries available, period.
I could go on, but what else can I say? Good job? This library is golden. The designers at DS Soundware have filled a huge void in the available palette of orchestral sounds, and have raised the bar very high in doing so. And with several more libraries in production, we can really look forward to some amazing work by this talented group. Highly recommended
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