**** Score = 4/5 stars. Formats: Akai/Giga CD-ROM
The name 'London' is aspirational rather than factual, since this library was actually recorded in the USA. According to the producers "the title 'London' is used to portray the type of sound we were going for. London is thought of these days as the Hollywood of recording sound and that's the sound we wanted." Good thinking — remind me to release my next CD under the name of 'Phil Spector'.
Opinion has always been divided as to whether samples should include ambience, or be recorded dry so the user can add reverb to taste. When it comes to orchestral sound, my preference is emphatically for the former, so I was pleased to find that LOP's samples were recorded on the stage of a 2500-seat orchestral hall. The mics were positioned where the conductor would normally stand, which means the hall's acoustic is discernible without being overbearing, giving a nice reverb 'halo' that adds depth and sheen. The recording quality is faultless, with a very low noise floor.
The Giga version of the library offers about 2.8Gb of samples presented on four discs. The 2Gb Akai version retains all articulations and samples, but cuts down some velocity levels and presents roughly 10 percent of the library in mono. Starting with the most commonly used sounds, two makes of timpani come in sets of four pitches; performances comprise multi-dynamic straight hits, fast triplet grace notes leading to a single hit, short hand-muffled hits, plus rolls and crescendo rolls played at a fairly leisurely pace. There are also hard-beater versions of all of these.
Ludwig and Yamaha bass drums provide some weighty thumps and some ominous, rumbling crescendo rolls that sound like an approaching tube train. Snare drums get a lot of space, with seven different models each offering 27 performance variations, including many dynamic, roll and grace-note options. I enjoyed the massed attack of the snare sections, and the crisp, bright sound of the snare samples ensures they will never get buried in an arrangement.
Piatti (clashed crash cymbals) are often a weak area in percussion libraries, but LOP captures their impact well, offering three Sabian and four Zildjian types playing splashy sustains, choked hits, slithering 'scrapes' and messily-decaying 'sizzles'. Six types of suspended cymbal played with mallets are also included, featuring some exquisite crescendo rolls.
The Americans call tubular bells 'chimes', and this stylised instrument is beautifully reproduced. There's a choice of excellent Deagan or Musser models played with soft or rawhide beaters, along with some delightfully delicate samples played with a xylophone mallet. The multi-dynamic sustains evoke the mournful peal of a lone church bell, while the unique staccato hits are great for creating industrial soundscapes. Two makes of glockenspiel have been chromatically sampled over their full two-octave range, with a choice of beaters, multi-dynamics and some pretty glisses. A set of attractive high-pitched, tuned mini-cymbals called crotales, played mp and f, complete the metal tuned percussion section.
There are two xylophones: the 3.5-octave Adams model is bright and clear, while the Deagan instrument, played with four different types of mallet, has a slightly more brittle tone. Both instruments sound as if they were recorded in a room rather than a concert hall. Sadly, no marimba is included. The producers' justification is that the "marimba is not part of the orchestral group of instruments". Brahms would have agreed, but Miroslav Vitous, Peter Siedlaczek, Synclavier and Prosonus all include marimba in their orchestral collections.
The library contains a large and hugely enjoyable miscellany of unpitched percussion. Heavy metal fans will enjoy the anvils, gongs (especially the big 40-inch model) and daft pantomime thunder sheets, while more sensitive listeners will appreciate the lighter touch of finger cymbals, sleigh bells, triangles, tambourines (five types) and liquid-sounding mark trees (credited as 'wind chimes').
On the wooden/Latin percussion side, there are very decent castanets, cabasa, maracas, claves, guiro, ratchet, stick clicks, slapstick, temple blocks, wood blocks (five types), vibraslap and even a good old comedy slide whistle which, Pavlovian fool that I am, had me micturating with mirth. Many of these offer multi-dynamics and useful performance samples.
Overall, this is a superior, consistently played, musically thorough and sensibly programmed library, which offers good value for money. A few criticisms: I found hideous loop glitches on two samples (castanets roll and snare section roll) on the Giga version. While clean and reasonably powerful, the timps lack the 'bang' you'd expect to hear in a loud orchestral passage. The lack of documentation might see novices puzzling over the surreal nuances of 'Chimes Deagan Rawhide', but experienced orchestral samplists will be well pleased with the library's scope, quality and usability.
4-CD Akai/Giga set £270 including VAT.
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