STRINGS Rating: **** 4/6 Stars
Vns: sus (f & p), stc, piz, trem.
Vas: sus, M stc.
Vcs: sus, stc.
Vn: sus, stc, piz.
Vc: sus, stc, piz.
Db (M): sus, piz.
HARP (M)
Single notes, gls: major 6th and whole tone.
MISCELLANEOUS
'Boys' choir' (M), Male choir ('bah' & 'dooh'), Vocal effects (M).
Comments: Vigorous ensemble and solo strings with plenty of bow attack, accompanied by a (mono) harp which acquits itself well in the heavenly arpeggio department. Vocal samples from the Synclavier library have been thrown in as a bonus, but are slight and unremarkable.
Standouts: The gutsy staccato cellos practically explode in a shower of bow rosin and the pizzicato double bass is solid and powerful enough to compete with a heavy rock drum kit. Pizzicato violins play well from the keyboard, sustained soft violins have an attractive upper register and layer well with synth strings.
Quibble: The absence of a solo viola is no great loss, but the lack of a double bass ensemble is a pity.
Contact: Time & Space.
Akai/Emu/Roland/Kurzweil/Ensoniq ASR/Samplecell Mac CD‑ROMs £169; Audio CD (part of Orchestral Audio) £59.95.
Brass & Winds Rating: *** 3/6 Stars
BRASS (ALL M)
4 Tpts: sus, stc.
2 Tpts: sus (f & p).
Tpt: sus (ff & mf).
2 Tbns: sus.
Tbn: sus, sus fp.
Fhn: sus, stc.
Tba: sus, sus fp, cr, stc.
Flg: sus.
WOODWIND (ALL M)
Flt: sus, sus vb, sus fp, stc.
Ob: sus, stc.
Ehn: sus.
Cla: sus (f & mf), sus fp, cr, stc.
Bcla: sus, sus fp, cr, stc
Bsn: sus.
SAXOPHONES (ALL M)
Soprano Sax (f & p), Tenor Sax.
MISCELLANEOUS WIND (ALL M)
Panpipe: sus.
Wooden flute: sus.
Didgeridoo: sus.
Bird Whistle: sus.
Comments: Standard orchestral brass and woodwind, two saxes (the soprano very nice) and a flugelhorn, all recorded in glorious mono but with the usual Synclavier long loops. The collection is topped off with a slender sprinkling of useable ethnic winds. The pan pipe is only a single sample, but it's a good one!
Standouts: A nice bass clarinet with a suitably oily low register. Triumphal ensemble trumpets, perfect for that moment in a corporate presentation when the company logo rises from a sea of dry ice.
Quibbles: Trumpets apart, the quality is unspectacular. Documentation is very terse, not helped by the CD‑ROM volumes eschewing instrument names in favour of numbers. Oboe programs are a semitone flat, and contain three out‑of‑tune notes (C#3, D3 & D#3) — this is purely the result of careless or confused programming, as the samples themselves are in tune.
Contact: Time & Space.
Akai/Emu/Roland/Kurzweil/Ensoniq ASR/Samplecell Mac CD‑ROMs £169; Audio CD (part of Orchestral Audio) £59.95.
Percussion Plus Disc 2: World & Orchestral Rating: ***** 5/6 Stars
PERCUSSION — TUNED
Bass Mba (M), Celeste (M), Glk (M), Mba (M), Tmp, Vib (M), Tub (M), Xyl (M).
PERCUSSION — UNPITCHED
BD, Bells (M), Cast, Clak, Clik, Clv, CrC, Cwb (M), Gng (some M), Gui, Ratch (M), Slb (M), Shk, SD, Tri, Wbl.
(Also included: abacus, angklung, caxixi, Balinese bell cluster, cuica, finger cymbals, various hand drums, kalimba, log drum, rainstick, rattles, shekere, tabla, timbales, waterphone, whistles & wind chimes.)
Comments: A good‑sized collection of well‑recorded orchestral percussion with the World kitchen sink thrown in. Good value for money.
Standouts: Excellent multi‑pitched tympani with many performance variations. Cymbals, bass drums and snares all strong, bass marimba and celeste are rare and welcome additions.
Quibble: No musical criticisms, but there is some eccentric naming — 'Totosan' for cowbell, for example (a Lone Ranger reference?).
Contact: Time & Space.
£ Akai/Emu/Roland/Kurzweil/Ensoniq ASR/Samplecell Mac CD‑ROMs £129; Audio CD (part of Essential Audio) £59.95.
