E-MU / ENSONIQ has just introduced some exciting new SoundFont banks,
Orchestral, Volume 1(Orchestral Section Strings) and Orchestral, Volume 2
(Orchestral Winds, Brass, Percussion and Solo Strings). They are available
as downloadable files and sell for $39.95 for each volume. More information
can be found by going to SoundFont.com.
SoundFont Banks?
SoundFont banks are sound files used in several Creative Labs soundcards,
namely the SoundBlaster Live! and AWE series, as well as in E-MU's Audio
Production Studio. You may also use the SoundFont banks in many new soft
synthesizers available. These programs behave like hardware samplers,
synthesizers and drum machines but use your existing computer and
soundcard to do all of the processing. The softsynths are used within a
multitrack digital recording environment such as Cakewalk's SONAR and other
sequencers.
A Symphony Orchestra For $80.00?
When I first heard of the banks, I was very curious as to the quality and
variety these packages had. Upon doing some research, I found that E-MU
used a single symphony orchestra for the recording sessions. They also
employed several innovative recording techniques to capture the sound of
the complete orchestra.
Microphones were placed not only on the
instruments themselves but also mixed the sound of microphones placed in
the audience. This gives the samples a more realistic soundstage when used
with the other samples in the collection. There are many CDs and other
sound libraries out there, some costing upwards of $1000.00, so it was hard
to believe that you could get complete quality symphony orchestra banks for
only $39.95. I was in for a great surprise.
First Notes
Each file comes in a 28mb zip file so you need a program such as Winzip or
something similar to expand them. Each download comes with the SoundFont
file as well as a readme contained in an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. Each
SoundFont bank contains around 127 different patches covering a variety of
sounds as well as including some articulation effects. It also helps if
you have a fast Internet connection, as the files are very large.
Your computer must be equipped with a SoundBlaster Live! or AWE card, an
Audio Production Studio, or a hardware or software sampler/synthesizer
capable of using SoundFont banks. If you have a Sound Blaster Live!, you
also must have at least 32 megs of system memory available for each bank as
this memory is used by the card to store the sample data.
Orchestral, Volume 1 (Orchestral Section Strings)
I was looking forward to listening to this volume first as I am constantly
on the lookout for fresh string sounds. As the samples were recorded with
different mic setups the patches are arranged so that you can choose from
different levels of mix and ambience for each section. You have your
choice of many string sections, from small chamber sets to the entire
section of strings. You also have everything covered from Legato and
Marcato playing styles as well as Spiccato and Pizzicato. One interesting
thing is the added layers where they combine several of these styles
(Marcato + Pizzicato, etc.). To round out the patches, you have several
sound effects of various scrapes, knocks and other ambient noises to add
that extra touch of realism to your arrangements.
All I can say is that these samples contain something fresh. There is a
liveliness that I have not heard in similar banks, and having the sound of
different microphone positions makes the bank usable in many different
applications. I really liked having the different playing styles available
as they give you choices depending on the type of music you are working
with. Another factor was that they used the same players for all the
sampling sessions - this adds to the overall completeness of the sound
bank.
Orchestral, Volume 2 (Orchestral Winds, Brass, Percussion and Solo Strings)
After playing with the string bank for a while, I moved on to listen to the
next volume. Volume 2 focuses more on the other instruments in the
orchestra, namely winds, brass and percussion. There are some very nice
solo strings included in this bank as well.
As with Volume 1, I was excited to hear how fresh these samples sounded.
The instruments seemed to have breath and air in them - not like some banks
I have heard in the past. The various patches are grouped in such a way
that you start with the solo instruments in each family (brass, woodwinds,
etc.) and then progress to full ensembles of the various instruments. One
nice feature was the combination patches where the different instrument
families were put together in combination patches. For example, you had
winds with brass, brass with reeds, brass with strings and so on.
The bank also included many percussion samples from the Timpani and bass drums to
bell trees, tambourines and many other useful percussion sounds. I
particularly liked the French Horns and the beautiful stereo harp. The
other instruments sounded great and would be usable in a wide variety of
applications.
So what do I really think?
As you can tell, I really like these new SoundFont banks. You face some
limitations when you try to squeeze an entire symphony orchestra into two
banks of sounds - you just can't do it all. There are no muted trumpets in
the brass and winds bank, and I feel that some of the trombones could have
been a little better. I think that for the most part, E-MU has made good
choices in the patches they included in the two banks. It would be good to
offer these on CD for those who have slow connections to the Internet as
both files together are close to 60mb.
These banks inspire and challenge me personally to rethink the way I
sequence strings and orchestral pieces. The many string variations in
Volume 1 will keep me busy experimenting for some time. I think that if
you do music requiring these types of sounds you will not be disappointed
with these banks as they will give you some fine creative material to work
with.
Final Notes
Up to this point, SoundFont technology was not taken very seriously as far
as content or quality. To me, these banks definitely change that. I am
looking forward to what E-MU has in store for us in the coming months.
E-MU has definitely raised the bar in affordable, quality SoundFont banks.
SoundFont is a registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc.
in the United States of America and/or other countries.
|
|
|
