Instead of recording generic 'samples' of each space, producer Nick Phoenix set out to capture the reverb that would actually be heard by the room mics on a particular instrument. Its USP is encapsulated in the phrase 'source specific'. EastWest's Quantum Leap Spaces takes a different tack, focusing on the impulse responses themselves rather than the algorithms used to apply them to your music. For example, Liquidsonics' modestly priced Reverberate and the latest version of Audio Ease's Altiverb incorporate some clever modulation tricks, which aim to recapture some of the sense of movement and life that real spaces and plates bring.
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Various attempts have been made recently to try to impart more of an organic feel to convolution reverb. A related complaint is that convolution reverb sometimes feels 'stuck on' to the source sound, rather than forming a natural blend or addition to it. Perhaps because they are usually based around a single, static 'sample' of a real source, many people feel that convolution reverbs sound a little bland or sterile when compared either with the rooms and plates from which their impulse responses were obtained, or with old‑style algorithmic digital reverbs. If there's one criticism that is most often levelled at convolution reverbs, it's that they lack character. However, the Quantum Leap Pianos version of each piano has the edge, exhibiting an even richer, more three-dimensional tone than the excellent Ivory instrument.EastWest's intriguing reverb plug‑in aims to breathe new life into convolution technology. Juxtaposing Quantum Leap Pianos with Synthogy's Ivory, playing the same piano in one app then the other, either version would satisfy the most fastidious pianist. Additionally, the ability to refine key parameters of each piano, as well as adjust the balance of the three mics, provides a wealth of sound-shaping options. The pianos sound incredible and each instrument exhibits different tonal and response characteristics. Happily, given their huge system requirements, pianos can be installed individually.įour world-class pianos - a Bechstein D-280, Steinway D Concert Grand, Bsendorfer 290 Concert Grand and a Yamaha C7 Grand Piano - were played and captured in a superb acoustic environment, EastWest Studios in LA. Two years in the making and featuring $500,000-worth of pianos, Quantum Leap Pianos presents the most pristine and realistic piano sounds available in virtual instrument form - all 263GB of them. Quantum Leap Pianos represents an entirely different aesthetic. The end results achievable with Ministry of Rock can certainly fulfil these criteria, but the Midi-based nature of input and performance runs contrary to rock's primitive hedonism. Our main issue with Ministry of Rock is more one of philosophy: do the kind of people who like heavy-metal music want to create it on a computer? Wouldn't they rather get together with friends and, well, jam? That's what makes loud music fun: it's visceral, sweaty and real. The drum kits are also optimised for use with Roland's real-world Vdrums. The Gretsch kit sampled for Ministry of Rock was the exact same kit used on Metallica's Black Album, adding that stamp of hard-rocking authenticity.
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#Eastwest quantum leap guitar plus#
It was a similar story with the bass instruments, plus the drum sounds were as impressive as those in Fab Four. The Telecaster sounded like, well, a Telecaster and with the other guitar flavours on board (Les Paul, Strat, PRS, Ibanez) multi-tracking guitar parts is easy - and fun, be it clean or overdriven, chords or finger-picked. It's still not as intuitive as playing the real thing, but the fact that the articulations and programming of the samples were all reverse-engineered from real-world performances makes a big difference. However, although Ministry of Rock's raison d'tre is lead-heavy metal riffage, taking single Ministry of Rock elements for use in other music styles opens up new vistas.Īnd the guitars work very nicely. Ministry of Rock is bristling with those well-established tools of rock: guitars, basses and drums, recorded appropriately growling, snarling and occasionally shrieking through amps from Fender, Vox and Marshall.
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Conversely, Quantum Leap Pianos is a natural fit for operation via Midi keyboard, being an entirely piano-based library. Ministry of Rock's focus on guitars gave us initial cause for concern, as playing guitars on a Midi keyboard is often like mowing the lawn with a carving knife: it works, after a fashion, but it's not the ideal tool for the job. With this in mind, we anticipated similar results when testing two other EastWest releases: Ministry of Rock and Quantum Leap Pianos. We last looked at an EastWest/Quantum Leap instrument with the release of Fab Four, the beautifully designed Beatles-inspired sample collection that was part genius, part disappointment: the drums and keyboards were great, the guitars less so.