EastWest and Quantum Leap have a celebrated history of producing
not only some of the finest sample libraries on the market, but ones that
redefine what we can expect from sampled instruments. Their Symphonic
Orchestra was the first of its kind to offer multiple mic perspectives, letting
you mix close-miked and reverberant sounds.
The developers made no bones about the fact that the demands of SO
rode the bleeding edge of technology, and mere mortals would have to
wait for computers to catch up. Fortunately they’ve advanced considerably,
so EW has upped the ante again with Hollywood Strings, which aims
to capture the definitive film score string sound. While this collection is
even more power-hungry than any other library to date, you can do quite
a lot with these sounds and a single high-end computer.
Review continues after these web extras:
Getting Started
Hollywood Strings runs inside of EastWest’s own sample engine, called
Play. The sample data and software installer come pre-loaded on a 500GB SATA hard drive; the samples use 335GB, so you’ll have room left for
other instruments if you use the drive for streaming, as I did. You can
copy the content to another drive and you’re free to install it on as many
drives as you like. Since a number of single instruments comprise thousands
of samples each, all at 24-bit resolution, you’ll need a lot of RAM
in addition to a blazing-fast hard drive (EW recommends solid-state
drives) for optimum performance. You’re given two iLok licenses (dongles
not included) to facilitate spreading the library across two machines,
which is the best solution for composers who create full orchestral mockups.
Additional licenses beyond two are $50 each.
Design Philosophy
Appropriately, the producers recorded in a legendary Hollywood facility:
EastWest’s own Studio 1, formerly Cello Studios, where decades of
hits were recorded. Shawn Murphy did the sampling sessions—his film
score engineering credits read like a list of blockbusters from the past 15
years. So yes, the sound quality is superb.
Five mic perspectives were recorded, but unlike Symphonic Orchestra,
HS is a much drier, immediate-sounding library that takes to
reverb quite well. Close-miked samples let you pull a section to the
front of a mix, while other perspectives give you a broader sense of
relative positions (e.g., violins on the left, basses on the right). The
idea is to use at least one convolution reverb to dial in the right blend
of direct and reverberant sound. There are a number of very nice
impulse responses (reverb samples) in Play’s built-in reverb, which
really brings these sounds to life, although the signal routing isn’t as
flexible as it could be. For example, there are no busses or send controls
in Play, so for more complex routing, you’ll need a third-party
plug-in and your DAW’s mixer.
In addition to sampling each of the five string sections (violins 1
and 2, viola, celli, and bass), smaller numbers of players from each
section were sampled, making it possible to play chords without the
sound becoming too thick. In a real orchestra, notes in a chord are
divided among the players in each section (this is called divisi), but
with virtual orchestras, the sound stacks up in an unnatural way. Hollywood
Strings addresses this problem with its smaller section sizes,
so you can create more convincing chordal passages. In practice, the
divisi patches work well—I created a much more realistic sound using
the smaller sections. Note, however, that there are no solo player
patches in HS.
In Session
HS employs scripts, which process incoming MIDI data to produce
desired effects and playing styles. These scripts run in the background
and can be enabled from the Play interface. With the legato script, for
example, playing connected lines with any of the sustain patches produces
very convincing legato—check out the online audio with first violins
playing a simple line with legato enabled. Other scripts include a
repetition tool that avoids the dreaded “machine gun” effect, portamento
for creating short glissandi between two notes, and a con sordino script
that approximates adding a mute.
The scripting is fantastic and helps cut down on the micro-editing
that’s typically necessary to achieve an expressive, believable performance
from a virtual orchestra. Also, there are “real” legato patches with
sampled intervals, and separate round-robin patches with alternate samples
that cycle with each repetition, so you have the choice of audio- or
MIDI-based realism. Nice.
This is a massive library with an exhaustive complement of articulations
and playing techniques. As a result, some of the naming conventions
can seem daunting at first, but the documentation (PDF only)
clearly explains the organization of sounds, which is consistent from section
to section.
Conclusions
Hollywood Strings is a no-holds-barred sample library that can indeed
faithfully reproduce the “film score” string sound. The scripting is quite
useful, and the range of articulations and playing styles make it tremendously
flexible. Yes, it’s also a behemoth that can bring even a powerful
Mac or PC to its knees, but we’ve been here before. Also, by the time you
read this, a lighter “Gold” version—with 16-bit samples, one mic placement,
no divisi, and all articulations but no bow change legato—will be
available for $795.
Ultimately, Hollywood Strings is one of the most musical and playable
orchestral string libraries to date, and though it pushes the limits of current
computing power, that’s a small price to pay.
Specifications
PROS Expertly recorded and programmed. Extremely flexible and musical.
Impressive range of articulations and playing styles. Divisi sections allow
realistic chordal performances. Price includes two licenses.
CONS Expertly recorded and programmed. Extremely flexible and musical.
Impressive range of articulations and playing styles. Divisi sections allow
realistic chordal performances. Price includes two licenses.
CONCEPT Orchestral string library designed to reproduce the “Hollywood film
score” sound.
FORMATS Mac or PC. AU, RTAS, VST, and standalone.
MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Mac: OS 10.5 or later. PC:
Windows XP SP2, Vista, or Windows 7. Both: Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD
processor, 2.1GHz or faster, 4GB RAM, 335GB free hard drive storage
space. Separate audio drive, preferably solid-state, highly recommended.
PRICE $1,495 (no list/street difference)
Gold Version: $795
soundsonline.com