CDM’s resident game composer W. Brent Latta continues pouring over the epic choral sampling library that is EWQL’s Symphonic Libraries. In case you weren’t already impressed with its 9 DVDs of sounds, in this episode, Brent constructs actual words out of samples — the holy grail of synthetic vocals. -Ed.

WordBuilder is arguably the most significant piece of technology in the Choirs package. Sure - in terms of raw samples, there has never been a choir library this substantial. But more important is the ability to actually get the choir to say exactly what you want them to, without resulting to bland “Oooohs” and “Aaaaahs” or resulting to bland, pre-recorded phrases such as “Hallelujah”.

If you haven’t spent every last penny you own on the latest playourwiibox, your strength hasn’t been taken away from coma-inducing leftovers and you’re in the mood for some jaw-dropping music tech bargains, well just read on dear CDMers because we have the best sales to help you start your new year of music-making off right.

Did I say ’start to finish’? After reading through the first few chapters of the manual, it was clear that setup for Choirs would not be a simple affair. It was also clear that reading through the entire manual wouldn’t necessarily give me any better grasp on using the app as a whole. So instead, I decided to take a stepped approach: read a few chapters, get the hang of those techniques, then read a few more.

As previously mentioned, the first thing I had to throw out was the concept of plug-and-play. Once the application is installed, the similarity to other sample libraries ends. In order to really take advantage of this app, a second application is used, namely WordBuilder. WordBuilder is the application that allows the user to specify what text is to be sung, as well as the duration and dynamics of the piece. For those who may not grab the concept, it is easiest to think of WordBuilder as an intermediary app - it sits between your input device (usually a MIDI keyboard controller, sequencing or scoring app) and the Choirs Kompakt player. As note information comes in, WordBuilder maps the appropriate sample to each note, taking into account what syllable you wish to play, the duration, the intended sampleset (is it a Bass or a Tenor singing “Aaaaah”), etc. In a way, it is like a MIDI processing unit, adding additional ‘control’ values to incoming notes, and sending out a more complex signal.

East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs is without question one of the most extensive and sophisticated choir sample libraries on the market. In order to put such a mammoth to the test, I felt that that it was important to be more critical of the software from a professional perspective, and that I must be able to demonstrate how accessible, thorough, and powerful this software could be for the end-user. To meet these goals and truly put EWQL Symphonic Choirs to the test, I intend to see if I can use it to rework an entire choral piece, performed entirely from the sampled voices from this library in place of a real choir. Due to the nature of the review, I intend to provide CDM readers with something different: an episodic review. With that, I give you Episode 1: The Arrival.

9 DVDs – are you serious!?

and The Chronicles of Riddick utilize this same style of western orchestral music, underscored by heavy percussion.

For the contemporary composer and studio musician, it can be a bit of a challenge to create these sounds with existing software, and it is even more of a challenge to find and record the instruments themselves. Anyone who has seen a live Taiko performance can sympathize with the roadies who have to haul those drums from place to place. Orchestral libraries will typically provide bass drums, timpani, and possibly even toms of some kind or another. However, none of these quite capture the sound of those epic soundtracks from Hollywood composers. (Read more . . .)

East West Quantum Leap Stormdrum (product page from East West Samples

Stormdrum at soundsonline.com

650 MB of instruments and loops is nothing to sneeze at, so
even if you have to cough up the US$9.75 shipping cost, the new Soundsonline Instrument Sampler V1
sounds well worth it. You can use this library with virtually any PC or
Mac host, and play with a healthy library of sampled instruments and
sound modules. The sounds from East West, a great sampling house, are
powered by Native Instruments synths. Pick it up for free with an order
or at a dealer, or pay for 1-2 day FedEx delivery. Best news: no
registration required, and you can use any of the sounds in your
tracks. Enjoy!