Published on February 13th, 2008.
Author: Rudi.Cazeaux
Category: Virtual Instruments.

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(7 votes, average: 4.14 out of 5)  Loading ...

Led Zep in a box?

Some things stand the test of time: Fender Strat, Precision bass, Ludwig drums whilst others.. don’t. Whatever your thoughts are on what makes good music, there’s no denying the appeal of classic instruments.

East West Quantum Leap (EWQL) have released a new collection of “themed” instruments. Their approach was to focus on specific sonic genres. In this review we are taking a look at their “Ministry of Rock” sound library which comes complete with their own integrated software player known simply as “Play”.

What you get

A large box containing an installation and setup guide, three DVDs containing 20 Gigabytes worth of samples, the integrated Play virtual instrument, and an individual license number.

If you haven’t already got one, you’ll also need an iLok key. These can be purchased separately (see the end of this review for more details).

Installation

The installation includes 32 and 64 bits PC versions, as well as Mac ones. For this review I installed MoR on a PC running Vista Home Premium using the 32 bits version.

From the word go I was impressed with the attention to detail given to this product. A printed setup sheet included in the box tells you where to find the various installers, how to authorise the instrument, how to register, and where to find online support. It also contains a collection of useful tips.

When starting the installation itself, the software correctly recognised I was running Vista and asked me to temporarily turn off the User Account Control (UAC). This is a built-in facility within Vista which protects your computer by restricting what programmes can and cannot do on your system.

The installer pointed me out to the control panel entry I needed to use. After temporarily disabling UAC, and rebooting my computer, I continued the installation.

You can choose to install the Play sample player on its own, do a typical installation (recommended), or a custom one. You can also select where to install the samples, which is very useful if you have a dedicated fast hard disk. You can also select a location for the plugin version for use with your sequencer of choice. A status bar keeps you informed of progress at all times. You are prompted to insert each disk in turn.

At the end of the installation process I was asked to reboot the computer.

Authorisation

As this instrument is dongle-protected, you’ll be asked to authorise it. Unlike challenge/response schemes which tie you to a specific computer, the iLok key means you can easily transfer your installation between computers. My first step was to download the lastest iLok set of drivers and install them.

First, I inserted the iLok device, as I didn’t have one already installed. After a few seconds Vista informed me that the drivers for the new device had been installed. The green light on the iLok lit up to confirm it was ready to be used.

The next step was to reboot the computer. Finally, I ran the authorisation wizard located in “C:\Program Files\EastWest\Authorization” on my PC.

If this is your first Play based instrument, you can create a new account. This can be carried out on the same computer if it’s online. If not, you can carry out the authorisation process on any another computer which is connected to the internet, and transfer the license back to your music computer.

You’ll be prompted for all the information needed to register (e.g your name and email), or to use an existing registration if you’ve already done so for another Play based products. You’ll also need to enter the unique License ID included with your disks. It’s a very quick, simple and straightforward procedure.

Once your instrument has been registered and authorised, you are ready to use it. There is a very complete and easy-to-follow manual on the distribution disk.

Updates

You can also check for any updates of the Play instrument directly from the main menu if your PC is connected to the internet. This a very convenient way of doing things.

GUI

The player comes in both stand-alone and plugin versions.

The interface itself sports a slightly vintage look, redolent of classic rock, complete with chrome and wood effect. It conveys both an air of ease and of classiness.

All the controls are easily accessible and respond smoothly. There is a setup button that lets you configure your sound settings exactly as wanted. It picked-up all my sound cards automatically, including my Firewire interface, USB controller keyboard and MIDI inputs.

There is a built-in browser that lets you select each Play library installed on your system, in our case Ministry of Rock, then each category of instruments, i.e basses, guitars and drums. Finally, within each group you’ll find the various individual instruments and their articulations, ready to be loaded. An example would be Gibson, and Telecaster guitars for instance, and a variety of articulations such as chords, leads, staccato etc., where applicable. For a complete list of instruments check the Instrument section next.

You can load single or multiple instruments. Each one of them can be setup individually, i.e which MIDI interface and channel they respond to, including all of them which is a very handy facility to have.

You can also select which articulations to load and save the new setup. This is a good way of maximising your computer’s performance if you haven’t got much spare processing power or RAM.

Instruments

The following instruments are included in the package:

Drums:

• Octaplus (9 Toms)
• Ayotte
• Ludwig
• Gretch (the actual kit used to make Metallica’s “Black” record)

Basses:

• Fender P-Bass Custom
• Fender 5 String
• Specter
• Kubiki
• Musicman

All recorded thru an Ampeg SVT rig and an Ashdown rig

Guitars:

• Fender Telecaster
• Fender Stratocaster
• Gibson Les Paul Standard
• Gibson Les Paul Deluxe
• Ibanez Universe 7
• PRS

Sounds

So, what makes a great rock recording? To begin with you’ll need some top-notch instruments, perfectly tuned and set-up. Next, they should be recorded in a great acoustic space, using the best recording equipment available, by a great engineer with a fanatical attention to detail. Does East West’s Ministry of Rock tick all these boxes? Let’s find out…

The sounds are extremely classy. They combine sonic excellence with a large dollop of attitude, plenty of smoothness where needed, and the right combination of sounds and articulations. There is plenty of excellent material here.

The various instruments are very playable and impressively responsive. They react in a very musical way. I could see myself using this as my ‘go to’ instrument of choice for rock and contemporary based material.

You won’t find any keyboards or pads here, as this not the point of this library; its focus is on first-class rock basses, guitars and drums. Each one hits the spot perfectly – which is exactly what you want. You’ll find MoR a real master of its trade.

The instruments themselves sit in the mix very well, as you would expect, and do so with supreme confidence. Whether your leanings are classic rock or the heavier type, you’ll be able to play a first-class virtual rock band in no time at all.

Playability

The various patches in MOR mimic the way the real instruments respond. In practice this means good dynamics, plenty of articulations, smooth legato, and the avoidance of mechanical sounding repeat notes.

The way MoR deals with all these is by using lots of well-chosen samples representing the different articulations available on each instrument. They make use of a built-in “round-robin” facility. This simply means that each time you hit a certain note you get a natural variation. This avoids the dreaded machine-gun effect where every note sounds the same. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of this feature. It makes all the difference between a mechanical-sounding sample and a natural one.

Likewise with legato articulations. Notes change smoothly without re-attack, mimicking the action of a real player. You also get special versions with shorter notes to replicate more staccato ways of playing.

All in all, it makes for a very satisfying experience and it is a joy to play.

Effects

The Play instrument comes with an excellent selection of built-in effects, including delay, ADT, envelope, filter, reverb etc. Of particular note is the reverb which is convolution based and includes some gorgeous and very smooth spaces and plates. The FXs are all real time, and if East West were to sell the convolution reverb on its own I am sure there would be plenty of takers, me included.

You can turn the FXs off to save CPU power if you want to, especially when using multiple convolution reverbs.

Customisation

You are not stuck with the existing patches. You can edit them, even mix and match drums, or tailor the effects exactly to your liking. The results can be saved for instant recall.

VDrums

As well as triggering the instruments from a keyboard, the drums are also optimised for use with Roland (or similar) Vdrums. They use a General MIDI mapping.

I put them through their pace using my basic Roland HD1 drum kit. I am pleased to report that they provide a very satisfying experience. Provided your soundcard lets you select low enough latencies, you’ll have a blast playing the various kits in real time.

Add the convolution reverb and supplied impulses and you’ll be in for a real treat. Of particular note are the “studio” and dark “abbey” reverbs which sound truly excellent.

Documentation

You get some very well written documentation, including some very useful video tutorials, which makes for a very user-friendly experience.

Conclusion

I have no hesitation in recommending this superb collection of instruments. For more information, including pricing, iLoks, and sound demos go to:

International Site Info:

www.soundsonline.com

European Site Info:

www.soundsonline.com

Review by Rudi Cazeaux

System Requirements

20 GB Free Hard Disc Space

DVD Drive

iLok Security Key, not included (a free soundsonline.com account is required for retrieving and managing iLok licenses)
If you do not own an iLok Security Key you can purchase one at your local authorized EASTWEST retailers, or on the SoundsOnline websites, which also give more details of the iLok copy protection, compatibility charts and he latest updates.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR MAC:

G4 1Ghz or faster, 1Gb RAM, Mac OS 10.4, DVD drive,

iLok required (not included), internet connection required for one-time product activation

RECOMMENDED MAC SYSTEM:

Core Duo or better processor, 2Gb RAM

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR PC:

P4 2.5Ghz or faster, 1Gb RAM, Windows XP SP 2 or Vista, sound card, DVD drive,

iLok required (not included), internet connection required for one-time product activation

RECOMMENDED PC SYSTEM:

Core Duo or better processor, 2Gb RAM, sound card with ASIO drivers

INCLUDED FOR BOTH PC & MAC:

32-bit standalone and plug-in versions included.

64-bit PC VST (host must support 64-bit VST plugins) and standalone versions included.

Check the compatibility chart for availability of other 64-bit versions and updates on the SoundsOnline websites.

SUPPORTED INTERFACES

WIN: VST™, ASIO™, DirectSound™

MAC: VST™, Audio Units™, Core Audio™

RTAS: MAC is supported. Check the SoundsOnline websites for availability of the PC RTAS version

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