Apple Logic Pro 8

Review by Carlos Garza
Originally Published in Pro Audio Review

I use logic for soundtrack composing and pop production. Over the past 4 years, I’ve shifted from using MIDI modules and keyboards to streaming sample players and software synths. Logic’s integrated music production environment is now the starting point for all my composing projects.

I’ve used Logic since version 5 and, as I’ve mentioned in previous PAR reviews, was eager to see Apple simplify and beautify the user interface.

logic-studio-screenshot

The consolidated Arrange window with pop-up panes for the mixer and piano roll editor and the sliding pane for the media bin and instrument/loop library are a welcome improvement. However, I still use the separate score and environment windows when I need to focus on those tasks.

The transport and status bar — centered along the bottom of the main window — worked well, even stretched across two 19” standard displays. The Mackie/Logic Control that I’ve used since Logic 6 worked fine, as did the Unitor8 MIDI interface.

The Studio Sound Library, instruments and effects plug-ins are the heart of Logic Studio for composers. The sounds and loops cover many genres including pop, world, R&B and strong support for classic and modern electronic music. The sound effects and ambiences are well suited to indie film and stage productions.

Logic Pro 8 (LP8) makes sound picking easier than pie. Select a software instrument track in the Arrange window and click in the library browser to instantly audition thousands of pre-built instrument channel strips. For example, “gated synthesizers” combine soft synths with effects locked to tempo.

The symphonic instruments won’t fool your music teacher or put the high-end sample libraries out of business but are more than adequate for pop production and symphonic sketches.

I had no trouble loading Logic 7 project files. In fact, once I started using LP8, I found almost no need to go back to 7. One exception, Vienna Horizon instruments use a VSL plug-in for EXS24 and some settings can be used, but not edited, in LP8.

I frequently use QuickTime clips for film scoring. The new small movie pane in the consolidated Arrange window is a great idea and full screen mode is just a couple of clicks away.

logic-studio

To investigate the surround features I used Logic’s surround-animated component modeling synth, Sculpture, and other instruments in surround channels. I added a Sound Designer convolution reverb with one of the new surround impulses. Next, I picked a surround setting in the new Delay Designer and added Logic’s Surround Compressor with the “Atmospheric Master” preset in the master output.

The MultiMeter adds a surround signal viewer and a goniometric display to show coherence and phase relationships between stereo pairs. All together, a powerful combination of tools for surround production. You can burn your surround mix to DVD-A format directly from Logic or bounce to PCM for Dolby Digital encoding with the Compressor utility.

In summary, LP8 packs a huge bang for the buck. Mature audio and MIDI tools along with the extensive loops, samples and software synthesizers make LP8 a must-have tool for rock, pop, urban and new age producers and a cornucopia for film, TV and game composers.

—

Carlos Garza composes music for films. His music has appeared on Image Entertainment DVDs, Turner Classic Movies and the National Gallery of Art. He is a regular contributor to Pro Audio Review.

Vienna Instruments Special Edition

Vienna Symphonic Library

Review by Carlos Garza

Originally Published in Pro Audio Review

The arms race in sampling is all about realism and audio quality. The new standard in sample libraries for computers is 24-bit and, for musical instruments, a variety of articulations must be within easy reach.

Vienna Symphonic Library (VSL) GmbH in Vienna, Austria is a leading provider of symphonic instrument samples and has recently introduced a dedicated software player for their Vienna Instrument products that tackles these challenges. Vienna Instruments Special Edition (SE) is an all-in-one symphonic sample library and is one of the newer products using this software.

SE comprises two products, the Standard Library ($465 US) and the Extended Library ($625 US), distributed in the U.S by ILIO. In this review, we’ll see if VSL has an affordable all-in-one orchestral library with the features and sonic quality you would expect from a company that repeatedly sets the standard.

Special Edition

Features

The instruments in SE were selected from VSL’s extensive line of Vienna Instruments (VI) products and require 81 GB of drive space. The Standard Library contains 28 instruments and ensembles from the post-romantic orchestra. It includes solo and ensemble strings and brass, solo woodwinds and percussion, which includes drums, gongs, cymbals, Taiko drums, thunder sheet, metal chimes and plate bells. Rounding out the set are, Bösendorfer grand, celesta, glockenspiel, xylophone, marimba and vibes.

The Extended Library adds 35 instruments and ensembles but does not augment the articulations in the Standard Library instruments. Highlights include saxes, contrabass trombone, chamber strings (small ensembles), Appassionata strings (larger ensembles), Epic Horns, harp, classical guitar, electric guitar, Vienna Konzerthaus organ and harpsichord. For all you Beatles fans there’s even a piccolo trumpet. A complete listing of tracks can be found at vsl.co.at.

Whereas previous VSL products relied on third party sample players, such as Giga, HALion and Apple Logic’s EXS-24, the VI products use proprietary software for performance control and hard drive streaming. The cross-platform VI player serves up the 24-bit, 44.1 kHz samples as simple patches, containing a single articulation, for example, violins with short notes, and in combinations called matrices, which combine related articulations for use in a single MIDI track or switched instantly for live performance.

The multi-patch matrices reduce the number of sequencer tracks needed to create a realistic performance using multiple playing styles. For example, you can play quick short notes, longer notes and tremolo in a single matrix set-up.

The VI player runs stand-alone (for live) or as a DAW plug-in with Audio Units, RTAS and VST compatibility. RTAS support OS X was introduced in October. The minimum configuration is 1GB RAM on a G4 1 GHz under OS 10.4 or a 2GHz PC with Windows XP. Most of the work is done by a background process, which shifts the memory and CPU burden outside of the host DAW, such as Logic.

In Use

I installed SE on a G5 Quad with 4GB RAM, OS 10.4 and Logic Pro 7. SE requires a Syncrosoft USB security key, which must be registered online. It is sold by VSL as the Vienna Key ($39 US). Authorizing the standard and extended libraries was nearly trouble free. The only snag I ran into was caused by having both the Vienna Key and another Syncrosoft key for HALion connected during authorization. I temporarily removed the HALion key and completed the authorization with no problems. It would have been nice if the documentation recommended removing Syncrosoft keys used for other products. However, the installation tutorial video was otherwise excellent. Great to have a visual guide for a process that some find daunting.

By the way, VSL has created some excellent learning tools, including instructional videos and tutorial demo sequences for popular DAW applications. From my experience, nobody is doing a better job of helping their users get the most out of music sampling software.

The matrix approach is where the user interface gets powerful. Matrices are built from patches, each of which contain a single articulation of an instrument. There are several ways to call up the different articulations, including key switches and MIDI controllers and they can be used in many combinations in a single matrix.

Key switches are notes outside the range of the instrument (usually at the low end). For example, hit the lowest C with your left hand and the right hand plays for staccato notes, hit the C# and you are playing détaché, D for sustained and D# for legato notes and so on.

You can also switch articulations using a continuous controller, such as the mod wheel. For example, you could play long notes and use the mod wheel to layer short notes or switch to tremolo. The VI player can accommodate up to twelve rows and twelve columns in each matrix. And if that’s not enough, you can combine matrices into keyboard-switched “presets.” Many possibilities.

While you can’t create your own patches, which include velocity and sample mapping, you can create your own matrices and make personalized versions of the ones provided. I wanted to create a performance matrix with crescendo control, such as that provided in HALion Symphonic Orchestra (HSO), which uses the mod wheel to cross fade (or switch) between samples played with different dynamics. The first step was to assign a continuous MIDI controller, such as the pitch wheel or breath controller for “velocity” X-FADE. I simply control-click the fader in the PERFORM tab of the VI window and used the breath controller to assign it.

Next, I needed to assign a controller as a switch because I don’t want velocity X-FADE always on. For example, I still like to use key velocity for short notes. I used the ribbon controller on my Yamaha Motif ES-8 keyboard as the switch. After fine-tuning the response curve in the VI window, I had a zone at the top of the ribbon that I use with my left thumb to activate velocity cross fade with the breath controller when I need it.

SE is a very flexible product and it’s easy to create your own customized performance setups. Since VI is also a standalone player, you can create key-switched presets with completely different instruments for live performance. For example, a song might need cello for the intro, trumpet for a solo and tubular bells for the ending each with its own key-switched and controller-modified articulations.

Vienna Instruments has some impressive software features. The flexibility to arrange patches within a matrix is very logical. Using custom keyboard notes outside the range of the instrument is also useful but the ability to design your own articulation performance sets is a real innovation.

VSL decided that the Extended Library should widen the instrument variety rather than add articulations for the Standard Library instruments. I think some might prefer a deeper set of articulations rather than some of the slightly redundant instruments.

On the other hand, the variety of instruments between the two sets allows for more distinctive and expressive realizations where custom ensembles of solo instruments are needed. Three cheers for including the amazing solo strings in the Standard Library. I wish the harp were there too.

Also on my wish list for VSL products are the hardingfele (or Hardanger fiddle for you “Lord of the Rings” fans), and jazz inflections of the string bass, trumpet and trombone. There are several products providing the heart pounding drums that have become common in animal documentaries and action scores. It would be nice to have additional drums recorded on VSL’s “silent stage” to blend with VSL products. Native American and European frame drums would be a nice addition.

But I’m nitpicking; this is a versatile set. The saxes and muted trumpets and trombones lend a jazz versatility while the electric guitar takes it into action score territory. These are pro sounds with plenty of useful articulations.

The Appassionata strings answer the mail for those who felt that VSL strings are too pure or precise (not that that’s a flaw). This is a lovely cinematic sound for sweeping themes. The small ensemble strings, woodwinds and classical guitar are also excellent. I loved the Epic Horns in the Horizon series and I don’t know of any other all-in-one set that has such a sound.

While these instruments do not have all of the articulations or detailed range of samples of the Vienna Instruments products they were selected from, the sound quality is the same. These are beautiful recordings that work well in many genres, including symphonic mock-ups, TV and game scoring, rock and pop production and music education.

VSL records their samples in an acoustically dry environment. The bad news is that you have to add reverb to make a symphonic piece sound like it’s in a concert hall. The good news is that you have complete control over the acoustic setting. Logic’s Space Designer convolution reverb with a scoring stage or concert hall works wonders.

I like the fact that much of the processing and memory are handled by a separate process, the vsl-server, which shifts much of the memory and CPU burden from the sequencing or DAW application. This frees up DAW resources for software synths and other sample plug-ins. The VI software includes options for optimizing RAM utilization by clearing samples not in use in a MIDI recording. This makes laptops and some older computers a viable platform.

Thirty-two bit applications, such as SE can use up to 4GB of RAM. Since SE runs outside the DAW application, an 8GB machine supports a hefty number of instruments in SE while leaving another 4GB for the DAW and other plug-ins. Theoretically if you had 12GB of RAM you could add a another sample player that runs outside of your DAW.

As this article went to press, VSL announced their Vienna Ensemble product, which they say will be a free update for Vienna Instruments users. They say that the Vienna Ensemble stand-alone player is designed to host Vienna Instruments on networked computers, and balances memory use when run on the same computer with the DAW. It also adds support for 64-bit PCs and Macs.

Summary

Wrangling a symphonic orchestra, even one as easy to use as SE, requires practice. While the skills for “conducting” a symphonic library differ slightly than the live orchestra, the goals are similar. The performance should flow smoothly and dynamically and the instruments should blend acoustically into a symphonic sound.

SE does not let you tweak every conceivable nuance of a performance but most of the tweaking that you need to do is either easy or even better, it’s automatic. The intention of SE is to quickly capture a realistic performance so you spend more time creating the music and less time sweating the details.

SE includes a huge selection of professional symphonic instruments and I don’t know of any other all-in-one set that includes solo strings and horns this expressive. If you want top grade pro sounds at an affordable price, look no further. SE is an excellent value and a serious musical tool.

Carlos Garza is currently scoring an action feature film. His work has been heard on Image Entertainment DVDs, Turner Classic Movies and the National Gallery of Art. He is a regular contributor to Pro Audio Review.

Fast Facts

Applications: TV/film music, symphonic realization, education and live.

Key Features: 24-bit samples, plug-in for VST, RTAS and Audio Units, stand-alone player for live performance, resource management, PC and Mac.

US Prices: Standard Library, $465; Extended Library, $625; both require Vienna Key, $39

Sales and product information in the U.S. from ILIO at ILIO.com (818-707-7222)

Product Points

Plus

• Astounding sound quality

• Innovative controls for efficient operation

• Automatic realism

• Computing friendly

Minus

• Harp missing from standard library

• Limited articulations for non-mainstream compositions

The Score

This friendly-priced, all-in-one symphonic library from one of the leading innovators of realism and quality is an outstanding value.

Apple Logic Pro 7

Apple Digital Audio Workstation Software

Review by Carlos Garza
Originally Published in Pro Audio Review

Apple’s professional digital audio and MIDI production environment has been updated with new sounds and a new look. As with other Apple offerings, it is available in both Pro and Express editions.

Both versions of the program integrate digital audio and MIDI recording with software synthesis, sample playback and notation. With version 7, the improvements include user interface, workflow enhancements, new instruments and effects and, with 7 Pro, distributed processing for networked Macs.

Both products retain their previous list prices of US $999 for Logic Pro and $299 for Logic Express. Upgrades from previous versions are available and a $19.95 upgrade from Logic Pro 7.0 to 7.1 was recently released. This review will focus on the features of Logic Pro. 7.0

Logic Pro 7

Features

The core of Logic’s flexible environment is the Arrange window, where recorded regions are visualized and where most editing takes place. MIDI and audio can be edited side-by-side in the Arrange window or in dedicated editing windows. Logic has extensive formatting features for notation printing. Logic incorporates synchronized playback of QuickTime video formats including playback to FireWire devices.

Logic Pro 7 includes four new software instruments. Pro 7.1 adds an additional pair of hybrid synth instruments. Sculpture, a component-modeling synthesizer, simulates the physical properties of acoustic instruments. Models starting with strings or woodwinds are modified by selecting materials, such as steel, nylon, wood or glass. Software “Exciters” are added to the model to modify the sound based on how a sound is actuated — picking, blowing or bowing, for example.

Ultrabeat is designed after the drum machines that were popular in the 1980’s. Sounds are generated through sample playback, virtual analog synthesis and FM for bass sounds. Ultrabeat is capable of 25 voices and incorporates filtering and distortion effects along with swing and human factors quantization. The 7.1 upgrade adds the ability to export patterns from the drum machine to the Arrange window.

Both products include EFM1, a software based FM synthesizer, and a set of instruments from GarageBand. Some of the Apple Loops provided with GarageBand incorporate the original MIDI note information in addition to the segmented sound data. Dropping this type of loop onto a MIDI track allows substitution of the loop segments with new sounds. GarageBand songs can be imported into Logic.

There are several new audio processing plug-ins, including Guitar Amp Pro, a plug-in incorporating tube amplifier and speaker emulations for electric guitar. Pro 7.1 adds a Bass Amp plug-in. Ringshifter combines a ring modulator circuit with a frequency shifter. The Vocal Transformer separates fundamental frequency from its overtones allowing male-to-female and female-to-male voice changes.

The Pitch Correction plug-in takes a monophonic sound source and enforces pitch conformance to a musical scale with adjustable tuning. Using an extremely fast setting creates something akin to Cher’s “Believe” effect.

The 7.1 upgrade includes plug-in delay compensation for native plug-ins, support for nine additional control surfaces and a number of performance and workflow enhancements.

The Distributed Audio Processing capability now lets users supplement the CPU resources of a G4 workstation or a PowerBook with the resources of additional networked G4 and G5 machines. The user picks a lower powered machine as the workstation and then enables distributed processing for plug-ins on selected tracks. Audio is routed through the Gigabit Ethernet port to the node machines for plug-in processing and routed back to the workstation host for mixing.

Among the workflow improvements is the ability to import audio from Final Cut Pro with XML metadata describing placement of audio clips on the time line. Logic 7 can detect movie cuts to place markers in the global tracks, import QuickTime movie soundtracks and insert soundtracks in existing QuickTime files.

Interoperability with other DAW applications is expanded through support for Advanced Authoring Format (AAF), which includes information on the placement of audio files in the project. Bouncing to AAC is now supported along with enhanced ID3 tag editing for bounced MP3 files.

The Arrange window has been enhanced with several new editing modes. Control of the shuffle and snap modes is available at the top of the Arrange window. A new cross fade mode automatically fades between regions that overlap on the same track. A track solo feature is now available in the Arrange window. While previous versions had a single Autoload (template) song, users can now pick from a set of templates predefined for various project types.

Logic Express 7 has the same visual workspace as Logic 7 Pro and includes 26 software instruments and more than 40 effects plug-ins. The software instruments include the EXSP24 sample playback engine with a modest sample library, a variety of software synths including analog and FM emulations. Effects include a preset version of the Multipressor multi-band compression, Guitar Amp, pitch and time effects, reverbs and supports audio resolution up to 24-bit/96kHz and QuickTime synchronization. Logic Pro 7 supports audio resolutions up to 24-bit/192Khz.

In Use

I tested Logic 7 Pro on a G4 dual 1 GHz under OS X v10.3.7. The audio interface was a Digidesign 96 I/O going into a Pro Tools HD|1 card. I monitored through a pair of Mackie HR824s.

I found that Logic pro offers a number of improvements in both the “getting started” stage of a project and the polishing stage. GarageBand instruments make a nice starting point for sketching out arrangements. Rather than spending valuable time sifting through hundreds of sounds or hundreds of parameter settings, with the GarageBand instruments you just pick the instrument family and perhaps tweak a few basic settings and you’re making music. And yes, they sound nice.

The new filmstrip in the Global Tracks is far easier than the older thumbnail tracks. The improved ability to edit tempo changes graphically against the bar lines and filmstrip was a huge timesaver for me in matching hits to video events. A lot of my film music uses odd meters to help me line up cues and hits. Seeing the meter in the Global Track along with the filmstrip was very handy.

The main thing that distinguishes Logic Pro 7 from other professional tools is the sheer number of musically useful instrument sounds that are incorporated. Anyone looking to Logic 7 for sound design features will be in audio heaven.

The first stop for sound designers is Sculpture. The random tremolos and otherworldly breath effects make these sounds come alive. The accelerating and decelerating tremolos are very tempting. Imagine a plucked string instrument with the attack of a coin rolling on the table or a bouncing ball. The edgier sounds based on breath models are well suited to film score and alternative music.

I set out to explore the different ways of using Logic as a composition tool. For example, what if I want to approach writing songs like I did in the 80’s, using a drum machine and a keyboard? Logic gives you a number of drum and keyboards options that would work in rock, pop, hip hop or electronica. Ultrabeat has a variety of acoustic and electronic kits. A word of warning, the ultra low kick drum sounds in the electronic kits will seriously rattle your speakers.

Support for Apple Loops has been expanded to allow more flexibility in importing GarageBand songs into Logic. However, you can just as easily start in Logic. I found a jazz/rock drumbeat that worked well with a reggae bass line loop. But it needed some electric guitar. So, I turned to Guitar Amp Pro.

Most of the preconfigured settings work fine but you will want to tweak things to work with your guitar and playing style. The crunchy Woodstock setting put some meat on my Strat copy and enough bite to cut through the swirling electric piano part I had going on the EVP88.

Next, I ramped up an instance of the EVB3 organ emulation. The “Whiter Shade of Pale” sound would have been perfect in the right setting. In my case, a grittier sound was needed and EVB3 came through with some excellent sounds.

The Apple Loops drum beat that I picked worked well with the GarageBand fretless bass. The gritty EVB3 organ and the edge from Guitar Amp Pro made the mix more authentic and much less “MIDI band”-like. And all of this without waking the kids.

Summary

There are enough sound making and shaping tools in Logic 7 Pro to keep an army of sound designers employed for years to come. The Space Designer convolution reverb and the EVOC vocoder continue to amaze me.

The workflow enhancements from Garageband song file imports to environment templates make this the user-friendliest version of Logic yet. The new Arrange Window settings for region placement and crossfading of audio regions make for more efficient editing.

I realize that some may find the price tag of Logic 7 Pro a bit on the high side but I can’t say it’s over priced. It’s actually a bargain when you consider the extensive features for sequencing, high-resolution audio recording, notation and video synchronization. I had no trouble on a G4 Mac but if you like to use a lot of plug-ins and a lot of tracks you should consider a G5.

Logic has matured into a very productive and versatile environment. Logic 7 Pro offers a wealth of features that will be useful to composers, musicians and arrangers. Both products are a great way to awaken your music and sound design creativity.

Carlos Garza is a film composer who produces and engineers film scores for broadcast and DVD and is a regular contributor to Pro Audio Review.

DVD Studio Pro and Motion 2

Apple Final Cut Studio (part 2)

By Carlos Garza

With all the new outlets for music video these days, it almost feels like 1981 all over again. Music and video artists have more outlets than ever before and greater need for an integrated set of audiovisual postproduction tools.

Apple Computer has combined the three previously available applications and one new application into an integrated postproduction suite. Final Cut Studio comprises Final Cut Pro 5, DVD Studio Pro 4, Motion 2 and Soundtrack Pro. DVD SP4 is available within the $1299 Final Cut Studio product suite, or separately for $499 US. Upgrades are available for $199 US. Motion 2 is available separately for $299 US. Upgrades from Motion are $99.

In part one of this review, I looked at Final Cut Pro 5 and Soundtrack Pro. In part two, I will focus on new features in DVD SP 4 and take a quick look at Motion 2. Part 1 of this review appeared in the October 2005 issue. We reviewed DVD Studio Pro 3 in 2005.

Features

Looking at the box that Final Cut Studio is packaged in you will notice a few things. First, it’s a heavy box with Final Cut Pro 5 documentation in four separate volumes and the DVD SP4 manual taking almost 700 pages by itself. The next things you’ll notice are the big letters, “HD” on the side of the box.

The message is simple: HD is here. You may have already noticed this from Apple’s support for the H.264 codec in QuickTime 7. H.264 is mandatory in both the Blu-ray and HD DVD specifications.

DVD SP4 can be used to author standard definition titles for release on single-layer, DVD-5 and dual layer, DVD-9 media. DVD SP4 can also write the HD DVD format to conventional red laser recordable media.

Authoring for dual layer SD titles includes control of the break point between layers. Authored titles can be burned (space permitting) to dual layer DVD-9 or written to DLT. DVD SP4 supports the following red laser recordable formats: DVD-R, -RW, +R, +RW and +R DL.

DVD SP4 continues to support DDP 2.0 and 2.1, CMF 1.0 output formats. Video title set files can also be written to disk for SD and HD DVD. HD content can be previewed in full screen on an Apple Cinema Display using Digital Cinema Desktop.

Extensive scripting may require extended memory registers that Apple provides through partitioning of General Purpose Register Memory (GPRM). Complex DVD titles can use up to 112 register partitions for advanced interactive authoring.

The new VTS editor allows authors to create additional Video Title Set (VTS) folders and move assets between folders to optimize disc performance. VTS allocation provides a way for disc authors to combine audio or screen formats on the same disc.

Final Cut Pro 5 and DVD SP4 can take advantage of networked G4 and G5 computers for distributed encoding. The updated encoder, Compressor 2, provides encoding in H.264 (aka MPEG-4 Part 10), which support HD content.

Previous versions of DVDSP used a separate utility, A.Pack, to encode AC-3 (Dolby Digital) audio files. Compressor 2 now includes Dolby Digital (AC-3) encoding, and is Dolby certified. Video compression includes 2-pass VBR encoding. In addition to a growing number of presets, DVD SP4 allows the user to create droplets — drag-and-drop desktop objects pre-configured for specific encoding or format conversions (for example, NTSC to PAL).

Motion 2 boasts a Real-Time Design Engine that is scalable across available CPU, graphics processors and RAM. Motion 2 can address memory above 4GB and supports GPU-accelerated 32-bit float rendering. The ability to work in larger address spaces means less rendering during project creation.

The Replicator tool, well, replicates graphical objects, shapes and movies. The Key Frame Editor offers greater precision over the previous implementation. Object movement along a path can now be controlled with finer detail.

If you’ve worked with audio applications under OS X, you are probably aware of Apple’s “Core Audio” architecture. Core Audio provides a framework for third party development of effects plug-ins and software synths. Apple extended the concept to a broader set of Core Media technologies.

Motion 2 includes over 500 filters, particle presets and effects. New filters include 3D Rotate, Extrude and Vignette. Apple has opened the door for third party effects developers through their FxPlug architecture, which includes parameter automation.

MIDI devices, including mix controllers and keyboards can be used to control parameters such as filters and transforms. Knobs, faders and music keyboards can all be used as real-time performance controllers.

Round-trip editing is possible using other Final Cut Studio applications as well as Adobe After Effects. For example, Motion 2 particle effects can be linked into Adobe After Effects projects.

Motion 2 has a built-in browser for iTunes playlists and iPhoto albums. Native HDV is supported in Motion 2 and can be passed between Motion 2 and Final Cut Pro 5 and DVD SP4.

In Use

You’re probably wondering why anyone would want to make an HD DVD when (at the time of this writing) there are no HD DVD hardware players. Simple answer is that you CAN play red laser recordable discs authored with HD content on a G5 with Mac OS X v 10.4 and Apple DVD Player 4.6. In fact, with DVD SP4 you can author discs with both standard and high definition content on the same disc so they would be compatible with today’s DVD players and play HD content on a suitably equipped G5.

As of this writing, the standard capacities for HD DVD are 15GB for single layer and 30GB for dual layer replicated discs. However, a fully compliant HD DVD title set can be written to lower capacity DVD-5 and DVD-9 media. In theory, these discs will play on HD DVD hardware players when they become available. You can also take your HD content and create an SD title with it now, then substitute the HD content later.

All of the applications in Final Cut Studio sport a familiar look and feel. The user interface remains unchanged, and that’s a good thing. Anyone familiar with Final Cut Pro timeline will feel at home with DVD SP4.

In DVDSP3, I found myself wishing that I could view the DVD at a larger size in the Simulator. With DVD SP4, the user can now preview HD content and SD content scaled to HD on a G5. The Simulator in DVD SP4 now supports external monitors, which allow previewing the picture at the intended resolution in a YUV color space.

I’ve been thinking about putting some of my film scores out on a DVD. Yes, they are already on a DVD, but I want to make a music project — perhaps a CD and DVD with high quality PCM audio. The DVD-Video spec allows for stereo PCM audio tracks at resolutions up to 24-bit/96kHz. Some of my recent recordings have been at this resolution and I was anxious to hear how they sound on hi-fi systems outside of my studio.

My first task was to find my 24/96 Pro Tools project. The Spotlight feature in OS X Tiger came to the rescue. I’ve accumulated project files spread across three FireWire drives. Fortunately, I always try to put the name of the project in the file name somewhere. The Smart Folders feature of Tiger is simply a saved search for a keyword. But Spotlight looks inside of files too so it’s like having a search for file name contains your keyword plus a Unix grep command searching for the word inside of files. The best part is the fact that the smart folder stays up to date as you add files that match the criteria to your system. Pretty smart.

Adding the 24/96 WAV file assets into a DVD SP4 project was a piece of cake once I found the file I was looking for. Next, I found some images to match my video, and dropped them into the slideshow window. I then added the 24/96 file to the audio track in the slide show.

This isn’t as obvious as you would think. Looking for a timeline? You won’t find one. Slides are stacked vertically top to bottom in sequence order in the Slide Show Editor. Audio files are added by dragging and dropping them from the Asset Manager into a little “bucket” at the top of the slideshow editor.

It’s not difficult to use but there is no graphical feedback on the duration of each slide. A waveform display would also be a big help when using DVD SP4 for music projects. As I said in my last review, some basic support for audio levels and fades would also enhance the experience for those of us who use DVDs to showcase our music. By the way, if you are doing work in 192 kHz stereo or high definition audio in surround, you will need to find another program. This is a DVD-V world only.

Here’s a tip for graphic artists using Motion 2: Get a USB MIDI controller! A two octave MIDI keyboard like the Midiman Oxygen 8 that I used, works fine and you don’t need piano lessons. All you need is an animation subject — a graphic or image — and some time to play. I’m not kidding here, tactile control of graphics can be a lot of fun.

I took one of the sample objects provided in the Motion 2 tutorial, a little alien character. I found that I could easily animate his arms and legs and make his eyes pop out (anything for a laugh). The magic started with I synchronized the character’s motion to a piece of music I wrote. With a few background effects, I ended up with a very catchy piece for my demo reel.

I intend to return to Motion 2 and use some of the generous supply of particle animations, including smoke, sparkles and fire effects for another demo reel piece. The license free text animations are another big plus. LiveType, which is included in Final Cut Studio, has some very fun text animations and some very dynamic and modern royalty-free fonts. I was able to create a bouncing version of my band logo using LiveType and had plenty of time left over to create some video loops for the menu.

When it was time to put it all together, the new Motion templates were there to get me started. I added two short video clips to a Motion template and instantly had a very professional looking loop for my DVD menu, complete with moving graphics and text.

Summary

Once again, Apple is one step ahead of the game. HD disc players are just around the corner. No one knows which format will win the public’s favor but Apple has developed an authoring tool that puts HD DVD authoring in your hands today.

While I’d like to see more features designed for audio-only titles, I also have to say that it works quite well for video and is a worthy investment. The added power of VTC editing, advanced scripting and combination SD/HD titles will be of use to commercial DVD authors as well as musicians, composers, visual artists and filmmakers.

The price for DVD Studio Pro 4 is the same as version 3. With all the added features, DVD SP4 is well worth the price — either separately or bundled with Final Cut Studio.

Motion 2 has some stunning effects and unique features, such as MIDI control that make it a standout application. The support for HD video and the integration of products for workflow improvement make Final Cut Studio an extremely valuable set of tools. At a price of $1299 US, that’s going to be hard to beat.

At a Glance

DVD Studio Pro 4
Applications: SD and HD DVD authoring for professional applications, including films, episodic video, music videos, industrial/educational films and commercial event videography.
Key Features: HD DVD authoring, professional templates, distributed encoding, advanced scripting and VTS editing.
Price: $499 (US), upgrade $199 (US)

Motion 2
Applications: motion graphics, special effects, text animation, broadcast, DVD
Key Features: Real-time design engine, MIDI control, native HDV support, templates, particles
Price: $299 US, upgrade $99
Contact: apple.com (800-MY-APPLE)

Product Points

DVD Studio Pro 4

Plus
– HD DVD Authoring
– VTS allocation
– Advanced scripting
– Powerful Drag and Drop Authoring

Minus
– No filmstrip view in track editor
– Support for DVD Slideshows (i.e., music titles) could be expanded

Motion 2

Plus
– MIDI control of animation
– Advanced particle generator
– Templates

Minus
– none

The Score

Both applications are intuitive and pack enough features to satisfy professionals. Both products are an excellent value, especially when purchased in the Final Cut Studio bundle.

Rarefaction – A Poke in the Ear with a Sharp Stick

Review by Carlos Garza

Originally Published in Pro Audio Review
Sound Design Tools Roundup

This review examines three sound libraries designed for postproduction and multimedia effects and three libraries that have roughly equal value for dramatic sound design and contemporary music production.

The “Poke in the Ear…” series has been around for around for more than 10 years and includes three volumes of CD-ROM audio files, an audio CD compiled from volumes 1 and 2 and an AKAI S1000 disc compiled from all three volumes. I purchased an audio CD version 10 years ago and it has remained a favorite of mine. While the company is not producing new titles, they still offer all sets mentioned above. The S1000 disc is the subject of this review.

I tested “A Poke in the Ear…” with an Akai S2000 sampler and Logic 7. In the latter case, I used the AKAI convert feature of EXS-24 to import programs and samples from the disc. Any DAW sampler engine or hardware sample player that supports the AKAI sample format should be capable of loading the set.

A Poke in the Ear with a Sharp Stick

The sounds are grouped into percussive, metallic, “melodics,” environmental ambient, complex hits, machines, rhythm loops and voice. Most of the percussive programs are set up with each sample (mono or stereo) mapped to one MIDI note. The “melodics” have each sample spread across one or more octaves. The remaining programs have their samples spread across a major fifth (8 keys).

While working through the 1200 sounds can take some time, especially on a hardware sample player, the ability to play many of the sounds across the range of a keyboard makes for an efficient workflow. I found the EXS-24 graphical editor a valuable resource in the absence of key mapping documentation.

The set is not about musical instruments per se, but a few are included. The Syrian Tambourine is well recorded and features a variety of playing styles. However, the basic hits appear with only a single sample, which would lead to the “dreaded machine gun” effect if played repeatedly. Note that none of the programs use velocity layers or filtering. The other percussive sounds include large containers, bottles, jars, glass items, springs and a Slinky. There are some very useful and unusual percussion sounds here.

The “tails” programs use a succession of sounds to build a sound phrase. One of my favorites is a sample called “Fever Dream.” I used the sound in a short horror film that I scored with Silent Orchestra, called Grave Consequences. The eerie dissonant high tones build to a high pitch rattle before resolving into monstrous breathing. “Poke” has quite a few sounds like this that work well in a musical track, especially a film score.

Remember the sound a buzzing ruler on a desktop? It’s here in living stereo. Need the sound of adhesive tape being stretched and smacked? It’s here. Some of these sounds could work as Foley but the intention is to explore the sonic possibilities rather than common sounds.

There are alien boings, whooshes and ambient soundscapes. The “cyberdoom” sounds include both hits and fade-ups — mostly metallic. Some of my favorites include the sounds of heavy things being dragged and abused, something that sounds like a chain saw from hell, low pulsing and throbbing sounds, squeaky wheels, glass cutting, electronic glitches and a few demonic voices.

The rhythmic loops offer a lot of musical possibilities and some very unusual sounds combined into mechanical, world beats and out-of-this-world beats. It would be nice to have these in Garage Band or Acid format.

This product lives up to its name with some very intense sounds. The metallic shrieks could be at home at just the right scene of a horror film or as background for a mechanical underwater disaster (think Poseidon). If you are looking for unobtrusive drones and beds, you’ve come to the wrong medieval castle. While there are a few drones, and some with low frequency effects the majority of this set is in your face (or ear).

The “Pokes” sounds can be used for industrial rock, and sound design for sci-fi, horror, suspense, action adventure TV, films and games. If you are looking for things that go bump in the night, you will be hard pressed to find sounds this interesting for $29.95. Other formats are available for $49.95. Don’t let its age fool you. A Poke in the Ear still has some sharp teeth.

Carlos Garza composes music for films. His work has been heard on Image Entertainment DVDs, Turner Classic Movies and the National Gallery of Art. He is a regular contributor to Pro Audio Review. All of the products reviewed in this article are offered by their respective manufacturers with a one-time purchase fee and no additional usage fees.

Digital Juice Sound FX Library (SFL)

Review by Carlos Garza

This is a general-purpose library of general purpose, human and musical sound effects. The library is distributed on seven DVD-ROM discs, plus a single disc with 1.5 GB of previews in 128 kbps MP3 format. The library itself is provided at 24-bit/96 kHz resolution and would require 55 GB to stored on-line.

SFL includes a software application, appropriately named, “Juicer” that provides browsing, searching and sample preparation. Installation of the complete library at full resolution (55 GB) is unnecessary because of Juicer’s semi-automated batch processing. I didn’t mind loading in the appropriate DVDs when Juicer prompted me because at this point I don’t have 55 GB to spare on my hard drives.

Digital Juice SoundFX

Juicer Audio 3.02 was tested for this review on an Apple G5 Quad running OS 10.4.8. Requirements include a DVD-ROM drive, 256 MB RAM, 1.5GB for previews, Apple QuickTime version 5.0.2 or later, Mac OS10.3.9 or later, Windows 2000 or XP, DirectX8 or later.

Sound FX Library includes 11,500 clips divided into 170 categories. The set includes voice actors and musical logos in addition to Foley and sound effects. The general effects include ambience, animals, crashes, explosions, Foley, horror, household, impacts, office, sci-fi, technology, weapons and weather. The human effects include men, women and children. The topics include exclamations, business, commercial phrases, questions, police, reactions, telephone systems, states, occasions and numbers.

The noise effects include alarms, ascends, beds, beeps, bells, blasts, buttons, computer, descends, distortions, drones, evolvers, feedbacks, filters, hits, lasers, LFE, liquids, fly-bys, kicks and lasers, sci-fi elements, stabs, whooshes and more.

The Musical FX section includes short phrases of electric bass, flute, guitar, organ, percussion, sax, trombone and trumpet. Also included are musical “logos” broken out as: acoustic, comedy, corporate, electronic, jazz, new age, news, orchestral, pop, rock, sports, urban and world. There are sets of related cues organized as acoustic, corporate, jazz, orchestra, rock and urban and longer pieces, or “textures.”

The strength of this product is in the general sound effects and human recordings. These are both well recorded and versatile. It’s hard to imagine what is missing. The animal set is reasonable but not exhaustive. There are four types of dogs, for example. The dinosaur sounds — some made from real animals – are impressive. I felt like I was in Jurassic Park.

There are 328 basic Foley sounds and another 146 just for footsteps. There are rivers, waterfalls, things falling in water, office sounds, sports. By the way, the golf swing makes a nice whoosh that would work in a fighting game. Speaking of which, there are 237 weapons by brand name and bullets going into different surfaces.

The weather sounds held my interest. Thunder is sometimes called “lightning” but it sounds great. The big Hollywood-style explosions would sound at home in a film of any budget. These are BIG sounds. I mean it. There’s even an atomic blast. Where did they get that?

The human sounds are also quite useful for anyone making commercials or corporate sound design, such as telephone systems. The adult voice actors are professional sounding and there are enough words and phrases to make a variety of announcements and commercials.

The strongest musical elements are the acoustic, corporate and orchestral. The rock elements lean towards the heavy side but are very convincing. A bit more variety in the guitar tone and playing styles would help the overall usability. I really liked the orchestral transitions and the variety of moods makes this a go-to set. There are some gems in the electronic and pop logos as well. I can easily hear these used in professional and academic productions for TV and stage.

Juicer’s keyword-searchable index is handy to use but does not always respond as expected. For example, searching for “air” returns plenty of air-based sound effects but also returns “folding chairs” and “scissors cutting hair.” Searching for “boom” or “bang” does not return any of the excellent explosions in the general effects class.

The idea of using an integrated browser is a step in the right direction but it would be nice if users could add their own topic areas, ratings and bookmarks. I found the organization and preview features quite valuable when going through a library of this size. Playing samples and adding them to a batch for extraction is simple.

I noticed only small problems with the interface. The track ball on my Mighty Mouse works in reverse on the left-right volume control. Vertical scrolling works fine, as does clicking on the volume control and dragging it.

On the down side, Juicer cannot be used to browse libraries from other manufacturers and searching is apparently text based rather than semantic. Nonetheless, the effects are excellent and the sound quality is stunning. This is a well thought out set with applications in sound design for film, TV, interactive web sites, theater productions and game creation. The music cues and dialog clips are applicable to corporate, academic and commercial productions.

Digital Juice Sound FX Library is a versatile collection, sounds great and was the easiest to navigate of all the sets I auditioned.

Hollywood Edge – Sonic Energy

Sound Effects Library

Review by Carlos Garza
Originally published in Pro Audio Review

Sonic Energy is a collection of beds, distortion, noise, impacts, low frequency effects (LFE) multimedia effects and production elements. The beds occupy all of disc 1 and most of disc 2. The remainder of disc 2 is noise and distortion effects. Disc 3 contains impacts and LFE, and the remaining two discs contain multimedia effects and production elements respectively.

Hollywood Edge Sonic Energy

This set comprises five audio CDs and a bonus DVD-ROM with copies in 16-bit, 48 kHz WAV format. The DVD contains 1233 WAV files totaling almost three GB.

The 1-page CD track listings don’t do justice to the complexity of the sounds but the full descriptions, which come in text, Excel and PDF format, are very useful. I was pleased to see that the first audio disc had been entered in Gracenote’s CDDB, which made auditioning the sounds much easier in iTunes. Unfortunately, the other discs were unrecognized.

Years ago, I purchased a drone sample library that turned out rather dull. I understand that drones are not supposed to be exciting but a little variety would be nice. Luckily, the Sonic Energy beds are richly textured and varied.

This is not just another set of low hums and drones, the shimmering qualities are very modern, the stereo images are enveloping and the low end is rumbling when it wants to be. I’m planning to use some of the ominous beds in an upcoming live performance of my band’s original score for the classic vampire silent film, NOSFERATU.

There are not too many mild distortions or noises, most are intense. Watch the volume when you audition these, there are some real “ear cleaners” here. The distorted communication sounds and other vaguely familiar sounds were my favorites. They would work well in a sci-fi drama or game where something has gone wrong.

I found a few treats in the impacts and LFE sounds along with familiar sounding electronic boinks, metallic clangs and chirps. The low frequency elements are meaty and satisfying. The palette runs from synthesized analog zaps to digital splats with a few metal hits and manipulations.

Between the impacts, laser hits and low frequency rumbles you have all the sonic elements for a dynamite role-playing game. I liked the “underwater sonar ping” and metallic effects. In some cases, the best part is the way the sound evolves through the reverb tail.

The multimedia effects disc comprises chirps, beeps, clicks, bonks and tiny sweeps. These are ideal for games, as in picking up an object and scoring points. Some of the zaps are odd and comedic. The sounds are generally short and subtle but there are a few “ear cleaners” in the set. A few sounds are reminiscent of Star Trek alarms and some sound like struck glass and metal objects.

The production elements overlap the hits and beds somewhat. The logo elements are ideal for crime dramas and “most wanted” TV shows. If you are designing sounds for space alien or aquatic intruder/invader shows you might want to check out the stingers and “whooshes.”

All together, this is a fine set with a varied and high quality collection of beds, hits and LFE sounds. It is recommended for game creators and sound designers for TV and film.

Hollywood Edge The Premiere Edition 7

Sound Effects Library

Review by Carlos Garza

At one time, nearly all composers used pencil and paper while sound designers worked with a mic, tape recorder and splicing block. While that approach clearly still works, today you are just as likely to see both at a computer — trading the pencil and razor blade for a MIDI keyboard and mouse.

All of the products reviewed in this article are offered by their respective manufacturers with a one-time purchase fee and no additional usage fees.

The product includes 10 audio CDs with additional 16-bit, 48 kHz WAV file copies on two DVD-ROMs totaling 1932 sounds (around 1150 files) and using approximately 7.7 GB at 48 kHz.

Premiere Edition 7

The 10-disc set includes three discs with automobile sounds from sedans, muscle cars, an MG B, SUVs and trucks; four discs of urban ambiences including traffic backgrounds, city backgrounds, construction, train station, retail and services backgrounds; and three discs with footsteps, laughter, child vocals, wind, water, mud, animals, doors, buttons, Foley and medical sounds.

Except for the occasional vintage sound, most of the recordings are clean and accurate. The engine sounds and car doors packed plenty of punch on my Mackie HR824 monitors. I was surprised by the variety and distinction in the auto sounds and the use of stereo. There is a good variety of auto and truck engines in various states or operation – starting, driving and coming to a stop.

The car sounds include tires squealing, horns and highway sounds at various speeds. Also included are hoods closing, power windows, wipers, shifting and dashboard items. Road ambiences were captured in rain, snow, potholes and other road hazards.

The traffic backgrounds tend towards urban settings with several New York scenes in heavy and light traffic. Some traffic backgrounds are listed as London, Paris, an Iranian city and a convincing “early 1900’s street scene.” The settings are well covered but some of the wet road and slush traffic is accompanied by human sounds.

The track listings on the disc sleeves offer simple descriptions, such as “start” whereas the Excel, PDF and text catalogs delivered on the DVD offer details such as, “Engine Problems: automotive starter motor, no start.” At the time of this writing, the CD track descriptions had not been submitted to Gracenote’s CDDB so software CD players, such as iTunes, show nothing more than “track 01” etc.

The construction sounds include a John Deere 750, air compressors, pumps, cement mixer, pneumatic hammers, chainsaws and distant blasting. There are some gems in the squeaky and slurping machine rhythms, which sound like music to me (hint).

The Foley includes footsteps on dirt, gravel, snow, sand and leaves, individuals and groups of two and more people running and lots of laughing. The child sounds are also well represented from younger kids to teens and most are believable, including the screams. However, some of the child dialog tracks are idiosyncratic and less versatile, such as the Spanish counting sequence.

There are a few “vintage” laugh tracks, which appear to be mono and lower fidelity. Most of the newer tracks have big separation and range from small groups to large groups and “slowly getting the joke laughs” to full hysteria. Many useful tracks here.

The wind sounds range from narrow to wide and spooky to peaceful. The water is almost entirely ocean shore-based and ranges from light “lapping on rocks with gulls” to an assault of pounding waves. There are no creeks, rivers or waterfalls but the bubbling lava from Yellowstone would be perfect in a dinosaur film.

The train station backgrounds have the best balance of atmosphere and unobtrusiveness. The school and restaurant backgrounds are even and consistently background (i.e., not too many sounds that would jump out inappropriately in your production).

The animals include seagulls, sea lions, Beluga whales, Galapagos seal calls, dolphins, squirrels, chimps, fruit bats, rats and lions. The Beluga vocals and blowing sounds are excellent for creature design. A few of the samples contain ambience and occasional human sounds. Track notes indicate the recording location (not always in the wild).

The door samples include sliding, revolving, swinging varieties as well as garage doors, prison doors and a very intense large stone door. The same disc has a number of interesting switches, including an excellent set of televisions and radios. The medical effects include dentist office sounds, ICUs, heart monitors and other hospital sounds, such as a gurney and a newborn baby cry.

It’s clear that a lot of time and care went into making this set. The categories provided are covered exhaustively and other parts of the Premiere Edition series presumably complement the categories. If you are looking for the real world, this set is a great place to start.

Vienna Symphonic Library Glass and Stones

Review by Carlos Garza

Originally published in Pro Audio Review

Provided on one DVD-ROM with 4.4 GB of samples at 16-bit/44.1 kHz. Glass and Stones includes glass harmonica, musical glasses, verrophone and lithophone. The EXS24 versions were tested with Logic 7 and HR824 monitors.

VSL Horizon Glass and Stones

The glass harmonica includes portamento, sustained and half-step trill articulations played with fingers and short notes glissandos played with mallets. The articulations for musical glasses include staccato, sustained, tremolo and a half-step trill.

The verrophone is a set of glass tubes of different lengths mounted in a wooden stand. The tubes resonate at specific pitches, eliminating the need for water tuning. Verrophone samples are finger played with staccato and portato, sustained notes, tremolos and half-step trills. It’s also played with mallets in several variations including trills and glissandos.

A lithophone is a natural or man-made instrument made of stone. VSL recorded a lithophone constructed with marimba-like bars and resonators. The VSL lithophone program offers a variety of playing techniques, including soft, medium and hard mallets, fingers, fingernails, stones and a bow. There are single notes, mutes and tremolos.

The fingered verrophone has an almost vibes-like quality, especially the tremolo version. The lowest notes seemed very thick until I softened the throbbing fundamental and exposed the high frequency shimmer with an equalizer. The mallet glissandos on the verrophone have a mysterious quality that comes from both the whole tone-like scale and the sound, while the chromatic trills come across as a more metallic take on the angklung (see FX Percussion).

Most of the lithophone articulations remind me of a marimba but are different enough to be distinctive. The low end is very warm and comforting. I lengthened the attack of a soft mallet instrument and, when the lowest notes were played with a slow pitch bend, it sounded like a large sea animal. There are plenty of unexpected sounds in the lithophone effects but my favorite is the bowed low-end sound.

The forte samples of the glass harmonica have an edgy quality. The standard versions are designed to use less RAM but are suitable for general use. I found the versions with separate release triggered samples the most captivating and least “synth like.” For completely “out of this world,” try volume-fading chords or note clusters on the half-step trill sounds. Then throw in a pitch bend. Spooky stuff.

Although the focus of this review is sound design, I have to add that the Glass and Stones set has many musical possibilities. The sustained glass harmonica can serve as an organic cousin of the Theremin. Less electronic but just as haunting. Designing a sound for friendly aliens or the spirit world? You might want to check out these sounds.

(2) 2006 Carlos Garza

Vienna Symphonic Library FX Percussion

Sound Design Tools for Effects and Music
By Carlos Garza

All of the products reviewed in this article are offered by their respective manufacturers with a one-time purchase fee and no additional usage fees.

VSL FX Percussion

This sampler library is part of VSL’s Horizon series of orchestral sound libraries. It includes musical instruments and acoustic effects devices used in the symphony orchestra and around the world.

The set includes an angklung, bell tree, boobams (drums), brake disks & springs, bull roarer, Burmese bells, car horns, castanets, chimes, claves, cuica, exotic gongs, flexatone, hammer, Japanese singing bowls, jingle bells, lion’s roar, log drum, ocean drum, rails, rainmaker, shots, siren, spring drum, tam-tam, thunder sheets, vibratone, Walteufel, waterphone, whip and wind machine.

It is provided on one DVD-ROM with three GB of samples at 16-bit/44.1 kHz. Instrument mappings for both VSL products in this review are supplied for Logic’s EXS24, TASCAM GigaStudio, Steinberg HALion and Native Instruments Kontakt. They are intended to be played from a MIDI controller, such as a keyboard and in many cases offer various articulations or the same sound at different pitches across a range of keys.

Some of the programs use key switching to select articulations during performance. For example, the angklung, a bamboo instrument from Indonesia is available in short medium and long shakes. The combination program uses keys C1 to D1 to pick from the three.

Many of the sounds come from familiar objects, such as bells, horns and gongs. Much of this set is dedicated, however, to acoustic imitations of the natural world, many of which are commonly used in the symphony orchestra but some have origins that are more ancient.

For example, the bullroarer has a type of whiling aerophone, which is commonly associated with aboriginal Australians (although not by this name). The recordings are very deep sound with a high wind component that is captured beautifully in stereo.

Imitative instruments, such as the wind machine, thunder sheets, rain stick and ocean drum offer possibilities when mixed with recordings of the real thing. For example, thunder sheet mixed with real thunder creates a supernatural atmosphere.

Some sounds evoke a common feeling in different cultures while others do not. To my western ears, nothing says, “scary jungle” quite like the rattling bamboo tones of the angklung, an instrument native to Southeast Asia. The sound was used in Jerry Goldsmith’s original Planet of the Apes score. Goldsmith also made good use of the Brazilian cuica to mimic ape sounds. Here, the cuica chirps like a hairy ape and moans and groans like a wounded cow.

FX Percussion really shows off the acoustical environment that VSL created in their custom-built stage. This is most evident in the metallic pings, scrapes and boings. The Burmese bells samples, chimes are very relaxing and crystal clear. There is plenty of variety in the widely captured bamboo chimes. The Japanese singing bells program uses the modulation wheel to switch from rubber to wooden mallets, an expressive feature that I found very musical.

The more disquieting side is covered by thunder sheets and Peking opera gong. The China gong has more of the mysterious quality associated with tam-tams and is well represented with hits and rolls. However, the lack of bowed gongs and tams is unfortunate.

But fear not, or do fear, because there is bowing a-plenty in the thunder sheets and waterphone. The sound of distressed metal keeps me squirming no matter how many times I hear it. These samples are high quality and well suited to professional applications calling for terror and suspense.

Many of the sounds are explored in depth and the results have applications for sound designers in TV and film genres including comedy, drama, suspense, sci-fi and horror. The sounds are also perfectly suited to contemporary symphonic mock-ups.

Carlos Garza – Composer

Music for Film

Pro Audio Review

Apple Logic Pro 8

Vienna Instruments Special Edition

Apple Logic Pro 7

DVD Studio Pro and Motion 2

Rarefaction – A Poke in the Ear with a Sharp Stick

Digital Juice Sound FX Library (SFL)

Hollywood Edge – Sonic Energy

Hollywood Edge The Premiere Edition 7

Vienna Symphonic Library Glass and Stones

Vienna Symphonic Library FX Percussion