For these samples, we used a host of acoustic, electric and electronics. For the drums, we turned to Nashville session veteran Art Noble, whose vast collection of killer drums was tracked with a variety of microphones, including classics from CAD, Neumann, Shure, Audio-Tecnica and Oktava. All acoustic sources were tracked directly to the hard drive, passing through a Focusrite pre-amp along the way. For bass guitar, we brought in Ant Graham, of the modern progressive rock outfit Noise 626. For all things bowed or blown, we were fortunate enough to grab some excellent orchestral material from the Northern Arizona Symphony, recorded by world-famous engineer/producer David Nichols. Of course, all of our electronics were handled here at The Electronic Garden, where we made liberal use of the lovely vintage synthesizer collection cluttering the studio. Classic units from Roland, Moog, Oberheim and Arp were called into play to provide some
punchy, squelchy basses and thick analogue strings. The focus is on quality rather than quantity, with the idea of producing some basic "studio essentials" that might be required. Everything was multisampled as much as deemed necessary to ensure a pro sound that will fit right in the mix. For the sampler presets, we sometimes took advantage of that particular sampler's special features, so the patches are often very different from one sampler format to another. In the end, we have thirteen different patches for each synth, including brass, strings, upright piano, electric bass, trumpet (x2), sax, synth strings, synth bass (x2) and a smooth, swirling
synth pad.
Note: The DS-404 patches StringEnsemble.404 and ClassyBrass.404 did not fit on the disk! Therefore you can download them directly from the CM Website at www.computermusic.co.uk.
