A taste of a top end virtual orchestra at budget price (EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Silver Bundle)

Member Name: cognition

Product:	EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Silver Bundle
Date:	30/04/09 (736 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You can upgrade to Gold at any time, value for money

Disadvantages: Lack of articulations. You may feel limited unless you upgrade to Gold.

INTRODUCTION
East West Quantum Leap's 'Symphonic Orchestra Silver Complete' (from now on referred to as 'EWQLSO Silver') is the entry level version of the company's acclaimed symphonic orchestra virtual instrument, targeted towards the educational sector and beginners on a budget. The software comes in at 11gb, which surely sounds very impressive on paper, however there are some limitations.


For those who are not acquainted with the brand, EWQLSO is a virtual instrument available in both stand alone mode and as a plug-in for your sequencer. It is a sampled symphony orchestra, featuring samples of the most common orchestra sections playing each available note at several velocities, and utilizing several playing techniques (articulations). It was recorded in a first class concert hall by an acclaimed engineer. East West's philosophy is that their products should sound great out of the box. Hence, while some orchestral sound libraries require you to pan instruments, and possibly EQ to get the sound you want, EWQLSO is panned out in the positions the orchestra had in the concert hall, and as the recordings feature the natural reverb of the concert hall, you don't even need to add any reverb, but if you still want to, EWQL comes with top class convulution reverb, including impulse responses from the original concert hall where the orchestra was recorded and also East West's studios in Hollywood. No studio has a history of more Platinum and Gold records having been recorded there than this studio.

HISTORY / VERSIONS OF SOFTWARE
It is notable to mention that EWQLSO Silver has been released in more than one version. The original and first version was only 2.4gb in size and was not chromatically sampled, meaning that each and every note of the instruments were not sampled. The notes that were sampled would be pitch stretched to achieve the pitch of the notes that were not sampled. An expansion pack called 'Silver Pro XP' was later released, adding additional content to EWQLSO Silver. This early version of EWQLSO was based on a sample playback system from third party developer Native Instruments (Kompakt). In 2008 the developers of EWQLSO introduced a revolutionary update to their software series. The differences between the old version of EWQLSO Silver and the new version (often referred to as the 'PLAY' version) are:
-No more Native Instruments Kompakt
-EWQL developed their own sample playback system called PLAY
-EWQLSO Silver is now chromatically sampled. If you compare Silver to the more expensive Gold version, the sound quality is exactly the same. The *only* difference between the two versions is that Gold features more instruments and more articulations
-Copy protection is now in the form of a usb key called iLok. Basically, your license to use the software is held on a usb key. This must be plugged in when you are using the software. Pros: you can install the software on any amount of computers you like, and you can use the software as long as an iLok key with the valid license is plugged in. Cons: You have to waste a usb port just to prove you paid for the software. If you lose or break your iLok key you can not use the software.

WHAT YOU GET
As mentioned, the sound quality of Silver is now the same as the far more expensive Gold. The only difference is that you don't get as many instrument sounds and articulations as the Gold version. A complete list of which articulations you get can be found on the East West web site. Most notably, you do not get a 1st violin section at all, only a 2nd violin section. Apart from this you do get the most used sections of the orchestra. However, I can almost guarantee you will feel very limited by the lack of articulations.

EXPLANATION OF ARTICULATIONS ETC
Articulations are different sounds an instrument can make based on playing techniques. For instance, legato is the sound of smooth continuous bowing with no break between notes, while pizzicato is the sound of plucked strings. You will want to use different articulations because of artistic decisions, for variation, and also for realism. If you seek realistic results, you will very seldom load up a sound, hit record, play, and that's it. You will often want to vary between articulations and also add controller data, such as cc11 midi date to fine tune expressive volume changes.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF SILVER AND GOLD
I was extremely curious about virtual orchestration and wanted to try a better sounding sound set than what I had access to at the time (Garritan Pocket Orchestra). I could not resist getting EWQLSO Silver because it gives you a taste of a high end orchestra at budget price. I was able to compose some fairly impressive music, right out of the box. I could not make anything by far as impressive as the demos you hear on East West's web site, but it was mind blowing compared to what I had been able to make before with Garritan Pocket Orchestra. I did, however, feel limited by the lack of articulations and expressions, and I found myself upgrading to the Gold version within weeks of getting Silver. Gold, which is 32gb compared to Silver's 11gb, awarded me a significantly higher amount of instruments and articulations. I no longer felt restricted, and I found a lot of inspiration, just listening to some of the included articulations. I would say, the difference between Silver and Gold is like night and day. At the time of writing this review, I am scoring a feature film, and EWQLSO Gold has been priceless in this experience. The soundtrack is turning out a hundred times better with Gold, as opposed to what I could have achieved with Silver. As a bottom line, Silver is an affordable and great sounding introduction to a fantastic sounding virtual orchestra, and you can make great sounding music with it. However, you may feel restricted unless you upgrade to Gold, which is a godsend for orchestral composers.

UPGRADES:
EWQLSO Silver is a safe bet for anyone who is interested in virtual orchestration because it allows you to get to know the software and the basic work methods, while you can at any time upgrade. Upgrades are only available directly from East West, but they have a European web store in addition to a US one, so you will not have to pay import tax. Upgrade prices are based on the difference in price between the version of the software you have and the version you want to upgrade to. Orders are sent by FedEx and only take a few days to arrive in the UK.

PRICE:
You should be able to get your hands on EWQLSO Silver for roughly £120. I managed to get it for £105. In addition you will need an iLok usb key, priced at £30.

Summary: For the aspiring virtual orchestrator on a tight budget

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