Woodwind & Brass

Creative Essentials is an ever-expanding series...

by Sound On Sound Magazine, UK

Creative Essentials is an ever-expanding series of low-cost sample CDs. In addition to their audio content, the discs contain AIFF and WAV file versions of the samples, enabling them to be loaded into certain sample replay or sample editing programs, including Akai's MESA. Wav files can also be loaded into certain soundcards for replay. Because of the three different formats supplied on each disc, the amount of content isn't as great as you might get on an all-audio CD or CD-Rom, but you still get a lot of sounds for very little money.

What's more, because of the large number of discs in the series, the material is broken down into very specific areas, ensuring minimum wastage. The AIFF and WAV data are located on track 1 of the CD, which can't be played on a regular CD player. The remaining tracks are conventional audio tracks, concluding with a 1kHz test tone.

Woodwind and Brass Rated 4.5 out of 5

This disc comprises multisamples (usually six or eight samples per sound) of flute, clarinet, bassoon, woodwind section, cornet, flugel and piccolo trumpet; plus French horn, trombone, and trumpet, each solo and as a section.

Also included are multisamples of trills and runs. Both long and short notes are included where appropriate, so there's no need to loop the sounds unless you need longer notes. However, the sustain part of the long notes is pretty even, so looping shouldn't be a problem.

The recording quality is good and the instrument sounds are nicely played and tonally neutral, with no obvious reverb or ambience added.