Virtual instrument makers EastWest have released Hollywood Solo Cello, part of the Hollywood Solo Instruments series designed to work with their flagship Hollywood Orchestra to emulate a large studio orchestra. Following the late 2015 release of Hollywood Solo Harp, Hollywood Solo Cello is initially available exclusively through ComposerCloud.
The company are calling Hollywood Solo Cello an “exceptionally detailed and realistic reproduction” of the instrument. Produced by Doug Rogers and Nick Phoenix, and engineered by Shawn Murphy, who recently recorded John Williams' score for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Hollywood Solo Cello will be of great interest to owners of the Hollywood series. It was recorded in Studio 1 at EastWest Studios, where Hollywood Orchestra was recorded, giving the libraries a consistent sound and ambience.
"We're proud to stay true to the value promise of ComposerCloud," says EastWest Producer Doug Rogers. "Regular subscription revenue allows us to consistently develop new products and complete the circle by adding more back into ComposerCloud, increasing the value for our customers. Since launching ComposerCloud last year, we've released a record number of new products with many more on the horizon yet to come."
Hollywood Solo Cello features a large number of different instrument files, categorized into long, short, keyswitch, and legato types. Hollywood Solo Cello can use articulations to generate long sounds, including sustain instruments with varying levels of vibrato or playing styles like flautando and tremolo; short sounds, including various plucking and bowing techniques, select between various keyswitches outside the instrument's range, or different types of legato instruments that each include multiple sample layers to handle different aspects of legato playing. MIDI Continuous Controllers are used to control loudness, dynamic layers and/or vibrato depths and allow users to shape musical lines the way a live musician would.
The contest
EastWest is hosting a contest on their Facebook page from Monday, January 11 until January 21, 2016. Participants will compose a piece using the instruments Cello, Harp, and Spaces, and the public will vote for the best composition. EastWest will choose the the top 3 out of the top 20 most popular entries. The three winners will each be awarded an annual subscription to ComposerCloud. More at
https://apps.facebook.com/whcontests/hollywood-solo-instruments-contest
More to come...
A third installment in the solo instrument series, Hollywood Solo Violin, is expected within the next months. While only ComposerCloud subscribers will have access to these new instruments initially, all three Solo instruments will be available for purchase as a complete set for non-subscribers in 2016.
To hear the sound of Hollywood Solo Cello yourself, start a free trial of ComposerCloud — simply follow the link below.
