Sample Libraries

Great vocalists are in short supply, but EastWest might have the answer...

A chance meeting with a leading choral composer sparked a major new Spitfire library.

***** 5/5 stars. Produced by Grammy-winning engineer Josh Wilbur and Lamb Of God drummer Chris Adler, this is a collection of hard-hitting drums that sound big in every sense of the word.

**** 4/5 stars. Unorthodox Audio are a fledgling sample library company, set up by composers Richard Norris and Mike Gunn with the aim of trying to "capture something wonderfully peculiar within each virtual instrument".

**** 4/5 stars. This Matt Halpern signature pack sample library is designed for productions ranging from rock through to thrash metal...

**** 4/5 stars. Synthetic Strings focuses not on string synthesizers per se, but on synthetic textures inspired by synthesizers and string machines.

If action and thriller soundtracks are your thing, then Red Room Audio’s Saga Acoustic Trailer Percussion might well appeal....

Xosphere 2 is based around four sound processors, complemented by an X/Y pad that allows the user to fluidly modulate between them in real time.

Solo Violin A contains the simplest of instruments: an effective legato violin patch.

This EZdrummer expansion pack blends processed and synthetic sounds with orchestral percussion and vintage drum machines...

From treated trombones to tweaked-out trumpets, Heavyocity's Forzo provides a 21st Century take on virtual brass.

Every so often, something so incredibly useful comes out that you wonder why nobody thought of it before. This Kontakt instrument is such a product...

As the ‘anti’ suggests, what you are getting here are predominantly rhythmic sounds, but not based upon conventional drum or percussion instruments...

If you hanker after the sound of uber-heavy metal guitars, but don’t have the guitar chops or the seven-string guitar to pull it off, then Heavier7String might be just the (virtual) session guitarist you are looking for...

Gothic Instruments have assembled their Dronar modules into a one-stop-shop for soundscape creation.

Outside the big-hitter sample library/virtual instrument developers, there are a whole host of smaller, indie-style developers doing their best to compete, either by offering something unique or accessibly priced. Folio Bass is one such product...

Large and complex orchestral libraries have their place, but most of the time all that many of us need is a simple-to-use product that won’t fill our hard drives with samples that may never see action...

Featuring the vocals of Clara Sorace in three different sets of vocal presets, Zero-G’s Electro Virtual Instrument library also includes a sizeable collection of instrument sounds: synths, guitars, leads, pads, drums, drum loops and various sound effects‑style groupings.