The Full PackageĮWQLSO is divided into four volumes, Strings, Woodwinds, Brass and Percussion. Note, however, that smaller versions of the library are also available for those on a budget (see the final page of this review for more details).

The full version of the finished symphonic extravaganza weighs in at around 67GB (second in size only to the efforts of the Vienna Symphonic Library), and in terms of size and scope alone, must be considered a leading contender for any work requiring orchestral samples. Recording started in August 2002, the orchestra giving up their Summer break to the sampling sessions, and editing the resulting multi-channel recordings lasted nearly another year. For the library to live up to its creators' ideals, it was imperative to find a concert hall with great acoustics, and they seem to have succeeded, although for contractual reasons, the identity of the 2500-seater hall and its resident orchestra remain a mystery. Making a library of this quality is not the sort of project you undertake on a spare weekend - in fact, making EWQLSO took a year of recording, editing and programming.

This ambitious project was conceived by two American producers, Doug Rogers and Nick Phoenix (respective heads of the East West and Quantum Leap sample library empires) and brought to fruition by Grammy-winning recording engineer Professor Keith O Johnson. The goal behind the vast East West/Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra library (or EWQLSO to its friends) was to create a 24-bit orchestral sample library which could be reproduced in surround sound. It's another multi-DVD orchestral library! Does it merit a thunderous introductory timp roll or a feeble tap on a vibraslap?

East west symphonic orchestra free