Hollywood Strings By EastWest/Quantum Leap

January 13th, 2010 by Janice Brown

EastWest/Quantum Leap will be showing its new Hollywood Strings virtual instrument at Winter NAMM, a “blockbuster” collection of orchestral string instruments, that will be available next month.

Hollywood Strings user interface

With Hollywood Strings, users control finger position — so you can play as far up the strings as you want to get a fuller sound — as well as vibrato intensity and dynamics. Extensive multi-dynamic true legato has been sampled for all sections in three different categories: slurred, portamento, and bow change. This results in what EastWest refers to has “unsurpassed legato performance that has never been available in the sample world.”

Hollywood Strings also has five user-controllable microphone positions including main pickup (Decca tree), mid pickup, close pickup, surround pickup and an alternate vintage circa 1945 RCA ribbon room pickup, delivering the full range of the string experience.

The Hollywood Strings collection was produced by Quantum Leap producer Nick Phoenix, Thomas Bergersen, a Hollywood composer and orchestrator, and sound engineer Shawn Murphy, who has worked on countless blockbuster films, from Titanic, Star Wars, and Jurassic Park to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”

Hollywood Strings will be available in two editions from February 15, 2010:

The Diamond Edition ($1,695), which includes all articulations and bowings, five user-controllable optional mic positions, 44.1 kHz 24-bit and 16-bit samples and comes supplied on a pre-configured hard drive.

The Gold Edition ($1,195), which includes some but not all articulations and bowings, and offers single mic position, 44.1kHz, 16-bit samples supplied on dual-layer DVDs.