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Sound On Sound: Review of Dan Dean Solo Strings (Akai) Dan Dean's renowned trio of solo instrument titles is now available in the ubiquitous Akai S1000 format. A big hit with the film music community, these libraries (whose Giga-format originals were reviewed in SOS September and October 2001, and January 2002) can now be readily accessed by those musicians who continue to use Akai-compatible samplers. Rather than create low-alcohol 'Akai lite' versions, Dan Dean has set out to preserve as much of the originals' intoxicating detail as possible. Some compromises were inevitable, and to accommodate the old Akai 32MB limit, the brass and woodwinds multi-dynamics (eight and six layers respectively) have been whittled down to four (each consuming up to 29MB), and the chromatic sampling of their long notes has been reduced to 'white note' intervals. Multiple-dynamic brass and woodwind programs were created by dividing the instrument's range into 'upper' and 'lower', both presented in a choice of (typically) mp/ff or p/mf combinations. This careful programming ensures that the instruments' realism, playability and dynamic expression is unimpaired. Dan Dean Solo Strings/AKAI When it comes to his Solo Strings Akai single CD (which is more or less a replica of the Giga original), Dan Dean gamely samples every note of a violin, viola and cello chromatically up to their highest limits, offering sustained vibrato, spiccato, pizzicato, tremolo and tone/semitone trills for each instrument. Beyond that, the options narrow. There's only one dynamic for each style, and though the viola's long notes last about nine seconds, the violin and cello sustains stop after only four or five, with even shorter trills and tremolos. This poses quite severe performance restrictions. The violin's sustains feature a subdued attack and delayed vibrato. I thought the slow attack might be a drawback, but layering the sustains with the violin's assertive spiccatos solves the problem — the spiccatos' positive attack neatly dovetails into the sustains' swelling vibrato, creating a useable detaché/sustained combination. This time-honoured trick also works with the cello, which is a fat-sounding, elegant beauty. Inevitably, the viola's spiccatos are more tentative, but its vibrato sustains are lyrical, poignant and very listenable. Overall, good performances and tuning, super-clean pizzicatos and smooth, unbroken tone across the range are a plus; lack of double bass and too-short note lengths a minus. Summary Budget 'Giga lite' versions of the Solo Brass and Woodwinds accompany the new Akai releases. Sampled at minor thirds and reduced to two velocity layers, these omit the alto and bass flutes, contrabassoon, euphonium and cimbasso. Dan Dean's reformatted titles maintain his usual high standard, offering solid, consistent performances, clean, bright sound quality, no-nonsense programming and clear, detailed documentation in traditional print format. The lack of loops throughout remains a handicap, and you'll find no grace notes, glissandi, chords, riffs, runs or other performance frills. But don't let that deter you — these are comprehensive instrumental collections with a lot to offer the serious orchestrator, and their subtle dynamic and timbral variations have yet to be surpassed. |
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