DDBC1

	Sound Quality: Selection: Implementation: Documentation: Bang For The Buck:	9 7 8 3 7
Formats CD-ROM(E-mu Elllx and E4/IEOS). Overview Note-For-Note samples of nine classic (and near-classic) electric and acoustic bass guitars, plus pizzicato upright bass.	Contents Fender Jazz Bass and Precision Basses, Rickenbacker 4001, Hofner Violin Bass, Gibson Thunderbird, Alembic Spoiler 5-String, Guild Ashbory, Washburn A/B-20, and Hohner fretless acoustic basses, and pizzicato upright. Licensing Licensed for use in music production only.

Keyboard Magazine

Like several other bass guitar sample CDs, the first volume of the Dan Dean Bass Collection included a broad array of articulation and pickup variations. But Volume 2 is simpler: Each of the ten instruments captured here is represented by one basic preset plus straightforward chorused, octave, and low-memory variations. In most cases, this stripped-down approach works splendidly, and those who opt for immediate results over meticulous tinkering will probably be very pleased by Dean's warmly musical bass banks.

There's still plenty of tonal variation, but you access it via realtime control, especially if you're working on an E4K (The disc duplicates its contents in separate EIIIx and E4/EOS folders, but only the latter contains the hip realtime controls.) Between the presets' organic sounding velocity controlled amplitude and filter contours and the EQ and articulation tools assigned to the E4K's sliders and "thumby" button, it's easy to get lifelike results with your hands alone.

On the E4K presets, the four sliders regulate chorus amount, portamento, filter frequency, and filter resonance. The latter two are tuned to conjure the EQ variations you'd expect from a bass amp, though they can also venture into more radically filtered colors, and even sound quite synthy when massaged mid-note. Meanwhile, the thumby button triggers dead, muted tones. It's great for a percussive click between notes or for terminating a sustained note with something that sounds remarkably like a bassist's finger dropping back to the string it just plucked. For better or worse, the disc includes nothing in the realm of squeaks, slides, Or bends. Nor are there any slapped or popped sounds, an omission for which the music community owes Dean a debt of thanks.

Instead, the collection focuses on '60s and '70s colors, which Dean recorded through an arsenal of neo-retro tube preamps, equalizers, and compressors. Variations include fingers/picks, single/dual pickups, and direct/miked-amp signals. Not all variations are available for all instruments: The Fender Precision and Jazz, Basses and Rickenbacker 4001 come in four flavors each, while most of the other instruments are repre-sented by a single approach. For example, the Hofner Bass and rockheaded Gibson Thunderbird only appear pickstyle, while the two acoustic bass guitars are both played with fingers.


Dean generally nails the vibe we associate with each classic instrument. The miked Precision Bass has a visceral low-end rumble perfect for dub textures. The Washburn acoustic fretless is captured in all its clumsy doghouse glory. The aforementioned Hofner is Liverpool-perfect, down to its period flatwound strings. Each preset corresponds exactly to the true ranges of the instruments, with a single sample for each pitch. The only set of sounds that ventures below El is a picked Alembic Spoiler 5-string bank - a real wall-rattler. The Guild Ashbory bank is another high point. (The Ashbory is a true cult bass, a tiny, rubber-stringed instrument with a quirky tone somewhere between a solidbody, an upright, and overcooked spaghetti.)

Dean has also included lovely stereo and mono pizzicato upright presets (played by Chuck Deardorf). They boast precise, vibrato-free tones with articulate attacks and ample woodiness. Thanks to the great velocity control, it's easy to get reasonably convincing walking bass figures.

Downsides? Documentation is skimpy, with few details about the controller assignments and none about memory demands - and some of these files are hefty (eg., 23.7MB for the full-memory stereo upright). Still, given Dean's super-intuitive, load-and-go approach, it's difficult to imagine anyone being derailed for lack of info. More disappointing is the fact that the disc is presently available only in E-mu format (though Akai 3000s can read the ElIIx files). For now, the E-mu-enabled will just have to lord this musically savvy, user-sycophantic disc over everyone else. - Joe Gore