Studio Instruments

Cheap and cheerful, these four plug-ins do exactly what it says on the tin, no more no less. None of them are going to set the world alight with excitement, but they are usable tools.

The strings are quite realistic, consisting of violin, cello and double bass. I think it would have been nice to have a viola in there too. The sound can be thickened up with the built-in chorus and reverb.

The bass guitar has a nice throaty initial attack, but does seem to loop pretty soon after, although it is only really noticeable in isolation.

The electric piano in it's raw uneffected form is pleasant if unremarkable. The release is a bit too sudden for my liking, unless you use the sustain pedal. However, bringing in the overdrive and chorus make for a decent sounding instrument.

The drum kit is usable, looking at the config files which are in SFZ format it appears that the snare alternates between two different samples each hit, as do the hi-hats. Despite not having very many velocity layers, this makes for a realistic sounding kit. The built-in compressor can help to beef up the sound, too.

An interesting is the animated user interfaces - play a violin and the violin moves, play a snare and the snare drum vibrates etc. Not the most useful feature in the world, but mildly diverting.

Not much by way of manuals, but it doesn't need much by way of manuals!

Bearing in mind the cost (40 pounds in the UK) this is an excellent set of plugs for the skint beginner.Read Review