Fab Four

INTRO
Fab Four by EastWest Quantum Leap is a wonderful collection of virtual instruments that encompass the essence of The Beatles sound. This comprehensive sample library is extremely customizable and useable. It's is not a simple collection of Beatle-esq loops, nor is it a simple player or inflexible rompler. For many years I have been piecing together sonic elements of the 60s vibe, one instrument at a time — a Ludwig bass drum from here; a Mellotron flute sample patch from there; "vintage" effects from who knows where. I was able to assemble some cool virtual instruments and effects along the way, but having a wealth of the exact tone in one convenient treasure chest is amazing. I still use some of my old bits and pieces, but not many — Fab Four is comprehensive. I especially dig a some of the drums kits (toms are especially cool), the Hofner and Rickenbacker basses, Hammond, and Martin D-28 acoustic guitar. The Revolution Guitar patch is addictive — I read somewhere that this famous Lennon guitar tone was created by connecting two vintage EMI preamps together. All-in-all, a great deal of detail has gone into creating this collection.

FAVORITE FEATURES
• Simple, yet powerful interface.
• Amazing, authentic sound that includes 45 instruments.
• Easy instrument menu.
• Excellent browser and patch management.
• Flexible patch editing.
• 64-bit.
• Simple MIDI notes switching to enable fast toggling between sample chains.
• Fantastic built-in reverb.
• Automatic Double Tracking. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_double_tracking
• Recent version of the PLAY engine is efficient, robust, and stable.
• Engineered by Ken Scott.
• It's developed and supported by EastWest — they won't disappear anytime soon! ;-).

OTHER THOUGHTS
• For many, the iLok requirement is a con.
• It would be cool to have some simple legato vocal backing tracks, i.e., Ahh, Ooo, Ohh, etc.
• I would like to see the keyboard patches expanded.

SUMMARY
Fab Four accurately capture the timeless vintage vibe of The Beatles. The sounds are authentic, and the instruments are inspiring. Although the Lads won't be available to help write any songs, the intrinsic nature, indispensable quality, and character of their sound is found it this virtual instrument collection! I've been eyeballing Fab Four for a few years. Later this year I'll be teaching several interactional music classes on the history of Western pop, and the 60s will be the highlight of the course. Having the power of Fab Four was something I had to have, and I have no regrets. It's easy to use, sounds great, and is a lot of fun. I'm sure my students will love this thing! I highly recommend this sample library to any eMusician, producer, film and game scorer, sound designer, DJ, etc., who is looking to add a taste of Beatlemania to their tracks. I can easily imagine using these instruments for Indie Rock, Hip Hop, EDM, and so on. Why not? Great stuff. I give this fabulous library four thumbs up. Thank you, EastWest, for creating such a timeless and useful bundle of virtual instruments.