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FAB FOUR
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The quality is undeniable, I can't imagine what EastWest must have gone through to track down these sounds (and get Beatles engineer Ken Scott on board).
— EQ
FAB FOUR is a virtual instrument inspired by the sounds of the Beatles, using the same kind of period instruments and authentic rare EMI recording equipment the Beatles used to create their music.
FAB FOUR sound engineer KEN SCOTT worked on five Beatles albums, including "A Hard Days Night", "Help", "Rubber Soul", "Magical Mystery Tour" (engineer), and "The Beatles" (engineer) - also known as the "White Album". Drummer DENNY SEIWELL and Guitarist LAURENCE JUBER were both members of Paul McCartney and Wings.
"The Beatles had a profound impact on me, as they did for millions of others" said FAB FOUR producer DOUG ROGERS, "and they were the initial influence for my fascination with sounds. They were creative geniuses that never rested on their laurels, always producing exciting new music and sounds with each new record, much of it ground-breaking! Putting this project together took well over a year of research, equipment procurement (much of it from collectors), and putting together a team that could pull off such a feat; but it was a labor of love for us all, and we feel the result is truly worth it."
No expense was spared finding the same kind of period instruments and rare authentic EMI and other recording equipment the Beatles used to create their sounds to produce this collection, much of which, ironically, will end up in EASTWEST Studios, where the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" was recorded, the inspiration for the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album, according to Paul McCartney.
Well over a million dollars worth of instruments, amplifiers, microphones, recording desks (including very rare EMI REDD tube and TG12345 desks), outboard equipment (including Fairchild limiters and EMI RS124 modified Altec compressors), and Studer J-37 tube multi-tracks were used in this production. If you are a film/tv/game composer, or a musician/producer looking for sounds not found in other collections, this is it. Blending these unique and sometimes bizarre sounds with today's music should enable you to produce something truly fab!
QUICK FACTS:
Produced by DOUG ROGERS
Engineered by KEN SCOTT (Beatles/David Bowie/Elton John/Supertramp etc.)
Includes authentic rare period guitars (acoustic and electric), basses, drums, keyboards, stringed and other misc instruments
The same kind of microphones were used to record all instruments (Neumann/AKG/Cole/STC)
The same kind of period amplifiers - Fender Tan Showman (1963), Fender Bassman (1963), Vox AC30 (1963), Vox AC50 (1965), Vox Defiant (1966), Vox 730 (1966), Vox 7120 (1966), Fender Showman (1967), Fender DeLuxe (1967) - were used with the electric guitars
The same kind of recording desks and preamps, including a very rare EMI REDD tube desk, EMI TG12345 desk (the same kind of desk used to record "Abbey Road" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"), and EMI REDD47 preamps, were used to record all instruments
The same kind of limiters (Fairchild) and compressors (rare EMI RS124 modified Altec) were used for dynamics control
The same kind of Studer J-37 tube 4-track was used to record everything
Standouts for uncanny realism include, well, pretty much the entire library — Fab Four absolutely nails the iconic instrument sounds created at Abbey Road Studios by the Beatles.— SOUND ON SOUND
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INSTRUMENTS:
Guitars (some costing over $200,000 each) played by LAURENCE JUBER (Paul McCartney and Wings) include Gretsch Firebird (1959), Gretsch Tennessean (1963), Rickenbacker 360-12 (1965), Martin D-28 (1966), Fender Stratocaster (1956), Epiphone Casino (1965), Fender Telecaster (1951), Gibson SG (1960), Les Paul Goldtop (1957), Gibson J200 (1966), Hofner 500 Bass (1963) and Rickenbacker 4001S Bass (1964).
Guitars were sampled with up and down strokes, multiple velocities and picking styles, some with chords and effects
Most of the sounds would be impossible to create without all of the above equipment. For example, the "revostortion" guitar sound was created by feeding a Epiphone Casino guitar into one EMI REDD 47 preamp, and the output into a second EMI REDD 47 preamp, which is exactly how it was created originally by the EMI/Abbey Road engineers
Drums played by DENNY SEIWELL (Paul McCartney and Wings) include a rare 1960 Ludwig downbeat kit with Zildjian cymbals (snare 5 x 14/toms 9 x 13/16 x 16/kick 22 x 14/zildjan 20" crash ride/18" crash medium/14" Hi-Hat)
Drums are all multi-sampled with up to 16 velocity layers, left and right hand. The sounds were all matched to a particular style (e.g. A Day in the Drums, Ticket to Drums, Yer Drums). We even recorded some heavily modulated cymbals through a Fairchild limiter for authenticity
Keyboards include Baldwin Electric Harpsichord (Because I'm a Harpsichord), Clavioline (Baby I'm a Clavioline), Lucy in the Lowery, Strawberry Flutes, We Can Work a Harmonium, and other stringed instruments including Swarmandel Forever
EFFECTS:
FAB FOUR includes a software version of ADT (artificial double tracking) with built-in tape simulator, created and programmed specially for this project. The software includes the smoothest filters you'll ever hear, delay, and multiple high quality reverb choices.
(PLEASE NOTE: THIS PRODUCT IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH, OR ENDORSED BY THE BEATLES OR APPLE CORPS, LTD.)
Revostortion Guitar (1965 Epiphone Casino Electric Guitar/2 x REDD 47 Preamps)
Roll Over Guitar (1959 Gretsch Country Gentleman Electric Guitar/1964 Vox AC100 Amp)
Something Is A Guitar Solo (1957 Les Paul Goldtop Electric Guitar/1963 Fender Bassman Amp)
Something Is A Rhythm Guitar (1951 Fender Telecaster Electric Guitar with Leslie Speaker)
Strawberry Drums (1960 Ludwig Downbeat Kit)
Strawberry Flutes (original sound licensed from www.mellotron.com)
Swarmandel Forever (Swarmandel)
Ticket To Guitar (Rickenbacker 360-12 Electric Guitar/1965 Vox AC50 Amp)
Ticket To Drums (1960 Ludwig Downbeat Kit)
We Can Work A Harmonium (Harmonium)
With a Little Help From My Bass (1964 Rickenbacker 4001S Bass)
Within A Sitar / Love You Sitar (Sitar)
Within A Tabla (Tabla)
What You're Drumming (1960 Ludwig Downbeat Kit)
Yer Drums (1960 Ludwig Downbeat Kit in Small Room)
All instruments are newly recorded multi-samples for this collection and none of the sounds came from any Beatles music or records (Beatles is a registered trademark of Apple Corps, Ltd. All other product and company names are trademarks of their respective holders.)
(PLEASE NOTE: THIS PRODUCT IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH, OR ENDORSED BY THE BEATLES OR APPLE CORPS, LTD.)
Reviews
As you play the instruments, you'll recognize many signature sounds-guitars, keyboard, drums, sitar-but that doesn't mean you have to play the licks they provided for the Beatles. In fact, using them in other contexts provides an intriguing combination of freshness and deja vu; these are highly playable, "organic" sounds that have intrinsic merit and coolness, regardless of their lineage. The quality is undeniable, I can't imagine what East West must have gone through to track down these sounds (and get engineer Ken Scott on board), tweak them to perfection, and adapt them to a virtual instrument format. Bottom line: There are many great sound libraries out there, but this is a tour de force
— EQ MAGAZINE
Standouts for uncanny realism include, well, pretty much the entire library — the guitar sounds are so authentic they could have been lifted directly off the original multitrack session tapes. Fab Four absolutely nails the iconic instrument sounds created at Abbey Road Studios by the Beatles, George Martin, Ken Scott (who worked on engineering Fab Four, in fact), Geoff Emerick, Alan Parsons, and other producers and engineers on the Beatles' many brilliant albums. It should also be said that if you're looking to recreate the Beatles sound with other libraries, you really have to know what you're looking for. In Fab Four, so much of the work has been done for you that, uh, all you need is love . . . of the Beatles! Bottom line: Fab Four is a major accomplishment, and entirely worth the money.
— KEYBOARD
I installed Fab Four in my Pro Tools rig and instantly fell in love with all the sounds--all 13GB of them. Check out: "With A Little Help From My Bass", "Bass Tripper", "Because I'm A Harpsichord", "Madonna Piano", "Baby I'm Clavioline", "Strawberry Flutes", "We Can Work A Harmonium", "I'm A Blackbird Guitar", "Revostortion Guitar", and Swarmandel Forever."
The drums and bass sounds are evocative of Ringo and Paul and the keyboards work excellently in any record production pastiche--just like the Beatles used them. The instrument's GUI includes many studio effects you can add to any sound such as convolution reverbs, delays, compressors and the Beatle's often-used ADT (artificial double tracking) tape recorder effect.
As a collection of authentic Beatle sounds, Fab Four Virtual Instruments turns out to be an excellent record production and songwriting tool.
— MUSIC CONNECTION
In all honesty, this was a library I didn't expect to be very interested in. I found it admirable from an artistic standpoint that EastWest would go to the trouble of putting out what I expected to be a very esoteric product, but would anyone really be interested enough to open up their wallets? Wow, was I wrong. This is a charming sample library that grows on you the more you play it. It's hard to imagine anyone not developing a severe crush on at least some of these instruments.
— VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS
Given their beauty, and the ease with which they can be molded, the bulk of the Fab Four samples are both outstandingly accurate reproductions of sounds that helped create some of the most memorable music in the history of rock, and sample sets that can be turned into aural tapestries that evoke an earlier era without being tethered to it. It takes a bit of cheek and a lot of skill to attempt such a task, and the producer/engineer tandem of Doug Rogers and Ken Scott deserve high marks for their efforts.
— MIX
Fab Four is a true jewel for all fans of the classic Beatles sounds. Producer Doug Rogers and engineer Ken Scott, (who has worked for example with the Beatles, David Bowie and Elton John) have tried with almost boundless efforts to capture the sound spirit of legendary recordings. Not only instruments and amps of that time have been used, also the authentic recording equipment. Along with old Neuman tube mics, venerable Fairchild and Altec compressors, they have used the EMI tube mixer and TG12345 mixer as well as a Studer J37 4 track tube tape machine. In addition, they got competent help by two former Wings members, Denny Seiwell (drums) and Laurence Juber (guitar). Fab Four is an accurate collection of sounds that created pop history, and are a great starting point to create new songs, and create alternatives to modern sounds.
— KEYS
System Requirements
Below are the minimum and recommended hardware and software specifications for using Opus on Windows and MacOS systems.
MINIMUM SYSTEM
CPU: Quad-core (four cores), running at 2.7 GHz (or above)
RAM: 16 GB
OS: macOS 10.13 (or later); Windows 10 with ASIO sound drivers
Drive: SSD for HW Orchestra Opus Edition
RECOMMENDED SYSTEM
CPU: Octa-core (eight cores), running at 2.7 GHz (or above)
RAM: 32 GB or more
OS: macOS 10.13 (or later); Windows 10 with ASIO sound drivers
Drive: NVMe SSD
The chart below outlines the MacOS and Windows 64-bit operating systems and sequencers that are officially supported and fully tested with the latest version of Opus. Please note that while most Sequencers / DAWs are VST 2, VST 3, AU and AAX plug-in format compatible, only those listed in the chart below are officially supported.
Product
Version
MacOS (10.13+)
Windows 10
EW Play 6 Stand-Alone
6.0+
YES
YES
EW Opus Stand-Alone
1.0+
YES
YES
Ableton Live
10.0+
YES
YES
Apple Logic Pro
10.0+
YES
-
Apple Garageband
10.3+
YES
-
Avid Pro Tools
2018.1+
YES
YES
Bitwig Studio
3.0+
YES
YES
Cockos Reaper
6.0+
YES
YES
Image-Line FL Studio
20+
YES
YES
Motu Digital Performer
9.0+
YES
YES
Steinberg Cubase(1)
9.0+
YES
YES
Steinberg Nuendo(1)
8.0+
YES
YES
Presonus Studio One
4.0+
YES
YES
VSL Vienna Ensemble Pro
6.0+
YES
YES
Notation Software(2)
Version
Avid Sibelius
2018.1+
YES
YES
MakeMusic Finale
25.0+
YES
YES
Steinberg Dorico
3.0+
YES
YES
(1) VST3 usage is recommended
(2) Sibelius / Finale / Dorico notation programs work with Opus, but do not support the full feature set of some Opus/Play Libraries, such as those that use WordBuilder. Please contact support for details.
Engineered by KEN SCOTT (Beatles/David Bowie/Elton John/Supertramp etc.)
Includes authentic rare period guitars (acoustic and electric), basses, drums, keyboards, stringed and other misc instruments
The same kind of microphones were used to record all instruments (Neumann/AKG/Cole/STC)
The same kind of period amplifiers - Fender Tan Showman (1963), Fender Bassman (1963), Vox AC30 (1963), Vox AC50 (1965), Vox Defiant (1966), Vox 730 (1966), Vox 7120 (1966), Fender Showman (1967), Fender DeLuxe (1967) - were used with the electric guitars
The same kind of recording desks and preamps, including a very rare EMI REDD tube desk, EMI TG12345 desk (the same kind of desk used to record "Abbey Road" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"), and EMI REDD47 preamps, were used to record all instruments
The same kind of limiters (Fairchild) and compressors (rare EMI RS124 modified Altec) were used for dynamics control
The same kind of Studer J-37 tube 4-track was used to record everything
