The 6 CD's are broken down as follows:

• CD 1 - Solo Trumpet
• CD 2 - 3 Trumpets, Piccolo Trumpet & Fuglehorn
• CD 3 - Solo Trombone, 3 Trombones and Bass Trombone
• CD 4 - Tenor Sax, Alto Sax, Baritone Sax, Soprano Sax & 3 Sax
• CD 5 - Tuba & 4 French Horns (plus demo 2 demo tracks)
• CD 6 - Bonus CD of looped sustain patches for lower memory loads.

CD 1 - Solo trumpet - 21 patches (Throughout I've taken the number of patches from the Gigasampler version - for the Akai versions there are actually more programs in a number of cases) - Just about every variety of solo trumpet that you could imagine, multisampled as is the whole collection, multiple velocities and sustains, flutters and wahs. As with the whole collection the presented sounds are single/multi versions of single notes/chords, this isn't a riff/loop type collection.

With the Gigasampler version there is dynamic sample switching using the mod wheel, with the Akai versions there are more programs. Whilst the Akai 1000 version some programs need to be linked to get the full range as the whole samples are larger than the native format allows.

The sounds immediately strike you with the realism, dynamic range and sonic clarity. Whist the shorter staccato sounds aren't terribly exciting to listen to in isolation, though totally authentic sounding, they pale compared to the more sustained samples. The advantage of the non looping samples is that you get the whole dynamic range of a note, this is especially noticeable through the sustain period of the sound.

Whilst modern synthesisers and samplers make a very good representation of a sound, the looping that invariably takes place with anything but the shortest sounds does introduce an artificial element to the sound. Here however you get the full natural evolution of a sound, the difference is subtle, though noticeable and certainly raises the quality of these sounds a whole notch above anything that can be produced by other methods, short of bringing in a real live musician.

I won't go into too much depth about the individual sounds, boring for me to write and for you too read, there are only so many ways you can describe subtle variations in sounds !. Suffice to say there is just about every variation in a solo trumpet sound you can imagine, from short stabs, to long sustains, bright leads and short legato's. All flawlessly played and recorded. Although I say flawlessly a better word would perhaps be realistically, there is the odd "live" element, a tiny bit of breath here, different releases that sort of thing that just add that extra touch of "real life" into a recording.

CD 2 - 3 Trumpets, Piccolo Trumpet & Fuglehorn - 11 Patches - Most of this CD is given over to the 3 Trumpets (9 of the 11). Not really much to add to what has been said about the CD 1 except of course the sounds a somewhat fuller and contain natural variances that again further differentiate three live trumpet sounds from three synthesised looped sounds. Just subtle things, like the three attacks to a sound don't "quite" the sound same, just adds a little natural detuning etc. Very subtle differences but just add an extra "something" ambience to a sound.

Needless to say quality is exceptional.

CD 3 - Solo Trombone, 3 Trombones and Bass Trombone - 22 Patches - Slightly less variation to the sounds than the Trumpet CD's as you might except being a slightly less expressive instrument. Once again a near flawless collection of authentic trombone sounds, very difficult to imagine that anyone could want any more (within the limitations of this remit anyway). Rich, dynamic, brass sounds, from muted solo's to big orchestral performances. Excellent.

CD 4 - Tenor Sax, Alto Sax, Baritone Sax, Soprano Sax & 3 Sax - 29 Patches - Mostly Alto, Tenor and Baritone - Once again there is actually little to say, you load up the patch and it sounds exactly like you would expect it to. Perhaps of all the instruments captured here the saxophone is the hardest to replicate, being such an expressive instrument, there are some excellent samples here of a variety of playing styles. But I would have to say perhaps the least good impression of a live player(s). It's no fault of the collection, more the limitations of playing back an expressive brass instrument with a keyboard.

CD 5 - Tuba & 4 French Horns - 8 Patches - By now I'm seriously wishing I'd invested in a quicker CD-ROM drive before starting ! Excellent Tuba sounds, proper rump-dum-rum sort of sound, as with any sound in the collection, just A-B against what you think is a decent sound from your synthesiser and you realise just what a difference this kind of sound does make. Whilst in isolation the "Tuba" sound on my Quadrasynth sounds quite reasonable it gets decidedly unusable compared to this real Tuba sound. French Horns are very good as well, nice thicker sounds.

CD 6 - Bonus CD - Would probably standalone as a good "Lite" version of the collection. Bit of an oddity really as if you haven't got a decent amount of memory in your sampler, your going to struggle to get a whole lot out of much of the collection, in which case this turns out to be a very expensive sample CD. On the other hand if you have the memory then the non looped sounds are the ones to use for sure. Certainly up to the standards of the rest of the collection sonically, you do though notice the looping effect, not that it's badly done, it's just that they sound a little flat against the non looped version.

As this is a bonus CD it's not been considered in the scores at the end of the review.

Summary & Overall...