EastWest Sounds OPUS

If you are interested in virtual instruments, you may have heard about EastWest Sounds Opus. Let’s take a look at EastWest Sounds virtual instruments and the new software engine Opus.

EastWest Sounds OPUS

EastWest Sounds OPUS is the new software engine that replaces the former Play software engine. Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition was produced by Doug Rogers and Nick Phoenix, sound engineered by Shawn Murphy, software development by Wolfgang Kundrus, (Developed Cubase, Nuendo, and Studio One) and Wolfgang Scheneider, (Creator of Kontakt). The new OPUS software engine is faster, more powerful, and more flexible. OPUS comes with incredible new features such as individual instrument auditioning and downloads, customized key-switches, dozens of new MIDI Tools and mixer effects. OPUS also includes the Hollywood Orchestrator scoring engine. You can create full-scale orchestral music by playing simple chords with one hand and shaping different expressions with the other hand based on your midi input.

Who Is EastWest Sounds?

EastWest Studios (Soundsonline.com) is the #1 producer of virtual instruments in the world.

EastWest Sounds has led the industry for the past 30 plus years and provides industry professionals with the best music creation tools available.

EastWest Sounds has a professional clientele list that spans music, film, television, games, multimedia and performing arts.

EastWest virtual instruments enable composers and others involved in music production to use music keyboards connected to computers to create music that is virtually indistinguishable from a live performance, at a fraction of the cost.

A high percentage of the music produced for all media today is produced on computers using EASTWEST Virtual Instruments.

Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition

EastWest’s new Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition is a must have Virtual Instrument collection for every serious producer, composer, and songwriter.

If you love lush strings, full orchestras, tight brass, dancing woodwinds, and thundering percussion, you will fall in love with Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition.

Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition also comes with solo instruments like violin, cello, and harp.

The New Opus Software Engine

Hollywood Orchestra comes with the new Opus Software Engine.

EastWest has created a new software engine to power Hollywood Orchestra. It’s called Opus.

Opus is faster, more powerful, more flexible, and better looking than the previous PLAY engine.

Opus also gives you the ability to audition individual instruments, has customized key-switches, dozens of new MIDI Tools and mixer effects, and many more features that allow you to completely customize the sound of each instrument.

Powerful New Controls

• Master Key Switches: All articulations can be fully customized.
• Moods Feature: Customize the sound of each instrument.
• Hollywood Orchestrator: Create full-scale orchestral music with complex arrangements by playing a few simple chords with one hand and shaping expression with the other.
• Scoring Engine: Produce everything from basic string arrangements to very complex orchestrations played by the full orchestra.
• Mixer Section: Refine the final output of each instrument by adjusting the volume, pan, equalization, reverb preset, reverb send amounts, and other reverb controls like pre-delay, length, and filters.

What’s Included With Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition?

1. Hollywood Strings

18 violins (NEW), 1st Violins, 2nd Violins, Violas, Celli, Basses, Ensemble (NEW), and Full Strings.

Hollywood strings is a very rich and detailed orchestral string library with with grand articulations including long, short, slurred, portamento, individual bow changes, and much more.

You can quickly create dramatic, suspenseful, and lush cinematic sounds and arrangements.

2. Hollywood Brass

2 French Horns, 2 Trombones EXP (NEW), 2 Trombones and 1 Bass Trombone, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trumpets EXP (NEW), 3 Trumpets, 6 French Horns, Low Brass, Solo Cimbasso, Solo French Horn, Solo Trombone, Solo Trumpet, Solo Tuba.

This is a great sounding Brass Section with detailed ensembles, and solo patches.

You can create huge low brass sections, soaring trumpets, silky French horns, 6-piece ensembles with separate and combined articulations.

3. Hollywood Orchestral Woodwinds

3 Bassoons (NEW), 3 Clarinets (NEW), 3 Flutes (NEW), Alto Flute, Bass Clarinet, Bass Flute, Bassoon, Clarinet, Contra Bass Clarinet, Contra Bassoon, Eb Clarinet, English Horn, Flute, Flute 2, Oboe, Piccolo Flute.

Regal, sharp, and subtle timbres with everything in between.

Use this woodwind powerhouse to fill out any orchestral arrangement with complete command over every articulation.

Available both in individual patches and key-switch instruments.

4. Hollywood Orchestral Percussion

Combo Kits, Cymbal Pairs, Sustain Cymbals, Timpani, Field Drums, Bass Drums, Snares, Tambourines, Marching Drum Ensembles, Taos Drums, Brake Drum and Anvils, Crotales, Glockenspiel, Orchestral Chimes, Sleigh Bells, Mark Tree, Triangles, Vibraphone, Castanets, Celesta, Claves, Mahler Hammer, Marimba, Pulli Sticks, Ratchet, Shakers, Slapsticks, Wood Blocks, Xylophone.

Hollywood Orchestral Percussion offers a wide range of drums from small to huge. Choose from individual instruments or combo patches for as much control as you like.

If you need anything percussion, you should be able to find it here.

5. Hollywood Solo Violin

Looking for a rich and smooth sounding solo violin. Hollywood Solo Violin has got you covered.

Articulations included: Sustains Vibrato, Sustains Non-Vibrato, Flautando, Grand Detache, Marcato, Martele, Pizzicato, Sforzando, Spiccato, Legato, Key switches.

Responsive legato, spiccato, pizzicato articulations and more, along with pre-recorded dynamic notes like sforzando and marcato.

EastWest Hollywood Solo Violin captured every nuance of a true violin performance.

6. Hollywood Solo Cello

Warm and very responsive cello solos are what you can expect with Hollywood Solo Cello.

You have every detail of a real cello at your fingertips, with every articulation you need to tackle the most challenging passages with unparalleled realism.

Articulations included: Sustain Vibrato, Sustains Non-Vibrato, Flautando, Grand Detache, Tremolo, Marcato, Pizzicato, Sforzando, Spiccato, Legato, Key switches.

It’s hard to beat the way a solo cello sounds with a full orchestra or small ensemble.

7. Hollywood Harp

The perfect touch for a true angelic sound. Hollywood Harp has smooth and elegant articulations perfect for gentle backgrounds and cut through the mix solos.

Articulations included: Sustains, Harp Angeles, Bisbigliando, Harmonics, Gliss Technique, Nail Pick, Plucks, Reps, Keyswitch.

Use full patches or solo individual articulations for total control over the harp’s timbre.

8. Hollywood Orchestrator

Need some inspiration for your next project? Hollywood Orchestrator makes it easy to get inspired and quickly carve out your next master piece.

Create full-scale orchestral music with complex arrangements by playing a few simple chords with one hand and shaping expression with the other.

Hollywood Orchestrator has over 500 customizable presets built from the instruments of Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition.

You can instantly create music in the style of Hollywood’s greatest composers.

Presets include: Ensembles, Ostinatos, Scores, User custom settings.

Put the creative flow back in your music.

Does EastWest OPUS Replace PLAY?

The new EastWest OPUS Software Engine replaces the previous PLAY software engine.

EastWest sounds teamed up with Wolfgang Kundrus, (The Creator of Cubase, Nuendo, and Studio One), and Wolfgang Scheneider, (The Creator of Kontakt), to build EastWest’s new software engine OPUS.

OPUS has been designed from the ground up to include many new features such as customized key switches, dozens of new midi tools, a much faster engine, more powerful, individual instrument auditioning, instrument Mood customization, Hollywood Orchestrator, and many other new features.

EastWest Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition is a must have for every serious musician, composer, and producer.

The new EastWest Hollywood Orchestra Opus edition has many new sounds and is designed to work with all of EastWest Sounds Virtual Instruments.

You may have some older EastWest Virtual Instruments that you were using with the previous PLAY software engine.

When you download the new Hollywood Orchestra OPUS edition you will get OPUS and it will now drive all of EastWest’s Virtual Instruments.

The new Hollywood Orchestrator is a phenomenal creation machine. You can easily create complete compositions in minutes.

When inspiration strikes, it’s important to be able to move forward with your ideas.

Hollywood Orchestrator is a great tool to quickly bring your ideas to life.

Are you lacking inspiration? Fire up Hollywood Orchestrator to get your creative juices flowing.

EastWest Sounds Latency

In the past some have complained about EastWest virtual instruments latency issues.

It’s important to remember, when you are working with any top tier virtual instrument you need a computer built for performance.

If you want to create professional music with virtual instruments like a pro, you need to use a computer that is up to the task.

I have seen the development of every virtual instrument on the market today.

All of the virtual instruments have had latency issues in the past.

As with any new technology, virtual instruments had to go through the growing pains of technology advancement.

Keep in mind that virtual instruments are designed to work inside your DAW software.

All of the DAW software manufactures had latency issues in the past years.

We are at a very, very special moment in time when high performance computers, DAW Software, and high-end virtual instruments are affordable, latency free, and are downright awesome.

Most manufactures are finally getting it right. The technology is here for you and me to enjoy as composers, songwriters, musicians, and producers.

Latency is pretty much a thing of the past.

If you are serious about working with professional virtual instruments, get a computer built to perform.

Virtual instruments by EastWest Sounds sound very realistic and with the new OPUS engine you can easily create and compose on the same level as the pros.

You have no idea how long I have waited for the wonderful technology and awesome affordable gear that is available today.

If you are a songwriter, musician, composer, or producer you have got a lot to look forward to and realize how awesome virtual instruments are today.

It’s been a long road, It hasn’t been easy, but the technology is here today.

Are EastWest Virtual Instruments Good?

EastWest Virtual Instruments Are Some Of The Very Best Virtual Instruments Available Today.

Do you want to know what virtual instruments the Professionals use? They use EastWest Virtual Instruments.

Do you know why the professionals use EastWest Virtual Instruments? Because they are some of the very best sounding virtual instruments available to work with.

So, Yes. EastWest Virtual Instruments are VERY GOOD.

How Do I Install EastWest Opus?

Currently the only way to get the new EastWest Opus software engine is by purchasing EastWest Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition.

When you purchase and download EastWest Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition you will get the new library of sounds, the Opus software engine, and the Hollywood Orchestrator scoring engine.

EastWest Sounds are continuing to develop new virtual instruments that will be designed around the new OPUS software engine.

We are currently awaiting the release of Forbidden Planet. I look forward to this new release coming soon.

You can purchase and download EastWest virtual instruments from EastWest Sounds or from Sweetwater.

The cool thing about purchasing from Sweetwater is, you can finance your purchases.

Just purchase the software, download it, and follow the included instructions. You can start using EastWest Virtual Instruments today.

How Do EastWest Virtual Instruments Work?

You may be wondering, how do the EastWest Virtual Instruments work?

Full orchestras are recorded live by professional sound engineers.

The sound of the orchestra is captured by high end microphones placed around the studio that the orchestra is performing in.

The sound of the orchestra is used to create samples that can be used inside EastWest Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition.

So, what you are hearing inside of Hollywood Orchestra are real musicians playing real instruments that have been professionally sampled.

Check out the video below to see EastWest Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition in action.

What Is The Best EastWest Virtual Instrument?

Depending on what type of music you want to produce, EastWest Sounds has some of the very best virtual instruments available on the market today.

If you need an orchestra, you can’t do better than EastWest Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition.

You may need Rock Guitars, Vocalist, Cool Synthesizers, Drums, or Sounds From A Time Long Ago.

Let’s take a look at some of the best-selling virtual instruments from EastWest Sounds.

Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition

Hollywood Orchestra OPUS Edition is one of the very best orchestra virtual instruments available on the market today.

Not only do you have full control over a full orchestra you also have some very nice solo instruments available to you for all of your recording projects.

The Hollywood Orchestrator makes it very simple to quickly lay down full orchestra compositions and is a great way to jump start any project you are working on.

The Dark Side

EastWest Sounds Dark Side is a great way to add grunge, distortion, darkness, and chaos to any project you are working on.

This is a powerful tool for film, TV, and game music production.

If you’re looking for an exercise in mangling, no library will take you farther than The Dark Side.

A vast collection of crushed, battle-scarred drums, guitars, keys and many unique sounds you can’t find anywhere else.

Voices Of The Empire

EastWest Sounds Voices Of The Empire is a collection of haunting, exotic, and mercilessly passionate vocals.

Voices of the Empire enables you to craft the perfect vocal performance for your next epic film, TV, or game soundtrack.

Featuring the voice of Uyanga Bold. A trained opera singer with perfect pitch, fluent in Russian, Mongolian, French, English, and German

Uyanga Bold is a unique talent, melding the musical traditions of Bulgaria, Serbia, Mongolia, and beyond.

Voices of the Empire is an intimate and beautifully recorded phrase library perfectly suited to film, TV, and multimedia producing scoring.

Hollywood Choirs

EastWest Sounds Hollywood Choirs is a Blockbuster male and female choir with huge dynamic range.

EastWest Hollywood Choirs has a built-in WordBuilder 2 Software Engine to create your own phrases and micro-edits as needed.

You have absolute control over a full choir with dramatic dynamics – soft and lyrical, to epic and overwhelming.

Hollywood Choirs gives you an excellent way to transform the quality of your cinematic compositions or simply give you another powerful resource to build outstanding productions.

You can type any word into the WordBuilder 2 Software Engine and hear it performed in real time.

No matter how grand the story you need to tell, Hollywood Choirs provides you with the tools to express it fully.

Ministry Of Rock

EastWest Sounds Ministry Of Rock and Ministry Of Rock 2 is a powerful library of ROCK.

A full collection of guitars, amps, drums, and bass guitar.

This is the perfect tool for film and game composers who aren’t able to add live performers to their scores, helping to bridge the gap between idea and execution.

Ministry of Rock lets you build out an entire band that can execute every lick, effect and fill you can ask of it.

Start loading programs and you’re guaranteed to find something cool.

EastWest Sounds Ministry of Rock and Ministry of Rock 2 is an all-around rock library that is unmatched.

EastWest Gypsy

EastWest Sounds Gypsy is your ticket to realistic, dynamic performances of all the major instruments found in a conventional ensemble of travelling Gypsies.

Inside Gypsy you will find a collection of instruments including Classical Guitar, Django Guitar, Flamenco Guitar, Flamenco Dancer Foot Stomps, Trombone, all of the classic Gypsy Percussion, Violin, Solo Violin, Cimbalom, a collection of Accordions, Bandoneon, and many other Gypsy Instruments.

The Solo Violin is Fantastic!

Gypsy is great for film, TV and game composers or for simply adding eclectic instruments and styles to your compositions.

The nylon guitar, violin and trombone can all play in both Gypsy and Classical styles, offering you creative flexibility.

If you are looking for inspiration with flare, be sure and check out EastWest Sounds Gypsy.

EastWest Ghostwriter

EastWest Sounds Ghostwriter is the professional composer’s single most powerful tool for creating horror and suspense soundscapes.

Ghostwriter is a massive 60 GB collection of 800 instruments and presets including Guitars, Basses, Drums, Keyboards, Vocals and other instruments designed to give your listeners goosebumps and sleepless nights.

The complete toolkit for creating dramatic and terrifying soundscapes. A rich palette of samples immediately ready for your use.

Ghostwriter is perfect for film composers, songwriters, and musicians interested in creating an intense cinematic experience.

All you need to do is open Ghostwriter and acquaint yourself with this massive library of carefully crafted sounds and let your imagination take it from there.

Voices Of Passion

EastWest Voices Of Passion is a creative pallet of beautiful female voices.

Whenever you need solo vocals as an effect rather than a traditional singer, Voices of Passion provides uniquely beautiful voices of female singers from around the world and makes them available to you in a single library.

Produce an incredibly expressive performance with sparkle, vibrato, glitter, and all the subtleties you need to produce the exact soundscape for the job

You can add these voices to any song in full stereo without any risk of imaging issues.

Be sure and take full advantage of the built-in chorus and convolution reverb effects, and you’ll get a haunting solo performance perfect for film and video game scores.

Storm Drum 3

EastWest Sounds Storm Drum 3 provides a complete collection of drums from all over the world.

Featuring huge cinematic drums and percussion carefully recorded and mastered and even has tempo synced percussion performances played by master percussionists Mickey Hart, Greg Ellis and Chalo Eduardo.

Storm Drum 3 is designed for film and game composers looking to create huge thundering percussion or light subtle rhythmic sections.

Stormdrum 3 delivers more power than you could ever ask for and can also be subtle and tame with ambient drums and metal hits at your fingertips.

The most extensive percussion library for the big screen, you won’t find a collection as complete as Stormdrum 3.

Voices Of Soul

EastWest Sounds Voices Of Soul features the voice of C.C. White and delivers a powerhouse of soulful vocal expression.

Voices of Soul includes a collection of expressive, soulful multi-sampled vocal instruments with hundreds of expressive phrases in every key and highly realistic true legato transitions and custom key-switches.

C.C. White has sung with many of the greatest names in the music industry. Her voice is a unique blend of funk, soul, reggae and a plethora of other inter-genre influences.

Try layering C.C.’s voice on your string lines with a softer setting, or even adding doubling and chorus effects to make C.C.’s voice feel omnipresent.

Easily build chords from airtight vocal harmonies and use the beautiful voice of C.C. White to add soul and flare to your projects.

EastWest Silk

EastWest Sounds SILK is a collection of incredibly detailed Silk Road instruments from China, India, and Persia, and is part of the most ambitious world instrument collection ever created.

Effortlessly pull your listeners into the ancient world of your choosing.

These bowed, plucked, and wind instruments were performed by master instrumentalists who have spent years perfecting their craft and were recorded using vintage Neumann microphones at legendary EastWest Studios.

You can quickly create an ensemble that sounds like it was recorded in a time and place far removed from our own.

The detail in the instruments is stunning, and the playability factor is high. EastWest’s Silk Is the perfect tool for TV, film, documentary, and game composers.

Master the Silk Road.

EastWest RA

EastWest Sounds RA is part of the definitive rare and unique world instrument collection.

Unearth these rare and beautiful instruments from ancient lands around the world.

RA is a massive collection of world instruments from Africa, Europe, The Middle East and Turkish Empire, India, The Far East, The Americas and Australia.

If you’re looking to add authentic sounds from across the world to your next film or video game score or simply want to weave an elegant and eclectic tapestry into your music, RA was designed specifically with you in mind.

Together with Silk, Gypsy, and Storm Drum 2 and 3, you’ll have the most comprehensive collection of sampled world instruments available in the industry.

Take your new projects back in time and thrill your listeners with clear and pristine ancient instruments.

Hollywood Backup Singers

EastWest Sounds Hollywood Backup Singers features the powerful vocals from legendary singers Durga McBroom, Lorelei McBroom, and C.C. White.

Hollywood Backup Singers is a game-changing new vocal product that will let you type in any word and have it sung by the industry’s top backup singers.

When you need the perfect vocal harmonies, these expert singers will be ready for the job. And your listeners will have a hard time believing they weren’t tracked live.

Includes Key Switch, this is the easiest way to switch between Hollywood Backup Singers’ array of articulations, separated out between vowels, consonants, and solo phrases.

Real live vocal performances captured through more than 10 different vintage microphones.

Recorded in the same studio as The Mamas and the Papas, Blondie, Dolly Parton, Rihanna, Frank Ocean, Arana Grande, Lady Gaga and many others.

Hollywood Backup Singers is a truly stunning and powerful tool that is great for all composers.

Voices Of Opera

EastWest Sounds Voices of Opera is a brand-new virtual instrument collection featuring the sensational vocals of soprano Larisa Martinez and tenor Carton Moe.

If you are looking for classical, romantic or apocalyptic vocal excellence, Voices of Opera contains some of the best performances ever recorded, and captured with a collection of warm, detailed vintage microphones.

42 vocal instruments with performances of specific Italian words mapped chromatically across the keyboard. Addio, Amore, Bravissimo, Cara, Caro, Cielo, Dolore, Donna, Ella, Fiore, Fortuna, Forza, Gloria, Insieme, Mai, Morte, Nobilta, Potere, Sacro, Signore, Vincero.

Voices of Opera effectively transfers the skill and musicality of world–class performers into a highly playable virtual instrument.

If you have been looking for singers that possess enough power to reign over an orchestra, or even complement a soft passage meant to gently stoke an emotional response from listeners, this collection is just what you’re looking for.

Spaces II

EastWest Sounds Spaces II is a continuation of excellent reverbs and adds to the list of reverbs from Spaces I.

Over 1,020 reverbs recorded around the world, including 353 brand-new presets.

New Presets feature churches, concert halls, opera houses, catacombs, train stations, recording studios, plates and more.

The new streamlined UI and control features enable you to access every reverb and make edits rapidly, with minimal delay between searching for the most suitable reverb and finalizing your settings.

EastWest Sounds Spaces II includes all reverbs from Spaces I. Spaces II is the most powerful and versatile convolution reverb on the market.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive collection of impulse responses from every location imaginable, Spaces II is a Swiss army knife of creative and technical reverbs to suit any genre.

Where Can I Buy EastWest Virtual Instruments?

Currently, you can purchase EastWest Virtual Instruments directly from EastWest Sounds or you can purchase EastWest Virtual Instruments from Sweetwater.

Sweetwater is one of the largest and leading musical instruments online retailer.

The cool thing about purchasing from Sweetwater is, you can finance your purchases and build your credit at the same time.

What Others Are Saying

Direct Quote	Source
“Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition is the best-selling and most awarded orchestral virtual instrument ever created. Produced by industry titans Doug Rogers and Nick Phoenix and sound engineered by Academy Award and BAFTA winner Shawn Murphy, Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition is the culmination of over a decade of recording and programming and is the industry standard for achieving professional sounding orchestral soundtracks.”	https://www.soundsonline.com/hollywood-orchestra-opus-edition
“Every piano in EastWest Pianos has enough fine detail to suit everything from quiet, subdued passages to virtuoso performances – and you can push their dynamic range as hard as you need to, jumping between pianissimo and fortissimo as desired.”	https://twitter.com/EastWestSounds?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
“Though its 500 mouth-watering presets are tantalisingly waiting to be fired up and explored, Orchestrator is no virtual cheat-sheet. The program encourages you to craft your own intricate movement within an orchestral patch. Professional software scorers facing tight deadlines will find it invaluable.”	https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/eastwest-hollywood-orchestra-opus-edition
“Nature Documentary. We’ll be working with some really stunning visuals and the challenge here is to make sure the music is rising to the same level as the cinematography. This one also involves quite a few world instruments, so you’ll be able to see how libraries like Silk and RA were used to compliment the orchestral elements.”	https://www.facebook.com/pg/eastwestsound/posts/
“Orchestrator divides the orchestral instruments into four categories: Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, and Strings. You can then use the engine to create your own playable ensemble, complete with different instrument-assignable articulations and modulations. This greatly simplifies the process of composing a piece by allowing you to have full control, easily playing the virtual orchestra live, with your own assigned playing styles.”	https://sonuscore.com/eastwest-hollywood-strings-opus-edition-orchestrator/

In Conclusion

If you like what you read here, be sure and check out EastWest Sounds Virtual Instruments.

The new EastWest Sounds OPUS software engine does a great job with organizing and orchestrating the new EastWest Hollywood Orchestra and the Hollywood Orchestrator makes it easy to get inspired to compose your next big project.

Keep in mind that all of EastWest Sounds Virtual Instruments will work with the new OPUS software engine.

If you enjoy playing, composing, recording, and producing music then you are in the right place.

Take a minute to look around my website. You will find many helpful articles to help get you started with your home recording studio setup.

If you want to learn how to connect your keyboard to an audio interface and the advantages of using an audio interface in your home recording studio setup check out my article: Should I Connect My Midi Keyboard To My Audio Interface?

Please leave your feedback and helpful comments below.