Review: Century Ostinato Winds Bundle by 8Dio

Century Ostinato Winds from 8Dio is yet another release in their state-of-the-art series that focuses on delivering true, connected performances for short note phrases not possible with conventional sampling. An innovative toolkit that is sure to inspire and an absolute must for composers looking to get the most out of their winds!

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Review: Century Ostinato Winds Bundle by 8Dio

Like with the rest of the series, Century Ostinato Winds is a collection of deeply-sampled dynamic phrases, patterns and ostinatos that are sure to give some real life to any project. With their advanced approach, 8Dio gives composers a great sounding library with fantastic playability and tons of flexibility that delivers ultra-realistic sounding woodwind shorts that is unmatched in the industry.

Century Ostinato Winds Bundle normally sells for $196.00 from 8Dio

Thoughts

Century Ostinato Winds – Ostinato Winds GUI

Since it’s inception, 8Dio has always been a sample developer that has strived to innovate by creating inspiring sample libraries that focus on capturing true performances. The Century Ostinato series takes this formula and runs with it in an attempt to finally deliver a virtual orchestra capable of re-creating realistic short note phrases. Their most recent release brings this approach to the world of orchestral woodwinds with a collection dedicated to phrases, patterns and ostinatos.

At just over 37,000 individual samples, the library is split between two volumes and four separate patches which include Flute, Clarinet, Oboe and Bassoon. This standard orchestral line-up should cover the majority of your woodwind section needs and act as a good supplement to any existing traditional winds libraries. Similar to other libraries in the Century series, the samples have a beautiful, soft tone that is round, full and full of expression. The sound is also quite lively which makes it perfect for lots of repetitive figures without sounding robotic. The wonderful recording space envelopes the instrument and gives the library a more naturally wet and beautiful hall tail.

What really sets the library apart from it’s contemporaries is the connected performances which are a game-changer and much more comparable to real recordings versus traditionally sampled woodwinds. With this approach, the music can actually breath without seeming too detached like most other sampled shorts since the developer purposely captured the subtle space between consecutive notes. Prior to this, very quick repeated phrases were always an issue for samples recorded, especially ones recorded in a recording hall or stage. The issue has always lied with connecting individual sampled recordings into authentic phrases which is a programming nightmare. One can foresee future sample libraries utilizing this ‘performance’ approach when recording shorts much like developers did with ‘true legato’ years ago. It should be noted that there were some very minor tuning issues, in the high oboe for example, but they will hopefully be corrected in a future update.

Century Ostinato Winds – Individual Kontakt Patches

The collection boasts a wealth of short note patches such as staccatissimo, marcato, tuplets, triplets as well as more experimental patches like agile and flowing. Every instrument includes the exact same articulation set which makes keyswitching between different patches or instruments seamless. Most articulations actually contain separate patches based on speed for slower or faster passages and were recorded in various tempi. Having these multiple options lends itself well to creating more realistic mockups as the library relies less on time-stretching which can be perceived as unnatural. Additionally, 8Dio included a series of very useful runs over two octaves and will certainly come in handy for moments that require a bit more of an accent, background motion or interesting colours. Like with the other shorts, having these runs be pre-recorded, in lieu of playing them in yourself, will not only save time but come across as much more genuine. The fact of the matter is that there are just certain performances that can only be captured as actual musical phrases. It is important to note that the two volumes comprise over 80 GB of uncompressed content which should illustrate just how deeply sampled the library is as a whole.

Century Ostinato Winds – Articulation Browser

Generally speaking, the playability is extremely smooth, responsive and balanced across both volumes of the library. The bread and butter of the series is the ability to ‘play in’ these different phrases and patterns live. Without a doubt, this means a much easier performance and less time tweaking midi data after the fact. For many of the ‘ostinato’ articulations, modulation and expression are controlled via modwheel, instead of velocity, which ensures phrases are more consistent in terms of volume as well as dynamics. What’s more, the crossfading between dynamic layers is very consistent with hardly any noticeable jumps between one level and another.

Compared to more typical samples, short note phrases and patterns are triggered by a single note. Not only does this avoid the dreaded ‘machine-gun’ effect but it enables composers to produce a much more connected performance overall. What is really great about the library is the fact that it can handle slow ostinato patterns with ease, in addition to the more common, fast phrases. Often overlooked, these types of slow repetitive notes that can generally sound quite mechanical and less musical compared to a real musician. One can hope that this performance-based recordings, at multiple speeds, becomes the norm in a sampling world that is always pushing forward.

Century Ostinato Winds – The Interface

Similar to the other Century Series, the GUI is straight-forward and full of many controls that give composers a powerful interface to navigate without it being cluttered. The keyswitch browser is a great feature to help composers customize their patch layout to any type of workflow. Alternatively, users can also load in every patch independently as needed if they prefer a template with a single articulation per track. At the bottom of the panel, there are several mic positions which are comprised of the mixed, closed, decca and wide knobs. Each can be controlled individually to give a lot of options to composers to shape their sound. In addition to dynamics and expression controls, the library also gives users speed, release tails and response controls to help adjust instrument attack, decay, etc. The GUI likewise includes some basic reverb and EQ controls to further shape the desired sound. All of which are extremely useful and help composers get the most of out the library.

Century Ostinato Winds – The Effects Page

In all, Century Ostinato Winds is a fantastic bundle for composers in need of creating realistic short note patterns and phrases not possible with conventional libraries. The collection is adept at quickly producing great-sounding ostinatos which has become ever-present in music for the modern media industry. Though it may certainly be a niche product, it absolutely delivers what it was designed for while offering artists endless inspiration. As mentioned, this library distinguishes itself from all others by inventing ‘true shorts’ which capture the subtle nuances that connect individual notes into musical performances. It is refreshing to have a library with incredible realism and great playability that does not sacrifice on sound or tone. A quick side by side comparison really demonstrates the libraries’ strengths and shows why this method is a huge step forward in the world of symphonic sampling.

If there are any qualms with the library, it would be that there is no ensemble patch which would have been a great addition to the included lineup. That said, it is nice to know that there is still room for future growth with additional patches, instruments or experimental articulations. While it may not be your ‘workhorse’ woodwind library, Ostinato Winds is an essential complement to any serious, professional template. They also work seamlessly with Ostinato Brass which makes using them in tandem a breeze.

Be sure to check out the great walkthrough from 8Dio which gives an in-depth look at the library, it’s sound as well as some of the really cool new features that distinguishes itself from the competition. Though a unique product to be sure, it is certainly yet another exciting tool from the developer known for releasing instruments that focus on emotion above all else. It is also recommended that all users, new and old, install the new Downloader Manager to ensure there are no issues upon install. If you experience any technical issues with the platform, users may have to remove any previous versions of the software to ensure a fresh install.

Facts

The Century Ostinato Winds Bundle is a 13.66 GB download with a 23 individual NKI patches per instrument and contains around 37,000 individual samples. Both libraries require Native Instruments Kontakt 5.8 Full or later; it will NOT work with the free Kontakt Player.

Century Ostinato Winds Bundle normally sells for $196.00 from 8Dio

Demos of Century Ostinato Winds Bundle by 8Dio

Videos of Century Ostinato Winds Bundle by 8Dio

Contributor BenG reviews Century Ostinato Winds Bundle by 8Dio
“Century Ostinato Winds from 8dio is yet another release in their state-of-the-art series that focuses on delivering true, connected performances for short note phrases not possible with conventional sampling. An innovative toolkit that is sure to inspire and an absolute must for composers looking to get the most out of their winds!”