Cakewalk has been a predominant force in the music industry for quite a few years, mostly due to the company's digital audio workstation and incredible synthesizers.
Oh, and trust us, we loved the synthesizers they made. Remember that when reading this.
However, when it came to their "Studio Instruments" release, we were curious as to how and if their new child would live up to the hype. So, we put it to the test. The package was quite cheap, and came with four virtual instruments: a drumkit, a bass, a three-string ensemble, and an electric piano.
The models appeared to be well-designed and everything looked in place, so we began to play around with these plugins.
Each plugin had its share of satisfactions and disappointments:
Drums: Alright, so we admit, the drummer was cool to look at. The physical model was pretty attractive. In addition to that, it had an impressive selection of presets for the kit that changed some parameters around such as pan and tune (pitch). It also had built-in reverb and a compressor, along with several grooves (midi tracks) built into the VST. Aside from these "interesting" features, we found that it lacked quite a bit when you disregard the enthralling graphical user interface. The samples, particularly that of the snare and ride cymbal, were severely lacking. You couldn't even change the drum/cymbal sample if you didn't like it. Not only that, but when you put this drummer into a DAW, you can't even import the awesome midi lines into a track, making the loops in the standalone useless when it comes to actually making music.
Strings: The strings were awesome to look at as well. We had a minor gasp at the lack of viola, as the ensemble only included a bass, cello, and violin, but we survived. In this instrument, you could also control the reverb, attack, pan, chorus, release, tone, tune and volume. It also came with its share of practically useless midi sequences. The sound was impressive, but it never went anywhere near the capabilities and dimensions that we saw in Edirol Orchestrial or Acoustica's String Studio. This plugin it really disappointed us. The physical modeling animation wasn't even that well done; the bows didn't really move all that much, and they wouldn't even move on the down-strokes. If you are going to make a lovely-looking instrument to, when played, invoke pathos among the masses, you should at least try to get it right and not leave it looking unfinished. The violin player we have on our review team didn't like this VST at all. He said that the instrument "worked in a way that only allowed the violin to play the high notes and the bass to play the really low notes. It's infuriating. The full range of each instrument is not adequately represented".
Bass: This one gave some impressive tones. It allowed you to edit various parameters, including which pickups you could use, its tuning, EQ, volume, pan, drive and compressor. It came with a few midi sequences as well. This setup wasn't really that impressive. It offered an okay tone with some promise. It didn't really feel like an innovation to us, and didn't really phase us. It was an interface with decent samples with a lack of the ability to create awesome tone, groove, rhythm and style; the four things required in a bass line.
Electric Piano: This one was... well... a bit boring. It featured a standard-sounding electric piano with variables like tune, tone, pan, volume, drive, chorus and tremolo. This one was the saddest in the package. We would have preferred a lively acoustic grand model, however, this one just disappoints. You could get a better sound out of the default patch on most synths in the VST world. This one just... kind of sucked, sorry. It wasn't very good, and it certainly wasn't worth including in the package what we could get as a bad addition to downloading a generic DAW that no one uses.
Closing Notes
Overall, this bundle did not really impress. We thought that the time and effort put into the graphical design of this software would be matched by the sound quality, the interface, and the overall impression that this software would leave for us. We realize that this package has received generally positive reviews. The pricing of the software was almost unbelievable when matched with the overall promises Cakewalk left us with. "Studio Instruments" is a classic example of a get-what-you-pay-for attitude; there is a reason why many pieces of software cost hundreds of dollars. Here, one really got what they payed for: an okay drumkit that sounds like the first $200 one you ever owned (and with the versatility to match), a mediocre string ensemble, a disappointing bass and an absolutely pathetic piano. We would have respected the producers for their idea that an artist should be able to get affordable software, if they hadn't made more than half of it sound like junk. This felt like the company made the whole GUI look pretty just to cash in on the low price of the software, while neglecting to make it worth a damn if you actually want to make music and not stare at the how the knobs move for three hours. It really doesn't sound as good as it looks, so thank you, Cakewalk.
All and all, this package severely damaged our view of Cakewalk (even after their breakthrough Z3ta+ and Z3ta 2+). So, this is a great package if you are looking to mess around with some sounds...
...but if you're serious about making music, please take a hint and pass this one up.
Individual VST Verdicts:
Drummer: 6/10 Bad
Strings: 6.5/10 Mediocre
Bass: 5/10 Bad
Electric Piano: 3.5/10 This Doesn't Deserve a Rating...
Overall Verdict:
Sound: 5/10
Design: 7.5/10
Keeps Promises: 4.5/10
Interface: 5.5/10
Price: 10/10
Wow Factor: 3.5/10
