These three DVDs contain all of the sounds on the classic 11-volume McGill University Master Samples collection, plus an extensive selection of additional instruments.  They are presented in .wav form, and they are not edited for software sample players.  We envision that the sounds on these DVDs will be used by musicians who wish to shape their own virtual instruments from well recorded sounds that are unprocessed, for the most part.  We also expect that as in the past, our collection of samples will be used widely for classroom teaching, for studies of music perception, research in sonics and instrumentation, and other creative work requiring high-quality, balanced stereophonic sounds.

It was always our intention to produce a library of musical instrument sound samples that most accurately preserves the natural harmonic and dynamic character of each instrument.  During the recording phase we insisted on hiring first-rate performers and on using only the finest microphones, pre-amps and digital recorders.  As the market already provides numerous “dynamically-modified” libraries we were careful to maintain, as much as possible, a library which is “process-free.”  However, in preparing this latest version for DVD we took advantage of the latest Pro Tools plugins to remove ambient distortions or room noises and to enhance and balance dynamics across the instrument range.  For example, the Historical Instruments originally found on Volume 11 of the MUMS collection on CD were filtered and normalized to remove extraneous wind noises and to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Furthermore, all of the string and percussion samples from our first 3 volumes were normalized so that they would better complement the later recordings.  We are also very proud of the new piano samples which were recorded using a Multi-Point Pickup system (MPP).  This system utilizes 8 separate condenser microphones arranged around a Steinway grand, and it is designed to best capture the full harmonic and dynamic qualities of the piano.  Each channel was digitally analysed to determine harmonic and transient content and then re-combined to create a final stereo pair.  The result is a set of perfectly balanced and timbrally matched samples across the keyboard.