Quantum Leap Ministry of Rock 2 from EastWest is a virtual instrument comprising over 57GB of rock drums, electric basses, and electric guitars, all geared toward providing sounds suitable for pop music production and filmic composition. Its drums were recorded in EASTWEST Studio 1 by seasoned session players, and the resulting sounds feature multi-mic positioning, a large range of dynamics, and the ability to piece together custom drum-kits from the instruments provided.
The guitar sounds in this library highlight models such as the Fender Jaguar, Fender Telecaster Thinline, and the Gibson Les Paul—though heavier, seven-string models get their due as well. The guitar sections feature round-robin sampling, and technique approximations such as hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, and other techniques. As for the basses, Ministry of Rock 2 provides remastered content from Hardcore Bass and Hardcore Bass XP. However, the basses also include a 5-string Musicman Stingray with 7000 samples. All the basses in this pack were recorded through large bass-rigs.
The software utilizes a dedicated Opus playback engine, which supports operation as a standalone program or as a plug-in (AAX Native, Audio Units, or VST) within your Mac- or Windows-based DAW.
Drums
Drum Philosophy
These drum kits are set up just as producers would arrange drum kits in the studio. You can customize them by swapping out elements, replacing Sabian cymbals with Istanbul cymbals, for example. They all use the same mapping of MIDI notes to drum and articulation. These drums were recorded with multiple microphones, and you have control in the GUI over the closeness and panning. These drums offer the sounds of different parts of each drum, giving you different timbres, as well as left- and right-hand sampling and round-robin repeated notes for a more lifelike performance. Full and less load instruments are included for all three drum kits (DW, Ludwig, and Gretsch), with each setting offering you a rock and a metal variant. Many different snare drums options are available, including Black Beauty, Brady, DW, GMS, NC1, NC2, Sonor, and Tempus.
Articulations and Hits
- Beater off kick drum RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Beater on kick drum RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Bell hat position:
- Cowbell
- Cymbal 1 edge RRx2 (with repetitions)
- Cymbal 1 edge stop RRx2
- Cymbal 1 middle position RRx2 (with repetitions)
- Cymbal 1 middle position stop RRx2
- Cymbal 2 edge RRx2 (with repetitions)
- Cymbal 2 edge stop RRx2
- Cymbal 2 middle position RRx2 (with repetitions)
- Cymbal 2 middle position stop RRx2
- Cymbal 3 edge RRx2 (with repetitions)
- Cymbal 3 edge stop RRx2
- Cymbal 3 middle position RRx2 (with repetitions)
- Edge hat positions: 3x closed
- Middle hat positions: 3x more open, 3x open RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Pedal hat
- Ride bell RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Ride edge position RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Ride middle ride position RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Rimshot RRx4
- Rimshot RRx4 duplicate for 2-handed playing: 3x slightly open
- Snare middle head RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Snare middle head RRx4 (with repetitions) duplicate for 2-handed playing
- Snare outside head RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Snare outside head RRx4 (with repetitions) duplicate for 2-handed playing
- Snare rim crack RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Snare rim crack RRx4 (with repetitions) duplicate for 2-handed playing
- Toms bounce RRx2
- Toms flam RRx4 (with repetitions)
- Toms RRx4 (with repetitions)
Guitar Timbres Offered
Fender Jaguar
A stratlike guitar used by artists such as Kurt Cobain, Smashmouth, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Johnny Marr. The right channel gives you the sound of a Fender amp, and the left channel gives you a direct sound.
Fender Telecaster Thinline
The 1972 Telecaster Thinline guitar features a warmer sound and a rounder semi-hollow ash body, a C-shaped maple neck, bullet-style truss rod, '70s vintage hardtail strings-through-body Strat bridge, three-bolt neckplate, and two wide-range humbucking pickups. The right channel gives you the sound of a Divided By Thirteen amp, and the left channel gives you a Vox amp sound.
Carvin
A rock/metal guitar with 11-gauge strings, tuned to Drop C, and with each note sampled twice to capture the sound of both pickups; during playback, both samples are automatically played together, though one panned hard right and the other hard left, for a double-tracked sound.
Baritone
The Baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar with a longer scale length. The baritone played here is made by Danelectro and uses custom modified lipstick pickups. The length of the strings allows it to be tuned to a lower range and, together with thicker 14-gauge strings, bestows a singular full tone. The Baritone is available for both lead and rhythm styles. The right channel gives you the sound of a Carvin amp, and the left channel gives you a direct sound.
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul guitar is a solid-body electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s. It is a favorite amongst metal guitarists. The right channel gives you the sound of a MESA/Boogie amplifier, and the left channel gives you a direct sound.
Schecter 7-String
The C7 FR Hellraiser from Schecter is a guitar that metal players often favor, with its deep and crunchy 7-string tones and a Floyd Rose tremolo whammy bar. The right channel gives you the sound of a Marshall amplifier, and the left channel gives you a Bogner sound.
Basses
Music Man Stringray 5 String Bass
The Stingray 5 features active electronics and advancements such as a 6-bolt neck joint, contoured body, superior neck truss-rod system, and rock-solid bridge. The instrument is constructed with a select hardwood body, maple neck, Schaller BM tuners, 3-band active EQ, and a Music Man humbucker/piezo bridge.
- Right channel: Ampeg Amp
- Left channel: SWR Amp
Additional Basses
The rest of the basses in Ministry of Rock 2 are remastered versions of the basses in EastWest's Hardcore Bass library (2003) and Hardcore Bass Expansion (2004). The original sounds, including the separate amplifiers on the left and right tracks—where that technique was used in the XP basses—have been retained. Basses Include:
- Lakland 55-94 Skyline Standard bass through Ampeg/SVT rig
- Music Man Stringray 5, picked, through an Ampeg/SVT rig
- 61 Fender J-bass, fretless, '50s Ampeg rig on the right channel and 80s Ampeg rig on the left channel
- 63 Hofner Violin bass through a '50s Ampeg rig on the right channel and an '80s Ampeg rig on the left channel
- 65 Gibson EB2 bass through a '50s Ampeg rig on the right channel and an '80s Ampeg rig on the left channel
- 66 Silvertone bass through a '50s Ampeg rig on the right channel and an '80s Ampeg rig on the left channel
- 72 Rickenbacker bass through a '50s Ampeg rig on the right channel and an '80s Ampeg rig on the left channel
Additional Features
Legato bass and guitar samples with legato and staccato repetitions
Guitars and basses recorded in dual-amplifier configurations and the software allows user to choose amp, or mix the sound from both amps
Round-robin bass drums, snares, toms, and hats deliver more natural performances by providing multiple samples per hit/note
Drumkits can be used with Roland V-Drums
All instruments listed in a single browser for convenient navigation
Stereo Swap allows the user to instantly swap the left and right channels. Mono from left, mono from right, or mono sum allow for instant conversion from stereo to mono
Powered by the Opus Player
Opus is the advanced player engine that powers the Quantum Leap Ministry of Rock 2 library. Fast and flexible, it comes with incredible features such as individual instrument auditioning and downloads, customized key switches, dozens of new MIDI tools and mixer effects, scalable retina GUI upgrades for legacy products, a powerful script language, and many more options that allow you to completely customize the sound of each instrument.