EastWest has released ICONIC which they describe as The Ultimate Pop Music Machine.They say that it’s the only synth collection that features the sounds of the world’s best-selling songs, played by the original players, and programmed by the original programmers. A spokesperson told us, “It doesn’t get more authentic than this!”
Here’s the story direct from EastWest…
EastWest teamed up with Anthony Marinelli, synth mastermind behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller, to make sure everything in ICONIC sounded true to the original productions of the world’s mega hits. Sampling rare vintage synthesizers like the ARP 2600, Minimoog Model D, Oberheim OB-X, Sequential Prophet 5, Yamaha CS-80 and the Synclavier II, EastWest has skillfully recreated some of the most iconic sounds in music history and turned them into modern virtual instruments.
“We realized that you can’t recreate many of these sounds today because there is very limited access to all of the original equipment used back then to create each sound,” says Producer Doug Rogers. “Lucky for us, Anthony has a museum-worthy collection of these keyboards, and he was able to recreate the exact sounds as only he knew the original programming and keyboard combinations used. Our team then added incredible new recording techniques and software features that will allow you to transform these historic sounds into modern masterpieces. I hope our users have as much fun using these ICONIC sounds as we had making them.”
Classic Synth Design, Modernized For A New Era
ICONIC’s user interface centers around an FX Pad with 4 selectable Macro Effects that modulate multiple parameters simultaneously. Blending a vintage knob-per-function design, with sleek modern styling, all of ICONIC’s controls are easily accessible in a single page. Shape these ICONIC synth sounds from the dual filters that can be modulated, an advanced 16-step arpeggiator, multi-mode portamento (glide), and a bevy of effects to widen, pulse, distort, delay, and spatialize the final sound.
Classic Sounds Reimagined For The Future
While ICONIC features synths and sounds used in classic songs that have sold hundreds of millions of copies, it’s not stuck in any one time period. After recording these rare synthesizers in historic EastWest Studio 1, the producers also sent the sounds to analog tape machines (including a tube Studer J37) and pushed them to levels to create tape saturation and harmonic distortion for an alternative modern sound. The instruments were also re-amped in EastWest Studio 2, using multiple mic positions so the studio sound could be added to the direct sounds, a technique that was often used by Thriller recording and mixing engineer Bruce Swedien.
Meet the Producers:
Sound titan Doug Rogers is the highly esteemed producer and visionary behind EastWest Sounds. He is the recipient of three NAMM TEC Awards for Best Musical Instrument Software in the past five years. His dedication to quality and innovation has provided millions of musicians with tools that have changed the way music is created and produced.
Eden Nagar is a rising star engineer/producer, having worked with many artists in the hip hop, R&B, Afro Beats, and pop genres including IDK, MF Doom, Young Thug, Gunna, Musiq Soulchild, Burna Boy, Kaytranada, Mike Dean and many more. He designed the extensive FX tools onboard and worked with Rogers and Marinelli to faithfully capture these iconic instruments.
Blake Rogers has been part of the EastWest production team since Hollywood Choirs. As a project coordinator, he contributed to the development of additional products Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, Hollywood Fantasy Orchestra and Hollywood Strings 2. For ICONIC, he used his extensive knowledge of music history to help curate hundreds of presets.
Synth programmer Anthony Marinelli is a celebrated musician, composer, and programmer, best known for his work on Michael Jackson’s iconic album Thriller. His contributions to the album’s distinctive sound, particularly his expertise in programming state-of-the-art synthesizers, have left an indelible mark on music history. He has also recorded albums with Lionel Richie, Van Halen, Supertramp, James Brown, The Crystal Method, Elvis Costello, Giorgio Moroder and Quincy Jones.
Includes 138 GB of Synths and Keys + Over 500 Presets
The base ICONIC release includes 138GB of rare and vintage synths and keys plus hundreds of presets inspired by some of the biggest hits in music history. If you buy ICONIC in the first month of release or subscribe to ComposerCloud+, you will also get the BEYOND ICONIC expansion pack, which includes hundreds of presets geared towards contemporary pop, hip hop and EDM. Both ICONIC and the BEYOND ICONIC expansion pack are available for purchase together for $299 and both are also immediately available for all EastWest ComposerCloud+ subscribers.
Pricing and Availability:
Both ICONIC and the BEYOND ICONIC expansion pack are available for purchase together for $299 and both are also immediately available for all EastWest ComposerCloud+ subscribers.
