EastWest and Best Service have combined forces to create eight, count 'em, eight new sample collections that make me want to don knickers and powder my wig. As if I needed another reason to don kickers and powder my wig.

It's like they've stormed the André Martens wing at the Met and spent a night with a diamond cutter, a portable recording studio, Franz Liszt and a hectare of primo Columbian nose candy. How else could they have generated eight high-quality sample collections of European Historical Instruments in such a short amount of time?

Some of these instruments might not even really exist outside Elizabethan fiction (I'll need to do further research):

• Pianoforte offers the unique sound of a historical pianoforte built in 1848. This collection delivers the ultimate pianoforte experience to your studio with sounds captured at 32 velocity layers of each note for great dynamics, feel and a pure sound. The 3,300 single samples included in the collection are presented in the pianoforte's original tuning at 433 Hz (presets at 440 Hz.) Pianoforte carries an MSRP of $180.00.


• Early Pianoforte offers more than 2,500 single samples of this uncommon, svelte and elegant piano whose sound is influenced by the harpsichords of the 18th Century. Also capturing the vibrance of the instrument with 32 velocity layers for each note, the Early Pianoforte is presented in its original tuning at 417 Hz (presets at 440 Hz). The collection retails for $180.00.


• Grand Piano offers a lithe, charming and warm, sound —- far from your typical piano. This Grand Piano library is presented in its original tuning at 435 Hz (presets at 440 Hz). The Grand Piano collection contains nearly 3,300 single samples and carries an MSRP of $180.00.


• English Harpsichord presents samples of the Kirckman harpsichord offering numerous unique sounds, sampled with six different register combinations, including the upper 8', lower 8' (principal 8'), both 8' together, the 4' register, the lute stop as well as the nasale stop, a feature only available with Kirckman instruments. All 3,600 single samples included in the English Harpsichord collection are presented in its original Valotti tuning at 368 Hz (presets at 440 Hz). The collection retails for $180.00.


• Dutch Harpsichord offers an original harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers built in 1628. Due to its two manuals and many registers, the Ruckers harpsichord offers lots of unique sounds, sampled with six different register combinations, including the upper 8', lower 8' (principal 8'), tutti, both 8' together, the 4' register as well as the lute stop. The library is presented in its original Valotti tuning at 372 Hz (presets at 440 Hz) and contains nearly 3,700 single samples. The Dutch Harpsichord collection retails for $155.00.


• Dulcitone Celesta provides a warm and full bass sound to a rather quiet instrument. An original Dulcitone celesta is very hard to play, offering a very rough-running and tight dynamic response. To capture the dynamic shades of the instrument, Realsamples recorded every note with eight different samples. The dulcitone owes a huge part of its character and life to the unique release sounds of its keys — these sounds were recorded for the library, providing four variations of each key release sound to complete the Dulcitone experience. For maximum sound quality, the library was recorded in 192 kHz/24 bits which can then be down sampled to the resolution of your choice. The sample library contains nearly 1,500 single samples and carries an MSRP of $155.00.


• English Spinet preserves the timelessness of a spinet sound. Available now for the first time, the English Spinet collection, featuring a Thomas Hitchcock spinet, widely known as the best-sounding spinets ever built, is presented in its original Valotti tuning at 430 Hz (presets at 440 Hz). Since the release sounds of the keys are also of major importance to the overall sound, Realsamples recorded four release samples of each note. The English Spinet library consists of more than 700 single samples and retails for an MSRP of $155.00.


• Italian Harpsichord features an historical harpsichord built in 1579 by Pierluigi in Livorno providing its fundamental, resonant, warm and deep tone to users. This unique collection is presented in its original meantone tuning at 383 Hz (presets at 440 Hz). The library carries with it an MSRP of $155.00.