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The Dark Side

THE DARK SIDE

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THE DARK SIDE

OVERVIEW

  • Produced by award-winner producer Doug Rogers and Grammy winner David Fridmann
  • 40 GB of distorted and eerie percussion, guitars, choirs and more
  • Pre-rendered sounds pushed through analog vintage & tube effect chains
  • Easy to drop into metal, industrial, or hybrid orchestral songs
  • Powerful tool for film, TV, and game music production
  • Winner of a MIPA Award
  • Now included in OPUS, along with individual downloads, custom keyswitches, and dozens of MIDI Tools and Mixer Effects

You Haven’t Punished Your Music Enough

If you’re looking for an exercise in mangling, no library will take you farther than The Dark Side. With a vast collection of crushed, battle-scarred drums, guitars, keys and more, it was designed with a single purpose in mind: to push conventional instruments beyond the point of recognition and take a stand against bland, sterile recordings. It would be impossible to ask for more attitude and grunge than is available to you here.

Red Planet

A thoroughly enjoyable collection of heavily processed instruments from a master of distortion.

Sound on Sound

The Dark Side Performer

Mangle, Bleed and Crunch Any Song to Your Heart’s Content

If you need to push any instrument you can think of beyond the point of recognition through distortion, feedback, flutter and more, The Dark Side will become a welcome playground for you. Nearly every instrument was recorded with intense effect chains, and the player interface contains even more ways to push a range of sounds into oblivion. You can create virtually any grungy sound you need by pulling up one of these instruments and putting it through the ringer of intense FX.

Wasteland

The instruments are so well recorded that it is not necessary to add any effects on them. You will hear for yourself how great The Dark Side sounds. It's quite easy to get carried away to the point where you're only using it in your compositions.

Blip Bop

Drums

Drums

These have been pushed so hard that you may wonder if your speakers are crumbling. The core tone of these kits is preserved, heavily compressed for punch and explosive releases, and overdriven through a series of unforgiving analog distortion modules.

Basses

Basses

A premier collection of industrial basses and synths that make for a hefty low-end foundation. They’ve been forced through a number of aggressive effects, turning them into a monstrous force when paired with heavy drums.

Guitar

Guitars

The Dark Side’s premium example of grunge, these guitars will boldly cut through any mix with force. They shine when you’re ready to throw away melodic control for unconstrained power.

Violin

Keys and Strings

These were designed to be as unsettling as humanly possible, whether through distortion or nails-on-a-chalkboard intervals baked into the library. A single note should be enough to set your listeners on edge.

Traditional and Choirs

Traditional and Choirs

Chopped, punished, and overdriven, this collection is ideal if you want to add a more organic touch but still need a heavy dose of edginess.

Violin

Instruments WFX

A combination of instruments pulled from other sections and run through significant variations in effects and other processing. Feel free to make changes of your own and save them as new .ewi files to recall later!

Skulls

Misc and Perc

Everything that was too weird or obtrusive to be included anywhere else in this library, from unusual percussion to complex, synthesized FX.

Gears

With a nicely designed interface and clear controls, it's incredibly easy to get to grips with. Skipping through the instrument presets, it's immediately apparent that Dark Side lives up to its name, offering dozens of nasty, heavily processed and distorted drums, bass, guitars, keys, strings, choirs and FX.

Music Radar

Mask

WHAT WILL YOU

CREATE?

The design principle of The Dark Side is simple: to give you the opportunity to add as much darkness and chaos into your music as possible. The collections touch on virtually everything in the musical world and add a healthy dose of distortion, which you can put to good use in metal, industrial, and even hybrid orchestral works. If you’re ready to take a stand against sterile mixes, it’s time to add The Dark Side to your collection!

BUY NOW

Get The Dark Side and all 70+ collections that include over 42,000 instruments with ComposerCloud+

More Info

VIDEOS

    MANUAL

      REVIEWS

      Sound On Sound Review Page 1

      Sound On Sound Review Page 2

      Sound On Sound Review Page 3

      Blip Bop Review Page 1

      Blip Bop Review Page 2

      Blip Bop Review Page 3

      Blip Bop Review Page 4

      Blip Bop Review Page 5

      INSTRUMENTS

        • Arena Kit
        • Bone Crunch
        • Broken Circuit
        • Chameleon Big Room (Regular & Distorted)
        • Chameleon Dry (Regular & Distorted 1 &
          Distorted 2)
        • Chameleon Morpher
        • Chameleon Open Mic (Regular & Distorted)
        • Chameleon Roomy (Regular & Distorted)
        • Dark Dirt
        • Demolition
        • Dungeon
        • Slamming
        • Slap Kit (24 inch & 50 inch & 106 inch)
        • Underground
        • Verb Kit Dry
        • Verb Kit Morpher
        • Verb Kit (Verb 1 – 5)
        • Chameleon Keyswitch C0–G#0 24
        • Slap Kit Keyswitch C0-D0 25
        • Verb Kit Keyswitch C0–F0 25
        • Bass Hemorrhage Sus
        • Bass Snatchers Legato
        • Bass Snatchers Slide (Up & Down)
        • Bass Snatchers Sus
        • Destroyer Bass
        • Distorted Attack Bass
        • Fuzz Bass
        • Mean Synth Bass
        • Nuclear Bass
        • Perc Bass
        • Radioactive
        • Rattly Bass
        • Relatively Clean Bass FX
        • Relatively Clean Bass Harmonics
        • Relatively Clean Bass Legato
        • Relatively Clean Bass Slide (Up & Down)
        • Relatively Clean Bass Sus
        • Slightly Dirty Bass
        • Slightly Dirty Bass Light
        • Keyswitch and Mod Wheel Cross-Fades
        • Fuzz Rattly Bass MOD
        • Hemorrhage Fuzz Bass MOD
        • Rattly Perc Bass MOD
        • Bass Snatchers Keyswitch C0–D#0 25
        • Relatively Clean Bass Keyswitch C0–F0 25
        • The Dark Side Basses Keyswitch C0–A0 26
        • Backwards Distorted Guitar Dry
        • Backwards Distorted Guitar wEFX
        • Dirt Boy Guitar
        • Distorted Lead (Regular & Short)
        • Freak Shimmer Combo
        • Freak Shimmer Dry
        • Freak Shimmer EFX
        • Ghost Guitar
        • Guitar Orchestra
        • Guitars on Mars Down
        • Guitars on Mars Up
        • Guitars on Mars RR
        • Insanity
        • Organic Guitar
        • Organic Guitar wGlissando
        • Relatively Clean Strings
        • Tunnel Lead
        • Tunnel Lead Clean End
        • Keyswitch and Mod Wheel Cross-Fades
        • Freak Shimmer Keyswitch C0–D0 26
        • The Dark Side Guitar Keyswitch C0–B0 26
        • Amadeus Organ
        • Bent Funeral Organ
        • Brain Damage
        • Broken Jaw Harp
        • Chaos
        • Chorus Strings
        • ClockworkO
        • ClockworkO PercAttack
        • Demonic
        • Dist Org String Thing
        • Distorgan
        • Freak Show
        • Fuzzy Keys
        • Grand Dist Strings
        • LFO Strings
        • Morse Code
        • Psycho
        • Psycho Shimmer Keys
        • Underwater Piano Short
        • Underwater Piano Sustain
        • Keyswitch and Mod Wheel Cross-Fades
        • Amadeus Organ Brain Damage MOD
        • Amadeus Organ Broken Jaw Harp MOD
        • Bent Funeral Organ Brain Damage MOD
        • Bent Funeral Organ Freak Show MOD
        • Broken Jaw Harp Chaos MOD
        • ClockworkO PercAttack Bent Funeral MOD
        • ClockworkO PercAttack Chaos MOD
        • The Dark Side Keys Keyswitch C-1 – D#0 27
        • The Dark Side Strings Keyswitch C0–D#0 27
        • 2-Bit Choir (Regular & Wide)
        • Eleanor Keys
        • Electric Medieval
        • Ethnic Dulcimer
        • Furry Ethnic Orch
        • Granular (Regular & Wide)
        • Leslie Choir (Regular & Wide)
        • Mandamadness
        • Old Bombay
        • Snake Charmer
        • Toxic Choir 1 (Regular & Wide)
        • Toxic Choir 2 (Regular & Wide)
        • UFO Choir (Regular & Wide)
        • Whirly Keys
        • Zitherland
        • Keyswitch and Mod Wheel Cross-Fades
        • Eleanor Keys Electric Medieval MOD
        • Eleanor Keys Old Bombay MOD
        • Eleanor Keys Zitherland MOD
        • Furry Orch Guitar Electric Medieval MOD
        • Granular Leslie Choir MOD (Regular & Wide)
        • Granular Toxic Choir 1 MOD (Regular & Wide)
        • Granular Toxic Choir 2 MOD (Regular & Wide)
        • Granular UFO Choir MOD (Regular & Wide)
        • Leslie Toxic Choir 1 MOD (Regular & Wide)
        • Leslie Toxic Choir 2 MOD (Regular & Wide)
        • Leslie UFO Choir MOD (Regular & Wide)
        • Mandamadness Ethnic Dulcimer MOD
        • Whirly Keys Furry Ethnic Orchestra MOD
        • The Dark Side Choirs Keyswitch C-1 – F-1 (Regular & Wide) 28
        • The Dark Side Ethnic Keyswitch C0–A0 28
        • Basses wFX
        • Bass Hemorrhage wFX
        • Destroyer Bass wFX
        • Fuzz Bass wFX
        • Slightly Dirty Bass wFX
        • Drums wFX
        • Bone Crunch wFX
        • Broken Circuit wFX
        • Dark Dirt wFX
        • Slap Kit 24 inch wFX
        • Ethnic and Choirs wFX
        • 2-Bit Choir wFX
        • Electric Medieval wFX
        • Ethnic Guitar wFX
        • Leslie Choir wFX
        • Snake Charmer wFX
        • UFO Choir wFX
        • Zitherland wFX
        • Guitars wFX
        • Distorted Lead wFX
        • Guitars on Mars wFX
        • Insanity wFX
        • Tunnel Lead wFX
        • Keys and Strings wFX
        • Bent Funeral Organ wFX
        • Brain Damage wFX
        • Broken Jaw Harp wFX
        • Chorus Strings wFX
        • Dist Org String Thing wFX
        • Freak Show wFX
        • Perc Tonal wFX
        • Super Tabla wFX
        • Backwardspell
        • Big Broken Ben
        • Big Broken Ben Extreme
        • Bumblebee 01 Non-Tonal
        • Bumblebee 02 Non-Tonal
        • Earthquake
        • Ethereal
        • FX Madness 01–13
        • Horror 01 Non-Tonal
        • Horror 02 Non-Tonal
        • OC Notes ("OC" refers to the Omnichord)
        • OC Notes Kaoss
        • Perc Bells
        • Perc Sci-Fi
        • Static
        • SuperTabla
        • Timp Explosion
        • Keyswitch and Mod Wheel Cross-Fades
        • OC Chords Arp Keyswitch C0–E0 29
        • OC Chords Kaoss Keyswitch C0–E0 29
        • OC Chords Arp Kaoss Keyswitch C0–A0 29
        • The Dark Side Misc FX Keyswitch C1–B1 29
        • The Dark Side Perc Tonal Keyswitch C0–F0

        SYSTEM
        REQUIREMENTS

        Below are the minimum and recommended hardware and software specifications for using Opus on Windows and MacOS systems.

        MINIMUM SYSTEM

        • CPU: Quad-core (four cores), running at 2.7 GHz (or above)
        • RAM: 16 GB
        • OS: macOS 10.13 (or later); Windows 10 with ASIO sound drivers
        • Drive: HDD (7200 rpm, non-energy saving)

        RECOMMENDED SYSTEM

        • CPU: Octa-core (eight cores), running at 2.7 GHz (or above)
        • RAM: 32 GB or more
        • OS: macOS 10.13 (or later); Windows 10 with ASIO sound drivers
        • Drive: SSD (SATA or PCIe)

        The chart below outlines the MacOS and Windows 64-bit operating systems and sequencers that are officially supported and fully tested with the latest version of Opus. Please note that while most Sequencers / DAWs are VST 2, VST 3, AU and AAX plug-in format compatible, only those listed in the chart below are officially supported.

        Product Version MacOS (10.13+) Windows 10
        EW Play 6 Stand-Alone 6.0+ YES YES
        EW Opus Stand-Alone 1.0+ YES YES
        Ableton Live 10.0+ YES YES
        Apple Logic Pro 10.0+ YES -
        Apple Garageband 10.3+ YES -
        Avid Pro Tools 2018.1+ YES YES
        Bitwig Studio 3.0+ YES YES
        Cockos Reaper 6.0+ YES YES
        Image-Line FL Studio 20+ YES YES
        Motu Digital Performer 9.0+ YES YES
        Steinberg Cubase(1) 9.0+ YES YES
        Steinberg Nuendo(1) 8.0+ YES YES
        Presonus Studio One 4.0+ YES YES
        VSL Vienna Ensemble Pro 6.0+ YES YES
        Acoustica Mixcraft 10.5+ - YES
        Notation Software(2) Version    
        Avid Sibelius 2018.1+ YES YES
        MakeMusic Finale 25.0+ YES YES
        Steinberg Dorico 3.0+ YES YES
        • (1) VST3 usage is recommended
        • (2) Sibelius / Finale / Dorico notation programs work with Opus, but do not support the full feature set of some Opus/Play Libraries, such as those that use WordBuilder. Please contact support for details.

        The Dark Side

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        • Includes perpetual license to The Dark Side
        • Includes EastWest Instruments
        • Includes EastWest Opus Player, 46 Mixer Effects and MIDI Tools

        $239.88/year $149/year

        • Includes The Dark Side and all 70+ EastWest releases
        • Includes 43,776 EastWest Instruments
        • Includes EastWest Opus Player, 46 Mixer Effects and MIDI Tools
        • Includes all new product releases

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        WHAT'S

        INCLUDED?

        • Produced by award-winner producer Doug Rogers and Grammy winner David Fridmann
        • 40 GB of distorted and eerie percussion, guitars, choirs and more
        • Pre-rendered sounds pushed through analog vintage & tube effect chains
        • Easy to drop into metal, industrial, or hybrid orchestral songs
        • Powerful tool for film, TV, and game music production
        • Winner of a MIPA Award