Showing posts with label Kontakt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kontakt. Show all posts

Friday 5 October 2018

Kontakt 6

Don't think Kontakt needs too much of an introduction and with this new updated version it seems song creation has reached an entirely new level with a wealth of deep editing and new  instruments!

With KONTAKT 6, you can sound like a snare drum, a symphony orchestra, or anything in between, from a universe of sampled instruments. It’s a simple sampler when you want it to be, and a deep sonic scripting laboratory when you need something more. The next generation of the world’s favorite sampling platform gives you new instruments and new features under the hood – so you can layer, link, stretch, and shape your sounds any way you can imagine.

What's new?
Over two decades, KONTAKT has become a highly-developed engine for creating and playing sampled instruments. KONTAKT 6 offers more for players and builders alike:

Introducing KONTAKT Play Series: Three new instruments for the KONTAKT library, offering pristine, contemporary sound in a creative and streamlined interface

Wavetable synthesis module: Build hybrid instruments for entirely new sounds

Enhanced effects: Even more effects for your creations, for greater expression and realism

Creator Tools: New standalone application dedicated to improving the library creation and editing process.

THREE NEW INSTRUMENTS
KONTAKT 6 introduces the KONTAKT Play Series: Sonically rich sample libraries that combine powerful sound design with simple playability. Each offers eight intelligently mapped macro knobs giving you a wide-sweeping, intuitive range of control. They all showcase KONTAKT’s new wavetable module, each offering two blendable sound sources and a unique take on a speciality style.

ANALOG DREAMS
Iconic 20th century hardware synthesizers captured with an intricate level of detail, and creatively processed with seminal outboard effects. This hybrid analog/digital instrument utilizes blendable sound sources to deliver a modern take on classic electro and synthwave, which have seen a resurgence in recent cinema.

ETHEREAL EARTH
Hybrid organic/electronic instrument that takes myriad acoustic instruments from around the world, and combines it with digital synthesis, organic foley layers, and effects processing. The result fuses traditional and digital, with basses, strings (bowed and plucked), wind instruments, tuned percussion, bells/metals, pads/drones, leads, and textural ambiences.

HYBRID KEYS
A contemporary, creative, and ultimately new take on keys and piano sounds. HYBRID KEYS moves away from conventional sampling processes and instead focuses on inventive techniques such as re-amping, creative mic positioning in interesting spaces, and vari-speed experiments with tape.

NEW FEATURES FOR BUILDERS
KONTAKT has long since grown beyond its origins as a software sampler, and now provides a solid foundation for building advanced sample-based instruments. We’ve been supporting this platform, and the people who use it, with continuous updates to KONTAKT 5, and KONTAKT 6 builds on this strategy with some big additions for you builders out there.

NEW EFFECTS

Replika Delay: Based on the dedicated Native Instruments plug-in REPLIKA XT, it offers multiple delay modes, each with a vastly different sound character.
Room Reverb: A new high-quality algorithmic room reverb that offers options for real time modulation.
Hall Reverb: Another high-quality algorithmic reverb, tuned for hall sounds.
Plate Reverb: Emulates a plate reverberator for for classic vintage metallic sounds.
Cry Wah: Wah-wah effect module, based on the most popular wah pedal of all time.

WAVETABLE MODULE
The latest version of KONTAKT adds wavetable synthesis to the ever expanding KONTAKT toolset. All three of the new Play Series instruments incorporate this new module, and we’re looking forward to hearing what you create with this powerful new building block.

CREATOR TOOLS
Creator Tools is a standalone application designed to improve the workflows of library builders and instrument creators. It consists of two elements: A Debugger, for identifying and fixing problems in KONTAKT script, and an Instrument Editor, which can load and run Lua scripts to automap samples, duplicate and batch rename groups, and copy settings from one part of an instrument to another.

Saturday 28 October 2017

Cinematique Marble - KONTAKT



Very very nice Kontakt instrument for creating patterns via two sequencers. Incredibly useful for the cinematic , ambient genre and has a ton of presets loaded which are very easy to tweak. Enabling one to completely change them into something else very quickly. The sound pallette is excellent including the percussives/drums.  Requires the Full version of  Kontakt 


WHAT IS MARBLE?

MARBLE is a creative music tool - it is an extremely versatile instrument, modern and inspiring. By coming up with two parallel sound slots equipped with an "open" sequencer, real-time sound shaping and loads of acoustic and synthetic sound sources MARBLE tries to find new approaches to music production.

MARBLE covers a wide range of musical components and offers an enormous number of possibilities and options. About 900 presets are surely demonstrating that. You have single sounds, tonal textures, rhythmical figures, drum beats, ambient patterns, moving spheres, percussion loops etc. There are endless ways you can use MARBLE.

Ok, but what is it basically about?

MARBLE is technically a two track 16 step sequencer with the ability to edit every single step in terms of volume, pan, flter, tune, drive, reverse etc. To sum it up, you have eleven parameters to chose! In order to feed these two tracks MARBLE provides 63 different sound sources, some of them are providing up to six times round robin with several dynamic layers (see list below).
Marble is fully chromatic. It is not just a one key trigger machine. You can play the sounds in every key or as chords.

But if that was not enough, MARBLE gives you the opportunity to shape the entire sound in real-time. You have 13 effects at your fingertips which can be manually adjusted in 127 steps. To recall these effect settings just use the Marble - or the Modwheel – which runs through all 127 steps. You can now shape your sound in real- time at your own requirements.

THE MAIN FEATURES

1. THE CORE - THE 'OPEN' SEQUENCER

The base of MARBLE are two parallel sound slots or tracks, each equipped with an 'open' 16 step sequencer. 'Open' means that you can determine and define every possible sound parameter for every single of the 16 steps. In detail it is possible to separately change the values for 12 (!) functions for every step of both sequencers. You can change the velocity, the note length, pan, tuning, the playing-direction, the shape, filter, LFO stutter, reverb, delay and the time shifting in both directions.

MARBLE is fully chromatically playable. It is not just a one key trigger machine. You can play the sounds in every key or as chords, but it is also possible to „lock“ the tuning, which lets you easier play drum beats or rhythmical patterns.

2. CONTENT AND SOURCES


MARBLE is a creative music tool - it is an extremely versatile instrument, modern and inspiring. By coming up with two parallel sound slots equipped with an "open" sequencer, real-time sound shaping and loads of acoustic and synthetic sound sources MARBLE tries to find new approaches to music production.

MARBLE covers a wide range of musical components and offers an enormous number of possibilities and options. About 900 presets are surely demonstrating that. You have single sounds, tonal textures, rhythmical figures, drum beats, ambient patterns, moving spheres, percussion loops etc. There are endless ways you can use MARBLE.

Ok, but what is it basically about?

MARBLE is technically a two track 16 step sequencer with the ability to edit every single step in terms of volume, pan, flter, tune, drive, reverse etc. To sum it up, you have eleven parameters to chose! In order to feed these two tracks MARBLE provides 63 different sound sources, some of them are providing up to six times round robin with several dynamic layers (see list below).
Marble is fully chromatic. It is not just a one key trigger machine. You can play the sounds in every key or as chords.

But if that was not enough, MARBLE gives you the opportunity to shape the entire sound in real-time. You have 13 effects at your fingertips which can be manually adjusted in 127 steps. To recall these effect settings just use the Marble - or the Modwheel – which runs through all 127 steps. You can now shape your sound in real- time at your own requirements.

In order to check Marble before purchasing...


THE MAIN FEATURES

1. THE CORE - THE 'OPEN' SEQUENCER

The base of MARBLE are two parallel sound slots or tracks, each equipped with an 'open' 16 step sequencer. 'Open' means that you can determine and define every possible sound parameter for every single of the 16 steps. In detail it is possible to separately change the values for 12 (!) functions for every step of both sequencers. You can change the velocity, the note length, pan, tuning, the playing-direction, the shape, filter, LFO stutter, reverb, delay and the time shifting in both directions.

MARBLE is fully chromatically playable. It is not just a one key trigger machine. You can play the sounds in every key or as chords, but it is also possible to „lock“ the tuning, which lets you easier play drum beats or rhythmical patterns.


2. CONTENT AND SOURCES

In order to feed the 2 sound slots MARBLE provides a lot of exciting and organic sound sources. Beside some highlights of our current Cinematique Instruments library we have specially recorded plenty of new sounds and instruments such as a complex Gretsch jazz drum kit, a bass, a marimba, the pizzicato notes of a cello trio, a flute - thanks to powerflute.ch, several modern and classical synths, a gran cassa, miscellaneous tiny skin percussions, shaker, lots of fx and glitch sounds and much more. (below you fnd the entire list). Most of the sounds are existing in several round robin variations - up to 6 - and several dynamic layers - up to 8. Each sound covers a key range of minimum four octaves from C1 to C5. There are over 2,500 single sample sounds.

3. A NEW PATH - REAL-TIME SOUND SHAPING

MARBLE provides a new and absolute unique feature: Real-time Sound Shaping. After having created a sound in the sequencer area with all the extensive possibilities - see under 1 -, the entire sound of MARBLE finally passes a complex effect matrix. This effect matrix includes various effect such as low- and highpassfilter, distortion, compression, frequency rate, random generator and much more. By means of slightest changes of these effects MARBLE achieves amazing results and gives an exciting vitality and complexity to all the sounds or patterns. And guess what? This works in real- time.


4. FREEZE IT.

Imagine you like to play the guitar or piano while MARBLE is running, just enable „Freeze“ and MARBLE will play without holding a key in an endless mode. This is an excellent feature for those who are going to use MARBLE in a live situation or as the starting point for a new music composition in order to add further instruments.


SOUND LIST:
Tonal sounds/ natural and organic: E-Bass (Single Notes) - Telecaster Single Notes - E Guitar Harmonics - Cello Trio Pizzicato - Flute Staccato (coming from powerflute.ch) - Marimba (recorded in a concert hall) - Vibraphone/ Metallophone - Kalimba - Alto Glockenspiel - Glas Bowl - E-Piano (coming from K101)

Synth: Pure Sinus - Pure Saw - 80s Typical - Classical - Korg MS20 Elektro Bass - Modern Bass - 808Tom - Analog Vibraphone - Analog Flute Synth - Insomnia - Magnolia

Drum Kits: Gretsch Jazz Drum - BeachTowel Drum - Electro Drums - Domestic - Bungalow - 80s DrumBox - Glitched - Korg MS20

Percussive: Set of Glitch Sounds - Processed Bass Drum - Set of Bass Drums - Bongos - Grancassa - Set of Handclaps - Tiny Skin Handdrum - Tom Toms - Shaker - Dead Guitar Strokes - Muted Metal Plates - Metal Salad Bowl - Sea Container - Spokes - FX Set

Pads & Textures: Ambient - Sinus 60Hz Granular - Calm, Noise Frame - Stretched Metal - NoiseSwimmer - Bowled Texture - 50s Orchester Stretch - Feedbacks - Noise & Digital Dust - Guitar Cloud - Crackle & Bell - Dr Mabuse

Marble requires the full version of Kontakt 5.3 or higher.
For more details please read the manual.







home page

Sunday 16 April 2017

Audiofier SEQui2R EX - KONTAKT


Quite a hefty download size but well worth it! An excellent sounding phrase/arp generator with a plethora of modulations and neat sequencing tricks, such as scale syncing and including the ability to record your own phrases. A very intuitive interface and logically laid out design make this a quite wonderfull plugin.   


SEQui2R is a step sequencer, gater, arpeggiator and pulse engine all morphed into one unique Kontakt instrument.

You choose the notes that suit your composition and SEQui2R will do the rest.

Its perfect for creating a wide range of sounds including but not limited to:
Pulsing rhythms
Modulating synths lines
Moving soundscapes
Everything in between

Use it for cinematic music, EDM, underscore, ambient and anything else you can think of that needs some beautiful, lush, dark, gritty or thundering pulsing sounds!Something has changed in SEQui2R

From now on SEQui2R is sold only as SEQui2R EX.

It includes all the expansions plus the new Expansion 4 “Fingers and plectrums”.

SEQui2R EX’s engine has been updated to V1.3 and includes some new features.

Sub Sound Sources

SEQui2R EX now includes 2 new Sub Layers. One per Sound Source.

You can choose 2 additional sounds and decide at what velocity they will play instead of the main sound source.

This adds amazing new possibilities for complex sequences of evolving/ variating sounds.

All Expansions Included

SEQui2R EX includes all 4 Expansions.

A total of 11.35 GB (NCW Compressed), 660 Sound Sources.

Over 435000 sound combinations.

SEQui2R EX Sound Sources include:
 Organic and acoustic instruments, Digital and Analog synths, Guitars and Basses, Ethnic Instruments, Atonal Percussions and much more. All of them Natural and Morphed to the Impossible.
And with ALL the Expansion Packs SEQui2R EX’s sounds palette becomes

Unique Step Sequencer
SEQui2R is more than a step sequencer, a gater, an arpeggiator or a pulse engine
With SEQui2R You are in control.
You choose the notes that suit your composition and SEQui2R will do the rest.
SEQui2R features two separated sound engines, 8 distinct phrases recorders, with independent step panner, step volume, 2 step filters, step distortion and a step lo-fi per engine.

Saving The Best For Last!
SEQui2R EX incredible Step Sequencer unique features include:
Reveseable sounds per step,
Portamento per step
2 Stutter Modes per step
Ornamento Per step
Random/ Improvisation per Step!
Multi edit modes,
Random sound/ Fx/ phrases Generator,
Midi Drag And Drop Function
and much more!






Saturday 15 April 2017

8Dio Blendstrument Motion Textures KONTAKT


Looks extremely complex, and it is, but with the various randomization features one can instantly come up with ever evolving sound textures that never repeat. Very nice indeed! Certainly looks like a lot of  very detailed work went into this beast.


Blendstrument Motion Textures was created by Academy Award, TEC and G.A.N.G Award Winning Composer, Troels Folmann and one of the world’s leading experimental music designers, .

The Blendstrument is a deep creative environment that gives you the ability to create an entire new instrument with a single click of a button. The Blendstrument has an infinite amount of combinations and can never produce the same instrument twice. It can generate anything from the most beautiful angelic ambiences to pulsing filmic motion textures, anything from dark and disturbing textures to the most extraordinary EDM drums.

The Blendstrument Motion Texture Edition was created around an advance PULSE architecture that allows the instrument to PULSE between different samples in sync with your DAW Host-Tempo. In addition it contains over 300 hand-crafted Textural Convolutions that creates a textural delay to the Blendstrument. The Blendstrument also comes with a full REVERSED patch, which gives that backwards feel to the Blendstrument. We also added our newest Chaos FX 3.3 and a brand new Panorama architecture that allows individual tuning and panning of each sample layer.

The Blendstrument contains over 21GB of content (compressed to 7.5GB) created by Prof. Mario Bajardi by using a very complicated chained setup that includes a full KYMA system and ability to physically draw waveforms in real-time.

The Blendstrument is like an eternal box of chocolates. You never know what you are gonna get. But we promise whatever you create will be yours and yours only. It is our intention to offer this tool, so you can create something entirely unique.






Total Randomization & FX
The BLENDSTRUMENT is designed around the ability to randomize everything and create completely new sounds and instrument that no mortal soul has ever heard. This includes the ability to RANDOMIZE everything, including samples, sample parameters, global effects, anything that could possible be randomized. All it takes is a single click and you have created an entire, never heard before, universe of sounds.

Pulse Architecture
The BLENDSTRUMENT is designed to be a rhythmic, pulsing instrument that adapts to your DAW Host-Tempo. We designed in such a way that you can PULSE between two different pods, which each contains a fully loaded Blendstrument. The PULSE architecture allows you control all crucial elements in the pulsing, including MIX, PAN and SPEED of the PULSE. If that is not enough – try combining it with our advanced GATE function too.

Textural Convolutions
Textural Convolutions is a new way of using convolution to create textural delays. The idea is to use non-conventional convolution impulses to augment the existing sound. So when the instrument delays – you will not just get a normal delay of the instrument, but also get the delay and texture of the convolution. This concept is called Textural Convolutions and we hand-crafted over 300 new impulses for the Blendstrument. The Textural Convolutions can also be randomized.

Reversed Blendstrument
We also created the entire Blendstrument in REVERSE. Every single sample now plays backwards – creating an entirely new take on the Blendstrument. This is great for creating more underscore type of beds and works fantastic with regular Blendstrument too. A great trick is to load two instances of Blendstrument. One regular and one reversed. Assign them to same midi-channel and active one POD in each. You now have both forward and reversed at the same time.

Chaos Effects 3.3
The Blendstrument contains a massive global FX section and RANDOMIZATION system, but we also added our latest 3.3 FX Chaos Engine on top. This feature is recommended for power-users that want to shape their Blendstrumentation even further, including Filter, Step-Based Filter, EQ, Bit-Crusher, Distortion, Dual Stereo-Delay and two additional convolution systems on top of our custom Textural Convolutions.

Panorama
One of the most unique features of the Blendstrument is the fact that each sample comes in 5 completely different variations. You can control each of these variations independently, so essentially have 5 variations of the same sample behave, pan and pitch completely on their own. We call this feature PANORAMA. The PANORAMA creates highly advanced poly-rhythmic and poly-panoramic (new word!) feel to the Blendstrument.

•5.000 custom samples created by Prof. Mario Bajardi
•Advanced Pulse Architecture
•Two FX Systems. Global FX and Chaos FX 3.3
•300 New Textural Convolutions (Tempo-Synced to DAW)
•100 Preset Examples
•Ability to create an entire instrument with a single click
•Ability to load/save individual Blendstruments
•Ability to design your own Blendstrument from ground-up
•Ability to RANDOMIZE all global FX with a single click
•Ability to RANDOMIZE & STACK as many sounds you want
•Ability to Pulse Pan each layer using PANORAMA
•Reversed Blendstrument – with all samples reversed

•Hyper Advanced Instrument Generator
•+21GB (compressed to 7.5GB) of all-new content
•+300 New Textural Convolutions
•+100.000 lines of custom code for new FX 3.3 system
•Instant Instrument Randomizer
•Instant FX Randomizer
•Full Retail Version of Kontakt 5.5 (or later) Required




Monday 10 April 2017

Heavyocity DM-307 KONTAKT


Very impressive drum synth/ analogue machine. A staggering amount of genres/presets and options to tailor make your drum sounds and make them your own. Great layering possibilities with the multis or easily create your own. Definitely one of the best of it's kind with a nice interface too!  

DM307’s samples are derived from modular synth drums, live percussion and classic analogue drum machines. In total, the library contains 7.5GB of uncompressed samples (although this only uses 4.8GB of hard-drive space with NI’s lossless compression) with more than 3600 samples spread across 1500 plus presets.

The library is a download-only product and will work quite happily with the free version of Kontakt Player or, as I used for the review, the full version of Kontakt 5. Installation and authentication follows standard practice for Kontakt and I had no problems with any of these steps.

While DM307 is built upon this extensive collection of loops and single-hit samples, it is various preset structures and the Kontakt-based sound manipulation tools that go a long way to defining what the instrument is about. I’ll come to the Kontakt interface in a minute, but let’s start with the library structure.

At the top level, the presets are organised into instruments and multis, with seven instrument and two multi types. Many of the individual samples will appear in a number of presets, but the way they are presented, and what you can do with them, will be different in each case.

For example, the DM307 Style Kits instrument presets are each built on five groups of sounds: kicks, snares, hats, percussion and cymbals/FX. Within each kit, you get 12 different sounds in each group (12 different kicks, 12 different snares, etc.) mapped across five consecutive octaves of the keyboard. While you can trigger any of these sounds via the appropriate MIDI note, as we will see in a minute, the interface includes a five-lane grid editor for creating step-based patterns using these five groups of sounds. The Kit Groove instruments are based around the Style Kits but also include a series of patterns (for that five-lane grid editor). There are plenty of these presets and they are organised into genre-based themes covering Drum & Bass, Dubstep, Electronic, Hybrid Scoring, Industrial Edge, Latin Organic and Rock.

In both these instrument types, the sounds themselves offer a huge variety, from fairly conventional acoustic drums through to electronic and analogue synth drum sounds with and without processing. I could easily imagine the basic sounds working in contemporary film score, almost any style of modern electronic dance music and through into cutting-edge electronica.

The Elements Kits each take a specific sound group — kicks, hats, snares, for example — and map a collection of sounds of that type across five octaves. The Impacts and FX group does something similar but with a series of much more unconventional sounds such as pitch dives, reversed hits, sweeps, sirens, risers and analogue hits. The Standard MIDI Kits map a selection of the Style Kits in a fashion suitable for standard third-party MIDI drum loops or a MIDI drum kit.

The Loop Menus group is also genre-themed, covering Electronic, Ethnic Mashup, Hybrid Scoring, Industrial Mashup, Urban Mashup and utility Elements. Each preset contains multiple octaves of mapped loops, some focused on one instrument type (snares, kicks, etc.) while in others you get a mixture of different single-instrument loops. The latter are great fun to experiment with; just hit a combination of keys and see what rhythmically interesting drum and percussion performances just pop out. The ease with which you can instantly create some really interesting and fresh electronic beats is just a touch embarrassing.

The final instrument type is the Single Loops. These presets contain a single, beat-sliced, loop mapped across the MIDI keyboard. The Advanced Loop section of the interface includes a ‘MIDI To Host’ button so you can simply drag and drop a MIDI phrase to your host DAW to trigger the loop and editing so you can create as many variations of the original loop as you desire.

Finally, there are also two sets of Multi presets — Performance and Production — that organise the instrument presets into Kontakt bundles. Both sets contain five instruments, each configured for a different MIDI channel, but the Performance Multis have been assembled by named artists.

As mentioned earlier, the second key creative element comes from the options for sound manipulation provided by the Kontakt interface. In a review of this length, it’s difficult to do justice to just how many ways you can mangle these sounds, but there are many. Certain features replicate those offered in Damage, but there are additions here and the interface has a more modern vibe. For example, you get the rather wonderful Punish and Twist controls in the main part of the interface, a series of master effects, volume envelopes that can be applied at the ‘bank’ or individual sample levels, trigger effects that can be applied in real time from your MIDI keyboard to add distortion, filter, panning, lo-fi and delay effects, EQ and filter effects that can be applied at sample or ‘master’ level and a filter LFO.

Perhaps the feature worth a few additional words is the Grid. This provides a five-lane pattern editor for the Style Kits and Kit Grooves. Each lane relates to one of the five sound groups within the Style Kit or Kit Groove presets and you can trigger individual lanes or all lanes for playback. Within a preset, you can create up to eight different patterns and sequence these within the Chainer.

However, the fun really starts when you get into the Amp Sequencer (where you can create and apply a 16-step amplifier pattern to create some classic stutter effects) and when you switch the Grid view to show the other programmable properties for a specific lane. Here you can apply step-based values for both velocity and sample on a per-lane basis. This means that you can programme (for example) which of your 12 snare samples in the preset plays on a particular step. This is a lot of fun and the potential for creating twisted, dynamic patterns is huge.

Time To Groove

So, we have a huge library of excellent — and very varied — drum and percussion sounds and an interface that allows you to play and manipulate those (already inspiring) sounds in a whole host of ways. It is only fair to say, therefore, that to get the best out of DM307, you do need to put in a bit of initial effort.

However, that effort soon repays itself in spades. That’s not to say that there isn’t some instant gratification to be had, though; load up a Kit Groove and let the patterns play or bring up a Loop Menu preset and just randomly hit a few keys and see what pops out. Either way, it is almost impossible not to find something good within a couple of minutes.

The bottom line here is that DM307 contains a staggering amount of rhythmic potential. The sounds are fabulous and the Kontakt interface, while it takes a little while to fully explore, is an absolute joy to use and gives you masses of additional sound-shaping options. Put these things together and DM307 is an impressive package. As a source for modern electronic beats, there is a pretty endless set of possibilities here and, almost without exception, they sound brilliant.

Conclusion

At $299, DM307 is perhaps not a casual purchase for many. However, I’d have no hesitation in saying that it represents good value for money. And while Damage was most obviously aimed at media composers, this is a library I could easily imagine using in a wide variety of contexts from music-to-picture through any modern electronic dance genre and off into pop or rock. Whether it’s for film/TV or for straight music production, if you want to create modern electronic beats that you can tweak to within an inch of their life, DM307 is a hit.

•7.5 GB uncompressed (4.8GB on Disk with NI lossless compression)
•3,600+ samples
•1500+ NKIs
•85 Kits
•180+ Kit Grooves
•55 Loop Menus
•1200+ Single Loop Presets

•300 Performance Multis
•The Grid™ drum machine for easy beat creation
•Playable Trigger FX™ for real-time control
•Loop Mutator™ for real-time re-composing of loops


Tuesday 4 April 2017

Organica - Soundethers for KONTAKT 5



Very nice evolving ambient sound textures here! Another great Kontak instrument!

It's a collection of tonal textures, blended with spacious field recordings (you'll notice a wide stereo field).

The Mod Wheel makes every pad pulse in sync with your Host/DAW, and adds a huge reverb to all field recordings.

"ORGANICA" is an instant atmosphere builder with a lot of personality.

You'll find SOLO pads, DUO combinations of two pads, and a TRIO section with two field recordings layers and a pad which fades in when you use the Mod Wheel.

The MULTIS folder contains pads and low mapped fields, blended together; you can obtain dronish soundscapes very easily, perfect underscores (use the mod wheel and the fields will be reverbered while the pad will start pulsing).

Technical specifications:

- 850 Mb unzipped
- 84 patches (nki/nkm)
- 48 original files of pure pleasure

- wave 44.100 / 24 bit

- Mod Wheel assigned to all patches (please try it...)

- built in the "Free Photosynthesis Engine" by Jeremiah Pena

NOTE: you need the FULL VERSION of Kontakt 5.5.2 to use this library


Sunday 2 April 2017

Gothic Instruments Dronar Guitarscapes Module KONTAKT


Amazing sounding ambient guitarscapes. Can be a deep learning curve if you so wish, but can also be simple too.  Found this takes a while to load up in the Kontakt player, but it is well worth the wait!  

Powerful, easy to use guitar-based pad, soundscapes and atmosphere creator

Create a massive range of guitar-inflected textures from natural strummy accompaniments to wildly complex and awe-inspiring soundscapes with this second module for Gothic Instruments´ critically acclaimed DRONAR.

DRONAR Guitarscapes features hundreds of beautiful presets and a huge set of controls designed to invite deep exploration, expression and discovery. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, you can create mind-expanding atmospheres simply from playing a very small number of notes.


- Includes over 320 inspiring presets
- 5.89GB of sounds
- Developed for the full (paid for) version of Kontakt.
- Sounds derived from recordings of mandolin, electric, acoustic and steel guitars
- Create huge shimmery pads, complex atmospheres and otherworldly soundscapes
- From organic and dreamy to incredibly dark and chaotic
- Simple controls deliver massive control
- Great for soundtrack projects as well as Indie, Rock, Pop and Ambient music
- Beginner and expert friendly
- Create your own rhythm patterns in amongst the pad magic with new Rhythm Editor.
- Dive deeper with DRONAR´s unique independent arpeggiators
- Onboard FX provide further sound design options

"It is when you start to play with the controls that you realise the power of Dronar, particularly when you consider what can be done with automation, or even a simple tweak of the mod wheel." said Future Music magazine about and now that power is utilised once again with the eagerly awaited second instalment in the DRONAR series.

DRONAR is a deep, expressive and innovative atmospheric sound creator with each module exploring a different area of sound and music. Guitarscapes is the second module in the series providing a quick, easy and expressive tool for creating a massive range of guitar-based textures.

From shimmering ethereal pads that exude heavenly enchantment to dark and chaotic tension-packed atmospheres, Guitarscapes is perfect for cinematic soundtrack projects, yet its ability to produce natural strummy accompaniments also make it a versatile tool for a variety of genres including Rock, Pop, Indie, Hip Hop and Ambient music. And, thanks to the power of DRONAR, all it takes is the press of a few notes...

DRONAR automatically spreads out the chord in the mid-range, adds a root bass note, a high note and then adds evolving sound effects. 8 simultaneous different sounds are then animated with LFOs, a rhythm sequencer and arpeggiators to bring them to life.

Such simple actions free up your spare hand to expressively control the dials and record the changes as a performance in your DAW. DRONAR instantly adds low, mid-range and high sounds plus sound effects, so you barely need any other sounds to quickly create a complete piece of atmospheric, expressive music.

Beginner and Expert Friendly

Needing to only play a few notes and move a few dials to get such rich expression is inviting for beginners, but an expert will get further by knowing which notes to play and how to express emotions using the dials. Beyond the shimmering immediacy of the ‘Main Page’ awaits a whole other world of expert control, turning DRONAR into a vast modular multi-timbral synth/sampler with multiple independent arpeggiators.

Interactions between crazy internal modulations (rhythm sequencer, arpeggiator, LFOs and delays) take DRONAR Guitarscapes it into another dimension….

Not just another cinematic guitars library...

Unlike many ‘guitar atmosphere’ products that lean towards either fairly straight recreations of standard guitar sounds, or have complex pre-made atmospheres without a deep level of control, DRONAR Guitarscapes focuses primarily on performance and expression.

Many of the raw underlying samples are straight guitar sounds and the engine provides a huge amount of control and creativity using arpeggiation, gates, pattern sequencing and modulation of 8 simultaneous sounds.

It’s designed to be played with one hand, freeing your other one to make new sounds by exploring the dials, and also recording your changes in your DAW as an expressive performance.

Furthermore, DRONAR Guitarscapes uses separate bass, mid range, high end and sound effects layers all interacting to create a complete evolving sound, rather than just guitar or pad sounds.

THE CONTROLS

Main Page
Hear the immediate impact on the sound and get a good understanding of the way DRONAR works simply by tweaking the six dials on the main page…

- INTENSITY (also controlled by the Mod Wheel) takes you from silent to powerful by fading up through different velocity layers.

- MOVEMENT has a global effect on the intensity of the arpeggiators – set it high for strong effects and zero for a flat pad sound.

- HI, MID and LO control the automatically generated high notes, mid-range notes and bass notes. Moving these dials has a huge expressive effect on the music. It’s only like using a mixing desk and yet – having it so accessible in front of you encourages you to work with the balance as part of the original creative expression, instead of a mix decision later on.

- FX controls the level of 20-second futuristic, unpitched sound effects loops in the mix and adds instant movement and complexity.

Dive deeper…

The Expert Page
The Expert Page shows you all the settings for the current, last played Drone from the 12 Drone Keys. Each drone has four layers – FX, HI, MID, LO, and the Expert page presents a separate set of controls for each layer. Each layer consists of two different sounds.

Need some inspiration? Hit the ‘Randomize samples’ button on the Expert Page and Dronar will keep all your settings but instantly swap the samples in the 8-named sound slots (2 per layer). New sound variations will abound and if it’s not quite the sound you’re after, keep hitting the button for more. Want to thicken up your sound? Each layer has a THICK button which adds in extra notes. Hearing the sound you want? Easily save the settings with the ‘Store Drone’ button.

Rhythm Editor Page
DRONAR’s brand new rhythm editor allows you to create intricate patterns re-generated from live played rhythms and intertwine them with the atmospherics and pad magic. Create your own rhythms at the speed you want - from slow chugs to high speed 32nd notes. Add accents and put in triplets, spread and humanise the chords – experimentation is the key and it’s very hard to make a bad sound! What’s more, DRONAR’s arpeggiator rhythmical tools can interact with the Editor to create unpredictable rhythms and undulations.

LFO & FX Page
Add movement to your sound, including panning, vibrato or siren effects with the LFO settings. Or tweak the Drone Effects to distort or dampen the sound, or add thickness, interest and colour. Reverb and Delay sends can also be controlled from this page.

Arpeggiator Page
Get sounds really moving or pulsing over time, synced to your DAW’s host Tempo with DRONAR’s multiple and truly unique independent arpeggiators including PITCH, INTENSITY and FILTER.

Master FX Page
DRONAR’s Master FX page features standard effects including EQ, Compressor, Delay and Gate. DRONAR also includes a couple of digital (algorithmic) reverbs and a set of convolution impulses including some creative and unusual impulses for sound design - again, experimentation is the key!



Monday 6 March 2017

Artvera ART Pyrite - KONTAKT


The ambient sounds from ART are among the finest your likely to hear and one of the best kept secrets in my opinion. If your into soundscapes and cosmic music, like me, this is a MUST have! All of the patches are of exceptionally high quality and rival the sounds of much more expensive vst's, such as Omnisphere!! The randomization feature and the transitions between patches is faultless. Layer up several instances of these in Kontakt and your in for some real aural bliss!!!



ART Pyrite-K offers 555 sound presets (Instruments & Snapshots) in three sound categories. You can create dynamic sequences by using options in the modulation section and/or by using a step sequencer which offers the option to assign its midi output to one oscillator, couple of oscillators or all oscillators. You can also create your own presets easily by using the "Random" feature which can be used for all oscillators as well as for step sequencer.

If you are looking for nice, interesting and abstract sounds, ART Pyrite-K is exactly for you!

•Four sound sources (oscillators) based on samples. All samples are looped.
•Oscillators 1 & 2 powered by 24 basic multisampled waveforms.
•Oscillators 3 & 4 powered by 256 single waveforms. (The total number of Groups is 560).
•Two filters 24dB LP and HP (selectable) for oscillators 1 & 2.
•One multi filter 12dB LP/HP for oscillators 3 & 4.
•Two amplitude ADSR-style envelope generators.
•Two filter ADSR-style envelope generators including the envelope amount.
•Two units EQ 2-band, one of them for each pair of oscillators.
•One effect unit Chorus for oscillators 3 & 4.
•One effect unit Delay (controls two units) with the option to select the free or synchronic echoes.
•One special section Subdelay for the control of echoes and positions of sounds.
•One effect unit Stereo for all oscillators.
•One effect unit Reverb for all oscillators.
•One effect unit Torsion for all oscillators.
•One special polyphonic 16-step sequencer (the number of steps is adjustable) with the option to route the Midi output to any oscillator, the pair or to all oscillators.
•Nine modulation slots with the free or synchronic modulation for all filters, mixing and panorama for each pair of oscillators.
•One section Option with the Master Limiter and possibility to set the Velocity sensitivity and Pitch Bend Range for the live playing.
•Three "Random" buttons for the exchange of all waveforms at all oscillators and the randomly setting at Volume level & Pitch shift at all steps in a step sequencer.
•RAM usage 178 MB.
•CPU usage about 7-10 %.
•Three preset categories (+Bonus) include 555 presets in the format NKI and NKSN (snapshot).

ART PYRITE-K - CATEGORIES OF PRESETS

* Atmospheres & Pads & Synths (210 presets)
* Ambient Atmospheres & FX textures (180 presets)
* Rhythmic & Melodic & FX Sequences (150 presets)
* Additional few presets created for the free demo version only with the included waveforms



Friday 3 March 2017

Kontakt 5.6 - Native Instruments



Got to love Kontakt and it's wealth of instruments.

KONTAKT is the world’s leading software sampler. Its sophisticated sound engine, wide array of effects, powerful modulation possibilities, and advanced scripting brings a universe of sound to life with unrivaled playability and realism. And with an ever-growing feature set, KONTAKT continues to be the sample engine behind the future of sound.

INFINITE SOUND

The KONTAKT Factory Library includes a versatile range of instruments right out of the box – a ready-to-use toolset of over 43 GB of high-quality samples and more than 1000 production-ready instruments, including synths, choirs, acoustic and orchestral instruments, drum machines, and much more.

KONTAKT’s cutting-edge features and advanced performance possibilities are the driving force behind Native Instruments' growing list of premium sampled instruments. An open platform for development, KONTAKT powers a vast array of third-party instruments from the world’s top instrument builders.

EDIT AND BUILD

KONTAKT is a playground for anyone working creatively with samples. Arrange, edit, loop, slice, and time-stretch your samples using seven playback modes. Shape samples in ways subtle to extreme using 84 built-in effects. Animate any sound with endless modulation possibilities and take control of multiple sample groups with sophisticated routing options.

LIGHTING THE WAY

The KONTAKT interface mirrors the Light Guide on KOMPLETE KONTROL S-SERIES keyboards for one-to-one visual feedback when looking for key switches, setting up key splits, and more. It also helps instrument builders turn their original concept into an integrated software/hardware solution that works flawlessly out of the box.

Kontakt 5 – current: 5.6.6

The update includes the following improvements and fixes:

•Improved the On-Screen Keyboard’s color legibility based on user feedback
•XY Pad: Individual cursors can now be hidden via KSP ($HIDE_PART_CURSOR)
•The customized string representation of parameter values in XY Pad is now shared with the host correctly
•Updating the value of a cursor from within the control’s callback is now reliable in XY Pad.
•No longer any potential crashes when trying to view the Host Automation tab with certain NKIs loaded
•Crash when trying to view the Infos (sic) tab of the Instrument Options dialog with certain NKIs now fixed
•Certain NKIs no longer trigger the “Really quit…” dialog every time they were closed