This week, we take a look at two of my favourite orchestral sample library developers who have each created libraries that achieve the impossible. They make me sound good!
When it comes to playing orchestral instruments that aren’t drums or percussion, my skill level is worse than zero. I tried the violin as a kid. My fingers were too stumpy and the strings hurt. I attempted the transition from descant recorder to clarinet and failed miserably.
So when it comes to introducing these orchestral instruments in my work, I am more than happy to resort to tools that make that job easy. Two sample library developers have been making great content in recent years and now is a great time to take advantage of them.
Sounds and Presets – Remarkable Orchestral Instruments & More
Virharmonic Soul Capture Series – Bohemian Violin, Viola and Cello
Virharmonic first came to my attention some years ago as a developer of sampled content for MOTU’s MachFive 3 software instrument, which later became UVI’s Falcon. But it was their Bohemian instruments that really caught my ear.
Initially available as UVI instruments, they soon moved to their own plugin platform, enabling everyone to make use of their creations, free of the shackles of a platform. But what are the ‘Bohemian’ instruments? What makes them so special?
Put simply, these are deeply multi-sampled orchestral instruments that then make the most of some excellent and hugely powerful scripting to bring those samples to life. You can choose from solo, duo or chamber options and then pick a style of playing, such as Improv, Emotive, Assertive, etc.
These playing styles are what drive the really clever stuff. Based on the notes you play, the velocity with which you play them and other elements of your performance, the Bohemian instruments very cleverly pick the right type of bowing actions and fingering. Check out the demo…
You really have to play these to fully appreciate how good you will sound playing them! It’s quite addictive and somewhat of a revelation! Best of all, all three Bohemian instruments are on sale now for just £127/€149 which is a huge saving! But hurry, this offer ends soon.
AcousticSamples V Winds Clarinets V2 for UVI Falcon and UVI Workstation
Continuing the orchestral theme, AcousticSamples were another sample library developer that came to my attention via the same MachFive 3/UVI route. In recent years, they have focused on creating equally stunning horn and woodwind libraries that, not unlike the Virharmonic content, delivers authentic performance capabilities.
What AcousticSamples do is make use of powerful CC controls to make the nuanced changes required when playing woodwinds or horns, as well as extensively multisampling each source instrument. But that’s not all! There are incredibly detailed settings within the library to allow you to place your instruments in a multitude of environments, adjusting mic position settings and room sizes.
The attention to detail is breathtaking and the resulting performance sounds incredible and very lifelike. They’ve even created their own proprietary technology to manage airflow control. Named HAT (Harmonic Alignment Technology), it allows for expressive playing without the need for keyswitching. Just assign a MIDI control like a fader or rotary and play away!
V Winds V2 contains 8 instruments in total (2 B-flat clarinets, 2 Bass clarinets, 1 E-flat clarinet, 1 A clarinet, 1 Basset Horn and 1 Contrabass clarinet) and is delivered as a UVI instrument that plays in both the free UVI Workstation as well as Falcon.
If you’re a wind-controller user, you’ll be delighted to learn that V Winds makes complete use of wind controller support, including MPE. V Winds V2 is available now for just €199. Check out their V Winds Double Reeds V2 whilst you’re there.
Get a load of this brilliant Legend of Zelda demo!
Sound Bank ’79 by PolyData
Ok, back to the synths! I’m not sure who PolyData is or are, but they’re banging out some great preset packs for various software and hardware synths and we’ve featured their work here before. What sets them apart is they have themes for their banks that stretch across both hardware and software synths.
These themes give you a great idea at what era inspired them and there’s plenty to choose from. New to their Sound Bank ’79 range is their bank for Cherry Audio’s remarkable Dreamsynth. Known for their incredibly affordable recreations of classic hardware, Dreamsynth bucks the trend somewhat, being a completely original synth of their own design.
Polydata’s soundbank for it contains 30 patches that have Dreamsynth sounding incredibly retro and very ‘vintage’. It’s a worthy addition to their extensive range and one that every Dreamsynth owner should have in their library.
Cherry Audio Dreamsynth – Sound Bank ’79 is available now for a paltry $12.00 USD!
Distance Keys for Arturia MiniFreak by Techtronix
Rounding off this week, we have a new bank of sounds for the inimitable and superb MiniFreak by Arturia. This small synth packs one hell of a sonic punch and sounds simply huge for something so petite! And it seems that it has garnered many fans from far and wide.
One such fan is Techtronix who, via Isotonik Studios, have released ‘Distance Keys’, a bank of keys and lead sounds for this diminutive powerhouse. Billed as “a trail of sonic destruction”, Distance Keys promises to unlock the full potential of the MiniFreak.
You can judge those claims for yourself by watching the demo video below. Each patch makes use of MiniFreak’s performance features and I’m sure you will find some really useful sounds in here. These patches are also compatible with Arturia’s MiniFreak V, which fully replicates the hardware as a plugin, and also their AstroLab stage keyboard that recently received an update to host MiniFreak V patches too!
Distance Keys by Techtronix is available to buy from Isotonik Studios for just £16 and, if you buy any three or more Techtronix sound packs at the same time, you’ll get 20% off your entire order! Can’t say fairer than that!
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