Sample Logic has announced their latest release, Cinematic Keys. Cinematic Keys is a complete collection of over 850 “traditional and mutilated” instruments and multis derived entirely from recordings of keyboard instruments.
Powered by Native Instruments’ Kontakt Player, Cinematic Keys includes over 8GB of material ranging from traditional pianos (Grand, upright, electric) as standard multi-sampled instruments, as well as strummed, plucked, e-bowed and other sampled keyboard sounds.
Appetite for destruction. The “bread and butter” of Cinematic Keys is in the inclusion of a large collection of samples derived from the destruction of an upright piano and three toy pianos, all recorded in a large multi-car garage, producing what Sample Logic calls “amazing organic acoustic treatments.” These piano instruments were dismantled and destroyed using an assortment of wrecking tools from a sledgehammer, scythe, and machete, to a blowtorch, “and way beyond,” to create an innovative sound.
New Interface. Cinematic Keys also marks the debut of Sample Logic’s enhanced Kontakt user interface. Easily control eight real-time audio effects from the home screen of every Cinematic Keys instrument. The interface also includes a bypass Arpeggiator, triggers with 64 preset effects, and an LFO section “to make things wobble.” These features come hand-in-hand with the Step Animator engine first introduced in Sample Logic’s Arpology, which allows for sequencing and arpeggiating of sounds over time on a per step basis.
New FX Animator. Building on the breakthrough Step Animator, Sample Logic has now included an all new FX Animator for all audio effects, allowing them to be modulated and sequenced in real-time. The FX Animator also contains up to 150 unique presets. All effect modulation can be made on a per-step basis, and steps can each have different durations, or be synchronized with the Step Animator.
Features include:
- Step Animator technology for “incredible sequencing”
- FX Animator for real-time effect automation
- Triggers – 48 unique effect chains
- LFO section “to make things wobble”
- Wave – additive synthesis engine
- Multi Script Macros (knobs & buttons) for real-time sequencing of instrument parameter controls
Technical specifications and compatibility. Cinematic Keys includes nearly 850 instruments and multis and a 8.05 GB compressed sample library using Kontakt’s lossless sample storage compression. All samples are delivered at 44.1kHz/24-bit. Cinematic Keys is compatible as a Stand-alone, and works with VST, Audio Units, RTAS (Pro Tools 9 + 10); AAX Native (Pro Tools 10); 64-bit AAX plugins (Pro Tools 11), CoreAudio, ASIO and WASPI plug in formats.
System Requirements.
- Cinematic Keys requires Kontakt 5 Player (Free) or full retail version (sold separately), Version 5.3.1 or higher.
- Mac OS X 10.7, 10.8, or 10.9 (latest update), Intel Core Duo, 2 GB RAM (4GB recommended).
- Windows 7/8 (latest Service Pack, 32/64 Bit), Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2 GB RAM (4GB recommended).
- 8.05 GB free disk space for CINEMATIC KEYS sample content
- 1 GB free disk space for Kontakt 5 Player
Pricing and Availability. Sample Logic’s Cinematic Keys comes out September 8, 2014. Pre-orders before that date are discounted to $275 US from the regular $349.99 price. More information at the Sample Logic website.
Sample Logic always offers a high-end sheen, but in this case, you may want to consider Omnisphere, which used many similar methods for a lot of its sounds and has a much broader range where other instruments are concerned. Its a much fuller actual synthesizer, whereas Sample Logic instruments are more like major-league specialty kits for video/film production. It’d be a great thing to have at least one of their instruments in a rig, of course. Synergy X is like a healthy mushroom trip.