• ProToolerBlog has a large list of 27+ resources for free Kontakt sounds
• Rekkerd has over 35 sources for free Kontakt sounds

If you’ve got other suggestions, leave a comment below!

Native Instruments today introduced the BERLIN, NEW YORK and VIENNA CONCERT GRAND as well as UPRIGHT PIANO, four software instruments that offer detailed reproductions of some of the world’s most revered pianos.

Previously available within the acclaimed AKOUSTIK PIANO, these instruments can now be purchased individually to specifically accommodate a certain sound or musical genre, or as a bundle that offers the full range of piano tones.

BERLIN, NEW YORK, VIENNA CONCERT GRAND and UPRIGHT PIANO are available in the NI Online Shop at $79 / 69 € per individual instrument. A bundle of all four instruments is available for $189 / 169 €.

Details:

All four pianos are powered by the industry-leading KONTAKT engine, and are playable in the free KONTAKT PLAYER as well as the full KONTAKT sampler. The three concert grands and the upright piano recreate each nuance and detail of the original instruments by combining elaborate multi-sampling with sophisticated emulation of soundboard resonance and pedal behavior. Making full use of the advanced sampling and scripting features of the KONTAKT engine, they remain both efficient and convenient to use for a wide range of musical styles and applications.

Each of the original instruments was carefully set up and recorded using a special recording technique that completely minimized room ambience, resulting in pristine sound quality:

• The BERLIN CONCERT GRAND is based on a modern masterpiece of German piano construction, and carries the original’s vitality and expressiveness throughout the entire dynamic range.
• The NEW YORK CONCERT GRAND is the authentic rendition of the standard in concert halls worldwide, especially suited for jazz and classical solo material.
• The VIENNA CONCERT GRAND replicates an acclaimed Austrian piano design, with eight full octaves of powerful, orchestral sound.
• Complementing the three concert grands, UPRIGHT PIANO offers the warm and intimate tone of one of the world’s best concert pianos.

This video gives an overview of what’s new in Native Instruments Komplete 6.

via NativeInstruments

Pettinhouse

Here’s a preview of WarmJazzFree:

Features:

• 7 Kontakt patches ready to use: 1 patch is dry for amp simulators and 6 patches are amped with the Kontakt effects processor emulating some of the popular guitarist sounds.
• 129 unique samples.
• 3 layers.
• Round robin played – upstroke/Downstroke.
• Release samples for each note.

You can download WarmJazzFree at the Pettinhouse site.

via rekkerd

Glass Works is the first SC product to be packaged in Native Instruments’ Kontakt Player, meaning that non-Kontakt owners can enjoy the enhanced scripting and control that Soniccouture instruments have become renowned for.

Glass Works is a sampled collection of 3 instruments which generate sound from glass.

These are :

• Le Cristal - A bizarre ’sound sculpture’ designed in 1952 by Bernard and François Baschet. It consists of about 4 octaves of chromatically tuned glass rods, which are rubbed with wet fingers. The vibration of the glass is passed to a heavy block of metal, which itself is tuned and in fact determines the final pitch. The entire mechanism is amplified by a large steel plate, called the “fiame”. There are also three small fiberglass cones that amplify the higher frequencies.
• The Glass Armonica – A musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction (instruments of this type are known as friction idiophones ). The instrument was invented by Benjamin Franklin, who called his invention the “armonica” after the Italian word for harmony. He worked with London glassblower Charles James to build one, and it had its world premiere in early 1762, played by Marianne Davies.
• Cloud Chamber Bowls – The Cloud Chamber Bowls are Soniccouture’s recreation of an instrument built in the 1960s by maverick American composer Harry Partch. It consists of hanging “bowls” which are sections of 12-gallon glass carboys. Both tops and bottoms of the carboys are used. Partch had 14 (later 13) bowls hanging from a large wooden frame he called a “tori”. The name “Cloud Chamber Bowls” arose from the fact that Partch found the original tops and bottoms at a Radiation Laboratory at UC Berkeley in 1950. The bowls were originally used for cloud chambers used in tracing paths of subatomic particles.

Glass Works is available now on DVD and Download, priced GBP 99 / USD 159.

Soniccouture

The instruments include:

• The Cristal Baschet – A bizarre ’sound sculpture’ designed in 1952 by Bernard and François Baschet. It consists of about 4 octaves of chromatically tuned glass rods, which are rubbed with wet ?ngers. The vibration of the glass is passed to a heavy block of metal, which itself is tuned and in fact determines the ?nal pitch. The entire mechanism is ampli?ed by a large steel plate, called the “?ame”. There are also three small ?berglass cones that amplify the higher frequencies.
• The Glass Armonica – A musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction (instruments of this type are known as friction idiophones ). The instrument was invented by Benjamin Franklin, who called his invention the “armonica” after the Italian word for harmony. He worked with London glassblower Charles James to build one, and it had its world premiere in early 1762, played by Marianne Davies.
• Cloud Chamber Bowls – The Cloud Chamber Bowls are Soniccouture’s recreation of an instrument built in the 1960s by maverick American composer Harry Partch. It consists of hanging “bowls” which are sections of 12-gallon glass carboys. Both tops and bottoms of the carboys are used. Partch had 14 (later 13) bowls hanging from a large wooden frame he called a “tori”. The name “Cloud Chamber Bowls” arose from the fact that Partch found the original tops and bottoms at a Radiation Laboratory at UC Berkeley in 1950. The bowls were originally used for cloud chambers used in tracing paths of subatomic particles.

Glass Works is priced at £99 GBP / $159 USD.

Puremagnetik has introduced Waveframe for Ableton Live 7 & Ableton Live 8.

Waveframe is designed to be a great tool for sound designers and programmers. The huge library of simple waveforms can be used to construct complex soundscapes and instruments.

Two and four-voice templates are included in the library as standalone Live Racks. Open the templates in a new track and drag your waveforms from the Waveframe Library into the voice chain. Then add effects and modulations to tailor your sound.

Waveframe Features:

• Over 1700 waveform samples
• Over 30 waveform rack devices
• A selection of preset pads, leads, basses & more
• Tightly integrated native Ableton effects & controls
• Easy hot-swapping between waveform devices

System Requirements:

• Requires Ableton Live 7 or 8
• 500 MB of physical RAM
• 300 Megabytes (MB) of free hard disk space

Description:

Utilizing the same “Transwave” concept, Waveframe contains a collection of pre-programmed patches, over 30 waveform devices and over 1700 “frame” samples. Waveform frames can be modulated via retriggering within a patch. This gives a natural sounding progression over time as each waveform spectrum evolves through its phases.

By employing features only available within the Ableton Live environment, Puremagnetik has reconstructed the Fizmo architecture from scratch. From over 30 unique waveform groups, a generous selection of presets have been programmed that employ many of the same features as the original Fizmo. And just like on the original, each voice group is highly individualized giving patches a complex, evolving and rich tone.

via Puremagnetik:

Waveframe is a an advanced wavetable synthesizer designed exclusively for the features of Ableton Live. Based on the Ensoniq Fizmo, Waveframe contains over 1700 wavetable samples, over 30 waveform Live Racks and a generous selection of performance patches.

SoundsAndGear takes a look at Native Instruments‘ new Scarbee Pre-Bass:

Taking a look at this amazing sampled bass instrument from Native Instruments and Scarbee. Very well programmed to allow you to get some amazing sounds, yet it’s easy to use. Based on the Fender Precision bass. Watch the video and find out more.

Recorded with round-wound strings to get a fat and dirty sound, SCARBEE PRE-BASS also features a vast and incredibly intuitive set of playing techniques. The level of expression makes for a truly authentic and fun playing experience, and lends itself to a wide range of styles, from reggae, to pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B and much more.

SCARBEE PRE-BASS is fully playable in real time, with almost all articulations (including mutes, harmonics, hammer-ons, pull-offs, grace notes and more) available without key switches. What’s more, SCARBEE PREBASS makes exceptional use of the KONTAKT interface, displaying a fretboard overview with articulations dynamically updated as you play. With over 4,000 samples covering all four strings, nine velocity layers, and advanced scripting that makes playing both highly intuitive and stunningly authentic, it’s easy to see why the pros choose SCARBEE PRE-BASS.

Features:

• Ambient A (Sampled guitars transformed to a calm ambient pad, modwheel controls sound).
• Ambient T (Deep evolving texture).
• Gentle (Sinus sounds formed to a chary and careful background).
• Insidious (Rude and nasty sound, controlling delay amount and feedback).
• Maryn (Simple and effective short sound).
• Maryn Arp-MW (”Maryn” with arppegiator, 12 available presets controlled by modwheel).
• Meseno 1 (Short ambient sound, generated by the KORG MS20 ).
• MS20 Rhythm Bank (39 looped beats created with sounds of the “MS20 Rhythm BSH”-instrument, 1- or 2-bars, tempo-synced, controlling LP/HP-Filter, Delay and Reverb, each with free-assignable controller).
• MS20 Rhythm BSH (Bass-Drums, Snares and HiHat, exclusively generated with the legendary MS20 – like the old drum machines worked, separate volume controller for BD, SN + HH and amount of distortion).
• MS20 Perc Bank (43 looped percussive and tonal beats of the “MS20 Rhythm Perc”-instrument, 1- or 2-bars, tempo-synced, controlling LP/HP-Filter, Delay and Reverb, each with free-assignable controller).
• MS20 Rhythm Perc (A bunch of noises, blups, slices and percussion sounds, exclusively generated with the legendary MS20).
• MS20 Sin Bass (A classical pure sinus bass, very low).
• Outta Space (Reminds of a theremin, moving the modwheel adds a real tape-echo-machine atmosphere to it).
• Tranquilizer (Beautiful mystic pad, made out of several feedbacks, whistling sounds and some human tones, modwheel controls sound).

Downbeat Box retails for 19 EUR.

Downbeat Box

Downbeat encompasses a wide variety of music-styles. But it´s much wider than those terms of “laid-back electronic music” alone would indicate. DOWNBEAT BOX is a fresh and exciting exploration into this world – highly playable, this essential selection will be a wonderful resource for use in a broad range of music styles such as electronic, pop and score music productions.

DOWNBEAT BOX is fed from many organic as well as synthetic sources. Beautifully sampled from such diverse sources as voices, whistling noises, feedbacks, guitars and sounds and slices of the subtractive synthesized legendary KORG MS20, the package contains a mishmash of pads & textures, beats, rhythms, percussions, add-ons and solo-sounds. Check out all the opportunities the instruments provide by using the modwheel or the programmed surface of Kontakt.

In Advanced Distortion you’ll find crazy drum kits, hellish atmospheres and also a selection of bonus loops, all programmed using only the drums in Advanced Distortion!

This is a free product, and a lot of work was put into these sounds – donations are welcomed! Special thanks goes to Joseph Pyne for recording his guitar!

Advanced Distortion is a free download from the Brickwall Audio site.

Native Instruments has released Kontakt 4, the latest version of its mega sampler, featuring a larger sample library, expanded convolution effects and new “authentic expression” technology.

Details below.

KONTAKT 4 will be availble on October 1st, 2009., priced at $399 / 379 €.

New features in KONTAKT 4:

• The new Authentic Expression Technology sees KONTAKT 4 radically redefining the authentic reproduction of acoustic instruments with all their dynamics and articulations, while adding completely new options for creative sound design. In addition to the traditional way of sampling different volume levels of an instrument statically, AET is able to capture specific spectral characteristics of samples and gradually apply them to another samples in real-time, allowing you to seamlessly “morph” between different instruments’ characteristics. This breakthrough allows for a new level in expression and realism when playing a sampled instrument.
• An extra 10 Gigabytes of new material enrich the KONTAKT library.
• Expanded Convolution Effect Library – KONTAKT 4 comes with more than 300 new and professionally recorded impulse responses from a wide rang of rooms, concert halls, churches, speakers etc, to add super-realistic reverbs to your instruments or the sonic characteristics of high-quality hardware equipment (amps, speakers, hardware reverbs etc.). The new impluse response samples are provided by Echochamber, Studiodevices and Acousticas.
• IMPROVED PERFORMANCE VIEWS provide custom control panels, that make Instrument-specific settings available without having to switch to Edit mode. In KONTAKT 4, a much larger control panel is available so each instrument has more important parameters accessible, as well as giving each instrument a distinctive feel through the easy-on-the-eye graphics.
• The enhanced KONTAKT Script Processor gives many more options for designing custom Performance Views and for controlling other KONTAKT areas such as the master section (when writing ‘multi scripts’).
• The complete KONTAKT 4 library has been pre-tagged for your convenience. You can also create custom attributes to tag your instruments according to your own criteria. Attribute-based browsing works for Instruments, Multis, Banks, Groups, Presets, and Samples.
• New Lossless Sample Compression format ‘NCW’ with real-time encoding – reducing the size of samples by up to 50%. Instruments with high disk streaming load, such as Grand Pianos, benefit from the fact that less data has to be read from hard disk. Note that the complete KONTAKT library is delivered in uncompressed WAV format – the Lossless Sample Compression is just an option for your choice when you save instruments.

Native Instruments has announced Komplete 6, the latest version of its virtual instrument bundle.

Komplete 6 Features:

• Includes Kontakt 4, Absynth 5, Guitar Rig Pro, Reaktor 5, Massive, FM8 and Battery 3.
• Huge selection of presets covering the entire musical spectrum – all ready to play.
• Over 7,500 presets have been categorized as KoreSounds and pre-configured for use with KORE.
• Suited for music production, live performance, instrument and sound design.
• High-quality audio engines.
• Includes sample libraries with over 60 GB of professional samples.
• Intuitive control interfaces for fast and efficient workflows.
• All instruments run stand-alone, ideal for live performances.
• Supports all major plug-in and sample formats.
• Supported Formats: Stand-alone, Audio Units, VST, RTAS(Pro Tools 7/8), ASIO, Core Audio, Core MIDI, DirectSound.

Details below.

Description:

The new collection offers a veritable arsenal of acclaimed instruments and effects that cover all areas of modern music production, including powerful new versions of ABSYNTH, GUITAR RIG and KONTAKT, at a significantly reduced price point.

KOMPLETE 6 incorporates the latest ABSYNTH 5, KONTAKT 4 and GUITAR RIG 4 PRO versions, which add significant creative capabilities over their predecessors, complemented by BATTERY 3, FM8, MASSIVE and REAKTOR 5. All included products offer comprehensive compatibility for current host software versions and operating systems.

ELEKTRIK PIANO is now included within the new KONTAKT factory library, while AKOUSTIK PIANO, B4 II and PRO-53 are no longer part of the bundle due to their discontinuation as individual products. Overall, KOMPLETE 6 includes an assortment of 7,000 individual preset sounds based on 60 GByte of premium sample material.

With its powerful selection of state-of-the-art instruments and effects at only half the price of the previous bundle generation, KOMPLETE 6 continues to mark the cutting edge of software instrument technology, and provides an invaluable resource for all areas of modern music production and performance.

KOMPLETE 6 will be available in October 2009 for a suggested retail price of $559 USD / 499 €. An update for owners of KOMPLETE 2/3/4/5 will be available for $169 / 149 €. Native Instruments will offer a time-limited upgrade for owners of any version of KONTAKT or REAKTOR. These users will be able to purchase KOMPLETE 6 at a special price of $339 / 299 € until December 31st 2009.

Maschine Drum Selection contains 20 full drum kits adapted from the factory library of Maschine, Native Instruments’ new groove production system. Maschine Drum Selection is ready to play both as a standalone instrument and as a plug-in in all major instrument hosts, delivering gritty urban kits, heavily processed acoustic drums as well as vintage analog samples for various electronic music genres.

Maschine Drum Selection offers soundshaping controls for all sounds, and includes a flexible graphical step sequencer that can be used to set up intricate grooves directly within Kontakt Player and Kontakt 3. All kits are also included in additional formats for direct use within Kore 2, Kore Player and Battery 3.

Maschine Drum Selection is available for download purchase in the NI Online Shop for $59 USD / 49 EUR.

Native Instruments has gone Kompletely Insane!

No – it’s not because they built their new website almost entirely in Flash.

It’s because they are offering Komplete 5 for the month of July for $399 / 399 €!

According to NI, the 11 instruments in Komplete would be $3.069 / 2.689 € if bought individually. Native Instruments’ Kompletely Insane promo is good only through the end of July.

Komplete 5 comes with:

• KONTAKT 3 – industry-standard sampler with a 33 GB library
• GUITAR RIG 3 Software Edition – guitar and bass studio
• MASSIVE – sound monster for fat basses
• REAKTOR 5 – versatile, modular instrument studio
• ABSYNTH 4 -  synthesizer for vivid soundscapes
• BATTERY 3 – dedicated drum sampler
• AKOUSTIK PIANO – three grands and one upright
• ELEKTRIK PIANO – sounds of four renowned electric pianos
• B4 II – recreates the sound of the legendary B3
• FM8 – FM synth
• PRO-53 – the reproduction of a synth legend

Torley posted this video review of Native Instruments Acoustic Refractions, a new SoundPack that combines sampled material with KORE processing to offer 100 original virtual instruments.

If you’ve used NI Acoustic Refractions, leave a comment with your thoughts!

via Torley:

This new KORE SOUNDPACK is a fresh and exciting exploration of the world of sound. Combining curious and engaging sampled material with advanced processing in KORE, ABSYNTH, and other sound engines included in KORE and KORE PLAYER, this pack contains 100 completely original yet highly playable instruments that will resonate with modern musicians and sound designers.

ACOUSTIC REFRACTIONS draws inspiration from many idiosyncratic sources, as well as everyday objects and circumstances. Their transformation into playable instruments is a triumph of imagination, creativity and advanced programming. Beautifully sampled from such diverse sources as ice instruments, spinning washing machines, traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge, carpets being ripped, underground parking garages, and rain on a car windshield; ACOUSTIC REFRACTIONS is a celebration of refreshingly off-kilter sound design.

Jeremiah Savage, this pack’s creator, is an experienced musician and sound designer, and the founder of echoexist. His approach to sound, and particularly the idea of greater flexibility and exaggeration of acoustic sound by electronic means, is the root of the ACOUSTIC REFRACTIONS pack. Below, Jeremiah describes some of the inspirations behind particular sounds.

Processed using KONTAKT, many of the sounds have distinctly fast attacks, which then flow into atmospheric, fluid sounds via processing in ABSYNTH, KORE, and other audio engines. Utilizing the morphing features of KORE 2 or KORE PLAYER, it is also simple to create radically distinct sound variations from the same intriguing source.

DirecBass 2.0 FREE is a reduced version of the Mid+Neck Patch 16Bit 44Khz with one articulation ( Hammer-ons ). It has the same features of the full version .

Key Features

• Low notes B-C-D
• 24bit 96Khz,
• Direct recorded for amp simulators,
• Full sustain,
• Natural decay (no loops),
• 5 velocity layers,
• Round robin for alternate picking

Pettinhouse has a bunch of other free virtual instruments available for Kontakt. Like DirectBass 2.0, they are “teaser” versions of their commercial products.

TryPack consists of a small collection of over 30 kontakt instruments from three Sample Logic’s products: AIR, Elements, and Synergy.

The 30 instruments within TryPack deliver a wide range of sounds from ambient soundscapes and cinematic impacts, to Hip Hop inspired vocals and worldly tempo-synced rhythms. TryPack is a small taste of what their 3 products AIR, Elements, and Synergy are all about.

Please Note: The TryPack content is formatted as a Kontakt based sample library, which requires kontakt 2, or 3.

Tonehammer

The Didgeridoo (aka Didge) is an Australian Aboriginal wind instrument dating back over approx.1500-2000 years. The instrument is made from Eucalyptus logs hollowed out by termites and is widely regarded as one of the oldest woodwind (aerophone) instruments in existence.

Tonehammer recorded two different Didges for maximum user flexibility. The first one was is an original Eucaplyptus log and the second one is modern version made from PVC pipes.

The library contains over approx. 500MB of samples and programs contain modwheel controlled time-stretching and sample offset options allowing users to get more flexibility out of the samples. The Didges come at two different mic (close/medium) distances and a far mic for our dual-didge FX group. Didge 1 is close mic and Didge 2 is medium mic.

You can preview Tonehammer Digeridoo below.

If you’ve used it, leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Tonehammer Didgeridoo Facts:

• $39
• Close, Medium and Far Microphone recordings
• Didge 1 Percussive (with- and without modwheel time-stretching control)
• Didge 1 Sustain (without modwheel based variation in tone/rhythm)
• Didge 1 Sustain (with partial modwheel based variation in tone/rhythm)
• Didge 1 Sustain (with full modwheel based variation in tone/rhythm)
• Didge 2 Sustain 1 (with modwheel based variation of tone)
• Didge 2 Sustain 2 (with  modwheel based variation of tone)
• Didge 2 Performance 1 (with modwheel based sample-off for user control over sample start/end)
• Didge 2 Performance 2 (with modwheel based sample-off for user control over sample start/end)
• Dual Didge FX and session recordings
• Extensive read me install, patch and hint documentation (.pdf) (download here)
• 11 instrument patches, 429 samples, 483 MB installed, 266 MB .rar download
• Sample resolution: 44.1Khz/16Bit stereo .wav format
• Format(s): Kontakt 2 and .wav

Note: Native Instruments Kontakt 2.2.4 / 3 full retail versions required.

Myst Sonic has released Symphony Dynamic, an orchestral instrument for Kontakt.

Symphony Dynamic is specially designed for orchestral MIDI project musians who need to load tons of sample sizes and orchestral patches that eat up system resources. 

• Finger tip on mod wheel controls crescendo speed, attack time, and sound morph between crescendo to staccato samples.
• Velocity controls crescendo level and high pass filter sensitivity.
• High resolution (48hz, 24bit) small footprint optimized sample size structure (41.2mb).

Symphony Dynamic is available now for €28 EUR.

Demos at the Myst Sonic site.

via rekkerd

In celebration of this month, I’ve decided to release a free jazz drumset sample library. This sample library features unique and rare drums and cymbals and has an excellent tone suitable for jazz and funk.

You can preview the sample library below:

The library in in Kontakt format, but the .WAV sample files are also included in the download.

via rekkerd