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.

Initially I thought Scriptorium would re-spark my interest in writing my own KSP scripts, but I realize that Soniccouture has done a far better job than I ever could. I will certainly enjoy playing with their excellent batch of scripts for quite some time before venturing out in the wonderful world of scripting myself.
So what do I think?

Scriptorium is a comprehensive and diverse set of tools for Kontakt. With 35 scripts you are not going to learn all of Scriptorium’s secrets overnight.

While there will undoubtedly be a few scripts you’re not likely to use, this collection has gems for every Kontakt user. And it’s these gems (which will be different scripts for different users) that already justify a purchase, since you’re not likely to find these tools anywhere else.

The Scriptorium is available as a digital download and costs £49 GBP. Check the Soniccouture website for more information and audio demo.

KSP scripts are like ‘plug-ins’ for Kontakt. KSP allows you to manipulate Kontakt parameters at a microscopic level, creating new behaviours, unique timbral characters or even generative sequences.

Soniccouture have released Balinese Gamelan, a new sampled instrument for Native Instruments Kontakt.

A Gamelan is an ensemble of instruments originating from Indonesia. The majority of Gamelan instruments are percussive, and most of these are bronze. They include xylophone-like metallophones of different sizes and pitch, tuned gong chimes, very large pitched gongs, and an assortment of drums and percussion. There are many types of Gamelan ensembles, but the two dominant types are Javanese and Balinese. Balinese Gamelan has a characteristic ’shimmering’ sound which is due to the detuning of paired instruments playing the same musical part.

Here are the details:

Description:

Sampling the unique, magical sound of a Balinese Gamelan is no small undertaking. The 25 instruments that make up The LSO’s Semara Dana Gamelan Ensemble had to be recorded in great detail, as if each instrument were to be a sample library in its own right. All instruments were recorded in stereo, at 24 bit 96 khz to ensure a pristine recording of the very highest standard that will remain the benchmark for years to come.

The library is composed of single and paired Kontakt versions of the Gamelan instruments. Paired instruments also feature separate volume and pan controls. Smaller percussive instruments like the Kempli are grouped together, with KSP level and pan controls for fine tuning.

Features

• 24GB Library
• 24 Bit 96Khz Stereo Sampling
• 25 Individual Gamelan Instruments
• Up to 20 Velocity Layers
• Over 4000 Samples
• Multiple Round Robin Layers
• Kontakt 2 +3 Format
• Package includes: 3 x DVD, Full Colour 24 Page Booklet, Limited Edition Metal Box

Instruments:

• Metallophones:
  Jegog High
  Jegog Low
  Calung High
  Calung Low
  Penyacah High
  Penyacah Low
  Ugal
  Pemade High
  Pemade Low
  Kantilan High
  Kantilan Low
• Kettle (tuned) gong sets:
  Trompong
  Reyong
• Gongs:
  Wadon
  Lanang
  Kempur
  Klenton
• Drums:
  Kendang High
  Kendang Low
• Percussion:
  Kempli
  2 Kajar
  Bebende
  Gentorak
  Ceng Ceng

Available now. USD $499 / GBP £255 ( £299 inc VAT )

The ebow ( Energy bow), is a small, hand-held device that ‘bows’ the strings of a guitar using an electromagnetic field. It produces a unique guitar sound, with a very slow attack and infinite sustain.

Two guitars were painstakingly sampled, an acoustic and an electric. Both were sampled with the high and low power ebow setting, with vibrato and without vibrato. Several note off samples were recorded for every note, to make the instrument’s response as detailed and lifelike as possible. The level of the note-off sounds can be mixed to taste by the user. The acoustic was recorded in full stereo to give a natural, spacious image.

Features:

• 1.2GB Library
• Acoustic and Electric Guitars
• 950 24-bit 44.1 Samples (Acoustic – Stereo, Electric – Mono)
• 3 Note-off Samples per note
• Low Power, High Power, Vibrato and Non-Vibrato samples (R.Robin)
• Formats : Kontakt2 EXS24

Available now by Download – GBP £45
DVD – GBP £47

Soniccouture have released Synthi AKS For EXS24, a library exploring the legendary sound of the vintage E.M.S. Synthi AKS from 1972.

Sampled at 24 bit throughout, the library features extensively detailed multi- samples, a huge selection of hits and effects patches, sequenced loops and convolution of the famous Synthi Spring reverb programmed for Logic’s Space Designer.

According to Soniccouture, “Synthi AKS for EXS24 is ideal for any producers who need the sound of unstable analogue madness in their productions.” The 1 GB library is downloadable in 3 compressed parts for convenience. Available for Download Now GBP £45

Format: EXS24 Kontakt 2
Detailed Multi-sampled patches
96 Apple Loops /Rex/ Wav
Extensive Hits and Effects Library
Real time Convolution of Synthi Spring Reverb

Soniccouture have released Konkrete 2, the follow up to their Konkrete – Glitch Drums and Synthetic Percussion Library.

Konkrete 2 builds on Konkrete Drums 1. The kits are bigger, at a full 61 keys, and now velocity layering is for added detail and control. The sonic range is vast, from booming subsonic kick drums to crunchy snares with tons of bite and shimmering, shifting percussion with an incredible high-end. Konkrete 2 has been programmed for a variety of formats: Kontakt 2, Battery 2 + 3, HALion, Reason NN-XT, and Logic EXS24.

Features:

• 25 Drum Kits
• 61 Keys per Kit
• Over 1600 24 bit Samples
• KSP Glitch Machine (Kontakt2 version only)
• Formats : Kontakt 2, Battery 2 + 3, HALion, Reason NN-XT, and Logic EXS24

Available now by download – GBP £39 ( $75 USD)
Konkrete1 + Konkrete 2 Bundle – GBP £64 ( $123 USD)

Soniccouture

Abstrakt:Bass is described as a virtual one-stop bass shop – electrics, upright, effects drones, dub basses, dry snappy synths, massive snarling filter sweeps, distorted groans and moans – all in one package. Every type of bass sound is covered in the Library, making it simple to load up the bass you need in seconds – or scroll through instruments to try out lots of different basses in your track.

Features:

• 1.6 GB Core Sample Library
• 140 Advanced Kontakt 2 Instruments
• Full Sampling + Synthesis Control
• 24 Bit 44.1khz High Quality optimized samples
• Brainwave Detune KSP Processor
• Original multi-sampled waveforms from a wide range of bass instruments
• Vari-Amp Sampling on Electric basses allows user to mix between 2 amp mics and D.I.

A Huge Range of Bass Timbres

Soniccouture have put their expert sampling skills to work recording detailed, multi-sampled 24-bit waveforms from a vast array of classic bass instruments.

This gives Abstrakt Bass a unique sonic breadth unobtainable from any conventional synth – from fat vintage analogue waveforms, complex, heavy FM synthesis, studio-recorded electric bass guitars and amps right through to completely new creations from the cutting edge of sound design.

Full Sampling and Synthesis Control:

Each of the 140 Kontakt instruments offers a huge range of control over the sound. Each instrument is a mini-synthesizer in itself! 8 control knobs are instantly accessible in the rack view of Kontakt, allowing you to simply tweak the attack time or filter cutoff, or to completely re-shape the entire sound.

VARI-AMP Sampling

The electric bass guitars included in Abstrakt : Bass feature a unique edge – the ability to mix the original amp and D.I. signals to suit your track. Each note of the guitar is represented by three 24-bit samples: D.I., Close Mic ( AKG D112 ) and Distant Mic ( Rode K2 ). This gives you complete control over the natural studio sound of the bass and the amp.

Instruments Include:

ARP 2600, Minimoog, EMS Synthi AKS, Fender Jazz, Bassman, Sherman Filter Bank, Korg MS-20, Roland SH101, Casio CZ-101, Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TX- 81Z, Yamaha FS1R, Roland TB-303, Roland Jupiter 8, Prophet 5, Access Virus, Yamaha AN1X, Fender Rhodes, Roland TR-808, Roland Alpha Juno, Didgeridoo,

Plus many more uniquely created experimental bass waves.

MSRP: £79.99

More information is available at the Sonic Couture site.