Let's Listen - DOUBLE FEATURE! Fingerpick by Realitone and select Misfit instruments by 8Dio!

Hey all! Welcome to the Wild West themed 'Let's Listen'!

Anyone who knows me or has worked with me professionally knows I thrive on variety and having a wide and eclectic musical taste, which translates into covering a lot of ground as a composer and musician. Every month I try focusing on covering new musical ground... and once again it's time to expand! When you stop exploring and learning, life can quickly become quite.. boring. My listening focus lately has been on exploring the roots...ethnic music from all over the world (specifically China, Persia, and India, so stay tuned for more of that) and here in the USA, which brings me to today's feature!

I love the Western film/video game genre and American roots music as a whole, and have always wanted to explore more into this territory with my own music. I did a few things here and there experimenting, but my libraries were severely lacking. I know the blues well on guitar and a bit of country but wanted to have EVERYTHING... fiddle, banjo, harmonica, that epic whistle you hear in the old Clint Eastwood films (listen below to "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"... that intro whistle is unanimously associated with Westerns, and we ALL recognize it).

I really love exploring the niche instrument libraries available for Kontakt, so I set out to find something good for a decent price (I'm not going to use these on every project, so I want the BEST sound for the BEST price.) 

Do you feel lucky? Do ya, punk?! Wrong film, whatever.

8Dio Misfit Series

I settled on the Misfit series from sample giants 8Dio They are priced VERY modestly (I paid $15-$37 for each) and I was swayed by the demos and their unique sense of charm (from the official site: "8Dio's Misfit Series is a massive deep-sampled collection of over 15 different instruments – all recorded with a unique, quirky and semi-drunk feel to it."

I started with the harmonica and banjo to get a feel for the usability and quality and later returned for the fiddle and whistle (I was torn between Embertone's fantastic 'The Whistler Ensemble' and the 8Dio 'Misfit Whistle', and decided on the latter because it was exactly what I was looking for and seemed to be made simply for that purpose, opposed to a more cheery and whimsical whistle ensemble).

The interface, for the most part, is pretty darn ugly (especially the harmonica). We have an amateur and hand drawn aesthetic on display here, complete with childish scribbles on post it notes.  There is a help button that is definitely useful, if you can get through the clutter. I mean I didn't expect a futuristic and minimal interface on a series called Misfit, but it could have been done a whole lot better than this. However, taking into consideration the extremely low price points of each instrument, presentation doesn't matter nearly as much as the sound. Still, it's quite the eyesore.

Cluttered with help info... useful, but ugly and tedious.

The sound however is pretty darn good for what it's worth. I am impressed by the character they put into the samples and the different performance effects that are available. The harmonica can do straight notes and a variety of bends and trills, and I really love how it sounds. You can ever make these sound like crap and out of tune if you want (the accuracy knob displayed above purposefully makes our 'musician' blow wrong notes). This all lends well to the "quirky, drunken" nature of this Misfit instrument series. However, at this time, I don't have use for a drunken harmonica player blowing the heck out of wrong notes on an instrument that already can sound grating to the ears. 

The fiddle sounds really good, and truly nails that lazy western tone with amazing performance legato (which they call "true gelato") and they truly capture a raw, human quality to these instruments which is really fitting for the style I wanted to use it for. Do NOT expect virtuoso playing and a classical sound, as you get the exact opposite. These really nailed the gritty western sound I had been searching for. Highly recommended if you are in the market for some alternative and unique libraries for Kontakt or for anything in the Western genre. You are pretty much guaranteed to feel like Family Guy's Stewie Griffin in that episode where they move down south. I know I did!

FIngerpick by Realitone

The only thing really missing from my ensemble so far was a great acoustic guitar. I did some live performance with my acoustic guitar and Telecaster for this piece, but I am not quite as proficient in country/bluegrass as I am in other styles, and I wanted to capture the style of finger picking, which I also am not a master at! A few weeks ago, I had stumbled across something that might be able to fill this void, Fingerpick!

As you may know by now I love discount plugins and samples and frequently browse and purchase from VstBuzz and Audio Plugin Deals. The latter, besides having a weekly product with an insane discount, has a shop featuring a lot of great products. You get rewards money every time you purchase one of their deals or any product from the shop. Naturally, I have accumulated a nice amount of rewards money which can go to any purchase there, so I frequently browse through to see if anything new has caught my eye.

Fingerpick by Realitone is my new favorite acoustic guitar library. I was, as usual, impressed by the video walkthru and knew it was the missing spice I needed for my Western Ensemble. The programming here is phenomenal, most impressive is it's auto legato, which automatically performs hammer on's and slides depending on the length of the note on your DAW's midi sequencer. The sound is incredibly realistic and genuine, and absolutely nails the sound of a seasoned guitarist performing on your tracks. For $89.95, plus additional discounts with rewards money from the Audio Plugin Deals Shop, this library is an absolute steal. Of course it is not only suited for the Bluegrass/Western style I was looking for, and while I think it is best for Rock/Folk and Blues/County, it absolutely covers any genre of music that uses an acoustic guitar.

NOW! Let's hear these bad boys in action. Giddy-Up!

Let's Listen - PATHS I AND II from Audiomodern

This week I wanted to showcase the sounds available from PATHS I and II from Audiomodern. These are available as a discount bundle for $19.99 for a limited time. 

These are relatively small libraries made up of a number of preset "kits", each kit is synced to a particular BPM so it will not sync with your DAW's tempo. The kits are made for providing quick and instant percussion and atmosphere loops. It's geared towards modern EDM and Cinematic styles. Each kit is made up of 6 layers which can each be played individually. It's very cool sounding, however it's fairly limited and will be easily recognizable to those familiar with it. It will be very useful for loading up instant percussive soundscapes for producers and composers on tight deadlines.

Here is a very quick and no-nonsense rundown of every single preset sound available in Audiomodern's PATHS I
 

Let's Listen - ATOM by Audio Modern!

*UPDATE- as of 3-30-2018 ATOM is available at the discounted price here from Plugin Boutique! Pick it up while this lasts!*

First, SORRY THE AUDIO IS SO LOW :) oh and 4:33 is what happens when you switch a preset without purging or stopping the current one from ringing out, oops !

Hey guys! Another review here of an impressive sound design library from Audio Modern, ATOM! Be sure to check out the audio demo at the bottom of the page!

Once again, this is a library I got for a great discount from the wonderful VSTBuzz. I swear they have been on fire lately. 

So let's dive right in, shall we? ATOM is touted as an "Advanced Film & Game Sound Design Tool". I wasn't sure if I really needed something like that, but then I listened to the demos, and was thoroughly impressed. This library is loaded with atmospheres, effects, keys, sequences, and it actually goes beyond what I would initially consider "sound design". This is an impressive melodic instrument all on it's own. 

The interface is quite impressive. Simple and clean and quite visually appealing. This is a Kontakt library and loads up in the browser section opposed to adding the library with a serial through Native Access, which is always a small annoyance of mine (the browser section always seems to take a bit longer to load, even when from an SSD), but when something sounds this good, I'll let it slide. 

Oooo, shiny!

As you can see here, we've got a patch browser up top, and two panels in the middle where we can load two seperate layers of the various sound sources available. Most of the presets consist of two layers here. The sounds are divided into the following categories: Atmospheres, Keys, FX, Percussion, Sequences, and Synths. Atmospheres make up the biggest chunk of the 180+ presets, and are quite stunning to behold. 

The atmosphere presets in ATOM are incredibly evocative and constantly shift and evolve as you hold the note. Some are best used with one key, as they have subtle harmonies or pitch shift effects that add to the mood, building tension or conveying a soft sense of calm and beauty. Others are best when playing chords, giving a dreamy pad effect. The first preset which is pictured above, Aeotic, has a white noise type effect in the background, and really gives off the sense of being alone in a quiet field blanketed with snow, or as someone else pointed out to me, the calming winds of laying on a beach. The sounds on display with every atmosphere preset really are top notch and incredibly unique. Each sound has an immense sense of space and are a joy to behold. You truly never know what you will find when you are scrolling through the patches in ATOM, but I can guarantee it will be unique and impressive.

The FX patches will be right at home in any kind of score, especially a film trailer. Some are intense and gritty, others screeching and quite disturbing, yet every tone sounds audibly pleasing somehow, not harsh to the ears, and each is infinitely usable. There are standard impact hits, rises, transitions, glitch FX, and then more unique sounds like computerized electronics and warped, percussive metallic sounds.  

The keys section is full of atmospheric keys (surprise!) and again, the processing and initial design of each sound is impeccable. Each sound has multiple layers on display, with audible harmonics and subtle touches. The keys can cover everything from slamming distorted piano hits, smooth guitars, plucked string instruments, and soft and dreamy vibes reminding me of an electronic piano or a Yamaha DX-7.

My favorite section besides the Atmospheres are the Sequences. Some are meant to be played as arpeggios and provide soft guitar plucks, glassy piano sounds, stuttering vocal effects, and subtle chiming, able to be played as any chord and add instant rhythm to a track. Some of these are really nice as soft underscores to an ambient track.

The synth section is impressive for a Kontakt library that is labeled as a sound design tool, as some of these can truly stand on their own for both composers and producers alike, however it is the smallest section of the library. 

There are only a couple things that were slightly annoying with this library, one being the fact that it's preset bank is quite annoying to navigate, as every single preset is listed in one long list, instead of dividing them up into the separate sections I mentioned above. This seems like an oversight and you have to scroll through a very large list to find a new one, as it always starts from the top. However, this is a minor complaint, but worth mentioning.

Overall, ATOM is incredible and I have used it on multiple projects since purchasing it a couple weeks ago. I can easily see this becoming a staple in my compositions, as it offers something incredibly unique and cutting edge, yet still sounding natural. I love it and it comes highly recommended from me. My favorite purchase this month by far.

ATOM retails for 149 Euros, which is approximately 184 USD.
Official Site

This demo was created with one preset from each of the following: Atmospheres, Perc, Keys, Sequences, Synth

Let's Listen: Air Hybrid 3 Synth and Tantra (Rhythmic Processor)

Hey guys, I wanted to offer some opinions on some really great plugins for a VERY low price. I'm going to try to make this an ongoing series, offering short reviews/impressions on the plethora of sounds available at ridiculously low prices at the various audio discount websites. As I'm sure many of you can relate to, I LOVE to get new sounds and just have a field day experimenting and playing around with them, so I often take advantage of the discounted websites such as VstBuzz, Audio Plugin Deals, and Plugin Boutique (there are others, but these are the ones I have most experience with)

Earlier this week I offered my impressions on a great orchestral library, the Herring Clarinet. Today I want to cover something complete different, the ever popular electronic/hybrid sounds. I picked up the Hybrid 3 Synth by Air Music Technology (creators of integrated plugins for PRO TOOLS) for only ONE DOLLAR here at Plugin Boutique (the deal may be limited, however). I didn't buy it at first because, come on, how good can it be for one dollar? I did a little research and heard some audio demos and a few days later I bought it. For the price, this is hands down he best deal I've ever gotten on any plugin, ever.

Load it up and you have a basic interface, and if you have ever used soft synths at all, it will all be very familiar: Oscillators (up to 6), envelope options and knobs for LFO, Filter, Preset bank, effects, etc. I won't go into much depth here, because there are much more knowledgeable users on the internet with more helpful tutorials and overviews of the features. I was mostly interested in how it sounds.

I proceeded to play around for a few days and get the feel of the workflow and operation, and then this evening I timed myself to produce an audio demo in one hour that still sounds good and relevant in today's constantly changing music scene. I was constantly impressed with the quality and lushness of the presets, and even those that didn't sound so great to me became useable after doing some tweaks, which is very easy to do. It was all very simple to use, and more importantly, a whole lot of fun to play with. A real sense of joy and discovery when finding a solid preset and then manipulating it to sound soft and airy, or thick and gritty, and everything in between. For those sounds that may have sounded a bit static, another great plugin saved the day.

I'm talking about Tantra by Dmitry Sches. The combination of these two plugins cost me around 35 dollars. I have only owned Tantra for less than a day, but I can tell you now it's going to be an absolute staple in my compositions from now on. I used it on the synth, but it can complement any possible audio signal you can throw at it. Vocals, guitars, synths, basses. It takes stale and static sounds and gives them a new life, deeply sampled rhythms and effects that sound phenomenal. The interface is also beautiful and a bit overwhelming with all the buttons and knobs, but it goes to show the amazing options for manipulation and tweaking.

Where Air Hybrid 3 is a niche product, Tantra is an versatile workhorse and can make anything sound better., providing anything from soft and subtle delays and frequency modulation, complete glitch-style signal manipulation, deep pulses and sidechaining, and percussive sequences. I was looking into buying Movement by Output, and after doing some research on forums, decided I could get something that does the same things for less money (who can say no to that?) and I settled on Tantra after the deal popped up in my inbox. I am not knocking Output at all, they have amazing products, but, if you are looking for something that has similar capabilities and features and can't afford Movement, go with Tantra. I have not even begun to delve into the full capacity of the features and sounds available, but already I know it will be a staple for years to come. It provides seemingly endless possibilities and rhythmic variations, at an amazing discounted price for a limited time here at VstBuzz.

Here is the demo I made in only ONE HOUR, using 95% Hybrid sounds (FL studio stock drum samples and one instance of the FL 3xOsc for the white noise sweep) and Tantra on the mixer channel for a couple of the Hybrid 3 layers. Tantra provides that great rhythmic sequencing (with built in delay/filter modulation) audible in the start and throughout the whole track.

Let's Listen : Embertone "Herring Clarinet"

I recently picked up the "Winds of Awesomeness" bundle by Embertone, available at discounted price via www.audioplugindeals.com. I'll do my best to add more reviews of the different instruments available in the bundle, but I wanted to start off with my favorite, and my new "go-to" clarinet library, Herring Clarinet.

I've always heard great things about this company, and finally had the chance to check them out. Do they live up to the hype? YES, Yes they do, actually even exceeding expectations. All I can say for certain is the folks at Embertone are simply genius, or possess some otherworldly magic and have somehow transported a real, living clarinet player into my midi controller/computer.

This sample library is performed by Jose Herring, and I really like the fact they show a great level of care about the artist, devoting an entire section of the GUI to him.

As you can see, the GUI is clean and easy to navigate. We have legato sustain, poly sustain, staccato (short), and trill patches, all changeable via the GUI or keyswitches. Clicking on the "Solo" button changes from a solo instrument to an ensemble, and we have slider controls for dynamics, vibrato, flutter, instrument multiplier, reverb, and a switch to enable round robin sampling. 

The sound of this library is truly stunning, and the level of detail and depth of scripting provides incredible realism. The slurred or tongued legatos are natural and smooth, and each slider is very responsive, adding details and creating a performance I didn't think was possible using just a midi instrument. Turn up the dynamics and ease on the flutter control, and you get a gritty flutter tongue effect which sounds detailed and natural. The versatility and playability of this library is fantastic right out of the box, and it really needs to be heard to give it justice. Delicate passages with the legato add nuance and texture to any orchestral or classical composition, and by turning up the dynamics and switching to the "short" patch, you can play ragtime or jazz runs with ease. The trill patch is great for achieving a natural, human sounding trill effect, as doing these on the piano roll often end up sounding static or overly quantized. 

I purchased this library as part of a discounted bundle, however this library alone was worth the price of admission. It retails for $99 USD here at the official Embertone site. 

Audio Demos

Embertone Herring Clarinet audio performance demo (straight out of the box) going through Legato sustain, short staccato, and trill patches. Adjusting dynamics and vibrato via mod wheel, and adjusting flutter effect via the GUI sliders (flutter tongue effect audible at around 40 seconds )

---

February update! 2-20-2018

Hi everyone! Finally have some free time to update the site a little bit. Some may have noticed I added a resources page, featuring some great free content for composers! I hope to see some of you in the Facebook groups. I also added a tab to the about section, which lists the software and hardware I use daily to write music, as a few people have asked. (Click here to view)

Today marked the debut of a motion-comic trailer for a new indie comic series, "Cry Hero", featuring an original theme from B. Free Productions.  Check out their site here , and view the video by clicking here. The epic original theme, entitled "Chosen" is also on this site in the AUDIO section, so please go have a listen! 

Stay tuned for more music projects, as a new smartphone game in development by one of the biggest app companies in the world, Cheetah Mobile, will feature music by B. Free Productions when it releases later this year! I can't wait for everyone to get a chance to play the game, it's really addicting and the artwork is phenomenal.

More updates coming soon, so stay tuned! 

-Brian