![]() There’s also a huge collection of pre-recorded instrument phrases, not necessarily played to a tempo, which complement atemporal, atmospheric passages very well, and which can stand being pushed right to the front of a mix due to their being real performances. I had great fun running several of these looped instruments in parallel, producing vibrant, ever-changing and authentic-sounding rhythm parts that I’d have struggled to have come up with myself. Rather than the usual dragging and dropping into your DAW approach, these loops load as playable patches, with the loops assigned to different keys, allowing for spontaneous, tempo-sync’ed, real-time performances. #MIDDLE EASTERN STRINGED INSTRUMENTS UPDATE#Since receiving the review copy, a version 1.1 update has been released, adding 800 MIDI loops specifically for the percussion instruments. However, if loops of predetermined tempo don’t suit your style of working, there’s some good news. The documentation claims around 1000 loops in total, so there’s plenty of opportunity to mix and match, and keep things changing on the fly. not tempo-sync’ed), in both compound and odd time signatures the Darbuka loops even include 10/8, 11/8 and 13/8! These load as patches, with a different loop on each key. In addition to the playable Percussion instruments, there’s a huge collection of pre-recorded audio loops at predetermined tempos (ie. Whilst the pitched instruments default to standard Western tuning, there is also a choice of 52 micro-tunings for those needing the ultimate touch of authenticity, providing Arabic, Chinese, Historic, Thai seven-tone and Turkish variations. These are great for evoking a flavour of Bacchanalian debauchery! One nice touch on both the high and low Baglamas is the inclusion of three tempo-sync’ed rhythms, playable in any key. Tremolo speed, vibrato speed, fret noise, board noise and pick noise controls are provided for most of the nine instruments, the options varying according to the instrument in question. The Dutar sounds very similar to a Sitar, even throwing some Sitar-style glissandi for good measure. Plucked Strings offer plenty of colourful variation, from the low, dark tones of the Oud to the bright, hammered Santoor. The Turkish Violin is more lively and energetic, and could easily pass muster as an Irish folk fiddle, especially with either the A or D drone engaged. The three bowed instruments have distinctly different flavours: Lyra I is the softest, whilst Lyra II is quite resonant, perhaps played on the bridge, sounding not unlike the Chinese Erhu - both have a pronounced rosin noise. Strings are subdivided into Bowed and Plucked categories. The Armenian Duduk excels here - the speed of the (real) vibrato can even be changed smoothly over time with a MIDI CC, thanks to Engine’s time-stretching algorithm. These wind instruments are highly evocative, with many expressive stylistic variations possible through various combinations of keyswitched articulations, velocities and MIDI CC control. #MIDDLE EASTERN STRINGED INSTRUMENTS PATCH#In the Winds section, the Armenian Duduk, Persian Ney, Turkish Ney and Zourna from Desert Winds are joined by the Kaval, Turkish Clarinet, Turkish Mey and a dedicated patch of breathing noises, the latter comprising 20 different intakes of breath and their equivalent exhalations, adding further realism to exposed wind-instrument passages. Where appropriate, some include short MIDI ‘macros’ assigned to a separate key range, for inserting rolls and fills that might otherwise be time-consuming to program. The Tombak, Dayre and Darbuka sit more in the mid-range, with two Riq variations providing high-end detail. The Davul provides the low-end heft, whilst the Bendhir and Daf are pitched slightly higher. All pitched instruments are deeply sampled with legato, varying dynamics and multiple articulations including sampled ornaments, trills, glissandi and more.ĪEP’s Percussion instruments are rich and varied, covering a wide range of hits, dynamics and pitches. Like the previously mentioned libraries, AEP runs in Best Service’s (free) Engine player, and features a total of 28 instruments: eight wind, three bowed stringed, nine plucked stringed, and eight types of percussion. ![]() Ancient Era Persia (henceforth AEP) focuses on the Middle East, expanding on Tarilonte’s earlier Desert Winds collection, and includes all four of the wind instruments contained in that library. Eduardo Tarilonte is fast becoming the go-to developer of sample libraries exploring unusual ethnic and period instruments his previous releases include Epic World, Forest Kingdom, Desert Winds and ERA II Medieval Legends. ![]()
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