Update: Sonokinetic release updates Grosso 2.0 and Minimal 2.0 @Sonotweet
Very excited to see Sonokinetic has released a 2.0 update for both Grosso and Minimal libraries. New advancements include sample offset controls, phrase picker previews, release sample volume adjustment, Komplete Kontrol support and my very favorite: MIDI drag and drop from the score window.
Libraries available from Sonokinetic.
Videos and official announcements from Sonokinetic below:
GROSSO 2.0
•Sample offset controls
•Phrase picker previews
•Release sample volume adjustment
•Dedicated patches for Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol keyboards
•MIDI drag and drop from the score window
•Tutorial & Manual Addendum
With Grosso, Sonokinetic BV is changing the paradigm for orchestral phrase-based instruments… again! Before our Minimal library, the level of control, whilst retaining the authentic sound that live recordings bring to the party, was unheard of. We have gotten so much positive feedback on Minimal that a ‘sequel’ was unavoidable. Mere sequels is not what we do though at Sonokinetic, so if you look at what Grosso brings to the table, you will see an evolved entity that is a homo-sapiens to Minimal’s homo-erectus.
We have conceived this instrument from the ground up, using parts of the Minimal engine and reimagining many other things to accommodate for the added flexibility Grosso brings to the table. The main difference, apart from the obviously upbeat nature of the recorded material and the addition of a choir part and a taiko and non-melodic percussion section, is that we split out the orchestral sections into more parts. Strings and choir are split in low – mid – high, woodwinds and brass into low and high, percussion into taiko and more traditional orchestral percussion. All of these elements have been carefully composed to work well with all of the others, resulting in millions of possible combinations of sounds.
The nature and sheer amount of this raw material, and the added flexibility we needed to offer to you in an intuitive way, led us to a completely new interface style, and it made us split up the instrument into different Kontakt .nki’s. Don’t worry though, we have laid out the keyswitches in a way that still makes it possible to play this instrument ‘Minimal-style’ with the whole orchestra on one midi channel.
Grosso is a 12/8 feel library, and we have configured the engine to work in both 4/4 and 12/8 time signatures within your DAW. Though the instrument was conceived with trailer and action styles in mind, the finished product is capable of so much more, limited only by your imagination.
Check out our demo section to hear some of the compositions made by the incredibly talented composers in our beta team, inspired by Grosso. In fact, much of the early feedback we got from these guys included the word ‘inspirational’ as much as the word ‘exceptional’. If there’s ever an instrument that can help you get out of a funk when you need it most, it’s this one. We have even included a randomiser button to provide you with different pattern combinations at the click of a button.
To top off the collection we have added a ‘transition builder’ instrument that is aimed at gluing parts together, and building up towards climaxes. It includes brass and woodwind crescendo chords, and recognises different chord types, like diminished, augmented and dominant 7th. Chords are constructed on the spot from a collection of recorded intervals. This builder instrument also contains percussion and taiko fills, and a fully playable multisampled taiko ensemble patch, both as an ensemble and individual drums. Please look at the video to see its capabilities in action.
Grosso available from Sonokinetic.
MINIMAL 2.0
•Far more playable with under the hood improvements to the playback engine
•Phrase picker previews
•Release sample volume
•Dedicated patches for Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol keyboards
•MIDI drag and drop from the score window
•Bar sync control / keyswitch
•Phrase Randomisation
•Brand new OPTIONS menu including…
•Help legend
•Sample offset controls
•Tuning control
•Harmonic shift variations
•Alternative color scheme
•Tutorial & Manual Addendum
With Minimal, Sonokinetic delivers the fourth installment in our current range of orchestral instruments. We have listened to our users, and built an entirely new system from the ground up, defining what we think is a revolutionary novel direction in orchestral pattern-based sampling.
Minimal would suggest a particular music style, and many of the patterns available in this instrument are very well suited for that style. However, we’d like to stress that this is indeed a very flexible instrument, capable of enhancing a broad range of musical arrangements and compositions in a wide variety of styles. Where Minimal differs from libraries like Tutti and Vivace is in its section-based approach. All phrases are recorded per orchestral section and can be used separately or together and in any combination, allowing for a great deal of variations at your fingertips.
The first thing that would strike you is the non-apologetic interface style without any gloss. Apart from this being a respectful nod to our Dutch art heritage on the outside, it also very much references the “form follows function” approach that Dutch design is famous for. There are no superfluous elements and we’ve arranged everything in an intuitive way. You have every control in one screen within an uncrowded workspace. You might not suspect it from just looking at it, but there are a lot of complex functionalities at your disposal from this one screen. Discover more about those in the detailed descriptions right here in the user manual and on the tutorial videos available on our website: www.sonokinetic.net.
Recordings for Minimal took place in Zlin, Czech Republic, in the same hall and with the same team responsible for recording Tutti and Vivace. The performances have been edited with the same meticulous attention to detail and quality.
Many innovative functions grace this instrument, mostly under the hood, as we believe that technology is at its best when you don’t notice it. One of the functions that might need a bit more introduction is the harmonic shift function. This element of Minimal can lead to great sounding results and also serve as a very rewarding inspirational tool. So please read and digest the part of this manual dedicated to that function.
More visibly, and in lieu of popular request, we have found a way to greatly improve the score view. Despite the pixel restrictions of the Kontakt window we’ve managed to squeeze in a clear and accurate score view, although you can still order a digital full-scale copy of the score, if you so desire.
Minimal available from Sonokinetic.
