Review: Abstrung by Audiofier (currently 75% OFF)

With their latest release, Audiofier offers an affordable entry point to the interesting and vast world of unique hybrid sounds. For anyone delving into the world of hybrid scoring, Abstrung is a no-brainer.

Jump to the Demos of  Abstrung

Jump to the Videos of  Abstrung

Review: Abstrung by Audiofier

Though our sample collections are often packed full of the latest and greatest orchestral sounds, an area where many of us fall short is in the more synthetic sounding but perhaps equally important hybrid instruments. The world of media music has evolved to a point where hybrid scoring has become the norm. Combinations of orchestral and synth sounds or simply entirely synth scores are commonplace in all forms of media from film to video games. Abstrung by Audiofier offers an affordable entry point to the interesting and vast world of hybrid synth sounds at only $59. Focusing on strung instruments like guitars and dulcimers, Abstrung offers a collection of over 12.000 samples recorded from over 150 sound sources. In addition each of these sound sources was multi-sampled with three round robins allowing your creations to be extremely natural sounding and playable.

Abstrung can be purchased for $59 from Audiofier Store at Kontakt hub

Thoughts

Upon opening Abstrung for the first time, my eyes were assaulted by what can only be described as an interface designed by someone /who had just stepped out of a time machine from the 90’s. I found it a bit on the needlessly busy side with a background underneath neon text and sliders that left a lot to be desired in terms of readability and overall first impression. This initial off-putting impression was instantly dispelled when I played a note and heard a wonderful and fascinating sound evolve out from the synth. It sounds wonderful and usable right out of the box. Hitting the Random button allows a user to quickly and easily generate seemly endless possibilities for sounds as it randomly assigns values to the parameters. This can be an extremely inspiring starting point for creating a sound with the instrument as clicking it several times may yield a result you may not have ever thought of on your own.

The instrument at its core is made up of two potential sound sources which can be combined in various ways. Each side has independent control of attack and release as well as other parameters. Outside of the two sound generators we have a series of global controls and effects including two delays, a collection of reverbs, and other effects such as chorus and saturation. From each of the sound generators you can select one of dozens of sounds recorded from over 150 sound sources comprising an impressive collection of over 12,000 samples. Unique for an instrument like this is that each of the sounds was recorded with three round robins. This is particularly useful for the many short attack sounds. The added round robins allows this instrument to not only be a usable pad generator but a wonderfully playable instrument for strange short plucked sounds. These types of sounds were actually the focus of the library as the primary sound sources were string instruments of various types including guitars, dulcimers, and zithers.

The section in the middle of the instrument’s interface is where it really starts to get interesting. This can be toggled between a twin step sequencer (which can use either one or two sequencers simultaneously), or the Crystal engine.

The twin sequencers feature 8 memory slots which can be keyswitched on the fly ensuring that your phrases can always be kept fresh and interesting. These can act as an arpeggiator or as a literal step sequencer allowing for one held note to evolve into a fully realized and pulsing melodic phrase.

The crystal generator allows for some instant fun. It is at its core, an elaborate system of delays where each repetition can be pitched in different ways via an intuitive step sequencer like interface. In addition, we are given what they call The Cloud Filter which allows even more flexibility to the evolution of your created sounds. One simply has to play around with this feature to fully appreciate how fun to use and interesting sounding it is.

At the extremely low price point of $59, Abstrung by Audiofier is a no-brainer. Extremely playable and interesting sounding right out of the box, this would be a welcome addition to the template of anyone interested in delving into the world of hybrid scoring and synth based music as well as a useful add on to the existing collection of any seasoned pro who finds themselves working in these types of styles.

Facts

The library comes in at a whopping 20.73 GB and contains over 12,000 samples representing 150 different sound sources. Each sound source was recorded with three round robins allowing excellent playability. The library focuses on stringed instruments including sound sources like guitars, mandolins, pianos, zithers, dulcimers, and other more exotic instruments like the GuZheng. Create interesting and unique sounds from combinations of these sound sources using the double engine sound generators. Quickly create new and interesting sounds using the Randomize function which generates a brand new sound by randomly toggling all the instruments parameters. A great starting point for inspiration. Evolve your creations using the powerful twin sequencer as well as the crystal engine which allow you to modulate your sounds to create interesting and developing textures and rhythms. The library requires the full version of Konktat 5.5+ and will not work with the free Kontakt Player.

Abstrung can be purchased for $59 from Audiofier Store at Kontakt hub

Demos of Abstrung

Videos of Abstrung