Review: Aura Tonal Exotic Studio Percussion by 8Dio
Engine allows for lots of manipulation of the samples
Niche sample set
Niche, yet with very cinematic capabilities, Aura Tonal Exotic Studio Percussion’s strength lies in its ability to sculpt enigmatic and atmospheric rhythms and textures. The possibilities of this unique sample set emerge from the bells and whistles of 8Dio’s Chaos Engine and FX.
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Review: Aura Tonal Exotic Studio Percussion
Aura Tonal Exotic Studio Percussion contains a sample set of unique and exotic tonal percussion instruments. The library downloads as about 8 GB (contains 20 GB of data but uses Kontakt‘s lossless compression). It does require the full version of Kontakt 5.5+. This instrument contains 8Dio‘s “Patent Pending Groove Sampling™ Technique”, effects and Chaos Engine as well.
Aura Tonal Exotic Studio Percussion sells for $199 from 8Dio
Thoughts
To be honest, I was a bit dismissive when I first heard about Aura Exotic Percussion. It seemed like yet-another niche set of hangdrum/bell/xylophone like timbres. I wasn’t sure where I would really get any use out of the instruments. It isn’t that I dislike those tonal qualities, it was just that top of mind they just seem to have a very specific ethnic or bell-like quality.
It wasn’t until I heard Bill Brown’s demo that I started to realized that the secret sauce in the textures and rhythms of some of my favorite scores utilized exotic tonal percussion instruments like Aura. With these unique timbres, composers can create ambiguous cinematic depth and add dimension to a score.
I started to realized that the secret sauce in the textures and rhythms of some of my favorite scores utilized hybrid tonal percussion instruments like Aura.
Aura Tonal Exotic Studio Percussion contains a sample set of unique and exotic tonal percussion instruments. The 5 different instruments sampled for the library are the Aluphone, Caisa, Scaffaphone, Sixxen & Tubaphone. Each of the 5 main instruments have a dedicated main Kontakt preset and come with 3 microphone positions.
From left to right instruments shown Caisa, Tubaphone, Sixxen, Aluphone & Scaffaphone.
Each of the instruments was deeply sampled with hard and soft mallets, brushes, bowed, rolls and the 8th/16th/32nd Groove articulations. A big PRO for the instrument is that all of the articulations are at the ready
The library also comes with 61 sculpted presets and this is where the instrument really starts to shine. These presets start to show the true potential of Aura Exotic Percussion and where I started to get an idea of just how to work with the instrument to create exciting enigmatic pulses and atmospheres.
Aura Tonal Exotic Studio Percussion comes with 61 curated presets.
Then 5 main Kontakt presets come with a Step Sequencer and all the presets come with step control for Modulation, Filter LFO and 2 parallel FX systems with the usual suspects in the Effects panel and 6 effect control knobs on the front of the interface.
The “?” button allows you to randomize the parameters of the designated controls which is a great way to explore and seek out new sonic possibilities. All these additional controls really give you the ability to take the sample set into an entirely new direction.
The “?” button allows you to randomize the parameters
The Aura Exotic Tonal Percussion library comes with 8Dio‘s “Patent Pending Groove Sampling™ Technique” Basically this is a way to play back tempo synced loops that give you the ability to crossfade from one loop performed at a certain dynamic to another. The options are for 8th notes, 16th and 32nd with articulations for 2 sets of mallets as some instruments with fingers striking the instruments.
One thing I do really like about the instrument is that 8Dio have color coded the original sample set with blue keys and clearly show the extended range with the aqua keys. Although the samples do not seem to suffer at all from extending the playable range it’s nice to know what the original range of the instrument actually is.
When all is said and done, Aura is still a very niche instrument; although much more expressive than I first assumed. I think that the Groove playback will be very useful for composers who need to subdivide the beat to help move a scene along.
Be sure and check the demos and official walkthrough videos for the full details and as always, listen to the demos and other videos posted below to see if this instrument is right for you.
Aura Tonal Exotic Studio Percussion sells for $199 from 8Dio
