Review: Cello Textures, Cinematic Cymbals & Toys 3 Blends by Have Audio

Specifically made to cover a variety of expressions, Cello Textures, Cinematic Cymbals, and Toys 3 Blends are perfect for those composers who need to add tension and emotionality to their compositions. Thanks to a lot of textures and interesting effects, these libraries are very powerful sound design tools even with the more acoustic patches.

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Review: Cello Textures, Cinematic Cymbals & Toys 3 Blends by Have Audio

Today we’re going to explore three Double Espresso bundles by Have Audio: Cello Textures, Cinematic Cymbals, and Toys 3 Blends. The Cello Textures Bundle includes three versions: Acoustic, Dystopian, and Electronic, the first one featuring four NKI files, while the others have one. The Cinematic Cymbals Bundle and the Toys 3 Blends Bundle are similar to the Cello’s but all the libraries include one master NKI instrument.

Cello Textures and Cinematic Cymbals normally sell for €39.00; Toys 3 Blends for €45.00 from Have Audio.

Thoughts

The GUI is very simple: it shows a little cup of Espresso between two sugar cubes and, at the lower right corner, a couple of coffee beans. The more you turn the cup to the right, the more it fills with coffee. All of this is not only about appearance, but all of those items are active parameters of the library itself.

Let’s take a closer look. The Cello Textures Acoustic version comes with four NKI files: Textures (+ playable Flautando Cello patch), Distant Cello, Friction, and Harmonicello.  It includes a lot of acoustic non-processed cello textures and phrases played in different styles and articulations. You can switch between three sound banks using keyswitches, two including textures/phrases, and one playable flautando cello. Textures and phrases have a dry sound, while the Flautando patch has an ambience tail. Distant Cello features a 4-octave cello that’s played using a technique that makes the notes sound distant indeed. Each note has quite a slow attack so it’s not very playable but it’s perfect for pad textures. Friction includes four sound banks assigned to keyswitches. Three of them are playable: the head of the samples seems acoustic-like and the texture is more in the body or at the end of them, while the first includes some tuned strident sounds. Harmonicello features a 2-octave cello with a wide vibrato at the end of the samples. The Big Cup knob controls the main sound design effect, the left Sugar Slider (assigned by default to CC1) is a convolution reverb while the right Sugar Slider controls the infinite delay level.  The Coffee Beans add delay, feedback, and distortion. All these parameters are CC assignable, so you can control them using your MIDI controller’s faders or knobs.

In the Dystopian version, the original cello samples are heavily processed. Sometimes you can still hear the essence of the instrument but what you get is a very distorted sound, which is amazing to add tension not only for horror and thriller compositions but also for trailer music. Even the GUI is changed and mirrors the theme of this patch: the table is no longer white and clean but ruined and blood-stained. The parameters have the same function as the Acoustic version, but the second Coffee Bean adds a Special Freeze reverb, which enriches the sound with a pad-like tail. You can access four sound banks: Distorted Textures, Distorted Horror Textures, Dystopian Pad and PowerCello.  They vary from really distorted sounds to a more acoustic cello sound with a bit of reverb that makes it sound more distant and mysterious. The third slot sounds like a 3-octave distorted synth.

The Electronic version features cello textures and phrases processed to make them recall a kind of futuristic world. The parameters work like in the Acoustic version with the exception of the Big Cup Knob, controlling the filter cut-off. The GUI is similar to the Acoustic’s with a design that reminds one of technology. It includes four sound banks: Textures & FXs, One Shots & Granular Textures, Movement Textures, and a Vintage Drunken Cellosynth (playable, gives you a very interesting synth sound for dystopian and futuristic settings).

The Cinematic Cymbals Double Espresso Bundle was sampled using many cymbal textures and unique techniques plus additional super ball samples. Acoustic, Dystopian, and Electronic versions are available, whose GUIs are identical to their equivalent Cello Textures. The Acoustic version includes one NKI file with three keyswitches/sound banks: Bowed Cymbals and Textures, Ghostly Cymbals and additional Super Ball friction Mallets, and Tuned Bowed Cymbals. The last one is also playable and I believe it has a very beautiful intimate sound. The Big Knob (assigned to CC1) adds a sound design effect, the sliders add two types of convolution reverb, and the Coffee Beans add a “Harsh” special IR effect and a low-end drone FX.

The Dystopian version features harsher sounds, organized by four sound banks. Besides textures and bowed cymbals techniques there are two playable pads, Dystopian (perfect to add tension) and Stochastic (more aleatoric but in a way that can be used to bring the things to a climax too). The Big Knob and the left slider add two different reverbs, the right slider adds a “Metallic Echoes” IR effect, and the Beans add “Dark Repetitions” and low-end drone FX.

The Electronic version includes mainly reversed bowed cymbals and textures, perfect to add tension and suspense: they are shorter in the first slot and more drone-like in the second. The third sound bank, Enchanted Minor Chords, features a minor chord on every note with long samples to create pads in a modern score. The knob controls a cut-off filter, the left slider adds a tape saturation, the right one adds granular repetitions (very useful to add even more tension), and the Beans add distortion and a convolution reverb.

Toys 3 Blends Bundle is perfect for horror scores in particular, but not only. The Acoustic version features three music boxes placed on different keyswitches, whose sound is very dry so you can use them for multiple purposes. The fourth slot includes many Toys textures, from the simple sound of a toy’s mechanics to more processed and creepy. The Big Knob (assigned to CC1) adds a very soft pad with low resonances which makes them a lot creepier, the left slider adds a Reverb, the right slider and left bean work on delay, the right bean adds a granular reverb.

The Dystopian version includes the three music boxes processed through vintage tapes. The resulting sound is less clear and more muddled. The Big Knob adds an authentic tape noise to the sound, the left slider a granular convolution reverb, the right slider Dark Repetitions FX, which is like a slow delay in addition to a soft reverberated tape noise, and the Beans add a reverse crescendo and a Watery Special FX, that makes the sound detuned and wet.

The Electronic version includes mainly toys textures and one shots. The knob moves the filter cut-off, the right slider and left bean work on delay, the left slider and right bean add two types of drones. The Toys bundle also includes two bonus instruments: Crystal Box, which has a main mallet sound when you press the key followed by a kind of granular delay of higher-pitched sounds that remind too many little bells, and Double Box that features the sound of another clean music box. The only parameter available here is the Big Knob, which brings the sound of the Crystal Box more to the high frequencies and adds a bit of sustained pad to the Double Box. In both cases, it adds a sense of dreaminess.

To conclude, these libraries impressed me in a positive way. They have a specific target which is sound design, but they can have multiple uses in that field. Some of them are more genre-specific, like the Dystopians, which I think could serve better creepy settings full of scary sounds and tension. But altogether, the three of them can be used in many different genres. Just think about the Toys’ bonus patches and the dreamy sound you can create with them. I also appreciate a lot that the knobs and faders change their functions depending on the library and what settings they are designed for. This makes the connection to a specific situation stronger. Furthermore, some parameters add outstanding effects to the sound (one of my favorites is the Granular Reverb). Some soundbanks can be used to create a melody but still remain true to the synthetic and sound designing world. The Acoustic Cello is not meant to be played as a real instrument (you cannot control dynamics) but to be layered with other sounds and create your own musical language. You cannot experiment a lot with the sound itself, though, due to the lack of many parameters but you still have a lot of alternatives thanks to the ton of textures, phrases, and techniques sampled.

Facts

CELLO TEXTURES DOUBLE ESPRESSO
Requires the full version of Kontakt (5.6.8 or above)

Acoustic:
518 Samples .ncw format
1.26 GB uncompressed
9 Sound Banks
4 NKI files

Electronic
231 Samples .ncw format
782.6 MB uncompressed
4 Sound Banks
1 NKI file

Dystopian
425 Samples .ncw format
1.15 GB uncompressed
4 Sound Banks
1 NKI file

CINEMATIC CYMBALS DOUBLE ESPRESSO
Requires the full version of Kontakt (5.6.8 or above)

Acoustic:
446 Samples .ncw format
979.1 MB uncompressed
3 Sound Banks
1 NKI file

Dystopian:
98 Samples .ncw format
520,9 MB uncompressed
4 Sound Banks
1 NKI file

Electronic:
76 Samples .ncw format
260.9 MB uncompressed
3 Sound Banks
1 NKI file

TOYS 3 Blends

Acoustic:
140 Samples
221.6 MB uncompressed
4 Sound Banks
1 NKI file

Dystopian:
25 Samples
30.6 MB uncompressed
1 Sound Banks
1 NKI file

Electronic:
628 Samples .ncw format
1.38 GB uncompressed
3 Sound Banks
1 NKI file

Cello Textures and Cinematic Cymbals normally sell for €39.00 and Toys 3 Blends for €45.00 from Have Audio.

Demos of Cello Textures, Cinematic Cymbals & Toys 3 Blends by Have Audio

Videos of Cello Textures, Cinematic Cymbals & Toys 3 Blends by Have Audio

Contributor Giuseppe Corcella reviews Cello Textures, Cinematic Cymbals & Toys 3 Blends by Have Audio
“Specifically made to cover a variety of expressions, Cello Textures, Cinematic Cymbals, Toys 3 Blends are perfect for those composers who need to add tension and emotionality to their compositions. Thanks to a lot of textures and interesting effects these libraries are very powerful sound design tools even with the more acoustic patches.”