Review: Evolution Bundle by Keepforest

by Raborn Johnson

Fantastic buy!
Great trailer toolkits with very modern sounds
User-friendly interface with plenty of customizable features and options
Includes a good range of playable instruments (especially the pianos and guitars)

Rises, downers, and reverses are not tempo-synched
Some patches rely on tonal key switches instead of unique tonal samples

This bundle is a super buy for anyone looking to add more color and texture to their trailer toolkit. It nicely complements the tools I already have and could stand completely on its own for trailer composing.

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Review: Evolution Bundle by Keepforest

The Evolution Bundle by Keepforest is a treasure trove of fantastic, modern trailer fx, sounds, and pulses. A sizable number of tonal instruments are also included that range from guitars and basses to leads, pianos, and pads. It is not hyperbole to say that you could create an entire Hollywood-ready trailer using this bundle alone. The sounds are superb, and the interface is user-friendly and very customizable. If you are looking to round out your trailer toolkit with a fresh set of hard-hitting sounds, look no further!

Evolution Bundle by Keepforest sells for $249.00 at Time & Space

Evolution Dragon sells for $149.00 from Time & Space

Evolution Atlantica sells for $199.00 from Time & Space

Thoughts

There have been a plethora of sample libraries flooding the market in recent years purporting to be the latest and greatest trailer toolkit available. Sometimes I’m impressed and other times I yawn. However, when Keepforest releases a new library I tend to pay attention, and for good reason. Keepforest has quickly established themselves among the front of the pack when it comes to creating great sounding, customizable, and easy to use trailer tools. The Evolution Bundle represents the genesis of that reputation.

The Evolution Bundle represents KeepForests’ genesis to the front of the pack for great sounding, customizable, and easy to use trailer tools.

Evolution Atlantica and Evolution Dragon are well-stocked with just about everything you need to create a blockbuster trailer. There are plenty of booms, braams, whooshes, and hits to make your windows rattle and your neighbor’s houses tremble. However, while the Evolution Bundle is large on quantity, it is equally impressive for the quality of the sounds it provides. These sounds are so well crafted that you will instantly be transported to the big screen. The braams are biting, the brass is growling, and the alarms are, well, alarming!

An unexpectedly nice feature of Evolution Atlantica and Evolution Dragon are the tonal instruments included. There are playable guitars, basses, leads, drones, pads, and more. And, oh…the pianos! If you have been looking for that quintessential trailer piano sound you might just be blown away by the three pianos included within Evolution Dragon. The “Cold Piano” is especially beautiful and exactly what you would hope for in a trailer-style piano. In addition to the trailer sounds and fx and playable instruments, you also get a healthy dose of pulses. There are rhythmic and tonal riff pulses and they are both great.

The user interface is easy to use and very customizable.

Along with the standard ADSR controls, you can also select from effects like saturation, distortion, and reverb. In addition, there is an easy to use step sequencer, gate, filter, and pan control that allows you to really set the sounds apart as your own. Another bonus is the inclusion of .wav files for many of the sounds. This gives you even more flexibility and customization possibilities. Finally, the cherry on top is that the interfaces for both Evolution Atlantica and Evolution Dragon look really cool. While some developers might skimp on the actual look of the interface, Keepforest have exceled here at interfaces that are easy to read, easy to use, and just plain cool! While that’s not going to change the sound, it sure makes it more fun to look at!

I’m only scratching the surface of the Evolution Bundle here but let me say that this bundle should be a super buy for anyone looking to add more color and texture to their trailer toolkit. It nicely complements the tools I already have and, if needed, could stand completely on its own for trailer composing.

For a more in-depth look at both instruments check out SLR’ Review of Evolution Atlantica and Quick Look video of Evolution Dragon

Facts

Evolution Bundle contains Evolution Atlantica and Evolution Dragon sample libraries. In total, they bundle comes with over 220 Kontakt Presets and downloads as 12.3 GB.

Evolution Bundle does require the full version of Kontakt 5.5.1 or above

Evolution Bundle by Keepforest sells for $249.00 at Time & Space

Evolution Dragon sells for $149.00 from Time & Space

Evolution Atlantica sells for $199.00 from Time & Space