Review: PLCK by Musical Sampling

Hot off the heels of their brilliant Renegade percussion library, Musical Sampling have presented us with PLCK. Yet this is no ordinary pluck library. This boutique developer has taken a whole new approach to sampling plucked instruments by deriving the samples from performances. Not only that, they have strived to capture the sounds and ambiences of the space in-between the notes and tuned the samples by ear. Will PLCK tug at your heart strings? Read on to find out more!

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Review: PLCK by Musical Sampling

Musical Sampling have become a growing force in recent years with a string of high-quality releases. Generally, their libraries can be divided into two categories, orchestral and percussive. While I do not have first hand experience with all of their orchestral libraries, a quick investigation on the web and you can hear how great they sound. Among the composer community they are used exclusively and have become firm favourites of many. I have to admit, I use Trailer Strings on many of my cues. I do have experience with their percussion libraries, specifically Medusa, which in my opinion is a powerhouse of a percussion library. With the different mixes and sound design elements, it was one library that for me had it all. Across all of these libraries, one element really came to the forefront. The sampling is absolutely incredible. With this in mind, I had high expectations for PLCK.

PLCK is essentially 16 playable plucked instruments with an added guitar and box kit and an indie drum kit. The instruments are string instruments as you would expect. A variety of basses, guitars, a kalimba and various others such as a mandolin, ukulele and a resonator.

The key here is simplicity and Musical Sampling have made this instrument incredibly playable. Firstly, there are no keyswitches to change articulations. Either you play a short note for a pluck or in the case of the guitars and basses, play a long note for a sustained note. This gives you the options of playing defined melodic passages, chordal rhythms or lush exaggerated arpeggiated chordal patterns. By making the instrument so simple in design, we can get on with creating human sounding performances. In the middle of the GUI there is one big reverb control with the exceptions of the basses which has a whole lot of nothing. It doesn’t get any simpler than this and in my opinion it makes PLCK sleek, classy and incredibly playable.

PLCK sells for $119 usually but $79 intro price from Musical Sampling

Thoughts

With simplicity in mind, my first “wow” moment came from opening the first instrument. The GUI pops out of the screen and is so easy to navigate. A refined off-white colour scheme, stylish curves, striking font with a Musical Sampling logo at the bottom. In the centre is the giant reverb control or it is replaced with the picture of a bass guitar sound hole which does absolutely nothing aside from looking glossy. There are no confusing options here or an array of cramped controls. The instrument is inviting, it wants you to jump right in and create.

My second “wow” moment was hearing the samples for the first time. I naturally loaded up the acoustic bass guitar as it is the first patch on the list. Instantly, this rich satisfying bass guitar sound filled my studio. From an EQ perspective it sounded perfect to my ears, weighty, clean and the ability to cut through the mix. Within minutes I found myself ranging from funky bass riffs to creating more intricate mixes of chords and arpeggios. Out of the box, PLCK is incredible easy to play and create really great musical moments. When is comes to mixing, most of the work is done for you as everything is punchy and well balanced. As I continued loading up the different instruments the same consistent sampling and frequency balance was apparent. Each and every instrument sounds pristine, clear and mix ready. With the gentle addition of on board reverb, the instruments can fit into any chosen room space and blend extremely well.

So what makes PLCK work so well? On the surface of things, it’s a very accomplished pluck library. Minimal in design yet maximises playability. The magic all happens in the capturing of the samples. Musical Sampling firstly ensured this library was not made up of static, one time played samples and then a series of round robins. While that approach works well for many libraries and is considered the norm, by deriving the samples from actual performances we get a human feeling and expressive instrument. With the addition of the “information” between the notes being captured and notes having been tuned by human ears, this all adds to the realism. Yet, the biggest value in all of this is as the samples and round robins have been captured from performances is, there are no ugly and distracting pre play noises such as scrapes, fret noise or slides. As a guitarist, these are the noises that we painstakingly surgically remove from our mixes. In the case of PLCK, this is already done for you leaving you with a pristine instrument to compose with which retains the human nuances of a live performance. Does it sound like a MIDI instrument? To my ears, certainly not. This is a highly expressive instrument that is highly versatile given it only has one articulation, that is to pluck.

In terms of playability, PLCK is so easy to compose with. Walking basslines are easy to perform, funky rhythmic chord passages likewise. Each instrument has an appropriate range and the intonation is consistent from high to low. In the studio you can play in precise parts or draw them in yet PLCK can be used as a live instrument also as the sample start time for every instrument is perfect. With the welcome addition of the Indie Drum Kit, you will be creating convincing performance based trios or other ensembles within minutes.

In short, PLCK is the quintessential shorts-based instrument that boasts a simple design, top notch sampling and a great range of instruments. For the working media composer, PLCK is an ideal way to give your cues realism and a human element. In the mix, the basses sound like high end bass instruments and the guitars can be mistaken for actual live guitars that have been tracked. That is the point of PLCK, these are samples taken from actual recorded performances so why wouldn’t they sound realistic? To take things a little further I decided to try out the potential for sound design with pluck. By adding some dreamy reverb and saturation I managed to create a variety of great pings. The low end basses can be used to create pulsing sequences or so great hits. The sound design potential is magnificent so again this all adds to the value for money aspect of PLCK. For the asking price, PLCK gives you a lot in return. With 16 instruments and two extra percussive instruments you certainly do not feel short changed.

In summary, I feel PLCK is a great addition to my template and I can see a lot of use to be had from it. When I need to lay down a funky bassline, there is PLCK. When I can’t be bothered to get my guitar out, there is PLCK. Oh, and did I mention the kalimba? Well the kalimba is one of the best I’ve heard. PLCK is a great tool for any media composer or as a hobbyist, it’s great to just pluck around. I cannot find a fault in PLCK, it does exactly what it promises to and it does it exceptionally well.

Facts

1.6 GB compressed NCW format
4,156 samples
Recorded in 48khz / 24bit
16 Plucked String Instruments
Guitar and Box Kit
Indie Drum Kit
Requires full retail version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or higher
Free Kontakt Player NOT supported

PLCK sells for $119 usually but $79 intro price from Musical Sampling

Demos of PLCK by Musical Sampling

Videos of PLCK by Musical Sampling

Contributor Pete Checkley reviews PLCK by Musical Sampling
“Hot off the heels of their brilliant Renegade percussion library, Musical Sampling have presented us with PLCK. Yet this is no ordinary pluck library. This boutique developer has taken a whole new approach to sampling plucked instruments by deriving the samples from performances. Not only that, they have strived to capture the sounds and ambiences of the space in-between the notes and tuned the samples by ear. Will PLCK tug at your heart strings? Read on to find out more?”