Review: Pyscho Acoustics by Zero-G

The library “Psycho Acoustics” by Zero-G is a 2 GB sound design library that takes no more than five minutes to rightfully sit in your sound design libraries folder as one of the first choices. The raw sounds belong to the acoustic/electro-acoustic realm and really blend perfectly together in any combination even when heavily processed or mangled to produce impressive soundscapes and aleatoric textures that will fit any horror and thriller movie!

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Review: Pyscho Acoustics by Zero-G

The library “Psycho Acoustics” by Zero-G is a 2 GB sound design library that takes no more than five minutes to rightfully sit in your sound design libraries folder as one of the first choices. The raw sounds belong to the acoustic/electro-acoustic realm and really blend perfectly together in any combination even when heavily processed or mangled to produce impressive soundscapes and aleatoric textures that will fit any horror and thriller movie!

Pyscho Acoustics by Zero-G sells for €55.95 from Time +Space

Thoughts

Psycho Acoustics by Zero-G is a very small library designed to ease your way to the throne of suspense and aleatoric music. Even if the library is below 2 GB it offers a lot of VERY unique sounds. It may appear confusing when you open it for the first time but the best thing of this library is that getting lost between its patches will most likely produce amazing results. The instrument has two channels at its core that allow you to load two audio sources to blend together or tweak the ones you already have loaded in case of a preset.

The library has seven main folders to choose from, which are: Sound Design, Tempo Synced Pulses, Ensembles, Loops, Pads and Drones, Percussive Kits and Short Instruments. While the names of these sections may suggest that this library fits the most aggressive trailer, action and epic music (and I am pretty sure you could make it fit) I personally find that it shines in the aleatoric realm of music.

The sounds are so organic and “genuine” that you could load ANY of the patches and they will instantly sound interesting even when randomly pressing keys on your keyboard, no matter what tempo or pulse you have going. As naive as this can sound I believe that its the strongest point of the instrument. Choosing some preset and tweaking them by ear while layering it with the first thing you can come up within another folder is a good way to start.

Sure, you can dive into the Percussive Kits and find THAT one hit you are looking for to perfectly place it in your composition but I honestly think that this is not what this library is meant for… which simply is: a lot of experimentation. As stated by the developer on their website: “At the heart of the instrument interface is the inspirational and amazingly powerful RANDOMISE button which gives the user an instant catalyst to create brand new sounds that have never been dreamed of before.”

The GUI is not particularly visually appealing but, at the same time, it is very clear and intuitive without superfluous options and tabs. As you can see you have control over volume, pan, tune, start of the source sample, ADSR and cut, resonance, envelope as well as effects like reverb, delay and drive (plus 5 more of them at the very bottom). At the center of the GUI you can select an LFO to spice up your sounds with the usual controls of ADSR, rate, etc.

Overall Zero-G’s Psycho Acoustics is a very niche library but delivers a lot of high quality, specific and genuine sounds. I highly suggest you to head over the developer’s website to check out the demos because this instrument can surely fulfill all your needs if you are looking for a particular acoustic/electroacoustic soundscapes and textures.

Facts

Psycho Acoustics by Zero-G is a very focused little library (less than 2 GB) that will let you create incredible soundscapes and textures with the use of very few source sounds and good automation work.

The aleatoric result are always impressive and never repetitive, making it usable for an entire score while sounding interesting all the way through. The library has two-channel at its core and the usual, very intuitive controls such as ADSR and a good selection of effects to process them.

Psycho Acoustics requires the FULL version of Kontakt 5.8 or higher, the Kontakt Player is NOT supported.

Pyscho Acoustics by Zero-G sells for €55,95 from Time +Space

Demos of Pyscho Acoustics by Zero-G

Videos of Pyscho Acoustics by Zero-G

Contributor Andrea Federici reviews Pyscho Acoustics by Zero-G
“Zero-G delivers 2GB of impressive acoustic/electroacoustic soundscapes and textures to quickly sketch genuine top-notch aleatoric cues!”