If Fracture Sounds’ Emotional Recorder gave voice to the soul of woodwinds, then Simple Legato Viola by Simple Samples Audio is its stringed counterpart – a free solo viola instrument that breathes with organic warmth and expressive nuance. Contrary to some other libraries out there, it’s not trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. Not at all. Instead, it offers a focused, earthy tone that feels intimate, textured and alive.
Crafted from the deeply emotive performances of violist Rhea Hosanny, this free Kontakt instrument captures every legato transition with great round-robin detail, allowing melodies to unfold with natural phrasing and human-like imperfections. The result is a virtual viola that doesn’t just play notes – it communicates emotion, much like Emotional Recorder does for the descant flute.
The Simple Legato Viola was originally released as a commercial sample library under the name Rhea Hosanny Legato Viola, honoring the Los Angeles-based session viola player whose expressive performances form the heart of the instrument. First introduced in late 2020, it quickly gained attention for its ultra-legato sampling approach and emotional realism. In version 1.3 the library underwent a thoughtful update – refining transitions, correcting pitch artifacts and debuting a new GUI – alongside its rebranding to Simple Legato Viola. This shift marked a move toward broader accessibility while preserving the intimate musical artistry that defined its original release.
In early 2025, Simple Samples Audio made a generous move by transitioning Simple Legato Viola from a paid product to a free library, removing its original $79 price tag. This shift wasn’t just a promotional gesture – it reflected the developer’s desire to make expressive, organic instruments more accessible to independent producing composers and sound designers. By offering such a deeply sampled and emotionally rich viola at no cost, they opened the door for more artists in folk, world and ambient genres to explore nuanced string writing without budget constraints. It’s a rare example of a commercial-grade instrument becoming a creative gift to the community.
Sound and Technical Features
As a purely organic, textural instrument, the free Simple Legato Viola VST is ideal for folk, world and new age musicians seeking a sound that’s grounded and soulful. It’s not a full orchestral solution by any means, nor does it aim to be. Instead, it excels at delivering a specific sonic character – one that’s raw, expressive and beautifully imperfect.
With customizable vibrato styles, legato speed controls and tweakable playing positions, it invites you to shape each phrase with intention. And the fact that it’s free? That makes its emotional depth all the more remarkable.
Simple Legato Viola is built for expressive realism, featuring deep-sampled round robin recordings of every legato transition to preserve natural phrasing. It offers Playing Position control, allowing users to switch between 1st and Extended positions for tonal variation (Extended notes sound darker and more muted).
The Vibrato Style selector lets you choose between Progressive (gradual vibrato) and Full (intense from the start), while the Legato Speed wheel adjusts how quickly slurred notes transition, ideal for tailoring phrasing to tempo. Additional controls include Mod Wheel dynamics, Reverb amount and real-time toggling via sustain pedal. A roughly 4GB library, it contains close to 3,000 samples (44.1 kHz, 24-bit NCW) and requires the full version of Native Instruments Kontakt 7.10.7 or higher.
Kontakt 7 supports all major VST plugin formats – including VST3, AU and AAX for seamless integration with virtually any digital audio workstation on Windows and macOS (64-bit). It also runs in standalone mode, allowing producers to perform or experiment with instruments outside of a DAW environment.
More free viola libraries for Kontakt
If you’re looking to expand your viola palette with additional high-quality freebies, consider Roots Untold Strings by Westwood Instruments for ambient viola-based layers, the Blueprint String Trio from Fracture Sounds for an articulated acoustic ensemble featuring solo viola in the mid range, as well as the latest new Blueprint Textural Viola offering evolving articulations and atmospheric motion. All three libraries run in the free Kontakt Player and complement the earthy character of Simple Legato Viola beautifully.
For other free string plugins, you may refer to the Auditory1 string repository.
