ProjectSAM have finally come out with the latest Kontakt Player-dedicated instrument in the openly available The Free Orchestra 2 lineup.
Presenting the ninth installment in the continuing series of free VST libraries, TFO Luminous Trio presents a blend of three instruments recorded together – harp, piano and vibraphone.
At first glance, this combination of two concert string instruments and one metallophone percussion seems to work quite well. Similar to prior editions in the series, the samples used to make this library were also derived from an existing commercial release – Symphobia 3: Lumina.
TFO2 Luminous Trio: A tonally enriched harp
The harp is the main character in The Free Orchestra 2 Luminous Trio. The vibraphone acts here more like a secondary, complementary tonal element that is used to accentuate and brighten the naturally softer timbres of the harp (and the generally warmer sounding high registers). The piano provides more of a deep undertone to the whole sound, and it doesn’t seem to overpower the other sounds in the mix as it gives them the tonal space that they need.
The main instrument (offered by a single microphone) is paired with an accompanying, mixable ambient layer – Luminosity – that is a long-tailed, time-warped interpretation of the base sound.
Developer: ProjectSAM
Supports: Kontakt & Kontakt Player 7 and up, Windows and macOS (Standalone, VST, VST2, VST3, AU, AAX / 64-bit)
Playable Range: 4 Octaves
Microphone Positions: 1
Velocity Layers: 2
Round Robins: 1
It has 4 playable octaves with only a single Round Robin to offer – yet with two dynamic Velocity layers. Other parameters include reverb, low-pass filter, limiter, an Octaver feature and a couple of Attack and Decay envelope controls. Additional parameters in the Advanced tab also offer some Velocity-based settings as well as more globally applied tweaks like pitch bending and instrument fine tuning, and also an harmonizer.
Luminous Trio is the second instrument in The Free Orchestra series to feature a concert harp. Back in December of 2023, ProjectSAM released a (very good) standalone harp – which I mentioned in my special free harp VST plugin compilation that I originally posted this January.
It is also not the first blend that I talk about, as it also joins some other similarly executed free VST instruments and sample libraries like ProjectSAM’s Lineage Percussion Melodic Ensemble, the Vaults celesta/dulcitone piano VSTi from The Crow Hill Company and more.
Download
For existing owners of The Free Orchestra 2, in order to get the free Luminous Trio it is required to install a dedicated update via the Native Instruments Native Access software. For new users, please refer to the official ProjectSAM website and follow the instructions. The library is compatible with full retail editions of NI Kontakt as well as the freely available Kontakt Player 7. Supported formats are stand-alone, VST2 and VST3 (Windows) with additional support for AU and AAX (macOS), as well as NKS.
