Tempest Instruments have released Sona / Chroma for the free Kontakt Player – a new, free orchestral sample library featuring 16 symphonic solo instruments.
The Sound of Color
Unconventionally, the developer of Sona / Chroma decided to use hues to define each part of the “orchestra”. As a color-themed lib, every sampled instrument was given its own special color. In the broader scheme of colors, you have brass and string instruments in warmer tones (they range from yellow to purple) and woodwinds – two sections of them – in cooler shades (blue to green).
Just like with the dynamics of colors in real life, you are able to blend those to achieve something new – both visually and of course sonically. You could either mix them via an on-screen mouse pointer or using an alternative X/Y based module via the settings panel (access by clicking a dedicated cog icon at the bottom).
Sampling: What does it have to offer?
When it comes to specs, this Kontakt 8 VST plugin instrument offers sustains with 2 crossfading dynamic layers as well shorts (staccatos) w/ 4 round robins (sample variations). At least some of the instruments appear to be sampled note after note, while others feature only a stretched playable range.
In the default state, you are presented with a blank screen showing a specific hue. In this more simplified mode, you can morph between instruments by either clicking and dragging using your mouse or, as mentioned previously, via the advanced settings icon that’s in the bottom right corner of the GUI.
To access the full, color-wheel-based setup, one needs to load up one of the included factory presets.
Articulations
At the core, you get three articulations – one for sustains, another for staccatos and a third which is a blend of stac+sus (shorts and longs).
Right next to the Articulations section you are also provided with 3 microphone positions – Close, Room & Mid-Side. Now, for some reason the mics cannot actually be mixed and blended together – and you can only switch between them and select one mic as your output at a time.
At the Texture Control section, you have parameters such as Dynamics (x-fade) and an effect-based vibrato. It also includes an alternative X/Y type control in place of the standard, initial cursor-movement-based setup.
By default, mod-wheel is mapped to vibrato. However, this can be changed in the MIDI CC Assign section.
For the experimental side of things, they also give you a portamento module (which is both monophonic and polyphonic) in addition to a 15-preset reverb effect as well as a delay unit with 11 presets.
The Quality: What is it for?
Although that some instruments stand out from others when quality is concerned, the sustains seem fairly usable from a production standpoint, however I am not quite certain if that could be said about the staccatos. Although they do give you multiple round robins with those (which is of course appreciated), sound quality is not exactly top notch, which is unfortunate. Also, I find the lack of ADSR parameters a bit disappointing as well.
Tempest Instruments
If the name sounds unfamiliar to you, that’s because Tempest Instruments is a new company in the plugin development field. It was launched only this January by musician and film composer Alex Davis, which is also the former co-founder of Embertone.
As it seems, his new company focuses on rather “rare” instruments – like antique pianos and harpsichords used by famous, historically notable musician figures such as Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin.
Download Instructions
After adding Sona / Chroma to your virtual shopping cart, make sure to tick the the option that says “FREEBIES ONLY” before pressing a “PayPal” button that’s right at the bottom (this is only technical and you won’t be charged).
The new Native Instruments Kontakt 8 is compatible with PC Windows and Mac (64-bit) and supports the following plugins: Stand-alone, VST3, AU & AAX.
By the way, as a little side note, Sona / Chroma is actually not the first orchestral library that is based on colors. My orchestral VST compilation features the also free (yet Full Kontakt compatible) Palette Primary Colors library from Impact Soundworks.
