#sample library

Free string synthesizer sample plugin (Strykebrett)

Strykebrett is a free sample library for Decent Sampler featuring the Hohner / Logan String Melody II with some added features. All the sounds in the video are from a single instance of the plugin with no additional plugins or effects added.

User Interface: The user interface offers precise control over every aspect of the instrument and effects. Explore parameters to refine your sound, including control over the six drawbars, envelope, amplitude modulation with LFOs, highpass and lowpass filters, velocity/dynamics, oscillator drifting, and the immersive effects of ensemble, phaser, echo and reverb. 

Mixer (Bass / Treble): Unleash the power of the six drawbars to shape your tone with precision. Each drawbar controls the amplitude of a specific octave or sound, offering you unparalleled control over the instrument's harmonic richness. 

ADSR Envelope: Shape your sound precisely with the Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release parameters. Whether you desire a punchy, staccato tone or a smooth, lingering ambiance, the ADSR envelope allows you to tailor the dynamics to your liking. 

Low-frequency Oscillator (LFO): The Rate and Depth knobs enable you to modulate the amplitude of four of the drawbars with the desired depth and rate. The LFOs for the treble section has a sine waveform for smooth transitions. The LFO for the bass section has a sawtooth waveform for a rhythmic effect. 

Voltage Controlled Filter (VCF): Strykebrett has a highpass filter and a lowpass filter. The highpass filter ranges from 20 Hz to 2000 Hz and the lowpass filter ranges from 200 Hz to 8000 Hz. 

Oscillators:

Dyn: Turns on or off the velocity controlled amplitude

Drift: When enabled, each sample will have a slight pitch drift. The pitch drift for each sample is unique and independent. It's less pitch drift in the bass samples than the treble samples. 

Ensemble:

O: 3 stereo choruses with different speed and depth

Acc: Turns the ensemble off

Solo: Fast stereo vibrato

Organ: A slow stereo chorus 

Effects: The phaser is the built-in phaser from Decent Sampler. The echo and reverb effects are achieved using carefully crafted impulse responses. The echo effect employs a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo recorded twice for stereo, while the reverb effect draws from a Chase Bliss Audio & Meris CXM 1978 reverb pedal with a room setting. 

Echo: Select from two distinctive echo options: the short echo, delivering a classic slapback effect, and the long echo, characterized by a slower decay and numerous repeats. 

Stream "Eurydice", my new five-track orchestral album, right now on Spotify and Apple Music as well as other music streaming platforms! 

Virtual Instruments and sample library blog for electronic musician enthusiasts.

Link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samplesoundreview/

10 seconds of musescore midi, followed by 10 seconds of what you will probably mistake for a live performance.

JUST LISTEN TO THAT. IT’S UNBELIEVABLY REALISTIC. HOLY SHIT

I don’t know how many times I’ve been frustrated by some grumpy musician or a musical instrument/sample library/effects plugin company, whether or not it was directed towards me.

Too many musicians think they need expensive equipment or computer programs to make good music. I’m sure many other musicians like myself would agree.

I own a 1950s Silvertone acoustic guitar, given to me by my grandmother, who got it from my great-grandmother. You can still see wear on the fretboard where her long 1950s fingernails formed basic open position chords. One time I brought it to a bluegrass festival, where a lot of players simply wander around and jam. Some stranger came up to me and said I really ought to upgrade to a “good” guitar. This phenomenon is particularly incongruent and irksome in the folk music community. American folk music is founded upon dirt poor railroad workers and cotton pickers, who could only afford what guitars they could get their hands on, or built them out of cigar boxes or cookie tins. And yet it seems like you can’t play bluegrass music nowadays unless you sound like Doc Watson or Earl Scruggs. As amazing as those guys are, it makes folk music feel like a place only for virtuosos, which isn’t true.

It happens in rock music too. I remember when Jack White and his White Stripes were rising to stardom, loads of people wrote to the guitar magazines in the letters-to-the-editor section sneering at him, calling him “amateurish” and “primitive”. To me, the White Stripes were a revelation. I discovered that you didn’t need a $3,000 Les Paul Standard or Ibanez 7-string with EMG pickups with a boutique amp with a million billion knobs to sound good (not that there’s anything inherently wrong with those things). You could use a cheap dinky fiberglass guitar that you picked up at a pawn shop and sound fantastic.