Embertone has teamed up with Grammy® Winning Virtuoso Joshua Bell for their latest release, Joshua Bell Violin. After 2 years in development and anticipation, the new Kontakt player instrument is now out and is Embertone most ambitious release to date. The development team’s plan was to not only to push the Kontakt engines boundaries by super deep-sampling a priceless Stradivarius violin played by the virtuoso Joshua Bell himself but to deliver a super-intuitive instrument with hyper-realistic playback and controls for complete programmability.
For the recording sessions, Embertone captured Bell performing on his 1713 ‘Huberman’ Stradivari in Avatar Studios in New York. The ‘Huberman’ Stradivari, which has a thrilling history of theft and intrigue was purchased by Bell for over $4 million dollars and has become an integral part of Bell’s sound. All this comes into play when you consider the connection between violin and violinist as Bell so eloquently puts it, “it becomes almost like your soul mate.” says Bell, adding, “Some people compare it to getting married.”
The library features nearly 20,000 individual samples and a staggering 12 true legato/transition styles. Although the advance features, dozens of keyswitches and preset controls can all get a bit complex, Embertone has designed the instrument to feel simple and easy to get amazing authentic performances by simply playing the instrument in real time on the keyboard.
The Tone controls offer subtle yet important variants in the timbre via 6 different modeling EQs. Playing through the selection, I found the Tones to be aptly named with each one changing the instrument just slightly. These subtle difference add up and add yet another layer of realism to playback. In the first minutes of playing the instrument, I literally was in love with this Joshua Bell Violin. Embertone has delivered a phenomenal library that raises the bar for solo virtual instruments and excels in playability, programmability and of course timbre.
In the checking out video above, I play freely on the keyboard to share some of the different performance settings, character options and included IRs. As you can hear, it is so easy to get an expressive and beautiful performance out of this library and I will be seeking out more excuses to write for solo Violin because of it. As with all of our reviews and posts, I encourage you to check out the official demos and videos below to make sure this instrument is right for you and your workflow.
KEY FEATURES:
Amazing Legato
We recorded every possible note-to-note transition throughout of the range of Joshua's Stradivarius… in 12 different styles. Bow Change, Slur, Portamento, with different speeds and dynamics. When playing melodies you hear an actual performance!
The Sound of a Virtuoso
The sound is what separates Joshua Bell from the rest - it's what makes him one of the most sought after classical musicians in the world.
Every sample Mr. Bell recorded was a performance imbued with his artistry and finesse.
Make it Your Own
We created an articulation assignment system that lets you tailor-make the instrument to the performance style you prefer. Keyswitching, CC's, Aftertouch, Velocity, Playing Speed, Pitch Bend, and more… it's all available for you to personalize!
Intuitive Performance
There's an entire page of humanization controls that allow you to alter tuning based on speed, interval and attack, as well as a bow/slur switching system that will let you sound amazing with very little effort. Take a look at the INTUITION page to see what other controls let you customize your sound.
Natural + Modeled Vibrato
We recorded full sets of vib and non-vib performances, so that you can choose what you want. The nature vibrato is incredible… it's an integral part of Mr. Bell's tone. But if you want to control vibrato yourself, we've integrated our scripted vibrato into the instrument.
Standard + Unique Articulations
Legato, sustains, staccato, spiccato, tremolos, trills, harmonics… we recorded everything you'd expect from a solo violin. But we also captured an incredible set of ricochets, super-flautando sustains, tasto + ponticello sustains, and even true-legato harmonics (bows, slurs and portamento)
Pristine Sound
We spared no expense with the recording… We recorded at the former Avatar Studios (now owned by Berklee), bringing award-winning engineer Richard King to lead the sessions. The room was the perfect space for us because it gave the sound enough space to flourish without coloring the sound without unnecessary reflections.
Please note: This is not a ‘standalone’ product. It requires the Kontakt Player from Native Instruments. You can Download Native Instruments - Kontakt Full version HERE.
For the recording sessions, Embertone captured Bell performing on his 1713 ‘Huberman’ Stradivari in Avatar Studios in New York. The ‘Huberman’ Stradivari, which has a thrilling history of theft and intrigue was purchased by Bell for over $4 million dollars and has become an integral part of Bell’s sound. All this comes into play when you consider the connection between violin and violinist as Bell so eloquently puts it, “it becomes almost like your soul mate.” says Bell, adding, “Some people compare it to getting married.”
The library features nearly 20,000 individual samples and a staggering 12 true legato/transition styles. Although the advance features, dozens of keyswitches and preset controls can all get a bit complex, Embertone has designed the instrument to feel simple and easy to get amazing authentic performances by simply playing the instrument in real time on the keyboard.
The Tone controls offer subtle yet important variants in the timbre via 6 different modeling EQs. Playing through the selection, I found the Tones to be aptly named with each one changing the instrument just slightly. These subtle difference add up and add yet another layer of realism to playback. In the first minutes of playing the instrument, I literally was in love with this Joshua Bell Violin. Embertone has delivered a phenomenal library that raises the bar for solo virtual instruments and excels in playability, programmability and of course timbre.
In the checking out video above, I play freely on the keyboard to share some of the different performance settings, character options and included IRs. As you can hear, it is so easy to get an expressive and beautiful performance out of this library and I will be seeking out more excuses to write for solo Violin because of it. As with all of our reviews and posts, I encourage you to check out the official demos and videos below to make sure this instrument is right for you and your workflow.
Amazing Legato
We recorded every possible note-to-note transition throughout of the range of Joshua's Stradivarius… in 12 different styles. Bow Change, Slur, Portamento, with different speeds and dynamics. When playing melodies you hear an actual performance!
The sound is what separates Joshua Bell from the rest - it's what makes him one of the most sought after classical musicians in the world.
Every sample Mr. Bell recorded was a performance imbued with his artistry and finesse.
We created an articulation assignment system that lets you tailor-make the instrument to the performance style you prefer. Keyswitching, CC's, Aftertouch, Velocity, Playing Speed, Pitch Bend, and more… it's all available for you to personalize!
There's an entire page of humanization controls that allow you to alter tuning based on speed, interval and attack, as well as a bow/slur switching system that will let you sound amazing with very little effort. Take a look at the INTUITION page to see what other controls let you customize your sound.
We recorded full sets of vib and non-vib performances, so that you can choose what you want. The nature vibrato is incredible… it's an integral part of Mr. Bell's tone. But if you want to control vibrato yourself, we've integrated our scripted vibrato into the instrument.
Legato, sustains, staccato, spiccato, tremolos, trills, harmonics… we recorded everything you'd expect from a solo violin. But we also captured an incredible set of ricochets, super-flautando sustains, tasto + ponticello sustains, and even true-legato harmonics (bows, slurs and portamento)
We spared no expense with the recording… We recorded at the former Avatar Studios (now owned by Berklee), bringing award-winning engineer Richard King to lead the sessions. The room was the perfect space for us because it gave the sound enough space to flourish without coloring the sound without unnecessary reflections.
30.06.2023
Kontakt Library
32 679
5
Information