Rhapsody Orchestral Percussion [3 DVD]

Impact Soundworks Rhapsody Orchestral Percussion [3 DVD] [Kontakt]

This exquisite symphonic collection for KONTAKT features a comprehensive collection of 50 traditional & extended percussive instruments recorded through three mic positions. With a clean, focused character that is not clinically dry OR overly ‘epic’, Rhapsody: Orchestral Percussion is highly flexible for everything from small ensemble scoring and intimate cues to dramatic & bombastic. No other percussion library is as extensive AND affordable; we couldn’t be more proud to share it with you!

Concept

Our goal with Rhapsody: Orchestral Percussion was nothing less than creating the most versatile and affordable percussion library ever. With 50 instruments, 100+ articulations, and 21+ gigabytes of raw recordings, calling this collection ‘comprehensive’ is an understatement. Each instrument has been exhaustively sampled with up to 10x RR and 5x velocity layers, captured across three mic positions in a gorgeous orchestral hall.

Rhapsody: Orchestral Percussion goes beyond the standard suite of drums (i.e. bass drum, snare, toms, cymbals) to include a wide variety of aux percussion (i.e. shaker, sleigh bells, castanets, chimes, metals, wood & temple blocks), hand drums (i.e. djembe, bongos, cajon, darbuka), and chromatic instruments (i.e. glockenspiel, xylophone, marimba, crotales, tubular bells).

Besides its scope and affordability, what else sets this library apart? Most orchestral percussion libraries strive for the ideal of “epic” through big halls and lots of reverb: a huge sound for a huge price. Rhapsody: Orchestral Percussion was instead recorded & designed to function in any musical context, from small, emotional pieces, to tense underscores, and even bombastic, loud, and – yes – epic tracks.

Sound

Rhapsody: Orchestral Percussion is exceptionally versatile with three user-blendable mic positions: close, stage (decca) and hall. The close mics offer a dry, present, and neutral sound with a hint of air – ideal for small ensembles and intimate scoring. Stage and hall mics provide natural, but not overwhelming, reverb and space from the lovely hall.

Each microphone position within Rhapsody can be thoroughly customized through volume, panning, stereo width, and offset controls – or disabled entirely to preserve memory. Whether your goal is a tight and focused percussion section, or something booming and epic, Rhapsody offers a natural and “honest” sound that works in any production.

Interface

Our philosophy when building instruments is to design with composers in mind. To that end, we’ve created a intuitive interface for the library that provides customization and control without being overly complex.

Script Features:

• Volume, tuning, and envelope controls for each instrument
• Internal preset system for saving your settings & mixes
• Per-instrument 3-band “Solid-G” EQ
• Enable / disable instruments & mics to preserve RAM
• Multiple outputs – send instruments to different Kontakt outs
• Mic mixing – volume, pan, width, offset (via CC)
• Convolution reverb send with wet & size controls

Instruments:

Many of the instruments below contain multiple articulations and variations. For example, hand drums include various different strokes and playing techniques. Ride cymbals can be played with mallet or stick. Woodblocks, temple blocks and claves have two distinct pitches, etc.

* = Instrument includes modwheel-controlled ROLL articulation

Drums
Bass Drum*
Gran Cassa*
Snare 1*
Snare 2*
Snare 3*
Snare 4*
Snare Ensemble*
Timpani*
Tom 1
Tom 2
Tom 3
Tom Ensemble*

Cymbals & Gongs
Cymbal Scraped
Gong 1*
Gong 2*
Piatti
Piatti Mute
Ride Cymbal*
Ride Cymbal Stick
Tam Tam*
Viennese Cymbal*

Chromatic Percussion
Crotales
Glockenspiel
Marimba
Tubular Bells
Xylophone

Aux Percussion
Castanets*
Claves
Chimes
Cowbell
Finger Cymbals
Guiro
Metals
Shaker*
Sleigh Bells*
Tambourine*
Temple Blocks
Triangle*
Vibraslap
Woodblocks

Hand Drums
Bongo High*
Bongo Low*
Cajon 1*
Cajon 2*
Conga High*
Conga Low*
Conga Muted
Darbuka 1*
Darbuka 2*
Djembe 1*
Djembe 2*