Sonica Instruments Tsugaru Shamisen

Tsugaru Shamisen, the second release in the Virtuoso Japanese Series, is now available as a Kontakt instrument library.

Sonica Instruments has painstakingly recreated every aspect of the revered tsugaru shamisen — the stirring percussive sounds, the powerful playing techniques, and the blazing speed of hajiki picking — in a Kontakt instrument library. The Virtuoso Japanese Series’ Tsugaru Shamisen library is certain to enliven nearly every genre of music, from Japanese minyo folk songs to hard rock, jazz, contemporary classical music, and movie scores.

Main Features

• Perfectly recreates the sound of the tsugaru shamisen with the best possible recording and programming techniques
• Completely natural picking sounds by virtue of up to five velocity layers and as many as 12 round robins
• Covers more than 20 tsugaru shamisen playing techniques, all key-switch controllable
• Five key-switch controllable phrase banks containing a wide array of essential tsugaru shamisen phrases
• The newly developed String Mode Mechanism — which lets you select which string to play — provides rich expressiveness and realism with the same feel as an actual shamisen
• Reproduces the resonance buzz of the azuma sawari inherent to the tsugaru shamisen that operates in the same way as the real thing
• Three selectable tuning modes for ni-agari, honchoshi, and san-sagari tunings
• The open string notes, sawari effects, and resonant tones are adjusted automatically to match all tunings and key transpositions
• The alternate picking function reproduces sequences of downstrokes and upstrokes
• The Hajiki-Legato function allows you to play hajiki sounds instantly with Legato
• The plucking control function provides realistic attack nuances
• The built-in Instrument Editor provides string-by-string tuning and volume adjustments
• Lively powerful sounds sampled in full 24 bit 96 kHz fidelity (the library contains 24 bit 44.1 kHz samples)
• Create your own mixes with the multi-microphone samples and a dedicated mixer with individual controls for Direct, Overhead, Room, and Stereo Mix

Uncompromising performance and recording

Nobuto Yamanaka played the tsugaru shamisen for our sampling sessions.
He poured tremendous energy into each note with his unerring skill and superb concentration.

In the studio, we used a meticulous microphone setup together with high-end microphone preamps with no coloration to capture the sounds of the instrument in their natural glory.

Sonica Instruments developed a number of novel articulation mechanisms and interfaces for this library, so you can recreate the distinctive playing techniques of the tsugaru shamisen.

String Mode Mechanism

Although the tsugaru shamisen has three strings, unlike the guitar, chords are rarely played. Instead, a tsugaru shamisen performance usually consists of single-note phrases played mainly on the first or third string.

To recreate this performance style, we developed the String Mode Mechanism, which operates Tsugaru Shamisen like an instrument with three independent strings so that you can select and play a specific string.

When performing, the String Mode can be instantly selected with key switches. This lets you go back and forth between the three strings to play phrases just like on the real instrument.

String Monitor

The String Monitor shows in real time which string is currently ringing.

• Pitch of the open strings
• Selected string
• Position of the string’s sound
• Red: Open string
• Green: Fingered (neck position)

Hajiki-Legato function recreates hajiki pull-offs

Hajiki is a left-hand pull-off technique fundamental to the tsugaru shamisen. When playing a MIDI keyboard with Legato, you can instantly access the hajiki sound from any articulation without a key-switch control.

Alternate picking function reproduces continuous bachi plectrum attacks

Tsugaru Shamisen includes a function to recreate alternate picking, with Key On events triggering downstrokes and Key Off events triggering upstrokes. This function is active only while the sustain pedal is held down and inserts alternate picking instantly into any articulation. You can easily perform tremolo picking patterns by repeatedly hitting a key with the sustain pedal held down.

Resonance mechanism for sawari and resonant tone effects

Tsugaru Shamisen provides separate sound sources for the azuma sawari and resonant tones that are crucial to create the tsugaru shamisen sound. And just like the real instrument, the resonant tones respond to the specific interval being played. Furthermore, they are adjusted automatically to match different tunings and key transpositions to ensure an accurate recreation of the instrument’s sound. The volume of each resonance component is adjustable.

Three tunings as well as key transpositions

The library comes with three standard shamisen tunings: ni-agari, honchoshi, and san-sagari. Changing the tuning changes the pitches of the open strings, although the keyboard’s chromatic notes do not change. The sawari and resonance effects track the tuning changes to recreate the inherent sound of each tuning.

Instrument Editor permits fine adjustments to the instrument

The built-in Instrument Editor lets you adjust the volume and fine tuning of each string and the noise mixer lets you set the sawari volume, the resonance volume, and the release noise volume. This gives you the ability to precisely tailor the instrument’s sound to your liking.

Two play modes and two pitch bend modes

There are two play modes to suit your musical ideas. The Single mode provides the most realistic feel, while the Poly mode lets you play chords. There are also two pitch bend modes: Solo, which affects only the string being played, and All, which affects all three strings.