Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ 4/5 Stars
If the clue is in the name, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Violonair had something to do with the sampling of string instruments being thrown skyward, but no! This new Kontakt instrument, from respected composer and sample content creator Guillermo Guareschi, started life as a viola da gamba; a string instrument from the Baroque era, which is generally regarded as the precursor to the cello, albeit a version that employs frets, much like a guitar.
In preparation for the creation of this library, Guareschi removed the frets from the instrument, and replaced the strings with Spanish guitar strings, the consequence being a naturally resonant library, which also promotes a large degree of humanistic tuning.
There are four sets of patches available, the first being titled Main. Unsurprisingly, the opening salvo does sound much like a cross between a guitar and a cello. There’s a beautiful depth of tone, with a degree of sustain, generated by finger‑plucking the instrument during the sampling phase. As a consequence, you can play this instrument much like you would any guitar, albeit from an appropriate keyboard. It generates a characteristic tone, which is unique, if not reminiscent of something you’ve heard before. It also maps well to the keyboard form, as the lowest sampled note is the C below the bass stave, or C1 in new money! Under the hood there is a dynamic tuning script, which subtly alters each note’s state of resonance. This invokes a degree of humanistic behaviour, but it is very subtle. There is extensive velocity zoning too, which plays a large contributing role in the instrument’s character. The Main patch also provides some useful string slaps and body knocks, in addition to the main sample. Interestingly, there is keyswitching available within each patch section, which isn’t especially obvious from the outset. Once located, this provides both subtle and obvious changes in tone and articulation style, including mordants and falls.
The second patch is called Air and provides a slightly reduced set of sampled notes, this time comprising the naturally occurring set of harmonics generated by the instrument.
...these provide a broad palette of ponticello bowings, glisses and bow‑scrapes, many of which sound eerie and almost electronic.
The final two patch sets are titled SFX I and II; these provide a broad palette of ponticello bowings, glisses and bow‑scrapes, many of which sound eerie and almost electronic. This is the perfect place to employ the onboard reverb, where you can select from a drop‑down list of 20 impulse responses, ranging from rooms and clubs to concert halls. The reverb channel offers both high‑ and low‑pass filtering, which is useful, as many of the SFX colours are harsh, with a resonance that might need taming at the reverb stage.
Violonair is something of a game of two halves; beautiful in the main, but with leanings toward horror and sci‑fi soundtracks within the SFX sections. The interface is basic, and I can’t help but feel that the keyswitching is overcomplicated and not that obvious, but once you’ve found your way around, you will be generously rewarded.
$59
$59