Handcrafted software instruments from my personal collection
In the SFZ format, these are compatible with:
Cakewalk Dimension
Garritan Aria
And the free Plogue Sforzando SFZ player
With more controls available than the average clarinet included in orchestral packages, I'm excited to share this new SFZ instrument with my fellow MIDI musicians.
$15
The Philharmonia Clarinet
Starting with the Bb Clarinet samples posed by the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, I developed this versatile and highly expressive virtual instrument which weighs in at a whopping 54 MB.
Programmed as a monophonic solo instrument, here are the features that make this a sophisticated woodwind to add to your MIDI arsenal:
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508 samples
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Full authentic clarinet range from D3 (MIDI note #50) to C7 (MIDI note #96)
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Each note individually sampled with no sample stretching on the primary Legato and Staccato layers
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4 velocity layers for Legato, 5 for Staccato
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Expressive volume control via CC11
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EQ nasal emphasis via CC23
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Vibrato available
6 keyswitch articulations:
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Legato
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Staccato
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Major Trills
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Minor Trills
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Drone 1 (very long notes)
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Drone 2 (very long with crescendo, decrescendo)
Two bundles with six diverse SFZ instruments/sounds each
$20 each bundle (that's $3.33 per instrument)
Buy both for $35 and (that's $2.92 per instrument)
Special orders of single instruments for $5 each
Use the appropiate PayPal buttons below. If purchasing
single instruments, list them in the text field at PayPal.
Audio demos are "out of the box" with no signal processing other than a reverb plugin on the master
Full details on each instrument/sound
The Alto Kalimba
I sampled the 15 metal tines of the Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba I have had for 40 years, and crafted what I think is the most expressive software “thumb piano” available.
The harmonizing secondary vibrations and inharmonic overtones characteristic of the Kalimba (or “Mbira”) are all intact in the long, non-looped samples, giving this SFZ version of the ancient instrument a natural, authentic sound you can hear demonstrated in the MP3 demo.
Features:
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1 ½ + octaves, G#3 (56) to G#5 (80)
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2 velocity layers
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Vibrato available as it is on the physical instrument via two finger holes on the back
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8 thumb thump samples making percussion accompaniment available, as when thumping the Kalimba's body directly below the tines
I still have the first synthesizer I ever bought, the CZ-1000, which is the full sized key version of the revolutionary CZ-101 from Casio, neither of which should be confused with the company's famous toy keyboards. Featuring three sets of 8-stage envelopes, these Phase Distortion Synthesizers from 1986 made professional synthesis available to the public for the first time.
One of the legendary synthesizer's great factory pre-sets is “Whistle.” After sampling the sound directly into my computer, I programmed it as a monophonic instrument that covers 3 octaves – C3 (48) to C6 (84).
You can finally produce that version of the “X-Files” theme like you've always wanted!
CZ Whistle
X5DR Singers
5 octaves, from C2 (36) to C7 (96), sampled from the legendary Korg workstation module, the X5DR that I bought in the early '90's. This breathy, sample modeling choir is a perfect example of what Korg's acclaimed Ai2 sound engine is capable of.
TX16 Brass
This is a decidedly “synthy” but musically interesting and useful patch from Yamaha's famous rack-mount digital unit that made professional sampling available to the mass market for the first time in the late '80's. As with the X5DR choir, I've laid out my samples to cover all the keys of a standard 5 octave keyboard.
CZ Eerie
This is a custom patch I programmed on my CZ-1000 for use in the soundtrack for my musical, “Dorian Gray.” Like the CZ Whistle, this covers 3 octaves – C3 (48) to C6 (84). It's a mysterious, twangy sound with strong 5th overtones which are tuned to the keyboard's pitch centers.
TX16 Scat Voices
TX16 Acoustic Guitar
This is the acoustic guitar patch from the TX16 sampler which drove musicians crazy back in the day. Its unique characteristics still make it very useful, as can be heard in the MP3 demo. The samples are laid out from C2 (36) to C6 (84), giving you a huge range to work with.
This is a really fun collection of scat voices from the TX16 collection, featuring 59 samples that are laid out from D2 (38) to C7 (96).
TX16 Moog Bass
This is another set of TX16 samples that musicians drooled over back in the late '80's – Authentic samples of the legendary Moog Bass. Programmed as a monophonic bass with vibrato available, this covers 3 octaves, from C3 (48) to C6 (84). A timeless sound that will never die!
FB-01 Space
CZ Zap
A highly atmospheric patch from Yamaha's FB-01 module which I've programmed across the width of a standard 5 octave keyboard. It's a crystalline, glass-like “Star Trek” sound. Take a listen to the demo and you'll hear what I mean.
A great patch I programmed on the Casio CZ-1000 following instructions in a CZ patch cook book, it's a unique two part sound which also covers a full 5 octaves. When holding a key down, the result is a thin buzzing sound that really cuts through, and when a key is released, there's a very cool, fast whoosh/thud sound that quickly cuts off. The MP3 demonstrates better than words.
Boomwhackers
I bought a set of the popular colorful plastic tubes which are now ubiquitous in school music programs nation wide. I set about whacking them, enjoying the satisfying hollow Bonk! sound – so set up a sampling session and came up with this octave of happy sounds which I've set up from middle C (60) to C5 (72). Since the tone varies depending on how hard the tubes are hit, I used two velocity layers. The results? Take a listen – My bet is you'll find a home for this set of samples in your tuned percussion library.
