Embertone Joshua Bell Violin Kontakt Download Free

Joshua Bell is one of the most highly regarded violinists. The Stradivarius violin is one of the most highly regarded violins. Would you like them on your DAW?

Embertone has released Joshua Bell Violin, a creative collaboration with Grammy Award-winning violin virtuoso Joshua Bell that enables composers, hobbyists, musicians, and performers alike to harness his celebrated sound as an advanced virtual violin for Native Instruments Kontakt Player. Download Url/Filename Options. Files Within Folder 'Embertone Joshua Bell Violin KONTAKT' Download Url/Filename Options; Joshua.part01.rar (910.00 MB). Joshua Bell Violin is available to purchase and digitally download as a fully NKSTM (NATIVE KONTROL STANDARD) supporting plug-in instrument for any AAX-, AU-, RTAS-, and VST-compatible host application or DAW running on Mac (OS X 10.10, 10.11 or macOS 10.12 latest update) or Windows (7, 8, or 10 latest Service Pack, 32/64-bit) directly from Embertone. 'Embertone Intimate Strings are, hands down, the most realistic and human sounding alternatives to the real thing. The real time control and nuances you can imbue into the performance are fantastic. I've had the pleasure of recording many of the musicians from the library in my own studio for different projects - Intimate Strings is a jaw.

by Per Lichtman, July 2018

Embertone Joshua Bell Violin ($199 USD from Embertone.com) is a deeply sampled solo violin sample library that takes up 8.86 GB of disk space and is designed for systems with a minimum of 4GB of RAM – though I'd say their recommendation of at least 6GB should be taken seriously since the library can use up to 2.25GB of RAM by default. You can purge the samples you aren't using so there are accommodations for those that are short on RAM.

The library is designed for Kontakt Player and Kontakt Full, versions 5.6.8 above – with a legacy patch supporting Kontakt Full 5.4.1 but not Kontakt Player. The legacy version is identical in sound and function except that it doesn't display in the Libraries tab where Kontakt Player libraries show up. While Embertone has already released a solo violin library (the Friedlander Violin) this is very different product. For starters, the recordings here were performed by Joshua Bell (one of the most recognized and sought after soloists in the classical world) on his Huberman Stradvari violin – and the library features both recorded and scripted vibrato (unlike Embertone's previous offerings, which featured scripted only). But that's only the beginning – this library covers a lot of ground, so if you're curious, read on!

So Many Options

Embertone Joshua Bell Violin is a very different product, both from the developer's previous offerings and from other solo string libraries with which I've worked. On the one hand, it's got a range of articulations and an emphasis on configurability and live performance options that makes it a great fit for people that might normally buy VSL libraries. On the other, it offers several features that are designed to make things a little simpler for users who would prefer to keep things simple. The solutions devised to handle this balancing act mean that no matter what you're starting point is, you'll likely get the best results if you take a bit of time to learn how to 'drive' Joshua Bell Violin before recording too much material, as opposed to simply trying to make it conform to your normal workflow.

Legato Speed Demon

One thing that you might not expect is just how the legato scripting in Joshua Bell Violin handles high speed arpeggiation. It's far more convincing than any other solo string library I've worked with before – and that covers the full range from VSL Solo Strings to Cinematic Studio Solo to Cinesamples Studio Strings Solo to even Embertone's own Intimate Solo Strings offerings. Whether you are using the normal bow change or slur or the immediate options, loud or quiet dynamics, adding any form of instability in the Intuition tab or not, Joshua Bell Violin proves itself uniquely capable in keeping pace with quick legato arpeggiation.

Vibrato

The recorded vibrato in Joshua Bell Violin is balanced and tasteful. It never feels overpowering or artificial and can work well in a wide variety of contexts. You won't find a more extreme molto vibrato option like in competing libraries, especially at a fast rate, but the vibrato here is plenty evocative and you can also use the vibrato recorded here in a much wider range of styles. The non-vibrato articulations are also robustly supported, so you don't need to worry about choosing between vibrato or non-vibrato just to get the legato sampling you want. One caution is that properly using non-vibrato will require heading into the Intuition tab to make sure that vibrato isn't added automatically.

What's 'Intuition'?

The Intuition tab is where seven different parameter categories can be controlled by automatic scripting: Slur/Bow Variance; Vibrato/Non-Vibrato Variance; Constant Dynamic Movement; Attack Pitch Instability; Speed Pitch Instability; Interval Pitch Instability and Multi-Stop Attacks. By default, scripting for six out of the seven parameters (everything except Constant Dynamic Movement) is engaged, meaning that you'll get both slurs and bow changes in normal performance.

Personally, I found myself unchecking Vibrato/Non-Vibrato Variance so that I could use a MIDI CC controller to manually ensure non-vibrato performance in certain passages. Unchecking that option is also necessary if you want to use delayed onset vibrato, by starting a note non-vibrato and then using the MIDI CC to ramp in the vibrato during the sustain. The scripted vibrato sounds good and was never distracting, but don't expect the same level of options and control as in Embertone's previous solo string libraries.

I'd like to make special note of the multi-stop attacks scripting. For any readers not familiar with the term, multi-stops (such as triple stops) are when the performer uses multiple violin strings at once. The instrument has four strings tuned in perfect fifths (by default) so it is possible to play say, for instance to play a note on the G string while harmonizing a minor sixth above it on the D string. However, when using three or four strings at once, it can become necessary to roll the bow across at least one of the strings. When the Multi-stop Attacks switch is engaged, playing a chord at once will play all the notes you hold, by default. https://torrent-gal.mystrikingly.com/blog/sqlpro-studio-1-0-403-powerful-database-manager-job. But by selecting the four options next to the switch, you can select which strings to roll past. For instance, select the leftmost 1-2 button and play a three or four note chord. The bottom note will now be rolled instead of sustained – and the knob to the right controls the timing. It's difficult to easily express just what a big deal this functionality is for virtuosic live performance – I mean, in my first month of playing a real violin I was able to play some variants of multi-stops (not that they sounded great) but this is the first time I saw it handled so comprehensively in a sample library. I don't know whether it's the first of its kind, but it's the first time I encountered it and it made my day when I found the implementation here.

Excellent Documentation

If more developers took the approach Embertone does to their documentation, especially in regards to table for the articulations list, my job as a reviewer would be much simpler. It's great to be able to quickly see the number of dynamic layers and round-robins, etc. for all the available articulations. Kudos and I hope this becomes a trend others follow!

Extended Sampling

I was already a fan of Embertone's previous solo string offerings for a lot of reasons. When I really wanted to work vibrato to my personal tastes, they offered results I could not achieve with competing products. So I was very interested to hear what they would do with a library that was primarily based around recorded as opposed to scripted vibrato – since scripted vibrato still exists as a user option in Joshua Bell Violin but isn't really featured by default. The first piece of good news is that the recorded vibrato is lovely and should sound very familiar to listeners of Joshua Bell's work – and since it's recorded as opposed to scripted, the learning curve for using it is much shorter.

I like to imagine that since the learning curve for the vibrato is shorter, the discussion at Embertone might have gone something like this. 'Great, we can get great vibrato right off the bat, now we can throw tons of articulations and lots of different way to control them at the user instead. We don't want them to be bored!' At least that's what I'm left to conclude since the number of articulations on offer here positively dwarfs any previous Embertone solo string library.

First of all, I've mentioned in the past that the shorts in other Embertone solo string libraries weren't always as varied as I might have preferred. For instance, the initial release of Friedlander Violin only included staccato – not even a pizzicato. The free Friedlander 1.5 update added pizzicato (with Bartók 'snap' pizzicato as an additional top dynamic layer) as well as modeling for sul ponticello, sul tasto and con sordino for both staccato and pizzicato articulations. The absence of spiccato was the one I personally missed the most. Luckily, Joshua Bell Violin sampled much more. The list below of the sampled (not modeled) short articulations.

• Staccato
• Spiccato
• Ricochet multiple
• Ricochet single
• Pizzicato (with an Bartók 'snap' pizzicato for the top dynamic layer)
• Sul ponticello staccato
• Sul ponticello spiccato
• Sul ponticello ricochet single
• Sul ponticello pizzicato (with an Bartók 'snap' pizzicato for the top dynamic layer)

In addition, there's con sordino modeling available for all sampled shorts (and longs). These all sound great and make Embertone Joshua Bell Violin well suited to passages that were less ideal in Embertone Intimate Solo Strings. The only notable absence is col legno – an unfortunate but nonetheless understandable omission.

On the sustains front, the range is even wider.

• Sustain (normal, sul ponticello and sul tasto)
• Tremolo (normal and sul ponticello)
• Trill Minor and Major 2nds (normal)
• Harmonic (normal)
• Crescendo Short (normal)
• Crescendo Long(normal)
• Diminuendo Short (normal)
• Diminuendo Long(normal)
• Contour Short (normal)
• Contour Long (normal
• Super Flautando (sul tasto)

While the violin is an instrument capable of performing almost countless articulations, this goes far beyond bread and butter articulations to include the overwhelming majority of articulations for I normally use in scoring. You won't find dedicated run patches or certain pre-recorded ornaments you might find in some VSL libraries. There aren't a lot of other libraries that are able to keep up in this area. However, in my side by side testing, I found that when sustains were performed in VSL Solo Strings I and Embertone Joshua Bell Violin, I consistently preferred the Embertone Joshua Bell Violin recordings. Even the shorts in Embertone Joshua Bell Violin have a greater bounce, sprightliness and vibrancy.

Unexpected Versatility

When I first heard that Embertone was producing this library, I honestly expected it to be a little bit narrower in scope. Even when the feature list was revealed, I thought to myself that it would probably be mainly suited to classical repertoire and film music. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found it worked really well on a progressive rock track I was brought in to do arrangements for. The recordings are up-front and dry enough to work well without sounding artificial or to soar when more reverb is added and the sonic signature of the space isn't overly strong. While the learning curve to get to grips with accessing all the articulations in live performance is longer than some other libraries, once learned, it stands alongside VSL's Vienna Instruments/Vienna Instruments Pro player in regards to the sheer range. For instance, being able to dynamically switch from one sustain articulation to another (for instance from a normal sustain to a tremolo, trill, recorded crescendo or decrescendo) by pressing the appropriate keyswitch is something. But being able to go back and forth between the sustain and tremolo, repeatedly, simply by pressing and releasing a keyswitch, is an unexpectedly powerful preset option.

The Competition

Embertone Joshua Bell Violin is one of the best choices for solo violin for many different applications, but it doesn't replace every single solo violin library I use or have reviewed. Duplicate manager pro 1 3 5. So rather than going into great depth about exactly what each competing library offers, I'll instead look at specific applications where you might want to look at the competition.

If you really like to have control over vibrato, there's great flexibility in Embertone's own Friedlander Violin. If you would rather sweep through dynamic layers during a sustain with a MIDI controller, there are other options (especially if you aren't bothered by phasing). If you mainly want to use an especially strong passionate molto vibrato as opposed to a more balanced one there are other options (like Fluffy Audio's Trio Broz Violin or Cinematic Studio Solo Strings) that recorded vibrato with either greater intensity or speed, sometimes both. If you want that sort vibrato but want a super short learning curve, there are yet other options (like the free Solo Violin Legato by Performance Samples). If you're mainly writing chamber string pieces for a quartet, quintet, etc., then I'd recommend starting with Embertone Intimate Solo Strings, or again, Fluffy Audio Trio Broz. And if you're mainly looking for a solo strings to compliment your ensemble string libraries, I'd suggest starting with the ones offered by the same developer recorded in-situ (Cinematic Studio Solo Strings, CineSamples CineStrings SOLO, Orchestral Tools First Chairs 1 or 2, etc.).

Also, while the overwhelming majority of articulations called for in even colorful scoring are on offer in Embertone Joshua Bell Violin, there are still some (sforzando, col legno, etc.) that aren't found here but can be found in Vienna Solo Strings I Extended.

Is It Right For Me?

Embertone Joshua Bell Violin is a highly flexible library with great sound quality and an huge range of articulations that cover virtually everything I normally reach for in even the most comprehensive existing libraries (except col legno). There are also enough round-robins and dynamic layers on offer to make the most of the short articulations – which are in surprisingly ample supply. The legato sampling and scripting is excellent. There's a radiance and delicacy to the sound, the library lends itself well to virtuosic performance and the vibrato is individual, tasteful and balanced. If you just want to write melodies with a sustain and legato sampling with the shortest learning curve possible or if you are primarily looking for a first chair to add to your orchestral sections, then there are other offerings available. But Embertone Joshua Bell Violin is a really excellent choice for composers and keyboardists looking for a violin soloist library.

A collaboration between eminent American violinist Joshua Bell and the small but perfectly formed Embertone company, this excellent library features a deeply sampled solo violin expressively played by the maestro himself. Recordings took place over two days at New York's Avatar Studios, yielding nearly 20,000 samples in a diverse range of styles; all the performance variations are packed into a single playable patch, saving you the trouble of wading through encyclopaedic listings to find the articulation you need. The library runs on the free Kontakt Player and the full version of Kontakt 5.6.8 or higher, and uses 8.24GB of disk space once installed. A legacy Kontakt full 5.4.1+ version is also available.

Building on techniques developed for Embertone's previous solo strings (which include Friedlander Violin and Fischer Viola, reviewed here in May 2016), the company's new solo violin is an unmitigated triumph. Rarely have I heard such subtlety and tenderness in a sampled instrument: the player's breathy quiet notes are a thing of beauty, and his natural note transitions and glides are perfectly realised by an ultra-realistic, supremely organic true legato mode. https://torrent-gal.mystrikingly.com/blog/mailtab-pro-for-gmail-v5-4. I was pleased to find the programmers have adopted the superior VSL legato style in which a held note is retriggered when a superimposed note is released, making it easy to play the fast trills and gracings which characterise expressive violin performance.

Though this wonderful instrument has a lot going on under the bonnet, once it's downloaded, installed and activated you can jump in and play it straight out of the box. A predictive programming script unobtrusively selects the appropriate articulation on the fly — for example, detached playing triggers a bow change on each new note — while overlapped notes produce a smooth-sounding legato slur. Putting it another way, it plays like a dream, and though a small lag is sometimes noticeable while the script figures out what's going on, the violin will keep pace with the fastest performances you can throw at it. As is normally the case, the legato mode is monophonic, but you can render the instrument polyphonic (though still maintaining true legato transitions) at the touch of a button.

The recorded vibrato in Joshua Bell Violin is balanced and tasteful. It never feels overpowering or artificial and can work well in a wide variety of contexts. You won't find a more extreme molto vibrato option like in competing libraries, especially at a fast rate, but the vibrato here is plenty evocative and you can also use the vibrato recorded here in a much wider range of styles. The non-vibrato articulations are also robustly supported, so you don't need to worry about choosing between vibrato or non-vibrato just to get the legato sampling you want. One caution is that properly using non-vibrato will require heading into the Intuition tab to make sure that vibrato isn't added automatically.

What's 'Intuition'?

The Intuition tab is where seven different parameter categories can be controlled by automatic scripting: Slur/Bow Variance; Vibrato/Non-Vibrato Variance; Constant Dynamic Movement; Attack Pitch Instability; Speed Pitch Instability; Interval Pitch Instability and Multi-Stop Attacks. By default, scripting for six out of the seven parameters (everything except Constant Dynamic Movement) is engaged, meaning that you'll get both slurs and bow changes in normal performance.

Personally, I found myself unchecking Vibrato/Non-Vibrato Variance so that I could use a MIDI CC controller to manually ensure non-vibrato performance in certain passages. Unchecking that option is also necessary if you want to use delayed onset vibrato, by starting a note non-vibrato and then using the MIDI CC to ramp in the vibrato during the sustain. The scripted vibrato sounds good and was never distracting, but don't expect the same level of options and control as in Embertone's previous solo string libraries.

I'd like to make special note of the multi-stop attacks scripting. For any readers not familiar with the term, multi-stops (such as triple stops) are when the performer uses multiple violin strings at once. The instrument has four strings tuned in perfect fifths (by default) so it is possible to play say, for instance to play a note on the G string while harmonizing a minor sixth above it on the D string. However, when using three or four strings at once, it can become necessary to roll the bow across at least one of the strings. When the Multi-stop Attacks switch is engaged, playing a chord at once will play all the notes you hold, by default. https://torrent-gal.mystrikingly.com/blog/sqlpro-studio-1-0-403-powerful-database-manager-job. But by selecting the four options next to the switch, you can select which strings to roll past. For instance, select the leftmost 1-2 button and play a three or four note chord. The bottom note will now be rolled instead of sustained – and the knob to the right controls the timing. It's difficult to easily express just what a big deal this functionality is for virtuosic live performance – I mean, in my first month of playing a real violin I was able to play some variants of multi-stops (not that they sounded great) but this is the first time I saw it handled so comprehensively in a sample library. I don't know whether it's the first of its kind, but it's the first time I encountered it and it made my day when I found the implementation here.

Excellent Documentation

If more developers took the approach Embertone does to their documentation, especially in regards to table for the articulations list, my job as a reviewer would be much simpler. It's great to be able to quickly see the number of dynamic layers and round-robins, etc. for all the available articulations. Kudos and I hope this becomes a trend others follow!

Extended Sampling

I was already a fan of Embertone's previous solo string offerings for a lot of reasons. When I really wanted to work vibrato to my personal tastes, they offered results I could not achieve with competing products. So I was very interested to hear what they would do with a library that was primarily based around recorded as opposed to scripted vibrato – since scripted vibrato still exists as a user option in Joshua Bell Violin but isn't really featured by default. The first piece of good news is that the recorded vibrato is lovely and should sound very familiar to listeners of Joshua Bell's work – and since it's recorded as opposed to scripted, the learning curve for using it is much shorter.

I like to imagine that since the learning curve for the vibrato is shorter, the discussion at Embertone might have gone something like this. 'Great, we can get great vibrato right off the bat, now we can throw tons of articulations and lots of different way to control them at the user instead. We don't want them to be bored!' At least that's what I'm left to conclude since the number of articulations on offer here positively dwarfs any previous Embertone solo string library.

First of all, I've mentioned in the past that the shorts in other Embertone solo string libraries weren't always as varied as I might have preferred. For instance, the initial release of Friedlander Violin only included staccato – not even a pizzicato. The free Friedlander 1.5 update added pizzicato (with Bartók 'snap' pizzicato as an additional top dynamic layer) as well as modeling for sul ponticello, sul tasto and con sordino for both staccato and pizzicato articulations. The absence of spiccato was the one I personally missed the most. Luckily, Joshua Bell Violin sampled much more. The list below of the sampled (not modeled) short articulations.

• Staccato
• Spiccato
• Ricochet multiple
• Ricochet single
• Pizzicato (with an Bartók 'snap' pizzicato for the top dynamic layer)
• Sul ponticello staccato
• Sul ponticello spiccato
• Sul ponticello ricochet single
• Sul ponticello pizzicato (with an Bartók 'snap' pizzicato for the top dynamic layer)

In addition, there's con sordino modeling available for all sampled shorts (and longs). These all sound great and make Embertone Joshua Bell Violin well suited to passages that were less ideal in Embertone Intimate Solo Strings. The only notable absence is col legno – an unfortunate but nonetheless understandable omission.

On the sustains front, the range is even wider.

• Sustain (normal, sul ponticello and sul tasto)
• Tremolo (normal and sul ponticello)
• Trill Minor and Major 2nds (normal)
• Harmonic (normal)
• Crescendo Short (normal)
• Crescendo Long(normal)
• Diminuendo Short (normal)
• Diminuendo Long(normal)
• Contour Short (normal)
• Contour Long (normal
• Super Flautando (sul tasto)

While the violin is an instrument capable of performing almost countless articulations, this goes far beyond bread and butter articulations to include the overwhelming majority of articulations for I normally use in scoring. You won't find dedicated run patches or certain pre-recorded ornaments you might find in some VSL libraries. There aren't a lot of other libraries that are able to keep up in this area. However, in my side by side testing, I found that when sustains were performed in VSL Solo Strings I and Embertone Joshua Bell Violin, I consistently preferred the Embertone Joshua Bell Violin recordings. Even the shorts in Embertone Joshua Bell Violin have a greater bounce, sprightliness and vibrancy.

Unexpected Versatility

When I first heard that Embertone was producing this library, I honestly expected it to be a little bit narrower in scope. Even when the feature list was revealed, I thought to myself that it would probably be mainly suited to classical repertoire and film music. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found it worked really well on a progressive rock track I was brought in to do arrangements for. The recordings are up-front and dry enough to work well without sounding artificial or to soar when more reverb is added and the sonic signature of the space isn't overly strong. While the learning curve to get to grips with accessing all the articulations in live performance is longer than some other libraries, once learned, it stands alongside VSL's Vienna Instruments/Vienna Instruments Pro player in regards to the sheer range. For instance, being able to dynamically switch from one sustain articulation to another (for instance from a normal sustain to a tremolo, trill, recorded crescendo or decrescendo) by pressing the appropriate keyswitch is something. But being able to go back and forth between the sustain and tremolo, repeatedly, simply by pressing and releasing a keyswitch, is an unexpectedly powerful preset option.

The Competition

Embertone Joshua Bell Violin is one of the best choices for solo violin for many different applications, but it doesn't replace every single solo violin library I use or have reviewed. Duplicate manager pro 1 3 5. So rather than going into great depth about exactly what each competing library offers, I'll instead look at specific applications where you might want to look at the competition.

If you really like to have control over vibrato, there's great flexibility in Embertone's own Friedlander Violin. If you would rather sweep through dynamic layers during a sustain with a MIDI controller, there are other options (especially if you aren't bothered by phasing). If you mainly want to use an especially strong passionate molto vibrato as opposed to a more balanced one there are other options (like Fluffy Audio's Trio Broz Violin or Cinematic Studio Solo Strings) that recorded vibrato with either greater intensity or speed, sometimes both. If you want that sort vibrato but want a super short learning curve, there are yet other options (like the free Solo Violin Legato by Performance Samples). If you're mainly writing chamber string pieces for a quartet, quintet, etc., then I'd recommend starting with Embertone Intimate Solo Strings, or again, Fluffy Audio Trio Broz. And if you're mainly looking for a solo strings to compliment your ensemble string libraries, I'd suggest starting with the ones offered by the same developer recorded in-situ (Cinematic Studio Solo Strings, CineSamples CineStrings SOLO, Orchestral Tools First Chairs 1 or 2, etc.).

Also, while the overwhelming majority of articulations called for in even colorful scoring are on offer in Embertone Joshua Bell Violin, there are still some (sforzando, col legno, etc.) that aren't found here but can be found in Vienna Solo Strings I Extended.

Is It Right For Me?

Embertone Joshua Bell Violin is a highly flexible library with great sound quality and an huge range of articulations that cover virtually everything I normally reach for in even the most comprehensive existing libraries (except col legno). There are also enough round-robins and dynamic layers on offer to make the most of the short articulations – which are in surprisingly ample supply. The legato sampling and scripting is excellent. There's a radiance and delicacy to the sound, the library lends itself well to virtuosic performance and the vibrato is individual, tasteful and balanced. If you just want to write melodies with a sustain and legato sampling with the shortest learning curve possible or if you are primarily looking for a first chair to add to your orchestral sections, then there are other offerings available. But Embertone Joshua Bell Violin is a really excellent choice for composers and keyboardists looking for a violin soloist library.

A collaboration between eminent American violinist Joshua Bell and the small but perfectly formed Embertone company, this excellent library features a deeply sampled solo violin expressively played by the maestro himself. Recordings took place over two days at New York's Avatar Studios, yielding nearly 20,000 samples in a diverse range of styles; all the performance variations are packed into a single playable patch, saving you the trouble of wading through encyclopaedic listings to find the articulation you need. The library runs on the free Kontakt Player and the full version of Kontakt 5.6.8 or higher, and uses 8.24GB of disk space once installed. A legacy Kontakt full 5.4.1+ version is also available.

Building on techniques developed for Embertone's previous solo strings (which include Friedlander Violin and Fischer Viola, reviewed here in May 2016), the company's new solo violin is an unmitigated triumph. Rarely have I heard such subtlety and tenderness in a sampled instrument: the player's breathy quiet notes are a thing of beauty, and his natural note transitions and glides are perfectly realised by an ultra-realistic, supremely organic true legato mode. https://torrent-gal.mystrikingly.com/blog/mailtab-pro-for-gmail-v5-4. I was pleased to find the programmers have adopted the superior VSL legato style in which a held note is retriggered when a superimposed note is released, making it easy to play the fast trills and gracings which characterise expressive violin performance.

Though this wonderful instrument has a lot going on under the bonnet, once it's downloaded, installed and activated you can jump in and play it straight out of the box. A predictive programming script unobtrusively selects the appropriate articulation on the fly — for example, detached playing triggers a bow change on each new note — while overlapped notes produce a smooth-sounding legato slur. Putting it another way, it plays like a dream, and though a small lag is sometimes noticeable while the script figures out what's going on, the violin will keep pace with the fastest performances you can throw at it. As is normally the case, the legato mode is monophonic, but you can render the instrument polyphonic (though still maintaining true legato transitions) at the touch of a button.

Embertone Joshua Bell Violin Kontakt Download Free Windows

A large articulation menu includes all the common violin playing techniques, and more besides: a brilliant set of ethereal legato harmonics caught my ear, and I was impressed by the accurate tuning of the tone trills — but then the tuning is exquisite throughout. Good notes sync google drive. Played with and without vibrato, the looped sustains are played at four dynamics in normal, con sordino (modelled on the sordino tone of Joshua Bell's violin), sul ponticello and sul tasto styles, the lovely, elegant portamento slides kick in when you play quiet overlapped notes, while the pizzicatos bang out a rousing ‘Bartok snap' at high velocities. In addition, there are played swells and diminuendos, note repetitions and ricochets, though no col legnos. Long notes are played with and without vibrato, with vibrato depth controlled by a slider; you can use the mod wheel to introduce the violinist's expressive real-life vibrato, or use Embertone's thoroughly convincing scripted version.

In order to access all these articulations within a single patch, the makers provide an elaborate set of keyswitches. There are three types: a conventional latching keyswitch which simply selects a style, a momentary keyswitch which is only active while you hold down its key (useful for inserting a quick played trill or slide), and the ‘instant keyswitch', which automatically sounds an articulation and reverts upon release. This last is a fun way of triggering (as opposed to actually playing) trills and tremolo, and opens the door to creating rhythmic effects such as an eighth-note oscillation between straight notes and harmonics. The keyswitch types are respectively colour-coded red, yellow and green on the GUI with blue keys showing the violin's G3 to G7 playing range, resulting in a somewhat brain-boggling keyboard colour scheme.

The violin's rich, mellow timbre can be brightened, darkened or further warmed up with preset tone settings; you can play it completely dry, or use one of the built-in convolution IR impulses for various acoustic spaces, which include classy concert halls and an amazing big, spacious cathedral reverb. Though this is one of the most tastefully designed interfaces I've seen, it wasn't a good idea to make the reverb dial a dark shade of grey over the black background — using it is like trying to find the light switch in a darkened room at midnight.

Delving deeper into the interior, we encounter features which will gladden the heart of a small minority of hardened tweakheads, while scaring the pants off people who just want to play a sampled violin and have done with it (in terms of real-life music-making, I'd place myself firmly in the latter category). Embertone admit the level of detail is insane, but justify it by saying they want the instrument to be as user-customisable as possible. To that end, A so-called ‘intuition page' offers humanisation and randomisation controls with almost psychic powers, while the control page allows users to assign various controllers and keyswitches to articulations, legato styles, dynamics and vibrato. Macbook air 2017 autocad. If (or rather, when) you mess things up, a ‘reset' button restores everything to the default settings.

Joshua Bell performed the samples on his 1713 Stradivarius. Known as one of the world's great violins, this famous fiddle has a chequered history: it was stolen twice from the same owner in the 1900s and wrangled over in the courts before ending up in the arms of Mr Bell, who became smitten after playing it at a concert. Declaring it 'the most amazing-sounding violin I'd ever heard', the violinist is reported to have paid around four million dollars for it — that's real love! The chances are you won't find a comparable instrument on eBay any time soon, so from that point of view, being able to play a beautiful, detailed sampled version in your own home for a couple of hundred bucks seems like a hell of a bargain.

$199

Embertone Joshua Bell Violin Kontakt download free. full