Sample Libraries

Does the latest iteration of NI’s Komplete music production suite provide all the tools you need?

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. With Smack II, Big Fish Audio are clearly attempting to deliver the complete one‑stop shop for your body percussion needs.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Aspire Modern Mallets introduces tuned percussion with a distinctly modern twist.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Teletone Audio’s Ondine features treated and processed samples from popular analogue synths.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Hybrid Studio Taiko library has a number of interesting design features compared to some of the obvious competition.

Sonuscore transform the sounds of the orchestra into cinematic soundscapes.

Toontrack and Hugh Padgham bring the drum sounds that defined the 1980s to Superior Drummer.

The addition of woodwinds, a third percussion collection and concert harp sees VSL’s Synchron Orchestra reach maturity.

Orchestral Tools expand their Berlin Series with a muted strings collection.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars. In addition to reverberant clangs and monumental industrial noises, Mercury also excels at quiet, eerie and mysterious textures.

Rating: 4/5 Stars. With its roots in a medieval Jewish vocal culture, this library comprises long songs arranged by musical key.

Rating: 5/5 Stars. This library offers top‑notch acoustic drums with a dry(ish) sound that’s perfect for pop, hip‑hop, breakbeats or funk.

Rating: 4/5 Stars. Waverunner aims to replicate the sound of classic analogue synths from the ’80s and ’90s...

Sonokinetic’s new Kontakt library resurrects the sounds of the 1980s.

EastWest go off world with a whole planet of screen‑friendly synth sounds.

Rating: 5/5 Stars. This very affordable choral instrument from Spitfire Audio features a 50‑piece mixed vocal ensemble recorded at AIR Studios’ legendary Lyndhurst Hall in London.

Rating: 5/5 Stars. Large orchestral sections are augmented by a mixed choir, but in an unexpected twist this sample library also includes analogue and modular synths.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Given the ‘cinematic sound engine’ tag line, there are no prizes for guessing that media composers are the primary target for this instrument.

Rating: **** 4/5 Stars. Spitfire's inexpensive instrument is described as “Explosive Afro‑percussion meets dub and free jazz”.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Delta Blues comes in 10 loop‑based construction kits (nearly 6GB of sample data), combining acoustic guitar, resonator guitar, electric bass and drum loops.

Rating: ***** 4.5/5 Stars. The Cuatro is a South American derivation of the Spanish guitar, but rather smaller in size and with only four strings. It’s not a million miles away from the ukulele or mandolin.