Sample Libraries

Audio Modeling's SWAM range delivers a complete suite of virtual solo woodwinds and strings.

EastWest set themselves a technical challenge and a half with this solo operatic vocal instrument.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Noire is the result of composer and pianist Nils Frahm's quest to recreate his signature piano sound as a virtual instrument.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Modern Animated Percussion represents a collaboration between two well-established sample library/virtual instrument developers: Sample Logic and Soundiron.

Rating: **** 4/5 Stars. British Drama Toolkit consists of eight solo string and woodwind instruments separately recorded from two mic positions in a purpose-built dry stage at Spitfire's HQ.

Spitfire's Ambient Guitars takes the humble six-string into new and uncharted sonic territory.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. This large metallophone is presented as a single patch containing a collection of preset 'snapshots' divided into percussive and sound–design categories...

Rating: **** 4/5 Stars. This instrument comprises all of the electric and acoustic guitar libraries that Sonic Zest have made for the Kontakt platform over the last six years.

Rating: **** 5/5 Stars. Spitfire have taken a series of common instruments (such as strings, percussion and classical singers) and combined them in ethereal fashion with less commonly encountered sound sources...

Rating: **** 4/5 Stars. Soundiron managed to get hold of a 61-key example of this 1970s Panda synthesizer and sampled its seven core voices to produce this library.

Spitfire Audio get intimate with their new studio-recorded orchestral sample libraries.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. A Psaltered Zither should make it much easier for musicians to include zither playing in their compositions...

Rating: **** 4/5 Stars. Pop Strings UK (6.4GB installed) is a collection of 48kHz WAV audio files — no sampler required, you just drag the WAVs into your DAW, set the song tempo and off you go.

Rating: **** 5/5 Stars. This library delivers big, bad (in a good way) drum and percussion sounds designed for epic TV and film music creation.

VSL push out the boat with hall-recorded rock power drums and two top of the range grand pianos.

Two new libraries see Orchestral Tools extend their Metropolis series and take a bold leap into the world of big band jazz.

Rating: ***** 5/5 Stars. Producer Eduardo Tarilonte's library provides a collection of instruments and soundscapes inspired by the sounds of Vikings and the dark ages.