Plugin Boutique are offering 25% off Balalaika v2 for a limited time, now only £27.94 / $34.53, (usually £36.67 / $45.32). The offer ends February 5th.
In the context of Cinematique Instruments’ previously released string instruments, they have again set a great focus on creating an instrument with a soft and warm sound that will have an organic and realistic feel.
It features a “Tremolo-Option“ which is controlled over the Mod Wheel and is capable of creating a very tragic and dramatic but also extremely natural tremolo sound, which fits perfectly in a lot of different music styles and genres.
The Balalaika is a small string instrument that most likely originates from central Asian lute instruments but is nowadays most closely associated with Eastern European, especially Russian music. First mentioned in the 17th Century, it was primarily used for village and folk music whereas the Balalaika also starts to take part in concert performances since the 19th Century. This even lead to the forming of Balalaika orchestras. Additionally, the Balalaika acquired its iconic triangular shape at that time.
The Balalaika that Cinematique Instruments has recorded is a three-stringed prima Balalaika which has a typical E-E-A tuning.
In order to concentrate on the main instrument articulations, Cinematique Instruments have recorded the Balalaika in the regular “plucking“ articulation in eight times round robin which is well suited for playing melodies but also offers many more uses.
Balalaika features a “Tremolo-Option“ which is controlled over the Mod Wheel and is capable of creating a very tragic and dramatic but also extremely natural tremolo sound, which fits perfectly in a lot of different music styles and genres. The other articulation which has been captured is the “Strumming“. This is great for accompanying and creating a good backing for your music. Along with these samples Cinematique Instruments have additionally recorded strummed dead notes.
You can play these notes manually or with a tiny but very powerful “Pattern” engine which lets you create patterns in an easy and self-explanatory way. Furthermore, the Balalaika is equipped with different options to enhance the entire sound with three types of reverb, some fx features, and editing possibilities.
Overall the Balalaika is an instrument that is easy to use while still offering loads of capabilities to augment your sound with its soft and organic feel and extremely versatile uses.
With update 2.0, Cinematique Instruments have added presets and some new features (like Arp) and effects. They have also taken the design to a new level.
Features include:
- Approximately 320 samples
- 200 MB compressed data
- Organic Tremolo
- Shiny and realistic sound
Balalaika v2 requires a full version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or later.
For more information on Balalaika v2, click here:
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