Wavelet Audio have released Runa: Elder Scoring Strings, available at the intro price of $159.00, increasing to $199.00 after the promotion.
RUNA is designed to easily add a distinctive and rich strings to your mix, helping it stand out with its unique sound and features. It fits well in many genres from cinematic and trailer music to horror and folk. Wavelet Audio carefully sampled the traditional ethnic instrument Kobyz and brought its character into the modern world. And it works!
This library is licensed for use in the free Kontakt Player. It can be used in Kontakt Player or the full retail version of Kontakt. It requires online registration through the Native Instruments Native Access system. This library is also fully compatible with Komplete Kontrol and all NKS Standard hardware and software by Native Instruments.
RUNA: Elder Scoring Strings explores features designed for intuitive use and adding a distinctive, rich, and detailed sound with ease, allowing to sound different. Improved phrase-repetition sampling techniques provide authentic and natural attacks and bow changes, for smoother, more expressive performance. RUNA is fully playable. Wavelet Audio fully sampled every string, every note note, and every possible transition.
Harmonics is one of the most important features of Runa: Elder Scoring Strings. After hearing the “Cyberpunk” soundtrack and this version of “Rebel Path”, Wavelet Audio knew they had to build the instrument with these harmonics at its core. The instrument has two keyswitches that control hard and normal flageolets. For simplicity, they added an auto-harmonics function that activates normal harmonics automatically after a set period of time.
Having a wide range of internal effects was critical for Wavelet Audio’s library. This instrument is designed to fit not only classical orchestral music, but also modern genres. Wavelet Audio didn’t want to add effects just because they could. For example, you’ll see that it works well to add light saturation and cabinet to make Runa cut through the mix even more. Or, you can destroy the sound completely with huge distortions. There are many great possibilities. Check the snapshots to get an idea.
Sequencer with high detalisation and the functionality of MIDI drag-and-drop to DAW or computer. The sequencer has 5 patterns. Users can load and edit sequence presets, or create their own from scratch and save them. By default, Wavelet Audio set one very long step, so the instrument does not actually play a rhythm. Most sample libraries work this way. However, you can set a more active sequence. In this case, the following settings will be very important. Restart Seq resets the sequence on a new note, starting it from the beginning. If Instant Legato and Restart Seq are both turned off, the engine allows the current step to finish before activating the legato. And the next step will then play the new note. This is very handy for fast rhythms.
Wavelet Audio have prepared a several categories of Snapshots to speed up the workflow, simplify sound selection, and demonstrate the engine’s capabilities.
Although they sampled solo strings with pretty limited range (2 strings), Wavelet Audio beautifully captured the tones of other instruments, such as the double bass, cello, viola, organ, pipa, and percussion, on Kontakt with the pretty impressive results!
Mic settings are fairly standard, but there are a few features worth highlighting. First, the Tune option can extend the range, making the instrument sound more like a cello or even a double bass. When you start panning the microphones, a slider appears that lets you add Delay, creating a much wider stereo image.
Legato. The library offers several types of deeply sampled legato: Rebow Legato, Portamento, Fast, and Trill. The offsets for the trill can be set in Options menu.
In Runa: Elder Scoring Strings, Wavelet Audio has used their favorite sampling techniques, such as performance sampling, rebow & attack morphing, to achieve highly realistic performances. They applied all their experience with products such as Ashen Scoring Cello and Edda to the specifics of the new instrument. Wavelet Audio paid special attention to maintaining a natural dynamic balance between different bowing repetitions without over-compression. They did a lot of experimentation with the performance sampling of legato transitions. We also tried many variations of backing tracks to find the perfect balance between the correct bowing speed for various BPM and dynamic control.
Phase-alignment. Keep in mind that Wavelet Audio pay special attention to the phase alignment of the samples to avoid artifacts in dynamic and legato crossfades. However, panning the mics and adding delay (to achieve an additional stereo effect) could lead to phase effects, such as volume changes, “phaser,” and “chorus.” If you want to use delay, Wavelet audio recommends using the default settings (-25 ms). They did hundreds of hours (thanks to the patience of the editors) for tests and volume rebalancing to ensure that the instrument does not have phasing issues and is balanced for 0 ms and -25 ms delay settings. However, you can experiment with other settings to achieve a different stereo effect.
Noise Reduction is minimal for sustains, tremolos, and attack samples. Noise reduction is moderate for shorts and crescendo samples. Noise reduction is strong for release samples. Musical noises and small artifacts are left untouched. These small artifacts are a direct result of the performance sampling approach and subjectively sound more natural. But Wavelet Audio understand that it’s important to keep the balance and make sure they’re not repetitive and too noisy.
Limited range. Some may find the instrument’s range quite limited. This is because the original kobyz only has two strings. Wavelet Audio plan to sample the Nar-Kobyz, which covers a lower range of notes. Additionally, you can tune the instrument’s mic settings to match the desired range. The instrument is fairly tolerant of non-extreme pitching.
Watch the overview video HERE.
Runa requires a free or full version of Kontakt 8.1.0 or later.
For more information on Runa and to compare prices, click here:
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