MINI Review
Soniccouture Glass/Works & Skiddaw Stones
www.soniccouture.com
Long before Sound on Sound Magazine gave both Glass/Works and Skiddaw Stones a glowing 5-Star review, I sent the folks at Soniccouture a personal note (excerpt from January 2010, below), offering praise based on my initial reaction to these two great libraries. In the months that have since passed, my love for these two great libraries has increased, as has their unique collection of sampled instruments.
Briefly, Glass Works is a meticulous sampling of Glass Armonica, Le Cristal Baschet, and Harry Partch-inspired Cloud Chamber Bowls. Triggering from the keyboard unleashes these compelling sounds, but assigning buttons and knobs on my MIDI controller takes this incredible library to an even more expressive plateau, especially the incredibly haunting musicality, of the Cristal Baschet.
The Skiddaw Stones is an authentic sampling of the geologically unique set of 1840s lithophone (tuned rocks) from the Hornfels stones of Cumbria, England. Add some incredible presets and effects to the stones (as well as clever arpeggiation scripting), and the organic percussive quality takes on a whole other dimension. Both libraries come with the Kontakt Player, or can be loaded into Kontakt. Be sure to visit the soniccouture site for more information about how they sampled all these unique instruments.
I can’t say enough good things about my first major purchase from Sonic
Couture. Yesterday, I took the plunge and purchased the Glass Works / Skiddaw Stones bundle, and have been enthralled with the organic, richly sonic, and musically pleasing quality of both libraries....I’ve already revamped a couple of works in progress, and have started planning for some new compositions for use with both libraries. I'm genuinely excited, feeling as if I've added something tangible and unique to my studio....it’s gems like Glass Works and the Stones that really don’t come along that often. Sure there are other niche libraries out there, but these two libraries from SC have raised the bar, in my opinion, by doing justice to to the instruments and the artists who have demonstrated their incredible potential (both past and present)... there is a distinct since of translating and preserving the intentions of these artists and their instruments... the finer aspects of these instruments is what has won me over.
Hi Greg,
Well , thanks for such a great email. We do get a steady trickle of email
praise, but I have to say that it's one of the best and most eloquent that we've had. We both agreed it was a nice start to the year. I'm particularly pleased that you 'get' that we (like to think that) we are documenting these rare instruments for posterity as well as to bring their sound to a wider number of musicians.
Briefly, Glass Works is a meticulous sampling of Glass Armonica, Le Cristal Baschet, and Harry Partch-inspired Cloud Chamber Bowls. Triggering from the keyboard unleashes these compelling sounds, but assigning buttons and knobs on my MIDI controller takes this incredible library to an even more expressive plateau, especially the incredibly haunting musicality, of the Cristal Baschet.
The Skiddaw Stones is an authentic sampling of the geologically unique set of 1840s lithophone (tuned rocks) from the Hornfels stones of Cumbria, England. Add some incredible presets and effects to the stones (as well as clever arpeggiation scripting), and the organic percussive quality takes on a whole other dimension. Both libraries come with the Kontakt Player, or can be loaded into Kontakt. Be sure to visit the soniccouture site for more information about how they sampled all these unique instruments.
I can’t say enough good things about my first major purchase from Sonic
Couture. Yesterday, I took the plunge and purchased the Glass Works / Skiddaw Stones bundle, and have been enthralled with the organic, richly sonic, and musically pleasing quality of both libraries....I’ve already revamped a couple of works in progress, and have started planning for some new compositions for use with both libraries. I'm genuinely excited, feeling as if I've added something tangible and unique to my studio....it’s gems like Glass Works and the Stones that really don’t come along that often. Sure there are other niche libraries out there, but these two libraries from SC have raised the bar, in my opinion, by doing justice to to the instruments and the artists who have demonstrated their incredible potential (both past and present)... there is a distinct since of translating and preserving the intentions of these artists and their instruments... the finer aspects of these instruments is what has won me over.
Hi Greg,
Well , thanks for such a great email. We do get a steady trickle of email
praise, but I have to say that it's one of the best and most eloquent that we've had. We both agreed it was a nice start to the year. I'm particularly pleased that you 'get' that we (like to think that) we are documenting these rare instruments for posterity as well as to bring their sound to a wider number of musicians.
Check out these other MINI reviews:
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