Soundiron – Steel Tones (KONTAKT)

Steel Tones is a multi-sampled metallic tuned percussion instrument library for Kontakt that captures the essence of a Hapi Drum. Built by Hapi Tones, the Hapi Drum is a hollow steel-chambered acoustic instrument measuring 12 inches wide and 8 inches deep (30cm x 20cm). It’s in the family of steel tongue drums, also known as tank drums or hank drums. The concept was originally pioneered by Dennis Havlena in 2007 and has evolved into various forms by numerous instrument makers.

Our particular model has 8 tongues tuned to a D-major pentatonic scale. Each note has a strong fundamental tone wrapped in a haze of complex overtones and harmonics and a long, very mellow sustain. We recorded it with a close stereo pair of Neumann studio mics for a dry and very present sound, as well as a second stereo pair captured in a hall at 15 feet for an open, spacious sound. We sampled it deeply with 7 round robins and up to 9 velocity layers per note, using soft rubber mallets and hard metal mallets.

You can chromatically solo, combine or layer the different articulations, tongues and mic positions to create your own unique sonic blends. You can control each layer’s volume with the swell control, adjust attack, sample start offset, release, semi-tone pitch-stepping and define playable midi key range. These easy-to-use main parameter controls give you truly endless creative possibilities. We also include dozens of expertly sound-designed ambiences, textures, soundscapes, organic synth pads and custom presets, drawn from the acoustic source to provide excellent accompaniment and underscoring tools.

Our robust ARP system provides dynamic arpeggiation and step-sequencing options. The FX Rack page provides chorus, phaser, flanger, compressor, several distortion types, amp and speaker simulation, EQ, resonant filter, delay and convolution reverb. The reverb includes dozens of our custom cathedrals, churches, halls, bunkers, garages, tunnels, chambers, rooms and plenty of special FX impulses to explore.

This 2.9 GB library includes 1161 samples and a beautifully designed user interface for the full version of Kontakt 5.5 and later (OSX 10.8 or later / Windows 7 or later required).

This standard open-format Kontakt library is a powerful tuned percussion design tool that stretches far beyond the limits of the acoustic instrument it was recorded with.

We’ve included 50 sound designed ambiences, atmospheres, and sustaining pads to provide tonal leads and background textures. Each one has been hard-crafted by our team, using the raw organ recordings and are an ideal accompaniment to this library.

The library comes fully equipped with flexible control features, like attack, release, sample start offset, dynamic swell, independent later transposition, key switching, independent layer control and a robust Arpeggiator system that provides lots of dynamic arpeggiation modes and step sequencer pattern creation options. There’s also a complete DSP effects rack, including convolution reverb with dozens of unique spaces, such as cathedrals, churches, halls, bunkers, garages, tunnels, chambers, rooms and plenty of special FX impulses to fully explore and endless variety of strange and unexpected sonic manipulations.