Sample masters at Soniccouture have created and released Tingklik, a sample-based bamboo percussion instrument for Native Instruments Kontakt, Apple Logic, and Ableton Live.
A Tingklik is a large bamboo percussion instrument from Bali that is sometimes referred to as a Rindik because it is often used for “Rindik” music. Rindik music usually involves two Tingklik players and a single Suling (bamboo flute), notes Soniccouture, and it is usually played at public gatherings or just for entertainment. The music is not associated with any of the religious or cultural festivals where gamelan music is usually played; the pieces are secular in nature and are usually named after animals, such as “Chasing a female pig” or “Frog climbing a leaf.”
Most Tingklik instruments have 11 bamboo tubes, but the instrument sampled for this new release has 12 tubes. The bamboo tubes are in varying lengths that create different pitches, the longest bamboo tube being about a meter long for the lowest pitch. With the Tingklik, there are five notes per octave, with a total range of a little over two octaves. The tubes are suspended using string over a brightly colored wooden frame. To play it, you would sit on the ground and strike the bamboo tubes with rubber-tipped mallets.
The Tingklik player uses both hands, bouncing the mallets in a constant rhythm. The left hand usually plays the melody and the right hand plays an accompaniment to it. If there are two players, the right hand parts are often interlocking (a technique called kotekan), which provides the illusion of very fast playing.
Each of the Tingklik’s 12 notes were sampled at 12 different Velocity levels, with 6 alternate samples for each level to get a natural, living sound. The Kontakt and Ableton Live versions include tools for doubling the Tingklik to simulate the authentic paired playing found in Bali. Both the original tuning and a full chromatic Western tuning are included in all formats.
Soniccouture Tingklik features:
- 470 MB sample library
- 24-bit, 44.1 kHz stereo sampling
- 14 Velocity layers
- 6 Round robin layers
- KSP Jammer module
- Available for Kontakt, EXS24, and Ableton Live
The new Soniccouture Tingklik instrument, now available for 29 EUR (approximately $37), is compatible with full versions of Kontakt 3 and 4 (not with the Free Kontakt Player), Logic 8 or higher, and Ableton Live Intro or Live version 8.1.3 or higher.