Tonehammer’s sample instrument-making sibling, Microhammer, has released Kinderklavier for Native Instruments Kontakt. The new sample-based instrument offers a range of sounds, from cutesy and innocent keyboard tinkering to dark and twisted sounds for pop, rock, and more.
A kinderklavier, or toy piano, was deep-sampled and close-miked to capture subtle nuances, with 8 round robins and an average of 6 Velocity layers on each of the 25 notes. In making Kinderklavier, the original instrument was beaten with sticks and mallets, dismantled, probed, strummed, and tortured in order to create a variety of effects and sounds. That doesn’t sound like kind treatment to an instrument called the kinderklavier, does it? After extracting all the usable sounds and giving the poor instrument a rest, Microhammer decided to push the library further by creating a set of tuned, deep ambiences.
All in all, the new sample instrument / library offers nearly 1,500 samples in 24-bit, 44.1 kHz quality, along with 16 Kontakt Instruments, 2 Kontakt Multis, a set of custom controls tuned for each patch, custom reverb with 46 unique impulses to choose from, front-panel controls, mod wheel automation to allow pitch adjustment of up to +/- 6 octaves, and more. Special effects include slaps, taps, clacks, and glisses.
Microhammer Kinderklavier features:
- Deep-sampled kinderklavier
- Every key sampled with 8 round robins and 6 Velocity layers
- Special FX made with sticks, mallets, strums, and “torture”
- Special FX slaps, taps, clacks, glisses
- 46 Custom convolutions
- Unique user interface programming
- 14 Additional special ambient / mod wheel controlled patches
- 16 Kontakt Instruments and 2 Kontakt Multis
- 1,494 Samples
- 46 Bonus custom impulses
- 900 MB download (2.2 GB installed)
- Sample resolution: 24-bit, 44.1 kHz stereo
- Formats: Kontakt and WAV
Note that Kinderklavier requires a full version of Native Instruments Kontakt 3.5 or higher, and it does not support the free Kontakt Player.
Now available, Kinderklavier may be purchased for $35 from Microhammer at microhammer.com.