The story
I bought this bird whistle for 10 RMB(1.2696 EUR) nearby Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, China.
When I got home, searched on Taobao and found it just worth 0.26 RMB (EUR 0.03301). I was like ….what the f**k!
Well, It’s still a bird whistle bought from Lingyin Temple. Some believe it brings fortune and luck to users.
In October 1, I heard the seller played it, found it sounds funny which made me purchase for it.
I used to have a bird whistle when I was around 4 or 5. It was made by bamboo. But I lost it after my family moved out. Now I’m 33, I get a new one, made by plastic, still sounds alike the previous one.
They are somewhere the same although made by different material, both work well after filled in water.
I recorded it and made it into Kontakt Library after I got home. It’s recorded in my private studio.
Two microphones used, Blue Bird SL and Rode NT5.
2 Round Robins, 3 velocity layers, and two different articulations which you will see.
It’s hard to play with it. It will soon get out of tune if blow it constantly on one note.But it sounds well while sliding it. So I made two versions, one for legato, one for poly.
I tried to tune it , but it will get lower if you play one note for a long time. I think it still sounds nice, can be used into funny film scene or lofi music.
Have fun!
Reviews for Bird Whistle
- Sound
- Character
- Playability
- Inspiration
- GUI
Leave a review to let others know what you thought of the instrument!
Near perfect quality!
This instrument could easily be a premium one if it didn't have this one tiny small issue: The CC1 is mislabeled as Dynamics, whereas it should be Expression. The actual dynamics are controled by the velocity, and they sound very nice and indeed very dynamic. This will just take you just a little longer to get used to, but the velocity layers are stunning!
I would very much prefer though an actual dynamic crossfade for CC1 and Expression in CC11 as in a typical Spitfire fashion for sure, but that may be a personal preference. I also wish that the GUI didn't feature the default Kontakt knobs and labels, as they take away all the magic that the instrument has to offer.
You will find tons of controls though, including two mics that can be panned seperately for a better stereo image. You can also set the attack and release which can turn this into an awesome pad, especially if you combine it with the nice reverb and room knobs that come with it.
There is also the Legato patch which also offers portamento, a great addition to see on a free instrument. It works well if you don't do super big jumps.
Overall this is a great instrument and I highly recomend it!
This will be a layer
I thought the attention to detail in the sampling and building the GUI was pretty outstanding. As in the GUI is feature rich, and on some notes if you sustain them too long will go a tad flat like a real wind player. The overblown layers on some notes have a sweet bend to them too. I quite like this instrument.
A Simple instrument with a deep interface
Lots to like about this whistle. Not only is it instantly evocative, it also sounds great and is instantly playable. The interface is very straightforward, but offers as much control over the sound as you could possibly wish for. Someone did a really spectacular job here. This is the level one expects from commercially available instruments, and contributions like this really raise the bar for Piano Book samples.
Great Dynamics and Character
This instrument is pretty deeply sampled and has a mellow beautiful breathy tone. It starts sounding pretty shrill towards the super high end but theres a huge range of the instrument where it sounds really sweet. The GUI offers a really nice amount of control with mic options and effects. I know criticizing this library for not having legato is not a fair critique for a free instrument but for me personally i always find melodic lines of woodwinds with no legato to sound really un natural. It can still be used as a less melodic textural effect which i love doing with woodwinds because of the shimmery breathy sound. This isn't a critique of the instrument its still fantastic but it limits its uses for me. This is still a really awesome instrument where the key for me is to probably play slow changing simple melodies instead of lead lines
