The story
This is my first sampled instrument. I have always been fascinated by the ability that certain small musical instruments have to evoke magical worlds, to bring you back to childhood, to make you feel an emotion instantly. So I tried to create one that was at the same time very simple to use but also inspiring to play. The Cinematic Kalimba has three layers: the first layer contains the original sounds, divided in six groups of samples with six round robins; the second layer contains the reverse sounds, that you can activate in different lengths using the key switches; the third and last layers is a texture, that has is own dedicated volume control on the GUI. This little instrument is very very simple, but i hope you can have fun playing it and that maybe it can help you to come up with some good musical ideas.
Interface
Reviews for Cinematic Kalimba
- Sound
- Character
- Playability
- Inspiration
- GUI
Leave a review to let others know what you thought of the instrument!
Kalimba on steroids
To start with the basic sound is very good, which always helps. It only stretches over a major 10th as standard, so it's more like a "proper" instrument rather than a synth patch but with 6 round robins it sounds really good. You can always extend the lower zone down if you want - which actually works really well. The key switches add various FX, pans and reverses which is where the instrument starts to really shine and show its flexibility from a programming/composition view point. A set of really effective and useful GUI controls are the icing on the cake. Great sound, very usable.
Instant atmosphere!
Here on Pianobook you can find a big library of Kalimbas, and this one is a fantastic addition to it. Right from the start, it has great character, and through the provided options you can create an extra special Kalimba sound. The different layers work great with each other, the quality is very good, and the programming is also good.
Some users might find the keyswitches a little tricky at first. Once you press a switch, there is no indication on what you just did, Some sound very similar to others, and the arrangement of the switches is a little confusing to me. It's certainly not a dealbreaker though ,since it's something you can quickly get used to.
For a first time, I consider this a great success!
Pretty Awesome with lots of controls
This is a pretty great kalimba sound. Its not as child like as other kalimbas on here but its really thick. This is really cool, i dont know exactly what i mean by thick but it feels like it really has some weight which i haven't heard in a kalimba library before. This is really different and unique. It seems like theres a pretty decent amount of round robins which is always awesome but i do wish it was just a bit more dynamic. Theres also a-lot of controllability in the GUI as well as key switchable presets. Apart from the usual reverb and delay you get these really cool reverses which im always a huge fan of.
This is indeed a pretty cinematic kalimba and really great for your first instrument.
