Recently, YouTube introduced me to a musician by the name of Hal Walker. This gentleman played a bamboo instrument which looked so bizarre and so unique – and it sounded like nothing I’d ever heard in my life. The beautifully mournful harmonic chords which it produced – minor 7ths and 9ths and 11ths and everything – practically knocked me flat on my back and made me cry out “Dang, I gotta get ME one of those!”

I later found out that this instrument was called the Khaen, and that it was central to Southeast Asian culture – Laos and Thailand specifically. I also later found out that my local classifieds had one such instrument (a smaller model) listed by a contributor. Needless to say, I retrieved the necessary funds and obtained the khaen within the week. It was old, cracked, and a little faulty, but that sound – that warm and aching tone – was still in there.

I’ve since parted ways with the instrument itself, but not before first sampling and preserving its iconic tone. The alpha version of this VST is very primitive; no effect knobs or display banners yet, but you still get the instrument sound. And hey, it’s free!

I have included one .nki file of adjusted Chromatic tuning, and another of its natural untuned notes. Both have inhale/exhale round-robins.

Contributors

Levi Q Bridge

Recorded with condenser mic, and arranged samples in Kontakt 7.