Pirate VST

CineHarps is a collection of deeply sampled orchestral harps that’s easy to use and is loaded with techniques and features that will make this a classic in any composer’s template. Recorded with wide variety of perspectives at the MGM Scoring Stage at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, CineHarps will fit nicely into any mix.

For the 10th anniversary of our landmark product CineHarps,
Cinesamples is proud to present the completely re-imagined, deeply-sampled sequel – CineHarps. Recorded at the historic MGM Scoring Stage at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, CineHarps captures the ease of use and varied techniques of the original CineHarp while adding pristine audio fidelity and improved features that will make this a classic in any composer’s template.

Recorded in three distinct positions on the scoring stage, CineHarps includes multiple articulations and timbres – plucked patches, precise glissandi, and incredibly robust effects. Whether a composition calls for classical harp techniques or a hybrid sound design approach, CineHarps offers composers the richest harp sounds available.
As with all CineSymphony libraries, CineHarps library does not require you to purchase any additional sample playback software, and is licensed to work with the Native Instrument’s free Kontakt Player. All you need is a sequencer like Logic, Cubase, Digital Performer, LIVE, Pro Tools, Cakewalk, or even Apple GarageBand and you’ll be up and running.

FEATURES:

The Perspective Fader

CineHarps includes the addition of a new Perspective Mode. When Perspective Mode is turned on, a slider appears that performs a smooth crossfade between the Close, Room, and Surround microphone perspectives. This slider is automatically mapped to the mod wheel, giving you the ability to instantly control the relative depth of the instrument.

Gliss Mode

Gliss Mode transposes all of the white keys according to the selected notes and pedal diagram. This allows for easy playing of glissandi on the white keys. When the Gliss Mode button is active, note attacks in faster phrases are gently softened. The faster you play, the softer the attack.
Tip/Trick: Turning on Gliss Mode and leaving the pedals set to C major allows you to play chromatically, but still softens the onset of each note in faster phrases, which can result in more realistic trills, bisbigliandi and other types of playing.

Close Delay Button

Above the Close microphone perspective is small yellow button marked with a “D”. Activating this button delays the sound of the Close perspective by approximately 15ms, which time aligns the Close with the Room and Surround Perspectives, resulting in a tighter sound. Turning off the Close Delay gives the instrument more depth and definition, which can be useful for featuring it in the mix.

Velocity Curve

The Velocity Curve control can be used to dial in exactly the dynamic you are looking for. Bias Forte makes it easier to play louder dynamics, and Bias Piano makes it easier to play soft dynamics. Linear allows the velocities to pass through unaffected. The Velocity Curve control can also be used to compensate for a MIDI keyboard with an undesirably hard or soft action. You can custom-draw a velocity curve by clicking and dragging with the mouse.

Release Mode

The Release Mode knob changes the way releases are played. “Muted” simulates the harpist immediately dampening the string at the note release, and “Let Vib.” allows the string to ring out for its full duration ignoring any note releases. “Normale” provides a moderate decay to the release. This control along with the Release Volume control can be used to dial in the exact type of release behavior you are looking for.

Round Robin Borrowing

The RR Borrowing knob employes surrounding notes as additional round robins. A value of 6 results in up to +/- a tritone of borrowing providing up to an additional 12 round robins per note. A value of zero only plays two round robins per dynamic level. Higher values result in more round robins and more tonal variation.

Dynamic Range

The Dynamic Range knob can increase or decrease the overall dynamic range of the instrument. With the knob turned all the way up, low dynamics are almost completely inaudible and higher dynamics are very loud. With the knob turned all the way down the instrument plays all of the recorded dynamic layers, but at the same perceived volume.

CINEHARPS CREW

Produced by: Michael Barry and Michael Patti
Project Director: Tim Starnes
Kontakt Scripting: Ben Chrisman
Recording Engineer: Adam Michalak
Mix Engineer: Tim Starnes
Sample Editors: Elan Hickler, Casey Merhige, Elvis Bates
Quality Assurance: Elisa Rice

Requires Kontakt 5.6.8 and above (Works with both the free Kontakt Player and the paid, full version of Kontakt)

Our flagship piano. A stunning Steinway concert grand, prepared with a layer of cotton for a beautiful cinematic tone. Full of nuance and character, and truly inspiring to play. Designed with the modern film and TV composer in mind.

Midnight Grand is a stunning concert grand piano, expertly recorded in a concert hall with a layer of cotton between the hammers and strings, to create a delicate, cinematic tone.

This is not ‘just another sampled Steinway’ – it is a carefully crafted virtual piano full of nuance and character, perfect for intimate drama and rich cinematic passages alike.

As with all our products, Midnight Grand was developed with ease of use in mind, so you can jump straight in and start writing music. We are confident it will become a staple in many composers’ sample collections.

The instrument was recorded in a modern concert hall environment using a selection of top-shelf microphones (from DPA, Coles, AKG) placed close to the piano and further back in the room. We carefully blended these microphone signals into a single stereo mix. The result is a well balanced and versatile sound – spacious enough so as not to sound boxy or claustrophobic, yet dry enough to offer the flexibility of adding as much or little reverb as you like.

We recorded true pedal up and down samples, for authentic sympathetic resonance when the sustain pedal is held down. Some of our beta testers loved the sound of the pedal down samples so much that we decided to include an additional patch, ‘Midnight Piano (Alt).nki’ which uses only these samples. This patch has a rich, full sound even when the sustain pedal isn’t engaged.

Mechanical Sounds and Room Tone
With Midnight Grand, we went far beyond sampling the notes themselves. Our sonic vision for this library was for it to sound like you are sat at the piano, capturing the feeling of being alone in an empty room with nothing but the piano in front of you. A huge part of achieving this (aside from the microphone placement) was capturing the mechanical sounds of the piano – the sound of the hammers returning to their resting position when a key is released, and the sound of the dampers lifting when the pedal is pressed. Both of these sounds can be dialled in to your taste, for enhanced realism.

The Room Tone control adds the natural sound of the air moving around the hall, as well as subtle creaks and clicks. When used sparingly, the room tone can really bring the samples to life, giving the impression the performance is taking place in a real acoustic space.

Atmosphere Layers
Once again, we have brought back our popular ‘Atmosphere Layers’ – playable pads and textures which blend together with the raw piano beautifully.

The ‘Haze’ layer adds a smooth, dreamy sustain.
The ‘Shivers’ layer is a textural pad, created from processed live string recordings.
The ‘Eclipse’ layer is a rich reversed granular delay effect, which lingers behind the raw piano.
These layers can be dialled in to taste using the Layer Mixer. Additionally, the global ‘intensity’ of these layers can be controlled using the ‘Atmosphere Intensity’ dial, or automated in real-time using the mod wheel.

Features
Steinway D concert grand, prepared with a layer of cotton.
Beautifully delicate, cinematic and nuanced sound.
Recorded in a modern concert hall environment.
3 unique atmosphere layers.
True pedal up and down samples, for authentic sympathetic resonance.
Controllable key release, pedal, and room noise.
Simple and user-friendly interface.
3.3GB download size (NCW compressed from a 6.6GB sample pool).
Requires the full version of Kontakt 5.3 or above.

A beautiful upright felt piano, developed in close collaboration with film and TV composer James Everingham.

Woodchester Piano is the first in our new series of collaborations with talented composers and artists, bringing you a range of finely crafted virtual instruments full of personality. This library was produced in close collaboration with film and TV composer James Everingham, and features his Wilh. Steinberg German Series upright piano, intimately recorded with the felt pedal engaged.

We visited James’s studio and spent several days carefully sampling every nuance of the instrument. We then spent many months mixing, polishing and fine-tuning the instrument, resulting in a stunning virtual piano with a beautifully versatile sound, which is a joy to play.

Woodchester Piano also includes key release and pedal samples, a unique pianist noise feature to add subtle rustling and wood creaks for heightened realism, and adjustable colour control to dial in the perfect tone for your composition.

Atmosphere Layers
After the success of our Dream Zither and Tiny Music Box libraries, we decided to take our tried and tested ‘playable pad’ concept to the next level, offering three atmospheric sound design layers which blend together with the raw piano beautifully.

The ‘Ache’ layer adds a smooth, hazy sustain – a marriage between a reverb and a pad.
The ‘Dream’ layer offers a more textural, shimmering sound.
The ‘Clouds’ layer adds a reversed granular delay effect which evolves over time.
These layers can be dialled in to taste using the Layer Mixer. Additionally, the global ‘intensity’ of these layers can be controlled using the ‘Atmosphere Intensity’ dial, or automated in real-time using the mod wheel.

Features
88-key felted upright piano.
Beautiful warm, characterful and versatile sound.
3 unique atmosphere layers.
True pedal up and down samples, for authentic string resonance.
Controllable key release, pedal, and pianist noise.
Simple and user-friendly interface.
1.1GB download size (NCW compressed from a 2.2GB sample pool).
Requires the full version of Kontakt 5.3 or above.