Samples of the week: Forbidden Planet, Vespertone, Beatport Sounds
Here comes Samples of the week! With Forbidden Planet, EastWest released a massive sample instrument for its Opus sampling engine. Here, you can experiment with analog synth sounds layered onto all kinds of different sounds. Teletone Audio Vespertone is more to the point, but it has its twists. The vintage instruments contained within are transformed before your ears, but the sound remains smooth and bright. Beatport Sounds is a new series of sample packs created by famous producers from the electronic music world. Read below…
Samples – EastWest Forbidden Planet
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‘Forbidden Planet’ sounds like big cinema, but EastWest also has EDM, hip-hop, and anything else in mind with this library. Synthesizers form the basis, but are combined with orchestral sounds, choir sounds, sound effects, and traditional instruments from all over the world. It all sounds like a very interesting mix.
Forbidden Planet packs 645 instruments into the new Opus engine, which offers many sound design possibilities. For example, you can use an X/Y pad to crossfade between sound sources and filter settings. Orbital control creates slight variations in timbre and frequency spectrum. There are also envelope curves to control a wide variety of parameters, and the dual arpeggiator can create moving polyrhythmic sequences.
Forbidden Planet runs via the Opus engine in VST2, VST3, AU and AAX formats under macOS (10.13+) and Windows 10+. The library has 54 GB of content. You can purchase it from ComposerCloud at the promotional price of USD 20 per month (regular USD 30 per month). The product will go on sale from June 12, 2022.
Samples – Teletone Audio Vespertone
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The idea behind Vespertone is transforming four vintage instruments into new sounds via morphing. To that, a specially developed granular engine has been implemented within Kontakt. The sample sources include a Wurlitzer 200, a 30s vibraphone, a Jenco celesta, and a Rhodes from the 70s. Each was recorded with three different mic positions (and a plate reverb on the Wurlitzer), so there’s plenty of material to make new sounds out of.
The interface looks quite modern and minimalist. There are only three parameters for sound-shaping: Body, Soul and Spirit. Body controls the morphing, Soul adds unspecified effects, and Spirit creates ambience. Three faders mix the microphone positions, and there’s an ‘Age’ control for manual sound aging. Additional parameters include Vibration, Sensitivity, Mechanics, Noise, and Stereo. The sound is very organic and warm, as expected from all the vintage sampling.
The download is 2.77 GB, but the installation takes up 7 GB. Vespertone requires Kontakt 5.9 or newer, but the free Kontakt Player is also supported. The instrument costs USD 79.
Beatport Sounds
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With Beatport Sounds, Beatport deepens its sampling efforts with the help of many world-famous producers. Distribution is handled via Loopcloud, which it purchased back in 2020. A new sample pack is promised every month. The debut offering is Techno Fundamentals by UMEK. Additional packs are available from Steve Lawler, drum and bass legend DJ Krust, and house veteran Marshall Jefferson. In addition to artist packs, several collections are planned that focus specifically on individual genres.
All samples are included in the Loopcloud subscription, which starts at EUR 7 per month.
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