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Westwood Instruments

Violin Untamed by Westwood -Expressive, Raw & Improvised

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Violin Untamed – The Perfect Violin For Imperfect Scores

VIOLIN UNTAMED is a solo violin library with the idea that samples should sound like a performance. At the heart of the instrument is Westwood Instruments’ unique Improvised articulation; a series of evolving and improvised notes. This sounds like a musician taking your composition and adding an individual direction and human performance.

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Violin Untamed

Performed at 3 different intensities; the quietest layer is subtle and delicate, the medium layer brings more emotion and character, whilst the loudest layer sounds wild, intense and often chaotic. They sound beautiful alone as individual notes or even more compelling when played as chord progressions.

With 8 other standard and extended articulations included, all performed with the same philosophy, VIOLIN UNTAMED is a Kontakt library for the composer that wants to sound unpolished, raw and human.

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Violin Untamed Articulations, Microphones & Effects

  • Longs Articulations
    • Improvisations – Normale – Flautando – Sul Pont – Tremolo Circular Bowing – False Harmonics
  • Short Articulations
    • Spiccato – Pizzicato (including Bartok)
  • Performance Controls
    • Dynamics – Expression – Vibrato
  • Microphones
    • Spot – Close – Room – Gallery
  • Effects
    • Saturation – Stereo Width – Reverb – 3 Band EQ 
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Recorded at The Nave

Recorded at The Nave, one of the North of England’s finest recording studios; a converted church with the most beautiful sounding live room. Engineer Alex Greaves used an impeccable set of classic microphones and vintage outboard to tailor the perfect sound for the violin.

With a single Neumann U87 at the heart of the mix, a stereo pair of Neumann KM184s and then two pairs of Coles 4038s.

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Westwood Instruments collected a really wide range of perspectives for you to mix exactly the sound you need. Everything was recorded through API 512 preamps, an AMEK Rembrandt desk and captured at 96kHz using world-class Apogee AD16X analog to digital convertors. 

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About Westwood Instruments

Westwood was born from an idea that composing on a computer would be much better if it felt like you’re writing with a musician and an instrument in front of you.

Westwood Instruments understands that not everyone has the means, time or access to live musicians but they know that writing music can often be inspired by experimenting with a real instrument in the room. For the Team Westwood, virtual instruments sound too clean, polished and have had any natural character stripped from them, which in their mind is the very thing that makes music sound most interesting.

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They like to find musicians that follow this mindset and will choose instruments that don’t sound too perfect. They often capture real performances with all their individual nuances and playing styles. Sometimes with traditional performance techniques and sometimes with unique and unconventional ideas. These aren’t phrased libraries; more like a real musician putting a feeling in your music.

Pricing

VIOLIN UNTAMED is available now at a special launch price of £39 / $49 / €49 – Until 25th December 2019 

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Westwood Instruments

WESTWOOD Releases Percussion Untamed

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Percussion Untamed

WESTWOOD launched their latest Kontakt Library Percussion Untamed, this time centering around percussive sounds. I love the Westwood Untamed instruments series it offers so many fresh and unheard vibes and colors.

A percussion instrument made from the sounds of tapping, knocking, hitting, and scraping a violin, viola, cello, and bass. Percussion Untamed recorded during the Solo Strings Untamed sessions, WESTWOOD charmed 40 unique sounds.

With a real human feeling behind each one, some of the sounds are more traditional, whilst others are much more experimental. Now, this little gem of a Kontakt Percussion Library Percussion Untamed is available.

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Included Midi Time, Sets & Loops

Percussion Untamed contains over 200 drag-and-drop MIDI loops composed and performed by percussionists.

As any musician knows, sometimes the hardest part of making music is simply getting started. When you’re feeling creatively blocked, it can be tough to break out of your shell and come up with something new.

However, the inspiring sound of Instant Loops can help to jumpstart your creativity. These 220 beat-syncable loops are perfect for those moments when you need a little musical motivation. Simply drag the MIDI data into your DAW and start jamming. With Instant Loops, it’s easy to get your creative juices flowing and make great music.

Midi Loops Written by Percussionists

If you’re looking for a way to add a little more expression to your music, humanizing your MIDI loops is a great place to start. By tweaking the timing and velocity controls, you can give your loops a more natural feel that will better match the groove of your song.

This can be especially useful if you’re working with faster, more complex rhythms. With a little practice, you’ll be able to fine-tune your MIDI loops to perfection. So don’t be afraid to experiment – humanizing your MIDI loops can be a fun and rewarding experience.

If you’re in need of a quick dose of inspiration, this is a gorgeous place to start. If you’re on a tight deadline and just want something that’ll work, it’s equally useful. This is an unusual percussion sample library, no matter how you look at it.

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The layers are organized in various time signatures, including 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4. 6/8 and 7/8. There are a variety of different sets in each time signature, each with four 4-bar loops of increasing complexity.

Minimal, Simple, Standard, and Complex are the four types of loops. You preview the loops using the red keys in Reaper, which then become MIDI data that you can use in your DAW.

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But for much better control and editing, you can drag the raw MIDI data into your DAW. This will take the raw MIDI data from the currently active loop. Here you can then edit until you get the perfect rhythm and sound.

When you keep the midi data in Kontakt, you may personalize the loops’ playback. This will only impact the loops running through the red keys in Kontakt. It will not alter any MIDI information that is already present in your DAW!

It’s at home in rhythmical string quartet arrangements as well as full-on action cues when you need something non-standard.

Before you start playing with the controls on an instrument, it can be helpful to get a quick overview of what each control does. With the Kontakt window, you can do this by hovering your mouse over any control. A small info panel will appear, providing a brief description of the control and its function.

This can be a great way to quickly learn about an instrument without having to stop and look up each individual control. As you become more familiar with the controls, you can start exploring and experimenting with the different sounds that they create. who knows, you might just discover some new and interesting sounds that you never would have found otherwise.

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This library requires the full retail version 5.6.8 or higher of Kontakt by Native Instruments.

Conclusion

The new WESTWOOD library, Percussion Untamed, features over 200 MIDI loops composed and performed by percussionists. The loops are organized in various time signatures and can be previewed using the red keys in Reaper. They can also be dragged into your DAW for further editing. Downloading After Purchase

Downloading After Purchase

Downloading Percussion Untamed is easy with PulsePulse is a fast, and reliable download manager, built for sample libraries. Use the license key that was emailed to you shortly after purchase. 

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About Westwood Instruments

Westwood was born from the idea that composing on a computer would be much better if it felt like you’re writing with a musician and an instrument in front of you. Westwood Instruments understands that not everyone has the means, time, or access to live musicians but Westwood Instruments know that writing music can often be inspired by experimenting with a real instrument in the room.

Often to us, virtual instruments sound too clean, polished, and have had any natural character stripped from them, which in our minds is the very thing that makes music sound most interesting. 

Westwood Instruments Text Logo Black
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Westwood Instruments like to find musicians that follow this mindset and will choose instruments that don’t sound too perfect. Westwood Instruments then capture real performances with all their individual nuances and playing styles. Sometimes with traditional performance techniques and sometimes with unique and unconventional ideas.

These aren’t phrased libraries; more like a real musician putting a feeling in your music. Westwood Instruments sample instruments using the world’s best microphones through an impeccable signal chain. Each individual sample is then crafted to shape its character whilst keeping some of its natural flaws. These samples are then wrapped up in a custom virtual instrument made for use in Native Instrument’s Kontakt. 

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Pricing and Availability

Percussion Untamed is available from today. Westwood has a nice motto: “Now go make some music”

Now go make some music22
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Virtual Instrument Library

VIOLA UNTAMED Launched as Part of Westwood’s “Untamed” Series

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VIOLA UNTAMED Packshot

VIOLA UNTAMED – Westwood’s “Untamed” Series

VIOLA UNTAMED is the fourth in Westwood’s “Untamed” series – a solo viola library for Kontakt. Often described as the instrument with the closest sound to the human voice.

VIOLA UNTAMED and the other Kontakt instruments part of Westwood’s Untamed Series sounds charming and unique. The Articulations like Improvisations, Storms, Flautando, and Circular Bowing to name a few are just beyond good. I love the sound of this instrument and the character and tones it can produce. VIOLA UNTAMED blends very nicely into a score and adds when needed some magic vibes to your composition or underscore. VIOLA UNTAMED is perfect when composing to picture, trailer, game, and ad.

This latest instrument is here to do the talking in your music. Westwood was born from the idea that composing on a computer would be much better if it felt like you’re writing with a musician and an instrument in front of you.

 

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In the 4th installment of Westwood’s Untamed series, Westwood recorded 3 octaves and 333 unique, individual improvised performances. From soulful and fragile murmurs to impassioned and feverish cries. Not for the traditionalist, and not for the faint of heart. This is for fans of alternative scores and inspired by composers like Jóhann Jóhannsson, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Jed Kurzel and Jonny Greenwood.

With the same unique feature-set as the rest of the Untamed series, including Storms; a powerful articulation that can create crescendos, from a solo performance to a frenetic ensemble. As well as all of this, there are 9 other classic long and short note articulations that complement the other instruments in the series.

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It’s here to inspire your writing and is really at home with minimalist compositions where tone and sound do more talking than melody. 

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VIOLA UNTAMED Recording

Recorded at The Nave, one of the North of England’s finest recording studios; a converted church with the most beautiful sounding live room. Engineer Tom Orrell used an impeccable set of classic microphones and vintage outboard to tailor the perfect sound for the viola

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A single Brauner VMA valve mic is at the heart of the mix, providing a really rich, full and very detailed sound. A stereo pair of Neumann KM184s captured a close stereo overhead perspective. A pair of Oktava MK-012s mics adds more depth to the room, whilst a second pair of the same mics placed high up in the gallery do a perfect job of capturing the natural reverb tail of the studio. We collected this really wide range of perspectives for you to mix exactly the sound you need. 

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Everything was recorded through through Neve and API preamps, an AMEK Rembrandt desk and captured at 96kHz using world-class Apogee AD16X analogue to digital convertors. 

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3 full octaves and 333 unique and individual improvised notes. From soulful, fragile murmurs to impassioned and feverish cries. Not for the traditionalist, and not for the faint of heart.

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With the same unique feature-set as the rest of the Untamed series, including Storms; a powerful articulation which is can create crescendos, from a solo performance to a frenetic ensemble. As well as all of this, there are 9 other classic long and short note articulations that complement the other instruments in the series.

VIOLA UNTAMED is here to inspire your writing and is really at home with minimalist styles where performance and tone do more work than melody.

Pricing and Availability

VIOLA UNTAMED is available now.

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Virtual Instrument Library

Westwood’s UPRIGHT FELT PIANO v4.0 Update

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UPRIGHT FELT PIANO v4.0 Update

Westwood was born from an idea that composing on a computer would be much better if it felt like you’re writing with a musician and an instrument in front of you. Westwood did today update UPRIGHT FELT PIANO which is the free version of their ALT PIANO. We all loved piano, perfect for alternative scores.

UPRIGHT FELT PIANO v4.0

  • Complete UI overhaul
  • Increased default voice count
  • Improved sustain pedal handling
  • Changed bypass switches to power switches
  • Added power switches to key and pedal noises
  • Minor bug fixes and playability improvements
  • User Manual changed to reflect the update
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Pricing and Availability

The update for existing customers and users is here. Existing customers may received an email with the link to download it.

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