SoundBetter has released Singers, a free background vocal sound library for Native Instruments Kontakt (full version of NI Kontakt is required).
The library features five different vocalists, all with very different voices performing Ohs, Oohs, and Ahs at various intensity levels. The interface features just two knobs for selecting between different singers and syllables. There’s also a graphic display with the singer’s picture as they were recording and a link to hire them to sing on your song. Pretty neat, I’d say.
See also: Free Clara’s Vocal Sound Library For KontaktOverall, I can see this sound library working well as a textural effect, especially blended with background vocal parts that were recorded live. On the other hand, if you were to only use them as a prominent background vocal part of a song, it would sound pretty obvious that it was sampled. I wish there was a way to adjust the glide effect for sliding between the notes. It still wouldn’t sound totally natural, but it would smooth things out a bit.
My other recommendation for future versions of this pack would be a toggle for turning off the vocal double. They definitely thicken up the overall sound but can also reduce the natural sound of the real singer that sometimes is desirable in more intimate arrangements. I’m liking the softer versions of Oohs and Ohs as they sound more “real” to my ear. The louder samples are a little too perfect and consistent to my ear. But hey, these are free and I can definitely see myself using them.
To download the pack, you’ll need to visit the product page linked below and submit your name and email address. The library is around 1.1 GB in size, so it may take a little while to download depending on your connection speed.
Singers is available for free download via SoundBetter (1.1 GB download size, ZIP archive, contains 5 instrument patches in NKI format for NI Kontakt).
