BeatMaker Releases Free Atmos Plus Library For NI Kontakt

BeatMaker has introduced Atmos Plus, a freely downloadable multi-sampled instrument library for Native Instruments Kontakt (also includes samples in WAV format).

Atmos Plus consists of a single NI Kontakt patch with six layered instruments (E-Piano 1, E-Piano 2, Dusty Organ, Keynos, Vinyl, Comborg). The front panel provides separate tune, pan, cutoff, and filter type (morphing between HP and LP filters) controls for each layer, along with the global ADSR envelope for volume. The included controls offer a fair bit of sound shaping flexibility, although having individual ADSR envelopes for each layer would make the instrument substantially more flexible. I’d love to have the option to mix one layer’s attack transient with another layer’s sustain and a different release. Apart from the previously mentioned control parameters, Atmos Plus also features a pair of modulation effects (chorus and flanger) and a convolution reverb unit with over twenty different reverb impulse responses to choose from.

The instrument’s sound is intentionally lo-fi. The vinyl layer blends very nicely with the other sample layers, leading to rich sounding and slightly unstable pads reminiscent of Boards of Canada records. Atmos Plus excels at making these warbly, noisy pads, especially with some chorus and a fair bit of reverb applied on top. Isolating the vinyl noise layer and reducing the decay time, on the other hand, results in lovely percussive sounds which sound even more interesting when blended with a decent amount of reverb.

BeatMaker is offering Atmos Plus as a direct free download from their website, no registration required. Keep in mind that the full version of NI Kontakt is required to use the provided NKI patch without the 15-minute time limit of Kontakt Player, though. However, even if you don’t own Kontakt, you can still use the included WAV samples in your favorite sampler instrument.

Atmos Plus is available for free download via BeatMaker (185 MB download size, ZIP archive, contains 1 instrument patch in NKI format for NI Kontakt, 50 audio samples in 16-bit WAV format).