Clara’s Vocal Library is a free vocal sample library released by Stefano Maccarelli. The library is formatted for use with Native Instruments Kontakt 5 and all WAV compatible samplers. It is free to use in commercial releases with optional donations.
Let me say it right away, this is one of the best free female vocal libraries out there. Stefano Maccarelli and Clara Sorace (the vocalist) did an amazing job with this one, packing an insane amount of high quality sample content in this thoroughly impressive freebie. As I’ve already mentioned, the library is free to use even in commercial releases, but it’s definitely worthy of a donation as a sign of support for the author’s future work.
OK, so why am I so impressed with this release? Having tested numerous free sample libraries and virtual instruments in the previous 5-6 years, I’ve gotten accustomed to a certain level of quality which is surpassed only by a few exceptional releases (Piano In 162 is a good example of a top-of-the-line freebie in the soundware department). With that in mind, I was caught by surprise with Clara’s Vocal Library because I wasn’t expecting anything this special, but it’s safe to say that it’s now one of my favorite free sample libraries to date.
The library includes hundreds of different vocal takes, all of which are really well recorded (the author used a Neumann M147 Tube microphone passed through a Neve 1083) and packed into useful NI Kontakt instruments. There are dozens of different styles and articulations to choose from, ranging from classic choir sounds to tribal and ethnic phrases. The library also includes whispering and breathing noises which are absolutely perfect for creating a chilling atmosphere in your music. To make things even better, all of the samples are also included as 24-bit WAV files, so even non-Kontakt users can load these sounds in their samplers and digital audio workstations of choice.
Clara’s Vocal Library is being constantly updated (currently at v1.05) with new patches and samples, so I’m really curious to see what the final product will look like. I wouldn’t be surprised if it went 100% commercial at some point, so make sure that you grab it while it’s still free. The library can be downloaded for free directly from the author’s website, without any form of sign-up or registration. You will need the full version of Kontakt 5.5 in order to use the provided NKI patches without a time limit.
Video Demo
Check out the Clara’s Vocal Library demo video:
https://youtu.be/psCcogP1Bek
Download
Clara’s Vocal Library is available for free download via Stefano Maccarelli’s website (676 MB download size, ZIP archive, contains 744 audio samples in 24-bit WAV format, 20+ instrument patches in NKI format for NI Kontakt).
