Klevgränd Releases FREE Guiro Virtual Instrument

Klevgränd has released Guiro, a freeware güiro virtual instrument in VST, AU, and AAX plugin formats for Windows and macOS.

Guiro is Klevgränd’s holiday present for 2020, following up on last year’s Santa Jussi vocal synthesizer. The new freebie plugin from Klevgränd simulates the güiro, a Latin percussion instrument that consists of a hollow gourd-like fruit with notch cuts on the side.

Since the güiro is played by sliding a stick across the notches, it’s not that easy to convert into a virtual instrument. However, Klevgränd implemented a very expressive and fun way to play virtual güiro.

Press any MIDI note to place the virtual stick on the instrument, then rotate the modulation wheel to scrape the stick across the notches. The instrument sounds surprisingly realistic. With a bit of practice, it’s possible to get some very authentic-sounding guiro performances.

There’s definitely some nuance in the way that Klevgrand’s Guiro plugin responds to the mod wheel input. Try to experiment with different speeds and rhythms for the best results.

So, you may be wondering if the Guiro plugin relies on synthesis as the sound source, or uses audio samples of an actual güiro. I wondered the same thing and asked Klevgränd for more details.

Here is their response: “It’s sample-based, but the plugin uses very short samples (one sample per ”tick” if you know what I mean). All those ticks also have a couple of round robins and velocity layers. So, it’s a quite sophisticated instrument technically. :)”

In other words, Klevgränd sampled a real güiro, with multiple velocity layers and round-robin variations per sample. As you move the modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard, the plugin plays back those samples according to the MIDI input.

Check out the official Klevgrand Guiro demo video below.

Guiro is available for free download from Klevgrand’s website. Sign up for a free Klevgränd user account to access the plugin.

If you already have a Klevgränd user account, simply sign in to reveal the download button on the product page linked below. The plugin comes as a ZIP archive containing the EXE installer.

More info: Klevgränd Guiro (5.1 MB download size, ZIP archive, 64-bit VST/AU/AAX plugin format for Windows & macOS)

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