Impact Soundworks offers The 88E, a FREE virtual piano Kontakt instrument.
Right off the bat, the good news is that The 88E is compatible with the free Kontakt Player.
You might have seen a video from YouTuber Mattias Krantz, where he tuned every note on his piano to E. He then fabricated one giant key (cover) that allowed him to play all 88 notes simultaneously, like a super E.
In response to that experiment, Impact Soundworks created The 88E in collaboration with Mattias Krantz, who also collaborated on Hammer Klavier.
Mattias sampled the super E piano with 30 dynamic layers, giving The 88E plenty of depth.
This piano library isn’t about finesse and subtlety; it’s all about impact.
Luckily, you aren’t limited to E notes, as the samples have been repitched for this instrument.
One of the cool things about The 88E is that it’s more versatile than you might expect. So, it’s not subtle in the sense that it provides obvious impact, but there are different types of impact, and it’s not all loud, crashing noises.
A range of snapshots offer variations of The 88E sound, from plucks to atmospheric soundscapes.
The snapshots are a good starting point and showcase the instrument’s versatility. But, through the Keys section and Console/Playback/Perform tabs, you can customize many aspects of the piano to your exact taste/needs.
The Console tab lets you tweak/blend mic positions, effects, and master effects.
Some of the more standout features are Sample Set selection and Microtuning.
There are two sample sets, Standard and Shepard Tones. Shepard Tones deliver an audio illusion that makes it seem like the pitch is continually rising.
Microtuning can completely change the flavor of your playing and comes with various selectable scales, or you can even create your own.
It’s epic, cinematic, and free; I can’t complain. Whenever I say epic or cinematic, I need to mention the awesome FREE Cinematic SFX collection by Flame Sound again.
The pianist in me wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t mention another free piano, so try Glass Piano for LABS if you haven’t already.
The 88E is available for macOS (10.13 or higher) and Windows (7 or higher) and is compatible with Kontakt 6.6 upwards (Player or Full).
Download: The 88E (free piano library for Kontakt Player)
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Last Updated on March 16, 2022 by Tomislav Zlatic.
