ZAK Sound releases Skydrones Pads, a FREE library of pad sounds for ambient and atmospheric music. The library requires the full version of Native Instruments Kontakt.
Skydrones Pads is an ambient pad library developed by ZAK Sound, designed to generate “atmospheres and soft textures to fill spaces,” a quick solution for adding depth to a mix. The plugin is free to download from the Zak sound website, and it is compatible with Kontakt 6.7.1, or higher.
There are 26 presets to play with here, and they have been categorized into “powerful, short, and soft.” The presets form a range of sounds and textures, from soft ambient pads to giant cinematic soundscapes and everything in between. Producers looking to create drones and atmospheres can find plenty of inspiration here.
For producers looking to be able to customize sounds, each preset can be affected by the attack, decay, sustain and release controls. You also have the option to layer presets – layers can be mixed and modulated with “XY layering.” With 26 voices and multiple layering options, the plugin has a considerably large and versatile library.
Skydrones Pads have a number of effects and settings to further customize the presets – these include saturation, reverb, chorus, and a stereo widening effect, as well as controls for the cutoff. There is a four-band filter that is very responsive and is controlled via an X/Y grid.
Skydrones Pads also features a limiter, which is handy for preventing clipping after applying effects and affecting the gain staging.
Overall, this free Kontakt library is a useful tool for producers wanting to create ambient tones quickly. However, established ambient and cinematic producers may find this library’s sound scope and versatility somewhat lacking. Nevertheless, it is a useful tool, and you should download it if you need more ambient sound generators in your virtual instrument arsenal.
The plugin is free to download from the Zak sound website, and it is compatible with Kontakt 6.7.1, or higher. You will need the Kontakt library to use this plugin, and it won’t work with Kontakt Player.
Download: Skydrones Pads
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