I know it’s early, but Tespest Audio has given us a contender for the free Kontakt Player instrument of the year (in my opinion) – Sona/Chroma. This free orchestral instrument requires Kontakt Player 8.
Sona/Chroma is an experimental Kontakt library featuring sixteen symphonic orchestra instruments across four distinct sections: Woodwind 1, Woodwind 2, Brass, and Strings.
- Woodwind 1: tenor sax, alt sax, English horn, and oboe.
- Woodwind 2: flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, and bassoon.
- Brass: tuba, trombone, French horn, trumpet.
- Strings: bass, cello, viola, violin.
Tempest Audio teamed up with The North Carolina Symphony (Raleigh, North Carolina) to record longs and shorts with each instrument. Recording with world-class musicians is always an excellent start for any orchestral library, but Sona/Chroma is more than the sum of its parts.
It’s less about the individual instruments and more about how they blend and interact.
Each instrument group is assigned a color tone or range of color: woodwinds are blue to green, the brass section is yellow to orange, and the strings are red to purple.
The interface uses a color grid that allows you to move through unique blends of color and sound.
The grid features a large central circle, quartered to represent each instrument group, further extending into individual instruments.
As you move the cursor over the interface, the color will change harmoniously with the sound, creating an immersive sensory experience.
If you stay outside the grid, you’ll hear single instruments; move further in, and you’ll hear small clusters from the same group and go right to the center to hear all sixteen instruments in unison.
The color-based grid is an interesting approach, and I’m sure it will feel more intuitive for many people. If you want something more traditional, try playing in No-Grid Mode or check out Tutti Free for Kontakt Player.
Sona/Chroma has two articulations: Sustain and Staccato. The Sustain articulation delivers long tones, and Staccato articulations range from staccato to slightly sharper staccatissimo. You can layer both articulations for more flexible performance.
Additionally, You get LFO-based vibrato and three microphone positions: Close, Room, and Mid-Side.
A small effects section features Delay and Reverb with various impulse responses ranging from Subtle Ambience to large halls.
Sona/Chroma is playable in Poly or Mono Modes.
It sounds lovely, and it’s a great way to create textures and transitions that are not possible with a more traditional workflow.
Download: Sona/Chroma (FREE – Kontakt Player 8 required)
More:
Last Updated on January 27, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
