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Review Summary
8GB disk space (NCW compressed)
Full Version of Kontakt 5.3 - Not Kontakt Player
4GB RAM (8GB recommended)
2009 Intel processor or better
Rhapsody: Orchestral Colors
An all-in-one symphonic library that makes it easier than ever to bring your orchestral ideas to life! Features 30,000+ detailed samples of strings, brass, winds, and choral ensembles, along with a unique library of chords & voicings that puts the full palette of symphonic tones at your fingertips. With Rhapsody: Orchestral Colors, there's no faster way to create fully-voiced orchestral textures!
Concept
Rhapsody: Orchestral Colors is the companion to our critically-acclaimed Rhapsody: Orchestral Percussion virtual instrument. Recorded in the same focused, neutral, and highly-versatile hall, this library offers the rest of the orchestra: strings, brass, winds, and choir ensembles, all deep-sampled in sections for maximum control and flexibility.
The heart of the library is our custom orchestrator engine that transforms single MIDI notes into beautiful, lush chords and textures across multiple ensembles. Unlike "pre-baked" orchestral libraries, Rhapsody: Orchestral Colors gives you individual control over the voicing of each section - for example, violins/viola, celli, and basses can all play unique chords, voices, and intervals. We've also recorded two octaves of unison notes for each ensemble allowing you to create your own chords from scratch!
The highly flexible sound of Rhapsody: Orchestral Colors, recorded with three mic positions, is suited equally to chamber music and classical mockups as it is lush film scores and epic cues. Every section has its own unique mic mix controls and output routing so you can mix each orchestral ensemble to taste. Film, TV, and game composers will love the versatility of this library and how quickly their orchestral ideas can be transferred to the DAW.
We know that you will love the power and flexibility of Rhapsody Orchestral Colors, and as always, we hope this instrument will inspire and enhance your music. Enjoy!
Interface & Engine
Rhapsody: Orchestral Colors includes an elegant and powerful script engine that supports up to four ensembles in a single patch. Each ensemble has its own unique set of controls: mic mix, 4-band EQ, panning, Kontakt output selection, and chord voicing. Mics can even be loaded or unloaded for each instrument without affecting the others! Changing all ensembles at once is also possible with the Link control. Our custom orchestrator script is the star of the library. In this screenshot, each ensemble is set to "Wide" mode - by pressing any key on the keyboard, each section will play a pre-voiced chord with wide voicing built on the key that was pressed. Playing in the lower octaves will trigger major triads while the upper octaves trigger minor triads. We've created a huge number of other modes as well, such as:
Low & High: Pre-orchestrated triads built on the root note
Fat: Super-dense doubled chords
Octaves & Power: Octave unisons and 4th/5th intervals
Aleatoric 1-3: Up to three random notes triggered per key press
Int2: Performs the third and fifth triad without the root note
Scale degrees: Plays the 2nd, 3rd, 4th.. etc built on the root note
Intervals: Performs two note intervals from 2nd to 7th
Each section can also be set to Random or Split modes. In Random mode, the voicing used will be selected at random from a user-selected pool. This is fantastic as an inspirational tool! Split mode allows for up to three voicings to be used depending on what part of the keyboard is used.
Besides the ultra-powerful chord mode, we've also included Unisons patches with two octaves of single notes sampled per section. From contrabasses to violins/violas and trumpets, that's a total orchestra range of C1 to C6! The Unisons can be played in Natural mode, where each instrument triggers only in its natural playable range, or in Zone mode where each section can be assigned a different keyboard region.
Rhapsody: Orchestral Colors includes extensive settings and performance controls to further customize the library. Our convolution reverb sports a selection of custom, hand-picked impulse responses ranging from huge concert halls to small chamber spaces - an easy way to achieve drastically different tones with one click.
Other useful features include the Doubler, which doubles the size and width of every ensemble, Extra RR, which adds even more variations to every section (great for ostinato staccatos), and Staccato Tightness, allowing for the full range of short notes from loose and full to ultra-short and tight.
Content:
30,000+ orchestral samples
Three mic positions: close, decca, outrigger
Strings: Violins/violas, celli, basses
Brass: Trumpets, trombones, horns, tuba
Winds: Clarinet/oboe/flute, bassoon/contrabassoon
Choir: Men's and women's ensembles + FX
Sustain, staccato, staccatissimo & tenuto