The autoharp rose to prominence in folk and early country music during the mid-20th century, largely due to Mother Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family and Cecil Null, who not only helped popularize the instrument but also contributed to innovations in its design. Their preference for holding the autoharp in an upright orientation spurred further developments to the instrument over the years. Other notable autoharp performers include Dolly Parton and June Carter Cash.
Despite being fundamentally a zither, the autoharp features a unique addition: chord bars that selectively mute strings, allowing only certain notes to ring. These allow the performer to quickly switch between chords, focusing on the rhythm of their strumming or as an accompaniment when singing.
Americana Autoharp was recorded using a 21-chord autoharp and uses advanced scripting to emulate the muting behavior of the chord bars in addition to their exact voicings. When strummed, the muted strings layer together with the sustained notes, adding to the autoharp’s rhythmic sound. On the topic of strumming, the library includes multiple strumming articulations to choose between as well as adjustable strum speed and distance settings. Beyond providing the quintessential chiming sound of strums, the library also allows you to play single notes on the autoharp, too, just like playing a harp.
The autoharp makes a wonderful addition to your instrumentation particularly because of how it doesn’t crowd the typically overpopulated mid frequencies. Instead, it adds a bright, sparkling sound that occupies a higher register than many other instruments in the mix.
Video Demos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTmCtZMG1bg
Audio Demos:
Demo #1: Red River Valley Demo #2: Buttoned Up
Key features:
- True-to-life autoharp chord voicings from a 21 button autoharp.
- Select between multiple strum articulations or pluck the strings individually.
- Samples include sustains, muted strings, button press/lift noises, and release samples. Each of the 36 strings sampled individually.
- 3 dynamics with volume interpolation and 2x round-robin variation samples totaling 1.0 GB (compressed to 481 MB using the lossless NCW audio format).
Pricing:
$19 USD (regularly $29). This $10 off introductory discount lasts until September 30th, 2024.
Format:
This sample library requires the full edition of Kontakt and is not compatible with the free Kontakt Player.
Downloads:
User Guide (PDF)
Visit the product page here: Americana Autoharp sample library for KONTAKT
Or you can click here to order Americana Autoharp directly
Statistics: Posted by Gregjazz — Tue Sep 17, 2024 4:53 pm — Replies 0 — Views 22