68% off “Bowed Psaltery” by Versilian Studios

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The Bowed Psaltery is a 20th century re-imagining of the psaltery, a plucked zither dating as far back as ancient times.

The instrument produces a high, almost glassy tone similar to other fretless zithers, and does an excellent job of standing out in any mix. With a sound reminiscent of its medieval roots, it’s a sure match for any fantasy or historical track!

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An Authentically Reproduced Bowed Psaltrey for Kontakt!

For this “Bowed Psaltrey” library Versilian Studios have painstakingly chromatically sampled the entire range of a two-octave example with 14 total articulations ranging from the original bowed to plucked, picked, and even struck with a hammered dulcimer mallet, all with up to 8 round robins.

  • 2 NKI for FULL Kontakt 5.6.8+
  • 912 unique samples in full 48kHz/24-bit quality.
  • Full chromatic sampling of two octave range; ‘extended’ range patch available as well.
  • 14 articulations, including three lengths of bowings, tremolo, picked, plucked, and hammered.
  • Two mixable mic positions.
  • 4-8 RR on shorts, 2-4 RR on longs.
  • 25 aleatoric effects.

68% off “Bowed Psaltery” by Versilian Studios

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Psaltery 1700 – Venitian school – Chiesa di San Maurizio

A Brief History Of The Psaltery

A Psaltery is a stringed musical instrument, appearing in many different forms and styles throughout history. On some psalteries the strings were plucked, on others they were struck, and still others they were bowed. Plucked psalteries are probably of the oldest variety of psaltery, being very similar to a small harp or zither.

The Psaltery of Ancient Greece (epigonion) is a harp-like instrument. The word psaltery derives from the Ancient Greek ψαλτήριον (psaltḗrion), “stringed instrument, psaltery, harp” and that from the verb ψάλλω (psállō), “to touch sharply, to pluck, pull, twitch” and in the case of the strings of musical instruments, “to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, and not with the plectrum.”

The psaltery was originally made from wood, and relied on natural acoustics for sound production.

But though the plucked psaltery dates far back in history, the bowed psaltery is a much more recent invention. There are numerous historical claims as to when the first bowed psaltery was actually introduced, but it was probably not until the early to mid 20th century that there was such an instrument in the form that is seen and played today.

That is to say, a fully chromatic psaltery in a triangular shape, played with a bow, with strings running down both left and right sides.

Similar instruments include the large cimbalom and the smaller dulcimer, both usually played using small hammers to hit the strings.

Multiple Articulations & Total Control In One Stylish Package!

ARTICULATIONS

The bottom of the UI is the articulation control area. “Bowed Psaltery” comes with all the articulations you’ll ever need to recreate an authentic performance, including:

  • Bowed – Spiccato/Short Bow/Long Combo, Long, Crescendo, Short, Spiccato, Tremolo, Bounce/Ricochet
  • Picked – Sustained, Stopped
  • Plucked – Open, Muted
  • Mallet (Hammered Dulcimer) – Hit, Flam
  • Effects – 25 aleatoric effects.

MICROPHONES & CONTROLS

To the left are the controls for the two mic positions. Each has a volume slider (vertical), a purge/load button (to reduce the memory footprint when not in use), and a pan slider (horizontal).

  • Close Mic –  a mono large diaphragm condenser placed above the soundhole of the instrument.
  • Main Mic Array –  a pair of small diaphragm condensers placed several feet above the instrument in a semi-coincident NOS array.

Beneath the mic position controls are horizontal controls for Stereo Width and Stereo Pan.

These use delay and other special processes to perceptually move the instrument around the virtual soundscape as opposed to traditional volume-based pan found in your DAW or mixer, providing a much more realistic result, especially when used in subtle combination.

EFFECTS

  • Low-pass/High-pass filter – you can use this to shape the instrument’s sound or remove unwanted noises.
  • Convolution Reverb – an excellent and realistic hall sound. The pre-delay controls when the sound of the instrument reaches the mics after bouncing off the walls
  • Room – a measure of how much room sound (i.e. reverb) is mixed back into the signal.
  • R. Size (room size) – controls how large the space is. At 50% it is analogous to a medium rehearsal space. At 100% a full concert hall.
  • Attack/Rel Volume – These are both articulation-specific, meaning that when you set one, it will only set that for the particular articulation you are on, making tweaking articulation responsiveness easy and painless.

Learn more about all these features in the Manual HERE.

68% off “Bowed Psaltery” by Versilian Studios

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So What Exactly Can I Do With “Bowed Psaltery”?

The “Bowed Psaltery” is an incredibly authentic and highly detailed reproduction of the real thing. It includes every feature of the original instrument; a full range of articulations and numerous controls to shape the overall sound, together with all the flexibility and advantages of a modern DAW plugin. Here are just some of the possible uses for this fantastic and unique library:

  • Ancient / Historical Music
  • Folk Music
  • Film Underscore

Note: Requires the Full Retail version of Kontakt 5.6.8 or above (NOT compatible with the free Kontakt Player)

"Bowed Psaltery" by Versilian Studios

68% off "Bowed Psaltery" by Versilian Studios

Deal Expired

Normally €34 – get it at 68% off before it’s gone!

  • 68% off the normal price (normally €34)!
  • 773MB of content.
  • 912 unique samples in full 48kHz/24-bit quality.
  • Full chromatic sampling of two octave range; ‘extended’ range patch available as well.
  • 14 articulations, including three lengths of bowings, tremolo, picked, plucked, and hammered.
  • Two mixable mic positions, including controls for Stereo Width & Stereo Pan
  • 4-8 RR on shorts, 2-4 RR on longs.
  • 25 aleatoric effects.
  • High quality effects to help shape your sound including Attack, Release, Low/High Pass filters, Pre-delay & Convolution Reverb.
  • Note: Requires the Full Retail version of Kontakt 5.6.8 or above (NOT compatible with the free Kontakt Player)
  • Perfect for Ancient/Historical Music, Folk Music, Film Underscore and more!

What People Think About 68% off “Bowed Psaltery” by Versilian Studios

  • "The Bowed Psaltery has a scything quality that can punch through dense mixes, there is certainly a strong medieval sonic to this which would suit fantasy and historical contexts, but I do think it has genuine appeal to be used in other genres. I would see it being best appreciated as a rare spice to add that splash of flavour to whatever audio you are cooking up – that delightful but slightly bizarre taste you cannot quite put your finger on!"

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