Fracture Sounds releases Spotlight Piano for Kontakt Player

Fracture Sounds has announced the release of Spotlight Piano for Kontakt Player, saying:

Fracture Sounds are well-known for their leading piano sample libraries, from the intimately felted Woodchester Piano, to the icy harmonics of Glacier Keys, and their previous instalment- the cotton felted Midnight Grand. But what if they were to sample the pure tone of a piano, without any of the additional treatment?

Well now you can find out with the much anticipated release of Spotlight Piano - designed for emotive scoring.

YouTube.com/watch?v=SQTm_EpsTI8

Fracture Sounds' new flagship piano sample library is a sampled Steinway Model D, recorded in a reverberant concert hall with an array of microphone positions. Spotlight has been given the full Fracture Sounds treatment, with 10 Atmosphere Layers (warped and fx layers derived from the original piano samples and more) which result in an array of 21 unique presets.

A brand new feature introduced with Spotlight is the ability to adjust the velocity curves for both timbre (sample selection) and volume. Using the graphs on the Response page, you can set the feel of the keys to your own taste (and to match the weighting of your keyboard). Want a rich and vibrant sound without having to hit the keys too hard? Drag up on the middle of the Timbre Scaling graph to bias the loud dynamics. Want an intimate 'felt' sound? Drag the 'Max' slider down.

Back on the main page, you will also find additional settings for the microphones. The close mic has been split into two separate channels, giving the choice between the body of the piano, or more prevalence within the hammers. Time Alignment is also a brand new feature to Fracture Sounds libraries, a setting in which users have the ability to close the natural gap that can occur between the close and far mic signals to produce a more clarity, or stick with the natural alignment for a more characterful tone.

Finally, the Settings page has very useful tools, such as a clarity filter to decrease the 'thud' that tends to be a feature of grand pianos when playing higher dynamics on the upper range of the keyboard. Sample Start, a constant throughout Fracture's most recent libraries also allows the user to control how tight the sample start point is to decrease latency. After the composition is complete, this can simply be increased by pulling back the sample start point, to get the full glory of the movement of the hammers, and then entering the negative delay value displayed on the interface into your DAW MIDI channel settings.

Fracture Sounds concludes:

Spotlight Piano has been specifically designed for your emotive scoring and ballad writing needs, with presets like "Rose Petals" emulating iconic emotional piano scores by the likes of Thomas Newman. The level of detail within this piano makes it an ideal candidate to slot straight into your composing template and become your daily workhorse when sketching on the piano to find inspiration.

Intro Price: £89.00 until June 13th, 2023 (Reg. £129.00).

Spotlight Piano is compatible with NKS and made for Kontakt Player (6 and above).