Bolder Sounds releases Handbells for Kontakt

Bolder Sounds has announced the release of its new Handbells sample library, featuring a 3 octave set of handbells recorded in 9 articulations totaling 1.2 gigabytes. The samples are 24 bit stereo and most articulations are presented with 2 round-robins per bell. Flexible Kontakt scripting includes control over Envelope-Amp parameters, EQ, IR and reverb, Location (player perspective or audience) and release samples when applicable. The Handbell library is available at a special introductory price of $69.00 until January 1, 2010. After that the regular price will be $79.00.

Handbell sampled articulations:

• Handbell Clapper: samples are created with the traditional technique of holding it against the shoulder, bell-upwards, and then swinging the bell through an elliptical shape to cause the clapper to strike the casting of the bell.
• Suspended Handbell with a soft rubber mallet: samples were recorded with the bells suspended from the ceiling of the room while being struck with a soft rubber mallet.
• Suspended Handbell with a hard rubber mallet: samples were recorded with the bells suspended from the ceiling of the room while being struck with a hard rubber mallet.
• Suspended Handbell with a plastic chopstick: samples were recorded with the bells suspended from the ceiling of the room while being struck with a plastic chopstick. This creates a great deal of high frequency content.
• Singing Handbells: The Singing Handbells sound is created by running a wood dowel along the rim of the handbell, similar to the way you can run a wet finger along the edge of a crystal glass to make it sing.
• Plucked Handbells: is accomplished by using the thumb and forefinger to force the clapper head into the casting while the bell is on the table, producing a staccato note.
• Malleted Handbells on a padded table: samples are created by striking the bell with a rubber mallet while the bell is resting on the foam of a padded table. This produces a tone brighter and more percussive than the plucked samples.
• Handbell Shakes: is accomplished by quickly ringing the bell back and forth so that the clapper strikes both the front and back of the bell casting in rapid succession. This creates a continuous tone, as opposed to normal ringing in which the tone decays rapidly after being rung.
• Handbell table hit endings: samples are typically used for the end of a piece of music or at a cadence. Before this sound is heard the bell is already ringing, so you hear just a small portion of the pitch of the bell followed by the percussive hit on the foam table.

The WAV / Kontakt 2+ version is available now with an Apple EXS24 version to be released by December 1, 2009.