Desk Bell

The Desk Bell, occasionally known as a call bell or table bell, is a simple and quite old device, designed to command attention at the push of a button. For at least the last couple of centuries, classic push-button desk bell have been used widely in classrooms, hotel desks, shops and homes. It's a simple tool, with a small brass bell affixed to a base or flat pedestal. Centered on top is a mechanical button mounted to the top of the bell, which when pressed will actuate a small pewter, lead, bronze, or brass clapper into the bell to produce a simple yet loud "ding!". While not exactly a musical instrument in the strictly classical sense, we think it counts.

The Soundiron Desk Bell library does exactly what it says on the tin, and then so very much more. We've sampled this 3-inch polished brass desk bell from up close in a dry studio, and inside St Paul's Church in San Francisco. It's the same lush and pristine hall that we recorded Requiem Light, Symphony Series Brass Collection, Alpha Organ and a number of other classic Soundiron libraries. The primary ding articulation includes 10 round-robin variations per velocity, with 9 velocity layers for the close position and 5 velocities for the 3 separate cathedral positions (close, mid-hall and far). We also recorded loosely and tightly muted dings and mechanical clapper sound effects up close in our dry studio to give this little desk bell maximum playability.

However, we didn't quit there. We've also crafted 20 unique sound-designed ambient pads, soundscapes and textures from the acoustic source recordings, added 12 fresh wavetables, and 20 outstanding custom FX presets that take this little library to another world, with rich layering, deep textures, dynamic musicality and inspiring flavors. It all comes packed into our intuitive and powerful multi-layered user interface with 4 independent sonic layers packed with their own performance controls including arpeggiator, filter and LFO modules and a master DSP effects rack with 27 plugins to allow complete sonic transformation. This humble library is feature-packed enough to create entire compositions all by its lonesome. It's perfect for any style or genre of music and ideal for any tier of musician, from beginner to master.

It also has a special place in our hearts, belonging to our founder's mom, who received it as a memento for her decades of tireless service as an elementary school teacher in under-served communities, where she specialized in remedial education for kids struggling to overcome poverty, learning and behavioral issues and abuse. This one's for you mom.

Listen to demos of Desk Bell now on Soundcloud

Product Specs:

• 1 master NKI instrument bank in Kontakt 7 Player format.
• Bell rings, tight and loose muted dings, clapper SFX.
• 20 Ambience patches created from the source content, 12 Wavetables.
• 20 Custom Sound-Designed FX and Ambient presets.
• 421 stereo samples.
• 590 MB Installed.
• Made for the free Kontakt Player (version 7.1.8+), Komplete Kontrol, all S-Series Keyboards and NKS software and hardware by Native Instruments.
• Works with the Kontakt "Libraries" browser and Native Access.

{See video at top of page}