Precisionsound has released Sun Drum, a sample library for Kontakt of what is a modified diatonic version of a traditional steel pan. It's a member of the Hang Drum family and was handmade exclusively by Sun'diibaad in Prague.
The Sun Drum has a clear and open sound that is less metallic than a traditional steel pan. Its forward, yet slightly hollow sound is created by uniquely shaped tongues and thermally modified metal. It was played with a medium rubber mallet in open and muted configurations. The muted playing style involves hand muting all tongues except for the one currently hit. In the open playing style, the tongues are allowed to resonate for a rich, coloured sound.
The Sun Drum features:
- Open and muted chromatic articulations.
- 6 round robins and up to 4 velocity layers.
- 540 stereo 24-bit WAV samples.
- 1 program for NI Kontakt 3+ with scripted performance controls and GUI.
- 3 programs for NI Kontakt 2.
- 3 programs for Logic EXS24.
The natural range of the drum is F#2 – D#2. For this library, we stretched it for a playable range of C2 – C5 inclusive.
Price: $29 via download. A DVD version costs an additional $9.95. All formats are included.
Full version of Kontakt is required, this library does NOT work with the free Kontakt Player.
For more information, manual and demo songs go to the Sun Drum product page:
precisionsound.net/shop/sun-drum