The Kalimba is a modern take on the ancient African Mbira, commonly known as a thumb piano. It offers a humble yet melodious percussive plucking sound with a marimba-like warmth. Ideal for pairing with pianos and other tuned percussion instruments, it adds a sharp attack and playfulness to the sound. Our kalimbas are crafted from wood and coconut shell, with hammered steel tines over sound holes. The smaller one has a note span of about an octave and a half, while the larger covers over two octaves. We recorded the kalimbas in three diverse environments: a close and dry studio setting, a small bright chamber at a medium distance, and a large long linear hall (our 'Bunker', an underground World War 1 artillery bunker). The dry recording used a stereo pair of large - diaphragm condensers 2 inches away, capturing natural wood scuffing and creaking for a more life - like sound. For Kalimba 3.0, we remastered samples, inserted them into an efficient four - layer modular template, and created new ambient pads and soundscapes. We also designed 20 new custom FX presets for your film, video game score, or music composition. The Kontakt interface provides automation - ready sound - shaping controls, including swell, attack, release, etc. It comes with 20 unique custom FX presets, an adaptable LFO system, 12 selectable filters, a customizable arpeggiator, and a key and scale lock system. The modular FX rack panel has 18 DSP effect modules and a great bank of factory presets. This library is for Native Instruments Kontakt 5.5 or later. While the free Kontakt Player runs it in limited 'demo mode', the sample directories are unlocked for other wav - compatible software. Features include an open - format master NKI instrument bank, kalimba sounds in different environments, 86 ambience patches, 24 bit/48 kHz uncompressed PCM wav samples, and more.
Using the Soundiron Kalimba 3.0 is easy. First, make sure you have the full retail version of Native Instruments Kontakt 5.5 or later installed. You can load the library into the Kontakt Quickload window through the standard File browser tab. Once loaded, you can use the automation - ready sound - shaping controls on the Kontakt interface to adjust the sound according to your needs. You can play around with the swell, attack, release, and other parameters. The 20 custom FX presets are great for getting quick inspiration for your compositions. When it comes to the different recording environments, you can choose the one that fits your music style, whether it's the dry studio sound, the chamber atmosphere, or the unique sound from 'The Bunker'. As for maintenance, since this is a virtual instrument, there's no physical maintenance required. But make sure your computer has enough storage space (2.25 GB is needed for installation) and is running a compatible operating system. Also, keep your Kontakt software updated to ensure smooth performance. Just have fun exploring the rich sounds and creative possibilities this kalimba library offers!
