Sonokinetic.Qanun.KONTAKT-SYNTHiC4TE

Sonokinetic Qanun: A Sampled Arabic Instrument for Kontakt

If you are looking for a realistic and authentic sounding qanun instrument for your music production, you might want to check out Sonokinetic Qanun, a library of multisampled and performance sampled qanun for Kontakt 4 and 5. The qanun is a type of large zither with 81 strings that is plucked with the fingers or picks. It is widely used in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian music, and has a distinctive tone that comes from the grouping of strings and levers that create the scales. Sonokinetic Qanun captures the unique playing style and sound of this instrument with high quality samples and an intuitive interface.

Features and Content

Sonokinetic Qanun features three playing styles: multisampled, songs, and improvisations. The multisampled style allows you to play the instrument chromatically with multiple round robins and velocity layers. The songs style provides you with tempo-synced performances of traditional songs in different time signatures and root keys. The improvisations style offers you a collection of improvisations in various makams (melodic modes) that you can trigger with the keyboard. You can also change the root key of the samples by pressing the relevant note on the keyboard, and use the mod wheel to control the phrase start position. Additionally, there are keys that trigger harmonic endings to phrases.

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The library contains 6.6 GB of sample pool with 14934 samples recorded in Istanbul by expert engineer and composer Ceyda Pirali. The player is Gunay Celik, a master qanun performer who has taught and played with various ensembles and orchestras. He has recorded hundreds of phrases and improvisations with his expressive technique and skill.

Interface and Controls

The interface of Sonokinetic Qanun is designed to look like a Turkish smoking room with a central arch and decorative wall panels. On the left panel, you can adjust the microphone position from close-mono to stereo-overhead. On the right panel, you can select between songs, improvisations, and multis. When you select songs, a list of 10 options appears in a glass jar filled with smoke. Each option brings up a collection of phrases with the same time signature and original bpm. When you select improvisations, another list of 10 options appears in the jar, each identified by their makam. Again, variations appear on the keyboard for triggering. When you select multis, the jar remains empty apart from smoke, as it simply calls to the keyboard multisamples for using in any style.

There are also some hidden controls on the interface that add some functionality and charm. For example, there is an illustration of an Aladdin's lamp that controls the convolution reverb level. You can click on it and drag upwards to increase the effect amount. There is also an illustration of an hourglass that activates the Intelligent Time Machine function, which locks the samples to half or double time when extreme tempos are used. This is because large tempo changes can affect audio quality, but the hourglass also glows red if there is a problem, indicating it should be activated.

Conclusion

Sonokinetic Qanun is a great addition to their range of Arabic sampled instruments, such as Ney and Kemence. It offers a realistic and authentic sounding qanun instrument that can be used in various genres and styles. The sampling quality is high, the performance samples are diverse and expressive, and the interface is user-friendly and playful. If you are looking for a qanun instrument for your music production, you might want to give Sonokinetic Qanun a try.

You can purchase Sonokinetic Qanun from their website for 60.38. You can also listen to some demos and watch a video walkthrough on their website or on YouTube.

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