Soundiron Releases UFO Tone Metallic Tuned Percussion Library

An intriguing music and sound design library for Native Instruments Kontakt – for a whopping $19

Soundiron describes UFO Tone as a “multi-sampled metallic tuned percussion library that encapsulates a special hang drum from another realm.” The name is because it looked like it was dropped from an extraterrestrial visit!

They actually found this drum halfway buried in a field, before cleaning it off and sampling it in St. Paul’s Church in San Francisco. That’s the same venue these developers used to sample their Requiem Light Choir, Symphony Series Brass, and Alpha Organ libraries.

Soundiron used mallets to sample the drum’s eight tongues with close and 15’ – meaning sort of close – stereo pairs that you can blend. Their description: “Steel tongue drums are known for a smooth fundamental tone wrapped in a haze of complex harmonics, lush swirling overtones, and a long, mellow sustain.”

The interface includes control over volume, attack, release, transient offset, vibrato, and octave layering. UFO also has a glide slider for legato and portamento heads, as well as selectable LFO shape. Modulation can be assigned to various parameters and sync to the host’s tempo. Control over it an be assigned to velocity, the mod wheel, aftertouch, key position, and other familiar synth parameters. It can also be controlled by the built-in step sequencer, plus there’s a customizable arpeggiator.

UFO has a choice of 14 different filter types that can be controlled by the modulators. It also has a 10-slot FX rack with18 different DSP effects, including phase, flanger, delay, distortion, amp and cab simulators, compressors, EQ, rotator, as well as a reverb with 119 custom impulses – halls, chambers, outdoor environments, and special effects.

The price is almost silly: $19. Add it to Soundiron’s collection of affordable specialty libraries.

Product Page

Demos

Videos