Impact Soundworks Hammer Klavier Switches an Upright Piano’s Felt Hammers with Metal Ones

Is this what pianos would sound like today if 17th century keyboards had taken a different evolutionary path?

We’ll let Impact Soundworks describe their new sample library: “You get a sound that’s reminiscent of a powerful, full-voiced harpsichord, with the dynamic responsiveness of a regular piano and the percussive nature of a hammered dulcimer.”

That sounds about right.

We’ve been a fan Impact Soundworks since they released Shreddage, the first version of their heavy metal guitar library, well over a decade ago. Hammer has the word “metal” in common with that, but as the demos show, it fits into almost any musical style.

Hammer Klavier runs inside the free Native Instruments Kontakt Player. The library’s features include:

• two mic positions

• six dynamic layers, sampled chromatically

• adjustable touch and key response, including round-robin key noises

• an effects rack “for extra sound design”

• microtuning and scales.

Price: $69

Impact Soundworks Hammer Klavier product page