Developer Fracture Sounds has released Epic Grand, a free larger-than-life grand piano library for Kontakt Player.
Fracture Sounds is a developer I’m sure most of you know well, but if you’re new, they release some excellent libraries, like the lovely Homestead Piano. More importantly for us, they release some fantastic freebies under the banner of their Blueprint Collection.
Epic Piano is the tenth addition to the Blueprint Collection and deserves its epic name.
Fracture Sounds sampled a stunning Steinway Model D (the same one used for Spotlight Piano), but this time, in octaves.
Every time you play a single note on Epic Piano, you’ll hear an octave telling us it’s not intended to sit quietly in the background.
Any notes from middle C upwards will include the octave above, and anything under middle C will add the octave below.
I’d recommend everyone try this library, but if you’re lucky enough to win a copy of Trailer Toms in our giveaway, Epic Piano is a must-have. It’s perfect for cinematic trailers and media composition because it’s big and bold.
Playing octaves is a simple and powerful way to accent dramatic hits, allow the piano’s rich tone to ring out with more depth, or create punchy melodic lines.
Although not meant to sit in the background quietly, it doesn’t have to be overbearing, and punchy octave melodies or lines in the higher range can be anything from charming to extremely tense.
The library has a few adjustable controls and microphone positions (Close, Mid, and Far).
The Colour knob controls an EQ effect that adjusts brightness. Hype also applies EQ along with compression and saturation to give the sound more depth and character.
Stereo Width ranges from mono to ultra-wide, and the Reverb effect offers additional settings by clicking the cog.
I like that Fracture Sounds included an adjustable Velocity Response because it’s a big sound, and when you play epic stuff with big sounds, you want as much control over dynamics as possible; otherwise, it can get messy quickly.
If you don’t download the entire Blueprint Collection, I recommend Short Strings, Gentle Strings, and Textural Violin to accompany Epic Grand. All three are excellent free Kontakt libraries that also work with the free Kontakt Player (v7 upwards).
Download: Blueprint: Epic Grand (FREE – Kontakt Player required)
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