Synferno is a free loop-based Kontakt instrument that requires the full version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or higher.
Rigid Audio has packed Synferno with 3GB of cinematic and electronic 24-bit WAV loop content. The 3GB of content accounts for 350 preset kits and 1200 individual loops in four categories: Bass, Synth, Ambient, and Groove.
If you are after some free ambient sounds but don’t have Kontakt Full, try Somerville Sounds Antiquarian Echoes; it’s great. Our free Kontakt libraries section has more packs you can use with the free Kontakt Player plugin.
The categories are colour-coded across the keyboard range, and you can play up to four loops per kit simultaneously. You can also play loops polyphonically time-stretched within two octaves.
The loops are cinematic and electronic, and they don’t throw up too many surprises; Synferno sounds like the ideal electronic movie score. As always, the loops will suit various styles and projects with some creative application.
Synferno is a collection of high-quality, playable loops at face value, but the real magic comes from the built-in effects and functions.
The intuitive interface includes a Mix page for adjusting things like pan, pitch, reverb, and EQ per category. The Space slider sets the reverb amount taken from any of the 60 custom-made impulses selectable on the FX page (Arena, Cathedral, Piano, Metal Delay, etc.).
The FX page features a Step Filter, Step Gate, Autopan, Flanger, Space reverb, Delay, and Skreamer.
The Step Filter is a bandpass filter (tempo-synced) with a randomly changing cutoff. You can control the strength of the cutoff sweeps by adjusting the amount.
The FX page also has a preset menu with 36 factory presets and a randomizer.
The icing on the cake comes with the Sequencer page; Synferno features a 32-step sequencer. The sequencer allows you to slice any loop, and you can then choose which slice is triggered on each step.
Furthermore, not all steps must share the same source loop. So, you can slice multiple loops across 32 steps, which means you have virtually unlimited range to create unique sequences.
I like the controlled randomness of slicing multiple loops; Synferno is one of those tools that might bet you out of a creative block.
Synferno used to cost around £90 (give or take a little) once upon a time, and it’s a welcome addition to the freeware world!
I want to finish by congratulating Tomislav on reaching fifteen years of BPB. It’s been great to be here for the last few years, and thank you to all involved over the past decade and a half – including you, the readers who make BPB a wonderful place to share ideas, learn, and be inspired.
Download: Synferno (FREE – requires full version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or higher)
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