Which Sonokinetic library to choose?
- Thread starter Akcel
- Start date
Double Helix
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In that vein, I have Capriccio, Minimal, and Largo: Of these three, I find Largo to be the most flexible, followed closely by Minimal
. . . but I use Capriccio more, for which there is neither rhyme nor reason (except perhaps that Capriccio is the more recent Sonokinetic acquisition)
You will definitely find umpteen options in whichever you land on
. . . but I use Capriccio more, for which there is neither rhyme nor reason (except perhaps that Capriccio is the more recent Sonokinetic acquisition)
You will definitely find umpteen options in whichever you land on
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jbuhler
Senior Member
I’m fond of Noir and Indie, which I use almost like libraries of production music to quickly add underscore to instructional videos. Sotto has a lot of textures and is mostly devoid of striking motivic content so it fits neatly into contexts without getting in the way. Minimal is also neat and does pretty much what you think from its title. Also the Mondrian Inspired GUI is my favorite of all the Kontakt libraries I own.
I don't know how to describe my music so I'll let some links so you can have an idea.
I'm not sure about Noir, I think it must be difficult to place no? It's still very oriented.
TomislavEP
Senior Member
I don't have it myself, but Da Capo seems to me like one of their most versatile and all-around libraries.
Casiquire
Senior Member
Just curious, what makes you so interested in them in particular? It's unusual to hear someone say "I want to buy something from this dev" rather than "I need some woodwinds" or something like that.
I'm a fan of their celesta, but I don't have much else from them. They have a great reputation in here though and the celesta is quite beautiful
I'm a fan of their celesta, but I don't have much else from them. They have a great reputation in here though and the celesta is quite beautiful
Henu
Dismember
Well, I'm not sure about that to be honest. They are known here, but many people don't like the way they do their UI's, me included.
Just last week I tried to use Tutti Vox again, and gave it up in frustration after 15 minutes. Most of their libraries are completely unusable for me due to the completely absurd interfaces and navigation.
GtrString
Senior Member
I wouldn't describe their libraries as versatile at all, rather the opposite, they are very niche. And on the surface they seem convenient, but I have found them quite difficult to use if you want control.
They are probably best for media/ game composers on a tight deadline, when you want something super simple, done fast, and you are not too particular what notes goes where ect.
They are probably best for media/ game composers on a tight deadline, when you want something super simple, done fast, and you are not too particular what notes goes where ect.
Casiquire
Senior Member
Interesting, thanks for sharing your experience. I guess the criticisms just haven't come up on my feed as often.
widescreen
The Duke Creates
I second that. I tried several times to use some of the Ostinato Series. Much more complicated than e.g. 8Dio's Ostinato Series. I do not see me considering the orchestral libraries since then.
What I do like actually are the niche instruments like Bowls, Carillon, Celesta, Toll.
At the moment, I don't compose anymore and I don't know why and I tell myself that going back to things might be more "simple". I'm schematizing but with Sonokinetic you press a key and you have music.
I tell myself that it could help me to "rekindle the flame" and it's true that it sounds really good. So maybe my reasons are biased, who knows?
Henu
Dismember
Yep, and the ones with an UI understandable by someone who isn't high on acid on a daily basis. :D
I say that Versatile is exactly what all Sonokinetic reviews and walkthroughs show they are not. Each library indeed has a name that is suited to that intention and phrases. And all of them will do great in their own domain.
I love Sonokinetic's way of thinking, sound and everything, but I'm not a composer who would take advantage of such libraries where their forte is firing up a quick idea and then have to fight editing pre made phrases . So it will lock you into their realm rather than expand.
Do you have at least a 61 keys controller? I have the Ostinatos and well, have a 49 keys one and it doesn't work
By listening to your music, these libraries will become a helpful tool to get a job quick and effective.
In others words it's an awesome acquisition if you can quickly make money with it and library becomes self paid.
Having said that. WAIT UNTIL THE 12 DAYS OF XMAS
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Casiquire
Senior Member
This can be a whole thread of its own and honestly, I think it already is! I felt some of this during the past couple covid years and stress and depression were a huge part of it. In the meantime I just tasked myself with learning and education, and playing instruments just for the pleasure of enjoying music. Which is easier said than done during a lull like that.
Sometimes simplifying can be helpful if you're still learning a lot, but separate pre-made phrases might not be the best way. I'd maybe look into all-in-one sketching tools instead, so you're not piecing together a whole orchestra a la carte. Something like Albion or Ark1, maybe, whatever particular product is closest to your sound.
"versatile" probably isn't really what Sonokinetic are going for in general. But there are a number of good thread that discuss how to get the most out of their phrase libraries in different ways.
For instance, on the soft size (and my favourite SK library) Sotto has a lot of textural content that isn't dominated by excessively melodic or otherwise thematic content. Which makes it more versatile for certain things that some of the other phrase libraries.
Similarly, Minimal is, obviously, minimal rhythmic patters. And you can use this for New York style minimalism, but they also make really nice ostinatos in more conventional cinematic styles. And so on.
Geoff Manchester has a review of one SK library ... I forget which one ... Grosso maybe? ... and he's deeply unapologetic in that he uses is exactly how it's advertised - as a construction kit to write a certain type of cues quickly.
This isn't something I would do with an SK phrase library. I prefer to use it to add bits of texture and depth. If you can get use an SK library just to add few moments of timbre integrity and dynamics and performance qualities that standard multisample instruments simply can't capture, this can have a significant effect on an overall composition.
Other people talk about using it for inspiration - some initial noodling around to spark some ideas around melodies or rhythms or orchestration. Even if the initial SK phrases never appear in the final mix.
Still other talk doubt using them just to study possibilities for orchestration.
So as ever, just how "versatile" your experience with an SK phrase library will, entirely, depend ...
For instance, on the soft size (and my favourite SK library) Sotto has a lot of textural content that isn't dominated by excessively melodic or otherwise thematic content. Which makes it more versatile for certain things that some of the other phrase libraries.
Similarly, Minimal is, obviously, minimal rhythmic patters. And you can use this for New York style minimalism, but they also make really nice ostinatos in more conventional cinematic styles. And so on.
Geoff Manchester has a review of one SK library ... I forget which one ... Grosso maybe? ... and he's deeply unapologetic in that he uses is exactly how it's advertised - as a construction kit to write a certain type of cues quickly.
This isn't something I would do with an SK phrase library. I prefer to use it to add bits of texture and depth. If you can get use an SK library just to add few moments of timbre integrity and dynamics and performance qualities that standard multisample instruments simply can't capture, this can have a significant effect on an overall composition.
Other people talk about using it for inspiration - some initial noodling around to spark some ideas around melodies or rhythms or orchestration. Even if the initial SK phrases never appear in the final mix.
Still other talk doubt using them just to study possibilities for orchestration.
So as ever, just how "versatile" your experience with an SK phrase library will, entirely, depend ...
jbuhler
Senior Member
No, not really. I mean its harmonic language is jazz at the movies but you don’t have to use it that way. And you have to write to what the library gives you more so than the other Sonokinetic libraries (Indie is similar in that respect) but you can also approach it like a music editor working with production music and it’s very handy if that’s what you are needing since it comes with loop points, edit points, and in all keys. so long as you don’t need to worry about the music being original. That’s why it’s good for something like instructional videos when I might not have time to write something original, I just need something to fit under video. (For one of my classes I have this recurring character who’s a parody of a hard boiled detective. I use Noir a lot to score this character’s episodes.)
The Noir orchestral material also has a lot of evocative atmospheric vamps that can be good cue starters. You can export the midi, rescore and rearrange things. And most of them do not sound especially jazz-like if recontextualized.
The solo part of the library can be harder to use to do anything but give the semblance of jazz (but often a semblance is all you need). But here again if you approach the solo part like a music editor laying music to picture more than as a composer or arranger you can find interesting and useful material in the solo part of the library.
Jeremy Spencer
Senior Member
Minimal and Indie are two of my most loved libraries, have produced countless tracks with those.
