8Dio Century Harps [KONTAKT]

8Dio Century Harps contains two separate concert harps, each chosen carefully to represent a different facet in the realm of harp tones.  Harp 1 is a bright, bold and shimmering Venus Concert Harp.  The instrument can sound delicate, but it also has vibrant highs which can cut through and soar in your orchestral compositions.

Harp 2 is a Lyon & Healy Concert Harp. It has a mellower and rounder tone.  The instrument can sit back in a mix and will add a warm depth to your orchestrations.   While it has a wonderful bold tone at higher dynamics, It’s perfect for delicate/quieter passages. We think of it as a softer, scoring harp.

The dynamic range of a concert harp is very broad.  Harps are capable of the softest feathery pianissimo all the way up to a thunderous fortissimo.  This presents a particularly difficult challenge when it comes to sampling.  For us, the real magic of the harp exists in the softer dynamics.  It is impossible to capture this softer dynamic range without encountering some noise (particularly in a large sound stage). For this reason, softer dynamics are often underrepresented in sampled instruments.

The specific intention of Century Harps is to keep it as natural as we can and are processed as little as possible. We’ve worked very hard to preserve the natural feather, air, shimmer and even HISS (gasp!!!!!) of the softer tones. If you are looking for a harp collection without any natural noise, this might not suite your tastes. Removing these elements destroys the character of the softer dynamics. We just couldn’t do that to our beloved harps!

We believe that the natural noise reflection is absolutely vital to the sound of Century Harps.

CONTROL THE SOUND AND ROOM

Both harps included with Century Harps contain 4 dedicated microphone positions. The “Mixed” option offers you perfect balance between presence and room. The intimate, close mic position is great for more a more present harp. The Decca tree option is great for true orchestral purists. We also recorded a lush, wide microphone position, which captures more of the richness in the room.

TRUE DEEP-SAMPLED GLISSANDO

Century Harps contains over 3,000 Glissandos. We deep-sampled the Glissandos in Minor, Major, Diminished, Augmented, and Pentatonic chords, each with two velocity and two speed variations. In addition, you can choose between four different swirl styles, including Two-Octaves, Four-Octaves, Swirling, and a Bi-Directional Pattern.

ONE CLICK TO EVERYTHING

Every articulation can be accessed with a few simple clicks. All patches in Century come with 10 empty slots. Double click on any of the slots and you can select any articulation in the library. Every slot automatically gets assigned to a key-switch (or CC if you prefer), so you can create an advanced, custom articulation matrix in just a few seconds.

True Deep-Sampled Venus Concert Harp

– Sustains

– Sustains Soft

– Plucked With Care

– Harmonics

– Bisbigliando (Soft Tremolos)

– True Deep-Sampled Harp Glissando Fast

Deep-Sample Note: The Harp Glissandos Are Recorded At Multiple Speeds And Multiple Velocities From Feathery To Fortissimo. All Harp Glissandos Are Also Recorded At Two Different Speeds (CC16 Pr. Default).Glissando Patterns:– Two-Octaves Up And Down (P/F) (2 Speeds And With Time Control)
– Four-Octaves Up And Down (P/F) (2 Speeds And With Time Control)
– Swirling Pattern (P/F) (2 Speeds And With Time Control)
– Bi-Directional Pattern (P/F) (2 Speeds And With Time Control)Glissando Chords:– Minor
– Major
– Diminished
– Augmented
– Pentatonic

True Deep-Sampled Lyon & Healy Concert Harp

– Sustains

– Sustains Soft

– Plucked With Care

– Harmonics

– Bisbigliando (Soft Tremolos)

– True Deep-Sampled Harp Glissando Fast

Deep-Sample Note: The Harp Glissandos Are Recorded At Multiple Speeds And Multiple Velocities From Feathery To Fortissimo. All Harp Glissandos Are Also Recorded At Two Different Speeds (CC16 Pr. Default).Glissando Patterns:– Two-Octaves Up And Down (P/F) (2 Speeds And With Time Control)
– Four-Octaves Up And Down (P/F) (2 Speeds And With Time Control)
– Swirling Pattern (P/F) (2 Speeds And With Time Control)
– Bi-Directional Pattern (P/F) (2 Speeds And With Time Control)Glissando Chords:– Minor
– Major
– Diminished
– Augmented
– Pentatonic

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– Close (Intimate) Microphone Position
– Mixed Microphone Position
– Decca Microphone Position
– Wide Microphone Positionhome page