Westwood Instruments Novella Blackwater [KONTAKT]

A love letter to Americana and the modern Western

Novella Blackwater is a complete toolkit of virtual instruments for scoring and songwriting. This is a mountainous range of sounds, taking inspiration from the homestead of Americana and contemporary Western cinema, with a modern approach and very versatile palette of sounds to suit multiple styles.

An outstanding string ensemble lead the band, surrounded by a remarkable selection of spirited solo instruments. Backing everything up is a rusty oil barrel and a medley of unconventional percussion.

A resilient force of ideas for film scores. An expansive plain of sounds for songwriting. We invite you to explore new horizons and prepare yourself for the wild.

STRINGS

[spoiler]Spirited and courageous

A chamber string ensemble with an essential collection of inspiring and unique articulations for sketching ideas immediately. Introducing “Motion” a tempo-synced automated dynamics control to help you create realistic swells and movements without your hands leaving the keyboard.

The strings are broken out into two detailed string sections. The High Strings feature Violins and Violas and the Lows feature the Cellos and Basses performing a wide range of matched articulations including ‘Fire & Flint’ aimed at creating instant drama and tension using dynamic and timbre sliders. 3 tempo synced tremolos, Hairpins, Shorts and a range of other unique sounds.

These strings are small enough to feel detailed and alive when you need them to be, but with a quick change of mic positions and a splash of reverb, you can easily create cinema-filling sounds for the biggest scores.

Human legato

A beautiful natural legato recorded independently on Violins, Violas, with Cello and Basses playing together. With a key switch to play a standard or marcato attack.[/spoiler]

VIOLIN

[spoiler]For love songs and laments

An 1800s violin made by John Betts with gut strings. Recorded with legato and 3 attack options; standard, marcato and a bluegrass-style bend. There’s also two drone articulations played using open strings.

For both love songs and laments, this is a very honest and unrefined sound with a vulnerable performance.[/spoiler]

HARMONIUM

[spoiler]Small keys, big sounds

A harmonium recorded in its natural range but then stretched for a huge full-sized experience. As well as traditional sounding recordings we’ve experimented with a range of treatments for unconventional playing styles and textures.

D ELECTRIC GUITAR

[spoiler]Who needs some twang?

A Danelectro electric guitar played with a classic twang and in a dozens styles through a Fender Reverb tube amp. Included is a mixture of versatile articulations and never before captured sounds, perfect for modern day scoring.

T ELECTRIC GUITAR

[spoiler]Delicate moody tones

A Fender Telecaster recorded in Studio 2 at Nave Studio for a drier, more intimate sound. We’ve recorded western inspired slides, muted notes, chords, harmonics and gently wandering playing techniques for an amazing atmospheric feeling.

STEEL ACOUSTIC

[spoiler]Vintage steel vibes

A beautifully warm example of the best vintage Gibson acoustic guitar we’ve ever heard. As well as sustains, muted styles, tremolos and drones, we’ve captured a handful of loose, human performed rhythms and chords, aimed at adding realism to your scores.

NYLON ACOUSTIC

[spoiler]A guitar that’s seen the best and worst of times

A gloriously aged nylon guitar. Rough around the edges with plenty of vibe. We’ve included a selection of unique rhythms, chords and sustains to create beautiful melodies. Also includes six ‘Wends’; lost and meandering finger-style playing to bring some mood and depth to your music.

MANDOLA

[spoiler]A classic country sound

Folk-inspired sounds that help cut through a busy mix, but can stand on their own too. This is a beautiful Sobel octave mandolin, tuned up to a Mandola. Recorded with a pick for a bright attack sound. We’ve captured a selection of articulations including shorts, tremolos and a set of ‘ready to go’ rhythms for scoring and songwriting.

TRUMPET

[spoiler]Lead the charge

A solo trumpet, recorded in a non-traditional way to give you new creative sounds in your brass writing. As well as moody, wandering sustains we’ve thrown in some classic western inspired motifs for when you need to mark that moment and conjure nostalgia.

HARMONICA

[spoiler]You brought two too many

A classic harmonica instrument. The sound synonymous with Western films. Recorded across multiple scales of harmonicas for a full range performance. A specially crafted selection of unusual sustains and bends that will add a distinct flavour to anything you create.

PIANO

[spoiler]The Westwood take on the tack piano

Using a hickory drum stick, this is our homage to the genre’s classic sound. Designed to give you a different option for when it comes to the piano. We’ve included octave and some non-rhythmical ‘tapping’ patches for added inspiration.

DRUMS & PERCUSSION

[spoiler]There’s a whole ocean of oil under our feet

Our largest untuned ensemble to date, a huge selection of drums and percussion. We’ve recorded an old, rusty oil drum in various ways to give you a bespoke take on metallic hits. 2 snares including a highly tuned military snare with flams, drags and rolls. A brass snare with tambourine ring, vintage toms, a very old hand drum and an interesting selection of cymbal stacks. To top the instrument off we’ve included jaw harp, claves, cowbell, plus thunder and seed shakers to give you some very useful sound designing elements.

Recorded with plenty of dynamic layers and round robins to keep everything alive.[/spoiler]

What’s included

PLAINVIEW ENSEMBLE

All Strings

Frontiers

• Fires
• Flint
• Dust Devils
• Short Hairpins
• Shorts

LEGATO STRINGS

Includes 2 key-switchable styles of attack; Regular and Marcato.

Violins Legato

• Violas Legato
• Low Strings Legato
• Violins Longs
• Violas Longs
• Low Strings Longs

HIGH STRINGS

Violins & Violas

Fire & Flint

• Stutters
• Dust Devils
• Drifting Tremolo 85bpm
• Tremolo 110bpm
• Tremolo 150 bpm
• Longs
• Short Hairpins
• Long Hairpins
• Long Hairpins Sync
• Shorts
• Back Bow

LOW STRINGS

Cellos & Basses

Fire & Flint

• Stutters
• Dust Devils
• Drifting Tremolo 85bpm
• Tremolo 110bpm
• Tremolo 150 bpm
• Longs
• Short Hairpins
• Long Hairpins
• Long Hairpins Sync
• Shorts
• Back Bow

DEADWOOD

Gut Violin

The Legato and long articulations include 3 styles of attack; Regular, Marcato and a bluegrass style bend.

Legato

• Longs
• Drones
• Sul Pont Drones

MORGAN

Harmonium

Longs

• Yonder
• Yonder Reverse
• Windpipes
• Exhale
• Exile

OUTLAW

Electric Guitar

Longs

• Longs Pitch Shifted
• Palm Mutes
• Palm Mutes Pitch Shifted
• Chords
• Tremolo
• Coil Tremolo
• Coin Tremolo Thirds
• Coin Tremolo 4ths/5ths
• Railheads Knuckle
• Railheads Ring
• Smokebox

RAILS

Electric Guitar

Fingerstyle Longs

• Pitched Fingerstyle Longs
• Woolen Mutes
• Pitched Woolen Mutes
• Splangs
• Slide
• Fret Hover
• Harmonics
• Promontory
• Promontory Reverse
• Hangfire
• Hangfire Reverse

FLAT TOP

Steel Acoustic

Longs

• Shifted Longs
• Mutes
• Pitched Mutes
• Tremolo
• Unison Drones
• Unison Drones Reversed
• Rhythm – Homestead
• Rhythm – Stourbridge
• Rhythm – Creekside
• Rhythm – Byways

NOMAD

Nylon Acoustic

Longs

• Chords (Maj/Min)
• Rhythms – Highplains
• Rhythms – Chitlins
• Rhythms – Outrider
• Rhythms – Cavallard
• Wends – Chords
• Wends – Chuparosa
• Wends – Brittlebrush
• Wends – Desert Sage
• Wends – Saguaro
• Wends – Feverfew

JUNIPER

Mandola

Pick

• Tremolo
• Tremolo Storm
• Chords
• Rhythm – Cottonwood
• Rhythm – Barnum
• Rhythm – Gadabout
• Rhythm – Sagebrush

HERALD

Trumpet

The Gambler

• The Drinkers
• The Rustler
• Short Sustains
• Short Swells
• Long Swells
• Motif – Maverick
• Motif – Bittersweet
• Motif – Forward
• Motif – Forward Minor
• Motif – Forward Major
• Motif – Charge

BRONSON

Harmonica

Wild & Moody Longs

• Moody Longs
• Wild Longs
• Slow Bends
• Fast Bends
• Swells
• Chords
• Longs

HICKORY

Upright Piano

Hickory Piano

• Octave Hickory Piano
• Reverse Piano
• Tapping
• Reverse Tapping
• Stacked Tapping

OIL FIELDS

Drums & Percussion

Oil Drum – 10 unique sounds

• Military Snare including Flams, Drags, Roll, Rimshot and Splash Stack
• Brass Snare
• Broken Crash
• Cymbal Stack
• Stick Ride
• Cymbal Scrapes
• Old Bass Drum
• Dead Old Bass Drum
• Hand Drum
• Jawharp
• High Cowbell
• Low Cowbell
• Claves
• Thunder Shaker
• Seed Shakers

Mixes & Microphones

Production-ready Mix

All instruments in the library include a production-ready mix. A beautifully balanced and natural image that’s good to go straight out the box. Sweetened EQ, some gentle compression and a light dusting of tape saturation to add some tasteful harmonic colour.

Close Mic

A stereo position for detail, clarity and revealing the nuances of the performances.

All instruments

Room Mic

An XY stereo pair with plenty of life from the studio acoustics. The most balanced and natural sound of all the signals. Can easily collapse to mono if needed.

All instruments

Gallery Mic

A stereo position, high up in the gallery of Studio 1. Diffuse and open capturing the full bloom of the studio.

Strings, Gut Violin, Trumpet, Harmonica, Drums

Overhead Mic

An additional stereo mic position on the drums and percussion.

Drums

Copperphone Mic

A mono mic with a limited frequency response and natural compression, sounding much like the earliest radio transmissions. Wonderful on its own for a nostalgic feel, or mix in gently for interest and character.

All instruments except Piano and Strings

– Chamber strings with legato

– Solo Violin with legato

– Harmonium

– Two Electric Guitars

– Steel & Nylon AcousticGuitars

– Mandola

– Trumpet

– Harmonica

– Hickory Piano

– Drums & Percussion

Requires Native Instruments Kontakt Player or Kontakt FULL v6.6.0 and higher!