
Cloud cello
£35
Cello+ twine × reverb = Cloud Cello
Two instrument variations - solo & ensemble versions
1.6GB download
50 themed instrument presets (.nki's) each with mod wheel patch morphing for variation
38 extra patches for Omnisphere 2 using Cloud Cello samples
for FULL version of Kontakt 5.5.1 or above.
Cloud Cello?
Cloud Cello is the big brother (or sister, if you like) of the Cloud Viola. She's a deeply multi sampled hybrid Kontakt sample library created from an ordinary 17th century classical stringed instrument, but played and recorded in an extra-ordinary way.
Cloud Cello opens up new orchestral-ish, cinematic tones and textures that sound both familiar and alien....in a good way.
There are also 38 free Cloud Cello patches for Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2 included with the Kontakt version.

How?
So, you take an unsuspecting cello, remove all the strings except one and place it in a stand. Instead of a conventional bow, use something with a bit more texture and bite - in this case, a ball of coarse garden string sounded best. Stringing a standard bow with garden twine doesn't work, you'd need an impossible 10-metre bow to play a smooth note (I know it's impossible because I tried to make one!).
After many experiments and cups of coffee, a retractable dog lead, an elaborate pulley system and a classic vintage fishing reel came to the rescue. This system can hold long lengths of string under tension and be drawn evenly over the cello string to produce a usable tone.
Next step is to rig up some suitable mics. A contact mic near the bridge gave good body, and a large diaphragm condenser near the string picked up the 'grist'. Then using a capo for accurate tuning, thousands of passes were recorded to get enough samples for 5 x round robins per note plus conventionally bowed accents and col legno notes for extra flavour.
The final step is to form the Clouds by pushing each note 100% wet through a bespoke swirly setting on my Strymon Big Sky reverb pedal, and then do the same thing all over again with a different setting for 200% wetness.
What's Inside?
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Two instrument variations - solo & ensemble versions.
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2GB of 24bit samples (uncompressed).
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50 themed instrument presets (.nki's) each with mod wheel patch morphing for variation.
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38 extra patches for Omnisphere 2 using Cloud Cello samples.
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Three octave key range - C1 to C4
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Seven deeply sampled articulations through eight 'oscillators'.
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Accented bow: short bowed note with conventional bow. 5 x round-robin per note. Two mic positions- valve condenser and contact mic.
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Col legno: Latin for 'gently thwacked with the back of the bow'. 5 x round-robin per note. Two mic positions- valve condenser and contact mic.
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Twine: bowed with 5 meters of green garden string. 5 x round-robin per note, minimum 20 seconds per sample. Two mic positions- valve condenser and contact mic. Hard-wired to CC11 for expression pedal or midi controllers.
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Dark Cloud: Twine recorded 100% wet reverb-ed through Strymon Big Sky hardware reverb. Playback through Kontakt grain oscillator.
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Pale Cloud: the Dark Cloud recorded 100% wet reverb-ed through Strymon Big Sky hardware reverb unit, so basically 200% wet!
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Sub Bass: (ensemble only) Moog Voyager sine bass.
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Effects per oscillator: tremolo, vibrato, saturation, pitch selection, pan, low-pass filter, high pass filter, reverb and delay.
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Master output effects: low pass filter, high-pass filter, rotor effect, delay, cabinet modelling and EQ.
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Master unison control for up to eight voices per note.
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Velocity to volume amount control.
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Aftertouch to pitch bend amount control.
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Aftertouch to filter light/dark control.
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Advanced architecture with automatable midi control of everything on the interface.
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74 specially created convolution reverb impulses recorded from real spaces, expensive hardware, and some less obvious sources including a Roland Space Echo, Strymon Big Sky and the stage of Glyndebourne Opera House.
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Built in instruction manual in RTFM tab.
FULL version of Kontakt 4 or above needed.
Cloud Cello will load into Player but time out after 10 minutes, so please don't buy this if you are using the free Kontakt Player.
£35/$53/50€ (inc VAT) for Cloud Cello instant download
Cloud Bundle
Cloud Cello + Cloud Viola + Cloud Bass (full price £110)