Reviews

EQ Magazine: Marty Cutler
Just when you think your sampled drum-and-percussion library is complete, along comes some new sound set to prove otherwise. Vir2 Instruments World Impact Global Percussion ($399.95) hosts one of the most comprehensive, globe-spanning collections of ethnic percussion that I've come across.

The 12GB, two-DVD library is hosted by Native Instruments' free Kontakt Player 3 or Kontakt 3.5. Both provide AU, VST and RTAS plug-in versions as well as a standalone instrument. I recently updated to Kontakt 4.0.2 and auditioned the instrument on a dual 2.8GHz Quad-core Xeon Mac Pro with 6 GB of RAM running Mac OS X 10.5.8.

My Old Flam
You load instruments from menus organized by region or by type of instrument. For example, if you want to load a selection of shakers, you can audition related instruments. When you're working with clients who want to audition every variation of a single percussive element, you'll find this feature a real time saver. Alternatively, if you would like to choose instruments of Asia, for instance, load a bank that gathers instruments by region. Loading banks lets you reorder the array of instruments in any way you'd like and allows quick load times.

World Impact includes a few sampled articulations, but the Kontakt engine provides scripting for most of the performance-oriented articulations using one-shot samples arranged in kits. That's handy, as it lets you mix and match your own playing with chokes, flams, rolls and loops without having to call up a secondary patch. You also get a series of graph-style controls called Triggers (25 of which are user-programmable), and you select the basic timing of the performance from a drop-down menu. That supports rhythmic divisions between quarter and 64th notes and includes triplets. You can constrain any notes you input to the rhythmic values selected, making it easy to create some pattern variations without losing the beat. Oddly, no controls for swing are provided.

You get a graph for selecting velocity (which also enables triggering of a note), a Smoother and a pitch-axis graph. Pull a bar up or down and that Trigger will be harder or softer if you've edited velocity, or it will be above or below the hit's original pitch if you've selected the Pitch trigger. The Smoother modifies the sample start letting sounds flow into each other without repetitive attacks. This worked nicely with the berimbau patch and gave the effect of a mixture of bowed and percussive notes playing in rhythmic patterns. Only one Trigger pattern can play at a time whether you play a single note or a chord, and all notes fall in line with the prevailing pattern.

You can create microtonal pitch variations. Humanize controls regulate further deviations from the graph settings, including timing. Roll Triggers were less effective, sounding fine on some instruments and machine-like on others. An arpeggiator or step sequencer would be useful, but the main thrust of the Triggers is the creation of rhythmic performances a single element at a time in conjunction with a trigger key. Each instrument has a healthy variety of hits, so you can always create realistic and effective rolls by simply playing them.

Its Own Reward
World Impact's sounds are expressive and full of detail, covering Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America. You'll find separate sections devoted to Taiko, an FX folder (including a terrific menu of vocal percussion) and processed, repurposed samples in the Bonus Sound Design folder. Tablas, steel drums, a huge variety of shakers, bata and congas rub elbows with frame drums, balafon, donkey jaw, Wuhan cymbals, ceramic and mallet bells, and lots more. Sounds are further enhanced with EQ (high, low and a sweepable mid frequency) and a natural and sweet-sounding library of impulse responses for Kontakt's convolution reverb. The Taiko drums are sumptuous and deep, with an additional set of controls to balance close-, stage- and room-mic samples.

Despite the Trigger feature's lack of swing and monophonic behavior, World Impact is a highly successful sound library. It digs deeply into esoteric percussion and regional variants. I wish there were some included documentation about the playing techniques, either in drum notation or with a few sample MIDI files to illustrate some of the playing techniques. Vir2 World Impact should easily cover most, if not all of your ethnic percussion needs.


SoundsAndGear.com: JK Swopes
What is World Impact?
It's a super deep toolbox of percussion sounds from all over the world. Asia, Africa, South and North America, Europe, Middle East, and a folder dedicate to the Taiko drum! In addition to all the authentic sounding drums, shakers, and tuned instruments like steel drums, vibraphones, glocks, etc...you also get a mini sequencer! Well, it's like a 16 step sequencer that you can use to trigger patterns of the percussion instruments.

You get access to humanization features, eq, and the ez room reverb engine. Quick Specs
- Content: 13GB of 24 bit wave samples - Format: Kontakt Player instrument - Price: $399

How does it sound?
Like they recorded real percussion instruments and put them in my computer... Well that's what the did lol. No really, the recording quality is superb and the programming of the instruments is great. You may think there isn't much you can do do a percussion library, but it sounds really good.

Most of the instruments were recorded dry, so it's not drowned in fx. This allows it to keep it's natural sound...yet you can add any fx you wish.The sounds work well for anyone from film scoring ninja composers to bedroom house producers. Anyone that like realistic and high quality percussion samples....

What's the bottom line?
This is a very decent library, there are tons of instrument in here that I had no idea even existed...let alone how to pronounce their names! If you're like me and always looking for some really good percussion to sprinkle in your music, at least check out the demos of this library.

I give it a 4 out of 5 subs, well recorded, tons of variety, and actually useful. I can see me layering these sounds with my other drum samples to spice things up...as well as letting them roll on their own. Any way you do it, these samples just work out right.

Description

Get ready for a perfect storm of ethnic, world, and cinematic percussion. Featuring a massive collection of varied percussion samples, World Impact spans the globe featuring percussion instruments from large to small, west to east, north to south, and traditional to rare. Sampled in meticulous detail and programmed for maximum and instant musical usability, the collection includes hundreds of varied percussion instruments from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and more. A massive 4.2-gigabyte collection of Japanese Taiko drums recorded from multiple microphone positions forms a central part of the library. Each instrument has been recorded with numerous alternate takes and velocity layers, assuring realistic and dramatically expressive sonic results. World Impact is an essential tool in the toolbox of every film composer, movie trailer producer, and aficionado of world percussion instruments.

Beyond the instrument collection, World Impact is augmented by a powerful pattern engine, the same engine that lies beneath Vir2's Elite Orchestral Percussion, allowing instant access to varied articulations such as chokes, rolls, flams, and ruffs, as well as patterned loop programming for both traditional and synthetic creations.

World Impact is powered by the industry-leading Kontakt engine. It is compatible with VST, AudioUnit, and RTAS (Pro Tools 7 & 8) plug-in formats allowing it to work seamlessly within any major sequencer, in addition to standalone use.

Included Formats:

Kontakt Player 3

Plug-in

Includes:
- More than 300 patches of world percussion instruments categorized by geographical region and instrument type.

-13GB of 24-bit samples, including a 4.2-gigabyte collection of Japanese Taiko drums recorded from multiple microphone positions.

-EZRoom control in all patches, allowing the ability to instantly place the percussion in any one of over 50 different sonic spaces

-Integrated Humanize engine, offering quick control over pitch, tuning, and volume randomizations

-Custom articulation and pattern engine built-in, allowing instant triggers of chokes, flams, 3-stroke rolls, full rolls, and rhythmic patterns, all of which are automatically synced to host tempo

-Onscreen EQ controls allowing independent control of three bands (frequency, gain, and bandwidth)

-Velocity curve settings that allow easy adjustment for normal, louder, and softer playing

-Multitimbral operation, supporting up to 64 simultaneous instruments loaded (subject to RAM availability), receiving up to 64 MIDI channels (16 in plug-in mode)

-Kontakt Player 3 engine, supporting standalone operation as well as plug-in operation in all major hosts that support AudioUnit, VST, RTAS (Pro Tools 7 & 8) plug-ins

-Special upgrade pricing to the full version of Kontakt 4, which allows for fuller editing of the instruments

Here is a full list of World Impact instruments:

AFRICA

Adewuro (Ghana), African Agogo Bells x4, African Flat Shaker, African Seeds 1, African Seeds 2, African Seeds 3, African Shaker (N. Ghana), Atsimevu, Atumpan-Hi (Ghana), Atumpan-Low (Ghana), Axatse, Basket Rattles, Basket Shaker Large, Basket Shaker Medium, Basket Shaker Small, Bata 1, Bata 2, Bata 3, Boba, Bottle Cap Shaker, Box Shaker, Calabash Shaker Long, Calabash Shaker Short, Cane Rattle, Chekere Hi, Chekere Low, Chekere Med, CoCo Shells Small, CoCo Shells, Djembe (Cowskin), Djembe (Goatskin), Djembe, Djun Djun Hi, Djun Djun Low, Djun Djun Mid, Dodompo Hi, Dodompo Lo, Drum Gong Large, Drum Gong Medium, Drum Gong Small, DunDun (Nigeria), Gankogui-Hi, Gankogui-Lo, Gome (Ghana), Gongon, GunGon (Northern Ghana), Kaganu Drum (Ghana), Kidi Drum (Ghana), Kpanlogo Hi, Kpanlogo Lo, Kpegisu Drum (Ghana), Lunga (Northern Ghana), Mbira (No Buzz), Mbira (Rattle), Morrocan TamTams Chromatic, Morrocan TamTams Side Chromatic, Morrocan TamTams, Pod Rattles, Sabar (Senegelese), Shakare, Sogo Drum, Story Telling Drum, Tama (Senegal), Toke, Tube Drum 1, Tube Drum 2, Udu Large (African), Udu Small (African).

ASIA

12in Wuhan China, 13in TamTam, 21in TamTam (China), Ankle Bells 1 (India), Ankle Bells 2 (India), Atarigane Large, Atarigane Medium Large, Atarigane Medium Small, Atarigane Small, Balafon, Balinese Nipple Gong, Belafon (Drum Sticks), Binsasara, China Cymbal-Small, Chinese Opera Gong, Clackers, Damaru Large (India), Damaru Medium (India), Damaru Small (India), Devil Chasers (Philippines), Dobachi Bowls x5 (Mallet), Dobachi Bowls x5 (Stick), Dobachi Bowls x5 Chromatic (Mallet), Dobachi Bowls x5 Chromatic (Stick), Elephant Bells (India), Gendar Yang 1 (TradBeater), Gendar Yang 1, Gendar Yang 2 (BalafonMlt), Gendar Yang 2 (Mid8ve-Bal), Gendar Yang 2 (Mid8ve-Tmp), Gendar Yang 2 (Mid8ve-Vib), Gendar Yang 2 (TimpMlt), Gendar Yang 2 (VibeMlt), Giant Oung Klung, Indian Bells x8, Indian Jingle Bells, Kanjira, Lop Drum Chromatic, Lop Drum, Mokugyo-Mallet (Japan), Mokugyo-Stick (Japan), Mokusho, Mrdangm, Naqqara Large (India), Naqqara Medium (India), Naqqara Small (India), Ocean Drum Large, Ocean Drum, Ong Klong, Rain Stick Large, Rain Stick Small, Riveted Pang, Sumo Drum, Tabla High (Dayan), Tabla Low (Bayan), Talking Drum High, Talking Drum Low, Tibetan Bells x8 (Tibet), Tibetan Bells x8 Chromatic (Tibet), Uchiwa-daiko Large, Uchiwa-daiko Medium Large, Uchiwa-daiko Medium Small, Uchiwa-daiko Small, Wuhan Wind Gong (China).

EUROPE

16in. Paiste Crash, 17in. K Zildjian Dark Crash, 20in. Zildjian Pang, 21in. K Zildjian Custom Dry Ride, Cajon (Spain), Cowbell Swiss Hi, Cricket, Framedrum, Glock Hard Mallet, Glock Medium Plastic Mallet, Hydraulic Triangle, Mahogany Woodblocks x2, Sleigh Bells, Steel Slip Drum, Vibes Bowed.

MIDDLE EAST

10in. Istanbul Splash, Bandir, Bendir, Darbuka, Dumbek (Morocco), Dumbek Whale Tones (Morocco), Dumbek, Frame Drum Large, Hadjini Large, Hadjini Small, Hadjira, Kanjira, Karakab Large (Morocco), Karakab Small (Morocco), Riq 1 (Egypt), Riq 2 (Egypt), Turkish Frame Drum, Udu High, Udu Low, Udu Mid, Zil Table.

NORTH AMERICA

Cowbell With Rivets, Cowbell, Dominican Tambora, Donkey Jaw, Finger Snaps, Guiro (Cuba), Guiro (Dominican), Guiro (Puerto Rico), Hand Claps, Mallet Drum Chromatic, Mallet Drum, Mambo Bell, Pools of Saturn, Steel Drum (Sticks), Steel Drum, Thunder Maker, Timbales, Tube Drum 1, Tube Drum 2, Tuned Bells Chromatic, Tuned Bells Small Chromatic, Tuned Bells Small, Vibraphone Tremolo, Vibraphone, Vocal Percussion Menu, Waterphone, Wooden Bell.

SOUTH AMERICA

Afuche, Agogo Bells x3, Andean Seeds Hi, Andean Seeds Lo, Berimbau Effects, Berimbau, Bolivian Bells, Bongo Bell 1, Bongo Bell 2, Bongos, Cabasa, Caja Chayera, Candombe-Chico, Candombe-Piano, Candombe-Repique, Caxixi, Ceramic Bells Hi, Ceramic Bells Low, Cha Cha Bell 1, Cha Cha Bell 2, Chaschas Hi, Chaschas Low, Chivato, Clave, Cluster, Clustered Shakers, Conga Hi, Conga Low, Conga Mid, Huancara Large, Huancara Small, Jam Block, Joropo Maraca, Kultrum Hi, Kultrum Low, Kultrum Mid, Leguero Hi, Leguero Low, Leguero Mid, Marimbula (Colombia), Matraca Rolls, Noah Bells Chromatic (St. John), Noah Bells x3 (St. John), Pandiero 1, Pandiero 2, Peruvian Cajon Large, Peruvian Cajon Medium, Peruvian Cajon Small, Peruvian Piccolo Cajon 1, Peruvian Piccolo Cajon 2, Quijada, Reco Reco, Recoreco, Repinique, Ripanique, Seapods Large, Seapods Medium, Seapods Small, Spoons Metal, Spoons Wood, Surdo High, Surdo Low, Surdo, Talking Drum, Tambor Alegre, Tambora (Colombia), Tamborin 1, Tamborin 2, Tambourine, Tan Tan, Teponatzel Hi, Teponatzel Low, Teponatzel Mid, Timbal Bell, Timbal, Timbales, Timbau, Triangle Hi, Triangle Lo, Triangle, Trompe 1, Trompe 2.

TAIKO

Hira Daiko-Takebachi, Hira Daiko, Lg Nagado Odaiko-TB, Lg Nagado Odaiko, Lg Okedo Daiko-TB, Lg Okedo Daiko, Med Nagado Odaiko-TB, Med Nagado Odaiko, Nagado Daiko-TB, Nagado Daiko, Shime Daiko-TB, Shime Daiko, Sm Okedo Daiko-TB, Sm Okedo Daiko, Sumo Drum.

BONUS SOUND DESIGN

Balinese Nipple Gong Resonance, Cathedral Drones, Confusion Reigns, Crash, Dobachi Bowls Textures, Eklectro Steel Drums, Elephant Bells Infinite, Eternal Bowed Vibes, Funny To Be, Gendar Yang Shimmer, Ghastly Image, Noah Bells Distant Jangles, Spacy Shards, Spinner Screamer, Swatch Eerie, Waterphone Angry Eternity.

Compatibility

This product is compatible with...

AU

Cubase

Digital Performer

GarageBand

Kontakt

Logic

Mac

Nuendo

PC

Pro Tools 7

RTAS

VSTi