Sonixinema Superball For KONTAKT-DISCOVER

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Using Superball friction mallets, we sampled a variety of Orchestral Bass Drums, Timpani, Taiko, Thunder Sheet and Gongs to create a library of evolving sonic textures. Working in close collaboration with virtuoso percussionist Joby Burgess and Emmy nominated recording engineer Nick Wollage, we have created a virtual instrument like no other.

Superball is a rare type of mallet with a rubber ball end, which is used by percussionists to create a unique waling drone-like sound. It is performed by dragging the rubber head of the mallet along a surface, creating friction, which produces a wave of unusual and unique sonic textures that vary depending on the size of the Superball, type of percussion and technique. Superball is a non-transient sound that open-endedly shapes and transforms as the motion, pressure and intensity of dragging of the mallet continues.

To capture Joby’s performance on these magnificent instruments, we chose the world famous British Grove Studios which was built by legendary Dire Straits front-man Mark Knopfler, located in the heart of London. We chose it for its lush sounding large live room, collection of vintage and modern microphones and the fantastic 96 channel Neve 88R desk running through the worlds best Prism Sound analogue to digital converters. This studio has been used to record such scores as Gravity, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, Macbeth and Stardust.

Finally, we have designed and built a dedicated powerful sampling engine with an intuitive interface, which allows the user to perform and shape the sound much further. It offers a variety of sound shaping tools, from one fader to move across all microphone setups called ‘Proximity’, to ability to morph between subtle and aggressive articulations, all the way to complete reshaping tools such as advanced ‘Gater’ with a programmable step sequencer and selection of effects. You don’t need to read the manual to use the instrument, but we highly recommend you do because we are certain you will learn some tricks that you wouldn’t know about otherwise.

One of Britain’s most diverse and talented percussionists, Joby Burgess is known for his virtuosic performances across renowned blockbusters such as Black Panther, Mission: Impossible, Alien, Paddington, The Darkest Hour and many more. A prolific artist, musician and educator, Joby is truly one of a kind in his approach to music and experimentation.

Nick Wollage is an Emmy nominated recording engineer at a forefront of the film score and classical music. His outstanding talent has propelled him to the top of the industry, recording iconic soundtracks such as Star Wars: A Solo Story, How to Train Your Dragon, Wonder Woman, Harry Potter and many more.

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Our brand new Kontakt engine provides a highly creative way of working. We spent months planning and designing the interface to be as flexible as possible, while maintaining an intuitive and inspiring workflow. It features a GLOBAL tab which provides access to all of the main instrument controls, including proximity, expression, velocity, tuning, stereo spread, blur and gloss.

Delve in and explore the mix perspectives, which are created from a selection of 15 high quality microphones curated by our engineer, Nick Wollage. Use the proximity slider for an easy mix solution, or check out Nick's own pre-made mix on the last slider. Shape your sound even further with our powerful 32 step GATER engine. Choose from over 500 rhythmic presets, or simply adjust the draw mode, step length, swing and sequence start to begin creating rhythms. Also try using the random and reverse modes for added fun!