I have carefully tweaked all grace notes so they are even smoother and better sounding and also replaced some.
Go and get update at support section!
SCARBEE releases Blue Bass for Kontakt 2 and Kontakt 3
SCARBEE today released Blue Bass, a sample library made for N.I. Kontakt 2 and Kontakt 3. Scarbee Blue Bass has been built to take advantage of the advanced scripting technology originally developed for the Black Bass.
The sound is a classic and much time has been used on selecting right stings, string wearness and finger playing position to get the right sound.
"Blue Bass is really fun to play in real life - it has expression like no other bass I own, going from mellow, deep groove to agressive growling and barking. The bass sound recorded is probably the most used on albums world wide, suitable for any musical style from country, rock, pop, latin, jazz, reggea to funk, says bass player and producer Thomas Hansen Skarbye."
Blue Bass was designed to be very easy to play live. Almost all articulations can be triggered without any keyswitches. Eg. legato playing triggers hammer-on and pull-off, legato playing with sustain pedal pressed triggers slides, fast legato playing triggers grace notes.
Features
Real-time playable - with the exception of cross hammering and trills all of the articulations in the list given further below can be triggered without the need for any keyswitches. Eg. Hammer-on & pull-offs are triggered by legato playing and fast grace notes by fast legato playing.
A powerful user interface pushing the Kontakt user interface to its limits: a fretboard display gives an overview of the playing position and for each string what fret and articulation (displayed as a unique symbol) that are used ? dynamically updated as you play.
All four strings sampled, more than 4 000 samples and up to 9 velocity layers to capture the full timbre of the bass.
Each string is monophonic so new notes abort earlier notes, giving a perfectly realistic bass.
Automatic string selection - play and the script selects the most suitable string for you. Use keyswitches to limit the string choice or to move the active playing position (placement of left hand). The automatic string selection is tailor-made to work well with every articulation.
Automatic alternation of right hand index and middle finger samples (can also be controlled using keyswitches).
Convenient keyswitch mode - a keyswitch affects the following note or remains active as long as it's pressed - making it easy to quickly return to the default mode of operation.
Slide mode - play a note legato while holding the sustain pedal pressed to trigger a slide. The velocity will determine a slide speed anywhere between 60 to 480 bpm. Slides use real interval transitions sampled in three different speeds for realism and employ a new technique invented by Skarbye/Liberg to significantly reduce RAM usage. Slides are available for every interval up to an octave down and up from the current note. It's possible to play multiple slides consecutively to go up and then down.
Chord mode - makes it possible for notes to be automatically assigned to the right strings even if the notes of a chord don't arrive exactly at the same time.
Control over release samples - random alternation between more or less tight (how quickly they are dampened) release samples where the proportion of each can be controlled by the user. Select a default release type and use a keyswitch to toggle between the default behaviour and the other type.
Pickup-hits - randomly inserted where they are most likely to occur in real-life playing. The user can set the probability of a pickup-hit to occur.
The sound of Mr. Scarbee's own fingers.
Bass recorded DI to give you maximum flexibility in the sound production.
EQ and Effect Presets - direct in the instrument user interface.
Integrated documentation for all settings - direct in the instrument user interface.
Articulations and playing techniques
sustains
mutes
harmonics
hammer-on
pull-off
fast grace notes
slides - in practically any speed and any interval
trills and trill-tails
buzz-trills
cross hammering
chords
chord slides
percussive slides
index and middle finger alternation
two different sets of release samples: loose and tight.
pickup-hit noises
fret noises
This initial release features fingered playing style and contains more than 4000 samples.
One expansion sets for Blue Bass are scheduled for release in 2009: Blue Bass - Slap EXP - thumb and plucked style.
SCARBEE Blue Bass Sample Library for Kontakt 2 and Kontakt 3 is priced EUR 79.00 and is shipping now!
NAMM Show 2009, Anaheim - January 17
Alicia Keys Interview with Keyboard Magazine from NAMM09 Alicia give some cool insights on the development of the piano plugin in this video.
Note: Scarbee takes no responsibility of the content of the interview or press conference including references to trademarked companies and products.
NAMM Show 2009, Anaheim - January 17
SCARBEE join forces with Alicia Keys to create virtual piano American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, pianist, producer and actress Alicia Keys and Scarbee, have joined forces and created a virtual piano software with the obvious name: Alicia's Keys!
In late summer Alicia, Grammy Award winning engineer Ann Mincielli and Thomas Hansen Skarbye (Scarbee) set out on a quest to create a virtual piano of Alicia's favourite piano - recorded in the Oven Studios in NY.
By using the premium vintage microphones and preamps and carefully analyzing Alicias playing we succeded in getting a very warm, soulful and inspiring sound - fun to play.
Together with Kontakt script wizard Nils Liberg and through advanced programming and editing we have been able to recreate the action and tonal behaviour into what is almost a carbon copy of the piano.
"I feel confident that we came up with the best Virtual Piano you've ever heard and I am excited to Introduce it to you! Thomas and Nils are a Brilliant Team!", says Alicia Keys.
Alicia Keys has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and has won 11 Grammy Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, 5 American Music Awards, and recently she received the People's Choice Award for Favorite R&B Song for "No One"!
Alicia's Keys will be released and distributed by the artist herself (So NOT a Scarbee product) and is expected to ship in Q2 - 2009
(Sticky Electric Piano) has a sound that sonically lies somewhere between the reedy bite of the E.E.P. and the purer bell tone of another classic electric piano. More...
PRESS & AWARDS Scarbee J-Fingered & J-Slap reviewed in Sound On Sound.
"Scarbee's J-Fingered and J-Slap libraries are the ultimate Giga bass collection," says Martin Walker.
5/5 stars • • • • • Read the full review
