Isolated Signals 
Lost Reveries 
Deep Conjuring 
Phoenix: Mirage 
Wraith 
Cinematic Atmosphere Toolkit 
Scenic Vibrations 
Terracotta: Mirage 
Slow: Mirage 
Music Box Suite 
Music Box Suite Free 
Arctic Strings: Mirage 
Squeaky Gate 
Phoenix: Kontakt 
Victorian Music Box 
Terracotta: Kontakt 
The Chordophones 
The Kontakt Bundle 
Colourform 
Dual Music Box 
Arctic Strings: Kontakt 
Slow: Kontakt 
All Mirage Libraries 
Intriguing Instruments 
Atmosphere Design 
Obelisk 
Frostpoint 
In my previous blog post I described the new instrument I was working on, a melodic prepared piano instrument. Well, the good news is that I am still working on it! But in a different manner to how I described. The full story is a little longer. This project has been a really big one, primarily due to what is involved in coding it. And over this time, the shape this project has taken is different to what I anticipated, but in a good way.
What you saw in the last blog post – a 3 layer sampler plugin – has now become a full sampler engine. And rather than being the engine for a single instrument, it will be the engine for a whole line of sample based instruments and packs. This engine will not be a separate product, it will be included with each pack you buy (if you don’t already have it installed). These packs will involve a lot more than just a load of extra audio files. Much like my previous instruments for Kontakt, they will have presets, will make unique use of engine features, and will be a full tool that you can play and sound design with.
As I mentioned in the last post, I think this release will be the turning point in terms of more consistent releases and creative products. Having my own engine for sample instruments is a great place to be in, I can again focus on making creative sound design packs. And maybe even get some of my favourite sound designers as guests designers. This does not mean that the sampler will be static – like other samplers on the market. Part of the benefit is having control to push the boundary on what a sampler is, and what it can do. For those following FrozenPlain, I hope that it will be worth the wait.
So to summarise, a FrozenPlain sampler is coming, and along with it hopefully a series of new instruments. One of which will probably be the piano instrument from the last blog post. A bonus is that this engine with give me the option to transfer some of my older Kontakt instruments into it to – a benefit for those who don’t own Kontakt. However, I am in general forward-looking with this, rather than wanting to just re-hash what is already there.
All the broad strokes of this engine are complete, but what is left is the surprisingly large task of doing the finishing touches. These are important though, bad UX or overlooked ease-of-use features can completely ruin the good aspects of a tool.