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SAMPLE LIBRARIES...
??? (?)
Something fabricky... To be disclosed :)
Interviews with fellow composers about their work & life. We'll get to talk about their personal stories, their work practices, the industry and much more. I'm hoping this might be interesting and possibly insightful to other fellow composers but also anyone else interested in the craft.
Recent video I did about sampling my tenor saxophone
ShabaSounds - Sample Libraries / VSTs
Both for my work and also just for the joy of, I love to create my own little virtual instruments and sample packs and share them with the wonderful composing community.
Mind you I'm an absolute amateur when it comes to GUI and coding. My creations are therefore quite simple and niche, which helps me craft my own sound. And it brings me the joy of sitting in the recording closet for hours, plucking, honking, bowing or hitting some often half-decent instrument (or even better an object which is not a musical instrument at all) and totally not go crazy from editing thousands of samples later that night...
But seriously, it's great, I highly recommend trying it on your own. For example developers often appreciate a bespoke sonic signature you can bring with to their game with your own creative samples.
You can find some of my sample libraries and VSTs on Pianobook, other on my Patreon, some of them are still waiting to be uploaded somewhere. If you see anything you like and can't seem to find it anywhere, feel free to contact me and I'll send it to you directly.
A selection of 11 Bb clarinet multiphonics (mostly duatonics) recorded with RODE-NT1-A in a small booth for maximum detail.
Each multiphonic is a separate patch with it's original pitch at C4 (black key) and extended range of 2 octaves in each direction.
The UI shows both the sounding pitches (in C) and the fingering (Boehm system).
As a proper instrument hoarder, I’ve collected number of instruments (and I don’t intend to stop anytime soon) amongst which are also some flutes and flute-like instruments: baby ocarina, ocarina in C, soprano recorder, dizi, xiao and a Native American flute. I thought of combining these flutes from different cultures and places in one flute ensemble.
10 patches:
Legato (with the ability to turn individual flutes on/off)
Slide to Cluster (slower legato, bipolar pitchbend individually detunes each flute creating a crunchy cluster)
Random Cluster (randomized clusters in approximate ranges with bipolar pitchbend)
Aleatoric Hive (aleatoric buzzing around a common note, including frullato, trills, microtonal wavering,
bisbigliando, dynamic movement, tonguing and double-tonguing, ability to turn individual flutes on/off, legato)
Runs (various runs and rips: short, long, up, down and wavy, overblown, up 6 round robins)
One day I invited my father (a former principal cellist of Brno Philharmonic) in my humble home studio and we recorded some extended techniques and whacky sounds. We spent about 3 hours experimenting and fooling around until there were a whole bunch of cool samples to play with. After a few months I managed to put it all together into Kontakt and put it out for free.
10 patches and 13 unique sounds:
Behind bridge (longs and shorts)
Continual Ricochet (behind the bridge)
Fujara
Harmonic Flights
Seagull
Silent Tapping
Tailpiece (bowed, "Pad" and "Wreckage")
Extras (vertical bowing of the wrapped strings, bowing the end pin, bowing the bridge and crackling of the bow hair against the back board)
Although extended techniques appear more and more often in the sampling world, here is one I often miss. Most of us probably know the bisbigliando technique when it comes to a harp. But the woodwinds (and the brass too as a matter of fact) are capable of pulling it off as well. And it’s beautiful! I took an alto and a tenor sax and recorded as many notes as possible that offered at least 3 (in some cases up to 7) different fingerings for the same note (including microtonal deviations up to a quarter tone). You can also morph between slow and fast bisbigliando using the CC1.
It’s not often I grab loops and pulses but a recent project required some and so I decided to make my own.
Selection of 9 acoustic sources heavily processed in different manners, recorded in rhythmic loops (120bpm).
Default Machinetone mode keeps the tempo same if you decide to use the tuning knob.
Sources:
speaker pop, cable hum, cable snap, improvised snare, analogue synth, retractable leash, fist-sized rocks, clock ticking, metal cookie box.
I had this old metal coat hanger I found when moving. Before I got rid of it I hit it with a mallet and it sounded pretty nice!
3 round robins and 2 velocity layers.
Always looking for ways to sneak saxophone in all sorts of music,
I finally sampled one of my favorite techniques – the slap-tongue.
A sharp, attacky, almost plucky sound, surprisingly easily turned into mellow mallet-like sound, harsh distorted stab, synthy pluck with endless delays or washy explosion with blooming reverb.
Recorded chromatically with 5 round robins and 2 velocity layers (with velocity crossfade).
Includes the raw version as well as 5 additional patches:
Hidden choir, Hold Me, Muted Bass, Never Forget and Razor Pluck.
Mythic Action - Stonebound Rise
(2026)
It was a pleasure to land a ha midi orchestration, mixing and mastering of the Stonebound Rise - the Mythic Action podcast theme - composed by the fabulous Caimans band. Following their wish I also recorded and mixed in live french horns and clarinet.
(from left) Pietro & Luca
Stonebound Rise Session