Vir2 Instruments has announced the release of World Impact: Global Percussion, its new Kontakt Player-based ethnic, world and cinematic percussion virtual instrument.

Featuring a large 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 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.

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 Kontakt engine so it is compatible with VST, AudioUnit, and RTAS (Pro Tools 7 & 8) plug-in formats on Windows and Mac OS X allowing it to work seamlessly within any major sequencer, in addition to standalone use.

MSRP is $399.95.