Chicken Systems has announced the release of the Constructor Universal Instrument Builder program.

Constructor is a multi-format, cross-platform (Mac OS X and Windows) Sampler Instrument Builder, allowing you to create a multi-sampled instrument from scratch - using not only WAVE/AIFF sources, but also from any pre-existing instrument of any format. You can save your instruments directly into any format too - software and hardware. So no matter what sampler(s) you use, Constructor will directly support it.

Constructor is available now from SamplerZone.com. Special prices are available for Translator owners, and registered users of selected Chicken Systems software.

Constructor is designed to be easy to use. A Document represents an Instrument. You can start off with a new "blank slate" or open an existing Instrument - for example, a Kontakt .nki, a Structure patch, a GigaStudio instrument, a Roland Patch / Emu Bank / Ensoniq Instrument, or anything else - and improve on that.

You can add or delete samples using the graphical KeyMap View, or edit the real-time parameters using the Parameter Editor. Constructor also introduces the concept of View Groups. They allow you to see a section of your Instrument based on your criteria, and hides the rest. This is invaluable for allowing you to work on a portion of your Instrument without being concerned about the rest.

Constructor isn't just for professional Instrument designers - it's for everyone who wants to make even elementary edits to their instruments, or wants to set new Instruments up in their own personal way.

Constructor introduces the concept of Banks, where you can take as many Instruments as you like and arrange them in an infinite amount of possibilities. You can make a collection of Instruments and save them as one SoundFont or GigaStudio file or Motif All Voice, for instance, but that's not all. You can merge several Instruments into one Instrument, using your own Rule criteria, allowing custom split/layer programs without sacrificing the original Instrument.

One of Constructor's design goals was logical workflow and ease of use. Despite its power, there's no detail clutter or top-level technologies you'll rarely use. The Instrument Document is user-designable - save your favorite Document designs, not forcing factory-designed editing areas like most editing environments.

Many sampler destination formats are supported - from Kontakt, to EXS24, to Emulator E4, to Ensoniq ASR-10, to Akai S-3000, and more. It is truly universal and not encumbered by a single base format.

Despite the multiplicity of supported formats, Constructor doesn't impose this complexity on the user, hiding most of it. Constructor approaches "Instruments" as a generic structure, similar to what graphic editors do - once you open a Picture (no matter if it's a JPEG or PNG), once you are editing it it's just a Picture.

Pricing & Availability

Constructor retails for $199.95 but for a limited time it is available for the introductory price of $149.95. Registered users of Translator (any edition), MV Kit Creator, and any Ensoniq Tools product can purchase Constructor for a special price of $99.95.