Kong Audio has announced the release of two new products in its Chinee Series of VST instruments: ChineeSanXian and ChineeGuZheng II. They cost $60 each and are powered by Kong Audio's Windows native 32-bit QIN Engine. A time-limited $20 USD "no-brainer" deal for ChineeGuZheng II is currently available as a special introductory offer.

ChineeGuZheng II
Guzheng, as one of the most representative Chinese instruments, first appeared around the Warring States period (475 - 221 BC), then became extremely popular during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD) and spread to all neighboring areas ever since (e.g. Guzheng is the forefather of Japanese Koto). Guzheng was originally a rather simple instrument with only five strings. After all the years of evolution, today's Guzheng has twenty-one strings and is still widely used in all kinds of Chinese music.

Guzheng has a unique, rippling sound character. The playing techniques developed for Guzheng are also unique and distinct, therefore set it apart from any other members in the world's zither family.

ChineeGuzheng II has an extensive sampleset which contains various types of tremolo, slide, glissando, and strumming.

ChineeGuzheng II is recorded with an acclaimed GuZheng musician, YingPing Lin. Lin was academically trained within the best Chinese classic music education system. She has won many national and international music awards, performed domestically and overseas routinely and published recording albums as well as books and papers.

ChineeGuzheng II, now coupled with the new QIN engine, provides the most characteristic sound of China with the depth and liveliness pursued by musicians around the globe.

Specs:

• 580 MB meticulously produced sample sets.
• Powered by the Windows native QIN engine.
• All samples are recorded in 24 bit 96 kHz.

ChineeSanXian: The Banjo from the East
SanXian (literally means "3 strings") can be traced back to Qin dynasty, 3rd century B.C. It is mostly known to the West thorough its Japanese decedent, samisen. SanXian's sound character is a bit similar to Banjo.

SanXian comes in a several sizes, the big SanXian can be a tough challenge for short musicians. Even though SanXian has always been a vital component in the Chinese music, in modern times people inclined to learn other instruments over it for various reasons.

SanXian is still widely used in all kinds of folk musical acts and performances everywhere. Nowadays in the Shanghai area, a revived form of performance, PingTan, is usually performed as a duet of a PiPa and a SanXian. Appreciating this kind of local forms of musical performances characterizes that China is, once again, embracing her own historical music tradition.

ChineeSanXian captures and recreates SanXian faithfully and is powered by the Windows native QIN engine.

System requirements and specs:

• 229 MB crafted and arranged sample soundsets.
• Powered by the Windows native QIN engine.
• All samples are recorded in 1-bit/2.8 MHz.