Tonehammer has announced the release of Montclarion Hall Piano for Kontakt.

Montclarion Hall Piano was recorded and programmed with 3 mic positions in a large hall, with a bonus prepared piano section and other special effects added in as well. This is a regular open format Kontakt library, compatible with Kontakt 3.5 and later.

Tonehammer says: "The Montclarion Hall Piano was recorded in our favorite large wooden hall. Built in the 50s by a renowned designer who specialized in acoustic spaces, this hall just so happens to have a beautiful black grand piano sitting in it. Something about this magical room combined perfectly with this piano, creating the right holistic balance that felt both instantly inspiring and somehow unique. The true instrument we captured wasn't the piano itself, but rather the piano and the hall together, as one singular being."

"We decided we had to have it, but it had a "Do Not Touch" sign sitting on top of it, so we went ahead and knocked that out of the way. Then we recorded sustains and release samples, as well as pedal sfx, bench, lid and sheet music sounds. Next, we we popped the hood and went to work on the engine, capturing a decent selection of sweeps, scrapes, glisses, rumbles and other effects. Then we prepared the piano for a little special treatment, capturing 3 buzzy, resonant and raw tuned string percussion sets. Finally, we decided to do a little bare-handed 3-man ensemble percussion at this classic piano's expense."

"The piano has a very rich sound and ideal for jazz, pop/rock and more experimental type of scoring. The library includes all content captured in three separate microphone positions - player's position, mid (~20ft) and far (~90ft). The close microphone is ideal for more intimate scoring. We also included song writers mood "roomtones", which means that you can trigger emotive ambiences (ex. quiet church, rain, autumn leaves, forest wildlife, warfare) in the background of your playing. This will help you test the piano against a variety of classic aesthetics and moods and easily sketch out a score against basic sound design."

"This 7.25 GB library features a full complement of custom performance, tone and effect controls, as well as custom convolutions and FX presets to allow plenty of creative freedom. Please note the piano is recorded in an acoustic hall, which means there will be subtle ambient sounds in the recordings, which we believe gives a better and more rich expression to the instrument."

Pricing & Availability

Native Instruments Kontakt 3.5 or 4 full retail version is required. The free Kontakt Player not supported.

The Montclarion Hall Piano is available for download now for a special introductory price of $89 (this goes up to $99 after November 4th, 2010).