Indian Classical Sample Sets (Cheap and Free) ?

[Burzukh_Studios]

Hello,

I am looking for free and cheap indian classical (melodic) instrument libraries. The swar systems sounds ok, but definitely very limited and dated (plus the GUI and coding are kinda ....ummmm... unefficient. This is based on demos, screen shots and vids and please feel free to correct me.

I am most interested in the sarangi as this is possibly the least sampled instrument on the planet.

Also, perhaps the hardest to articulate with MIDI (but that is entirely another discussion). It is also the one closest to extinction , since the art of properly playing it dissapearing with the death of the maestros (each of whom took decades to master the instrument).

I have already done some extensive searching around but to no avail. The soundfonts may be good for a laugh, but do not sound much like the real thing (that is putting it mildly).


Any and all suggestions would be highly welcome.

[synaesthesia]

The only decent multisampled sarangi I've heard is in East West Silk.

[Tricky-Loops]

Maybe here:

http://www.bollywoodsounds.net/bollywood-gold-sarangi

[Burzukh_Studios]

The only decent multisampled sarangi I've heard is in East West Silk.

I think there is no Sarangi in silk. At least the content they show in the youtube demo vid show no sarangi amongst the indian instruments. Please let me know if there is an add-on or addtional volumes.

[Burzukh_Studios]

Maybe here:

http://www.bollywoodsounds.net/bollywood-gold-sarangi

Thanks. Those seem to be construction loops though (as in, they are not multi-sampled instruments). Also, the examples on soundcloud are awful with the crappy generic "modern" beats. I'm assuming the horrible drums are'nt included and its just sarangi loops without accompaniments ?

[maschinelf]

No idea how good this is, and it's not cheap, but is another option. It's mostly loops, but there are one-shots including sarangi on DVD 3.

http://www.futureloops.com/product-totalindia.php

[Burzukh_Studios]

No idea how good this is, and it's not cheap, but is another option. It's mostly loops, but there are one-shots including sarangi on DVD 3.

http://www.futureloops.com/product-totalindia.php

That whole thing had me salivating. Its got classical and folk sarangi besides an entire world of beauty.

I just might order this. Hoping they deliver to kuwait.

[Tricky-Loops]

Maybe here:

http://www.bollywoodsounds.net/bollywood-gold-sarangi

Thanks. Those seem to be construction loops though (as in, they are not multi-sampled instruments). Also, the examples on soundcloud are awful with the crappy generic "modern" beats. I'm assuming the horrible drums are'nt included and its just sarangi loops without accompaniments ?

There's no info about it but I guess they should be without beats...

At least it's a well-known Indian producer who offers them, not a UK DJ!

[Akshara]

This is neither cheap nor free, yet there is a sarangi in EastWest Quantum Leap RA. It is recorded well and sounds like a true sarangi, though playing the live patch requires a lot of programming and practice to reach an authentic performance. The more subtle articulations can be attained through manipulating a bank of prerecorded loops and mixing them into a performance with the live patch - and editing the prerecorded loops with Celemony Melodyne DNA editing allows for more flexibility and usability with different modes/keys/ragas, outside of the ones the loops were recorded in.

Regarding other instruments, if you happen to have a copy of the discontinued Kore Player from Native Instruments, the North India Kore Soundpack offered a Bansuri, Sitar, Tambura, Harmonium and Tabla, with a brilliant key switched articulation system. Unfortunately, NI doesn't sell it anymore, so it would need to be found second hand. But if you can find it, it's worth the effort. Kontakt has stripped down versions of these instruments in its library, without the advanced articulation system.

The Swar Systems stuff isn't too bad, though it does require effort to get good results. I purchased their SwarShala Composer software many years ago, and the samples were pretty straight-foward and sounded like the demos on their site. With the right processing, they could be used to add some authentic color to a mix. Can't speak to the sarangi samples though, as they hadn't been released at the time and I never upgraded. Their Swarplug appears to be the most bang for the buck when it comes to a well rounded palette of North and South Indian instruments.

PrecisionSound offers an Indian Santoor library for Kontakt and EXS24.

Bolder Sounds offers a Harmonium library for Kontakt and EXS24.

And then there are the iOS apps iTabla, iLehra and Samvada. iTabla is brilliant.

Namasté and good luck with the search.

[Sparky77]

Not a sample set but Omnisphere has that great electric sitar sample.

Also NI has some very cool Indian instrument add-ons including tablas and sitar.

[Burzukh_Studios]

@ akshara : thanks a lot for the information. The QL-RA is around $ 300 (beyond my budget, which is around $ 100 at present), plus there is always the iffy kuwait postal system. but it is definitely the best bet. Rave reviews all around. I am in touch with the swar system guys, and trying to get some information regarding performance and build, since someone told me it is single velo layers build in synth edit.

[martygras]

@ akshara : thanks a lot for the information. The QL-RA is around $ 300 (beyond my budget, which is around $ 100 at present), plus there is always the iffy kuwait postal system. but it is definitely the best bet. Rave reviews all around. I am in touch with the swar system guys, and trying to get some information regarding performance and build, since someone told me it is single velo layers build in synth edit.

Hey muslimpunk. It is exciting to know that there are people using computers as a compositional tool from Kuwait. Especially one who is writing Indian/Hindustani styles. The world seems to be getting smaller every day.

I wish you good luck getting the library you need to Kuwait.

[jancivil]

The QL-RA is around $ 300

I have it. I am using it now for Shakuhachi and the Bansuri. A lot of it just sounds splendid, but none of it is deep. A lot of it is really frustrating because it's so half-baked. I'm being generous regarding some of it at half-baked.

I've used the sarangi, which really as far as a gesture sounds like a sarangi. as per the above post, it's essentially like working with a loops library. the gestures, loops are not collected towards any coherence, and I really would not much recommend trying to cobble together a performance but using the gestures as 'local color', effects; going from the 'live' or - is it actually a legato patch? I forget - to the loops tends to be a broken path. the more one is familiar with this music the more one would recognize what I'm telling you. I would not like to recommend RA unless you're really doing well in the pocketbook, for that price point. People say the same things from RA are deeper in Silk but I didn't buy that.

The thing I probably hate the most is, there are all of these tunings but no documentation so it's total trial and error as far as gleaning a meaning from a name, because they just seemed to be making shit up or quickly running to wiki for shit.

[Burzukh_Studios]

Hey muslimpunk. It is exciting to know that there are people using computers as a compositional tool from Kuwait. Especially one who is writing Indian/Hindustani styles. The world seems to be getting smaller every day.

I wish you good luck getting the library you need to Kuwait.

Thanks a lot. I work and live in Kuwait, but am actually from Pakistan.
The subcontinent's classical instruments and the raags hold a special place in my heart. Especially the sarangi, which to me is at least as expressive as the human voice, if not more so. I want to incorporate it into my compositions.

That is bizarre, because I have been mostly been doing death, blck,thrash, industrial , gothic and such like for the last 14 years.

It is a small world indeed.

[synaesthesia]

Ah, you're right. It's a dilruba, not a sarangi. Though that's not a million miles away and it is VERY playable.

I have Total India. It is all loops (apart from the percussion hits) but there are a lot of sarangi loops, as you say, both classical and folk.

There's a ownload version, so you don't need to worry about whether they post to Kuwait or not.