KVR Audio

shonky · Post by **shonky** » Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:08 pm

Just saw this in the latest Kontakt Hub newsletter

Headphase is packed with 1323 custom made samples inspired by our love of nostalgic sounds. Each sound can be controlled in many ways and blended to create sonically deep and lush textures.

Each sound has been specifcally made for Headphase and we have drawn our inspiration heavily from the Boards of Canada pallette hence the name.

On the surface you can start loading presets and playing Headphase instantly and you can get creative by turning a few controls to see what they do but Headphase goes much deeper than this. It uses a new concept ‘Audio Design partials’ to give you access to various parameters while just moving one of 4 knobs. These will open up a world of new sounds. Move a ‘Partial’ knob and listen as the sound morphs and changes in various unexpected ways.

Sounds pretty nice from the demo vid

resynthesis · Post by **resynthesis** » Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:15 pm

Ah, not this BOC then?

shonky · Post by **shonky** » Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:17 pm

Potentially, but with less cowbell.

Sibelius19 · Post by **Sibelius19** » Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:19 pm

Sadly, no cowbell. We opted out of percussion for this library. Maybe our next one will be a fully dedicated cowbell library, featuring over compressed cowbells. Or would that be "too much" cowbell? Can you ever have too much?
On a side note, Blue Oyster Cult rocks! Buck Dharma is one of the most underappreciated guitarists. "Don't Fear the Reaper," one of the first guitar solos I ever learned.

Just a head's up (no pun intended). Headphase will have an intro price of £17.50 and should be released on Kontakthub (tentatively) next week some time. Stay tuned!

--Erick

minminmusic · Post by **minminmusic** » Thu Nov 09, 2017 2:44 pm

This sounds very interesting!

Lind0n · Post by **Lind0n** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 9:29 am

OK, I will immediately start the code for a cow bell related product.... as "you can never have too much cow bell" - Erick prepare your cow bell armadas....

shonky · Post by **shonky** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 9:34 am

ThomasHelzle · Post by **ThomasHelzle** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 10:07 am

Great work Erick! Love the vibe...

Cheers,

Tom

Sibelius19 · Post by **Sibelius19** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 11:12 am

ThomasHelzle wrote:Great work Erick! Love the vibe...

Cheers,

Tom

Thank you!
But, I do want to make sure you know that Lindon and Glyn were essential in the production of this product as well. One of the things which helps make the sound have that vibe is the way the engine randomly repeats sections of the audio --it gives it a sort of organic, vinyl skipping vibe. Depending on the samples, it also gives it an almost generative music vibe. In the video at 18:43, the preset "Delayed Freedom" gives a good example of what happens when you just hold down some notes. Everything but the lead is me just holding down some notes with my left hand for an extended period of time. I had nothing to do with the Kontakt scripting or work of how the engine plays the samples. I also really love the "drift" knob which can be used to go even more extreme with the slow pitch modulation common in BOC sounds. Most of my sounds do have that happening from the get go, but I went a little more subtle since that knob is there

. Plus with a sample, the effect would be static, and not as believable --since it would be exactly the same every time. So with that drift knob, it can make it seem more like it's being played through a warped tape machine or something.

ThomasHelzle · Post by **ThomasHelzle** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 12:25 pm

suns-of-ain · Post by **suns-of-ain** » Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:16 am

I've had komplete for over a year now but somehow, kontakt hub had passed me by. RIP all my spare cash.
Some really useful packs on there, but I'm really impressed with Headphase. This sounds amazing!

Will definitely get this when it's live. It's a double-win for me too; I'd not heard BoC before, and am now immersed in their music.

shonky · Post by **shonky** » Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:23 am

suns-of-ain wrote:I've had komplete for over a year now but somehow, kontakt hub had passed me by. RIP all my spare cash.
Some really useful packs on there, but I'm really impressed with Headphase. This sounds amazing!

Will definitely get this when it's live. It's a double-win for me too; I'd not heard BoC before, and am now immersed in their music.

Sibelius19 · Post by **Sibelius19** » Mon Nov 13, 2017 2:44 am

suns-of-ain wrote:I've had komplete for over a year now but somehow, kontakt hub had passed me by. RIP all my spare cash.
Some really useful packs on there, but I'm really impressed with Headphase. This sounds amazing!

Will definitely get this when it's live. It's a double-win for me too; I'd not heard BoC before, and am now immersed in their music.

Awesome!
Before working on this project, though I'd owned some BOC inspired libraries, I never actually listened to the band. So this was a great learning experience for me. It was truly inspiring and I have now turned into a die-hard BOC fan! There has been some criticism that their music is too "simple." I disagree that that can even be a criticism (if simplicity is done right). I find that simple music is sometimes the most powerful as it can be more effective in conveying emotion. I think I prefer the "less is more" or understated approach over the grandiose and complex approach. And I think much of their music is understated.
I've always been a fan of that "vintage" sound, but for some reason BOC has slipped through my listening experience. Am I hearing things or did "Stranger Things 2" seem to sound a lot more like BOC as compared to the first season? Maybe I'm just listening with different ears since I'm more familiar with BOC and now I'm just hearing unintentional similarities. Still wonder if they had some inspiration from BOC.

PS -- The demos on this video are single presets being played with no overdubbing whatsoever. I completed a new demo recently with mostly different presets than showcased here, and with overdubbing of multiple presets. Stay tuned

shonky · Post by **shonky** » Mon Nov 13, 2017 7:26 am

Sibelius19 wrote: I've always been a fan of that "vintage" sound, but for some reason BOC has slipped through my listening experience.

If you like that sound, might also be worth checking the Phonec 2 synth and Echomelt delay by Psychic Modulation, both are designed to have that old tape, drifting vibe. Think I always try and program some little wayward pitch fluctuations on most of my patches, I think because this is closer to how the human voice (pre-autotune) sounds and therefore sounds more natural, and also because it gives it that hazy, dreamlike effect.

I've been a fan of that sort of sound since My Bloody Valentine started gazing at their shoes:

skipscada · Post by **skipscada** » Mon Nov 13, 2017 8:07 am

FYI, on KVR this sound/genre/vibe is known as "Frying Pan".

Headphase - Forthcoming BOC inspired instrument