Balinese Gamelan (new version) Consisting of two full ensembles, Balinese Gamelan II by Soniccouture is by far the most authentic and complete sampled gamelan instrument available.
Play individual instruments or the entire ensemble at once – complete gamelan control for both experts and beginners.
Over 30 different instruments have been recorded with great depth to convey the living, breathing sound and dynamics of gamelan.
Semaradana Gamelan Ensemble (LSO, London)
Gamelan Batel Ramayana (Toronto)Gamelan is an ensemble of instruments native to Indonesia. Most gamelan instruments are percussion instruments, and most are made of bronze. They include xylophone-like metallophones of varying sizes and pitches, tuned gongs, very high-pitched gongs, and a variety of drums and percussion. There are many types of gamelan ensembles, but the two dominant types are Javanese and Balinese. Balinese gamelan has a distinctive ‘shimmering’ sound, which is caused by the paired instruments playing the same part out of tune.
Although gamelan music has been around for centuries (there is evidence of instruments dating back to before 800 AD), it is a very lively music in Indonesia, and its popularity is growing in the West. Styles continue to evolve, and new gamelan music is being written all the time. Balinese Gong Kebyar, a particularly flamboyant style, has dominated for much of the century and is probably Bali’s best-known export.
Gamelan music is very much a group affair – it has been described as “a conversation between musicians.” Many of the musicians play interlocking parts, in which two instruments alternately share notes. This technique allows the ensemble to play incredibly fast passages.
- All sampling in stereo 24-bit 96 kHz
- Adjustable mute level + multiple articulations
- Mute + RING samples (key-toggleable) for all high-pitched instruments
- 3 to 20 cycle layers and up to 15 velocity layers depending on the instrument
- Total library size 35 GB (13 GB with NCW compression)
- Around 8000 samples
- Full tuning control: equal temperament and micro tuning
- 102 snapshot presets for quickly selecting instruments and sound design presets