After a considerable pause, Embertone has released the Honky Tonk Harmonica (Kontakt), a virtual harmonica that seems to lend itself rather well to smokey, bluesy performances. (The 'Edelweiss' demo is less convincing, I find, but it does show there's more possible with the instrument than just bluesy stuff.) Have a listen:
"We set out to create a virtual harmonica with a honkytonk soul… stylistically faithful to the country and blues music originating from old-time southern bars of the past. In other words: a twangy virtual harmonica that stands on its own, whether you’re backing up the band, or soloing over it.
Trigger real, sampled vibrato performances for the extra realism, or intimately control our modeled vibrato engine instead. Go between "Normal" and "Bluesy" legato styles, and dig into an array of user controls and specialized articulation to craft a totally legit harmonica performance. We can't wait to see what you can create with this expressive virtual harmonica.
Our scripted vibrato for Honkytonk Harmonica is the best we've done yet... you can control it as an LFO (which is how we've done our past instruments), but we've now added a manual vibrato mode, which lets you control the speed and depth in real-time with aftertouch (or any CC)! This vibrato mode makes me feel more connected to the performance... it's really fun.
And there's a Chugger mode: This mode is always active (you to play Maj/Min triads outside of the instrument range), and you get rhythmic/chord phrases performed by our esteemed harmonica player. These samples are a great way to back up your blues ensemble arrangement!"
Intro price: $39, regular price: $49.
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