Flexibility and stability are necessary for realistic guitar performances from virtual instruments, and NI Kontakt can deliver both for music producers. There are several different types of guitar sample libraries, including nylon/classical, electric, and steel acoustic. Even within them, you might discover rhythm libraries with built-in strum loops or libraries for playing leads with accurate bends and hammer-ons. Bass guitars are also a member of the guitar family. Although it’s not a requirement, you should often use electric guitars for rock, jazz, and pop and acoustic guitars (whether steel or nylon) for softer music. Be aware that employing guitar amps can dramatically alter the sound of an electric guitar or bass. So be sure to play around with them to create new sounds.
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Native Instruments Session Guitarist: Picked Acoustic
With this superb plucked acoustic guitar that makes performance simple, you may get results quickly. The classical Martin 00-21 acoustic guitar from the Picked Acoustic Kontakt library is well-known for its crisp sound. There are two variations of the library: strumming and melodic modes. The first has an integrated library of fingerstyle and strumming arpeggios that you can use by striking chords on your keyboard.
A specific instrument for each type of performance—pattern-based and melodic—is included in the library. 194 picking and strumming loops from various genres are included in the patterns. Similar to the harmonic mode, the melodic mode includes fingered and picked variations of open, muted, flageolet, and tremolo articulations. You can also include vibrato, hammer-ons, slides, precision, and pull-offs for an authentic performance sounding guitar parts. The library has three microphone configurations: Condenser, Dynamic, and Ribbon. Two condenser mics are used in the condenser setup to create a realistic stereo image. In a figure-8 polar pattern, And Dynamic uses a dynamic microphone in addition to a tube condenser microphone to provide customizable stereo width. Finally, Ribbon creates a sophisticated, vintage sound with two ribbon microphones.
Acoustic leads can be produced using articulations in the melodic mode. The collection also uses a variety of mic settings from which you can choose and mix. Additionally, you can incorporate effect plugins to create original guitar tones for your project. Overall, this library works well as both a moving soloist and an accompanist.
If you like the music from the 1970s and 1980s, you’ll like the sound of this vintage instrument. The guitar is in perfect condition, has no strange resonance, and Picked Acoustic samples it excellently. Although the melodic mode needs careful programming to prevent sounding robotic because it lacks a humanize tool, it sounds natural when used as a backup instrument. This is one of the Best Kontakt Guitar Library in 2023.
Native Instruments Session Guitarist: Strummed Acoustic 2
Strummed Acoustic 2 has you covered with its two guitars if all you need is pure strumming guitar. A library created specifically for playing patterns with a plectrum is called Strummed Acoustic 2. It includes the Guild F-412 and the Martin 0-17, two prestigious guitars. The first is a classic 6-string guitar with a pleasant sound, while the second is a vintage 12-string from the 1960s.
Every instrument has various strumming patterns suitable for any style, including rock, pop, folk, country, bluegrass, etc. Each pattern can be played in any fret position to get the desired style. Try using a higher position for the chorus part, and for the verse part, go with a lower position. You can choose up to 8 dynamic patterns from the library to execute on a single instance. To transition between the chosen patterns, utilize the key switches, modulation wheel (CC #1), and pitch wheel. To further enhance the authenticity of the performance, you can add accents and swiftly crossfade chord voicings.
For stereo width, you can add doubling with Strummed Acoustic 2. The pan of the high and low chord voicings (fret positions) can also be adjusted to create more stereo depth. Finally, you can alter the sound by using the preset built-in EQ, compression, and reverb.
With Strummed Acoustic 2, you can easily incorporate crisp strums into your production without devoting a lot of time to the performance. Every design appears natural and, in general, fits the genre. Overall, you get two fantastically performing guitars with great sounds for a very affordable price in one of the best guitar libraries for any guitar player. This is one of the Best Kontakt Library for Guitar in 2023.
Heavyocity Scoring Acoustic Guitars
It’s not your typical guitar collection, Scoring Acoustic Guitars. It is a collection featuring numerous effect processors, over a hundred pre-recorded phrases, and other sound-generating tools. You’ll hear tempo-synchronized guitar rhythms and floating pads created of granulated guitar samples. Similar to this, there are rhythmic harmonies with three nylon guitars and steel guitars, melodic phrases and pulses, and so forth. By now, it should be clear that neither conventional strums nor a typical sampled guitar will be used to perform melodies.
You don’t have to bother about programming new performances because the library is jam-packed with a ton of pre-recorded phrases, pulses, and other things. Use the inspiration provided to your advantage, then use the Gravity engine to add effects and motion to complete your score. Numerous sounds, such as the “complex pads,” have three layers of audio: synth, steel guitar, and nylon guitar. Each layer’s volume and pan may be adjusted, and you can alter the EQ and apply different kinds of filters on the EQ/FILT tab to customize the tone. Additionally, you may quickly adjust how powerful and impactful the sound is by using the “Punish” knob.
On the Motion page, you can design patterns that change the volume, pan, and pitch over time. You can also use midi keys to trigger the patterns in all the common modes, including latch and retrigger. It’s also important to note that there is a separate sequencer for each of the three sample levels.
I advise taking a look at it if you’re an experimental producer or media music composer. This one won’t work for you at all if you’re searching for a typical guitar library, though. Although you may create a wide range of sounds with this library, as a guitarist, I don’t really see much value for it beyond time savings.
Native Instruments Session Guitarist: Electric Vintage
The Fender Telecaster, one of everyone’s favorite electric guitars from the late 1950s, is recreated by Electric Vintage. It has a flexible engine with a large library of patterns, including riffs, arpeggios, and strums, that can play lead melodies and strumming.
The single-coil pickups’ nasally, twangy sound gives the Telecaster its distinctive sound. It works well for hip-hop, rock, and occasionally pop genres as well as funk and pop, especially when you adjust the built-in virtual amp and effects.
There are 231 patterns in the library, which span many different genres. There is a mix of strumming, open and muted chords, riffs, arpeggios, and other musical elements. To generate original rhythms, you can also set key switches to any pattern you like and play them in that order. Of course, altering the chord voicing (fret position) opens up a whole new world of possibilities. The second of the two instruments in this package allows you to play melodies while fusing them with patterns. There are several different articulations available, including open, muted, flageolet, tremolo, and slides. You can also bend notes with the pitch wheel. To get your favourite tone, alternate between finger and plectrum strokes.
You can choose from a variety of effects on the Amps & FX Browser page, including a distortion pedal, modulation, EQ, compressor, reverb, delay, and tape effect. Additionally, you can choose between tasteful, clean sounds and high gain overdrives with synthetic amps and cabinets. But if you already have any guitar amp software, I’d advise using it so you have a wider selection.
The majority of music production in Electric Vintage feels complete, and the audio quality is excellent. So, even as a guitarist, I can easily see myself using this library when I need the precise Telecaster tone. I adore the NI pattern browser, which lets me use the keyboard to create a rhythm and look for patterns that match it.