Mystic Crystals

Description

This is a unique instrument built from 145 samples of Selenite crystals, making a tinkling, glassy/metallic xylophone. This is ideal for ‘ethnic’ instrumentation, New Age music, and a magical, mystical atmosphere, but fits just as well into wobbly hip-hop and left-of-centre pop music.

The following previews show the sound of the instrument without any additional processing, except for an included delay device that works similarly to Live’s Echo (but you can use this even if you’ve only got the Intro or Standard editions of Live, unlike Echo). All previews have been generated semi-randomly, by using chord progressions, double arpeggiators and tetratonic and pentatonic scale devices, all of which are included in the download.

This instrument is designed to be organic and changeable. Playing real Selenite crystals is fraught with complications: the crystals can be shattered easily, not all of them create a musical chime, and they are hard to position to get a good tone.

We’ve done all the hard work for you.

Many different crystals (around 30) of different sizes were suspended from thin cotton thread, and struck with a variety of implements. In the end, a knitting needle and a toffee hammer produced the clearest, most pleasing tones. Hundreds of samples were edited down to 145 that made the most musical sounds, then re-tuned in Melodyne to the Western standard 440Hz system.

But we’ve kept the chaotic, unpredictable nature of the crystals by having slight tuning drift, random sample changes and velocity sensitive samples, while maintaining a musical feel and usability. In addition, you can control the amount of harmonic overtones, the impact noise, and fade between duller, more percussive samples and more resonant chimes.

Included in this pack are 3 MIDI racks:

• Initial and Random Velocity: lets you set a starting velocity for notes, and then randomise around that velocity (so you can keep notes within or around a certain velocity range). You can also use it to set an exact velocity by turning the random amount to zero.
• Double Parallel Arpeggiator: two synced arpeggiators in parallel, giving you more complex rhythms.
• Tetratonic and Pentatonic Scale Chooser: make simple melodies quickly and easily by restricting to 19 simple scales that can evoke Eastern folk melodies or Western nursery rhymes and folk songs.

You also get 2 Audio Devices using stock Live devices:

• Magical Delay: a grain delay and 2 parallel filtered delay devices that in a rack. It is similar to Ableton’s Echo device, but with low frequencies centred, while higher frequencies work across the stereo field, plus the grain delay adds a rough ‘shimmer’.
• and a ‘Comfortable Spacious Room’ reverb, which we felt complemented the Mystic Crystals more than existing presets.

Coming in December 2020, this pack will get a free optional update with the samples tuned to 432Hz instead of the Western standard 440Hz. So, you will be able to download both versions (the ‘extra mystical’ 432Hz version and the standard 440Hz version).

We will avoid discussing the whole 432Hz controversy here, but we’re open to any musical technique here at Kaboodle Sound, regardless of scientific merit, if it might give a positive outcome or spiritual sustenance. Maybe one day we’ll throw in some just intonation tuning too…

 

Requirements:

• •   Ableton Live 10.1 or higher

Technical Details:

• • Format: .zip file containing 1 .alp (Ableton Live project)
  • Total zipped size: 107 MB
  • Total installed size: 187 MB
  • 1 .als (Ableton Live set) with 1 Instrument Preset, 3 MIDI devices, 2 effects devices, 5 MIDI chord progressions, and 7 preview loops
  • Instrument contains 145 WAV samples @ 48kHz, 32-bit