Fracture Sounds Box Factory KONTAKT-DECiBEL-0daytown

Team DECiBEL | 31 Dec 2021 | 2.40GB

Box Factory is a unique cinematic percussion library geared towards composers and producers alike, featuring a huge 40-piece ensemble of cardboard boxes, masterfully sampled in a concert hall. Built for the free Kontakt Player.

About The Instrument
We assembled six performers and 40 boxes of different shapes and sizes in a concert hall, and curated 13 unique ensembles ranging from large to small boxes with a range of stick types and performance techniques.

The sound of Box Factory is familiar, yet totally unique. It is presented in a way that will feel at home if you’ve used any other percussion library – you can approach in the same way as you would toms, taikos and snares – yet it offers a certain organic, raw and tactile sound that is unlike any conventional percussion instrument.

Whether used as the sole percussion instrument in a composition (as is the case with all the demo tracks on this page), or layered with other drums, the diverse tones and flexible sound-shaping controls offered by Box Factory will be an essential sonic ingredient for anyone looking to freshen up their percussion palette.

The Sound
We returned to the same concert hall where we recorded Glacier Keys, Frozen Percussion, Dulciano, and many others. Using a selection of 32 top shelf microphones from Neumann, Coles, DPA and Senheiser, we captured the ensembles from multiple perspectives in the room. From these recordings, we created four distinct mixes – Natural, Aggressive, Gritty, and Snappy – giving you a diverse palette of sounds to complement any musical style.

Natural – This mix is the closest sound to the source recordings. With just some gentle processing to enhance and polish the raw recordings, the Natural mix is perfect for those situations where an organic, un-hyped sound is required.

Aggressive – With a carefully selected processing chain, the Aggressive mix turns up the heat and adds some extra dirt and girth. The heavy compression and saturation in this mix bring out the ambience in the room mics, and this can be manipulated further with the ‘Punch’ and ‘Decay Trim’ controls to yield a wide range of results.

Gritty – This mix chain uses some pretty unusual processes (including running the signal through a bass amp!), and offers a very powerful sound with some real mojo, and a particular emphasis on the mid-range. The Gritty mix is our personal favourite.

Snappy – While the Aggressive and Gritty mixes are focused on hyping the raw recordings so they sound larger than life, the Snappy mix is the opposite. This mix offers short and snappy hits with sharp transients and a less roomy sound. With an emphasis on dynamic range, the Snappy mix is super responsive under the fingers and feels great to play.

Each of the four mixes include three individual microphone perspectives (Close, Mid and Far). These signals can be blended with ease using the ‘perspective’ slider, or controlled with greater precision using the separate microphone faders, letting you dial in the perfect amount of ambience, whether you want a dry ‘studio’ sound, or a spacious sound which sits at the back of a mix.

Features
– 13 separate ensembles, curated from 40 cardboard boxes
– Recorded in a modern concert hall environment, with 3 mixable microphone positions.
– 4 diverse mixes, ready to use in any production.
– Housed in our brand new percussion engine, with easy sound shaping controls and articulation customisation.
– Innovative rhythm animator with velocity and filter sequencers
– Full NKS support – works with Komplete Kontrol hardware.
– 3GB download size (NCW compressed from a 5.5GB sample pool).
– Runs in the free Kontakt Player (v6.6 or later). No additional sampler software needed.