Native Instruments’ Stradivari Violin lets you play a legendary violin from 1727
The Kontakt instrument meticulously samples a rare and treasured violin
Stradivarius violins carry a reputation that is hard to contest in the world of classical string instruments. With Stradivari Violin, Native Instruments, in collaboration with e-instruments, has brought the sound of an iconic model, the Vesuvius violin, to Kontakt with 20 articulations, multiple mic positions and advanced performance features for ultra-realistic violin parts.
The Vesuvius violin was built in Cremona, Italy in 1727, which is where e-instruments recorded the beloved instrument. It was sampled with great care in the Auditorium Giovanni Arvedi, a rich acoustic chamber that seats less than 500 people. The Vesuvius violin is so respected by the people of Cremona that the town remained quiet and closed roads around the concert hall whilst the engineers recorded their samples, so as not to disrupt the recording. The company collaborated with e-instruments and the Museo del Violino to bring the virtual instrument to life.
Native Instruments has released a behind-the-scenes documentary, showing how Stradivari’s Vesuvius violin was recorded in Cremona. Watch it below.
Stradivari Violin’s extensive performance capabilities make for extremely realistic and expressive violin parts. Thanks to features like phase-aligned velocity crossfades on long articulations, transitions between dynamic layers feels natural. e-instruments’ modelling of real-life vibrato performances makes the application of the plug-in’s vibrato sound authentic, plus the collection of 20 articulations provide the creation of nuanced performances.
Two versions of the virtual instrument are included in the product. A multi-mic version combines close, mid and far positions of the 32 microphones used to record the Vesuvius violin. The second version offers a stereo-only mix, taking some weight off your CPU and RAM for a faster workflow.
Stradivari Violin is available now and runs in Kontakt 6 and the free Kontakt 6 Player.
Stradivari Violin is available now for an introductory price of £129.00. Find out more at native-instruments.com
