CORE MICRO BY SOUNDIRON
KK-Access Review
SoundIron have brought us a hugely diverse and wide ranging collection of sample libraries over their many years in business, and they should certainly be considered as one of a the go to developers when you are looking for something out of the ordinary for a project.
One of their recent releases is Core Micro, an intriguing swiss army knife of sounds which I venture everyone should consider having in their collection, especially given the modest price point.
Core Sounds
As the title suggests, the library pulls together a selection of quality samples from a whole range of popular full blown SoundIron products, then bundles them up into a veritable selection box of goodies, which will almost certainly be sure to find a home within your compositions at some point, whatever the genre might be, as the spectrum is that broad.
Tech Specs
Core Micro runs in Kontakt 6.2.2 and above or the equivalent Free Kontakt player. Being licensed through Native Access, it is also Komplete Kontrol compatible (see later notes on NKS mapping).
The micro titling extends to the data footprint which is a very respectable 4.8GB when installed, the samples are 48kHz and 24 bit in the NCW format.
There are two main master NKI Kontakt files, one for the Chromatic instruments and one for the Phrase based presets.
These are further supported by 56 NKSN snapshot based presets, which serve to demonstrate the dynamic range of the overall product.
Download & Installation
Core Micro can be installed directly through Native Access upon registration of your serial number, or alternatively you can use the SoundIon downloader, for which you are given a link after purchase.
The executable application is bespoke to you, and with just a little use of OCR is quite accessible.
The down loader will extract and compile the library folder for you, and upon completion you can place it in the preferred location on your system.
I would suggest using Native Access for the entire installation and registration though, as it’s basically a one stop shop and quite painless.
If you still decide upon the SoundIron downloder, then As this is a licensed Kontakt player library, there is also the need to register it through Native Access, where you will also confirm the location.
Whichever method you elect to use, all of this is quite easy and takes only a few minutes to do after the download has completed.
Komplete Kontrol NKS Plug-in Edit Mapping
Page One – Layer 1 A
Knob 1 – Layer 1 On/Off
Knob 2 – Category (see content described later)
Knob 3 – Sound (See content described later)
Knob 4 – Volume
Knob 5 – Attack
Knob 6 – Sample offset
Knob 7 – Release
Knob 8 – Release Volume
Page Two – Layer 1 B
Knob 1 – Vibrato Depth
Knob 2 – Vibrato Rate
Knob 3 – Pan
Knob 4 – Width
Knob 5 – Autopan
Knob 6 – Pitch .M
Knob 7 – Pitch .M
Knob 8 – Unallocated
Page Three To Eight – Sound Layers Duplicated For Layers 2 To 4
Page Nine – Select & LFO
Knob 1 – Target Layer (1 to 4)
Knob 2 – LFO On/Off
Knob 3 – LFO Shape
Knob 4 – Target
Knob 5 – Sync On/Off
Knob 6 – Rate
Knob 7 – Intensity
Knob 8 – LFO Fade In
Page Ten – Filter
Knob 1 – On/Off
Knob 2 – Type
Knob 3 – Modulation
Knob 4 – Resonance
Knob 5 – Frequency
Knob 6 – Invert On/Off
Knob 7 & 8 – Not Allocated
Page Eleven – Arp
Knob 1 – On/Off
Knob 2 – Mode
Knob 3 – Table
Knob 4 – Swing
Knob 5 – Randomise
Knob 6 – Duration
Knob 7 – Direction
Knob 8 – Beat
Page Twelve – Gliss & Strumm
Knob 1 – Gliss Scale
Knob 2 – Curve
Knob 3 – Direction
Knob 4 – Gliss Rate
Knob 5 – Strumm Chord
Knob 6 – Duration
Knob 7 – Direction
Knob 8 – Rate
Page Thirteen – Scale, Lock, Cross fade, Velocity
Knob 1 – On/Off
Knob 2 – Key
Knob 3 – Scale
Knob 4 – X Fade Amount
Knob 5 – Velocity Minimum
Knob 6 – Velocity Maximum
Knob 7 & 8 – Not Allocated
NKS Mapping For Phrase Based Presets
Page One – Main
Knob 1 – Category
Knob 2 – Sound
Knob 3 – Volume
Knob 4 – Attack
Knob 5 – Sample Offset
Knob 6 – Release
Knob 7 – Width
Knob 8 – Pitch
Page Two – Legato & Playback
Knob 1 – Legato On/Off
Knob 2 – Speed
Knob 3 – Mode
Knob 4 – Stretch
Knob 5 to 8 – Not Allocated
Page Three – Sequencer
Knob 1 – On/Off
Knob 2 – Direction
Knob 3 – Step
Knob 4 – Start
Knob 5 – End
Knob 6 – Pitch
Knob 7 & 8 – Not Allocated
<pre class="wp-block-syntaxhighlighter-code"><br /><br /><strong> Accessibility</strong></pre>
At the time when I first had the opportunity to look at the library, there was a slight shortfall in the NKS mapping which although still usable, would have somewhat curtailed the general accessibility workflow particularly for smaller Komplete Kontrol keyboards such as the M32, which I felt was slightly inverse to the target audience.
After some fantastically receptive and intuitive dialog with the SoundIron library scripter, this was quickly addressed and given the thumbs up, this update has now been passed to Native Instruments, where after due course it should become available as an update.
With this in mind, the NKS mapping above may not match that which you currently receive should you choose to purchase the library, but be rest assured by hook or by crook it will land or be available at some point.
The update I recommended revolved around the selection of instruments, as only the category list was originally assigned via NKS, and although individual instruments were, and still are, selectable via keyswitching, on a small octave keyboard this would have been an onerous workflow.
The instrument selection has now been mapped to their own separate control, and there is also an extra page of controls per sound source available.
Core Sound Palette
The library is grouped into two sections, the chromatic traditionally played instruments, and the phrase based and looped material.
The rather brilliant SoundIron Kontakt engine means that there are up to four layers of sounds available to you, which can be mixed together or turned off entirely depending on your requirements, this versatility means that the potential for creative sound design extends far beyond that of a simple static instrument selection.
Multi Layers
In the Chromatic presets, layers one & two will offer you the following categories and sounds:
Orchestral = Olympus Choir, Mercury Boys Choir, Hyperion Strings, Hyperion Brass,
Vocals = Vocal Ensemble, Bass, Tenor 1, Tenor 2, Alto 1, Alto 2, Soprano, Boy Soprano,
Keys = Grand Piano, Pipe Organ, Electric Organ, Pump Organ,
Solo Instruments = Alto Glockenspiel, Bamboo Dry, Bamboo Hall, Circle Bells Mallet, Circle Bells Sustain, Cylinder Drum Dry, Cylinder Hall, Concert Harp, Harp Guitar, Imber Mallet, Imperphone Sustain, Kalimba Dry, Kalimba Hall, Music Box, Noah Bells, Steel Tones, Struck Grand, Toy Glockenspiel, Trumpet Sustains, Twine Bass, Twine Board, Violin Sustains, Violin Staccato, Violin Pizzicato, Water Harp Sustains, Water Harp Mallet, Water Harp FX, Whale Drum Dry, Whale Drum Hall, Wood Flute Sustains, Wood Flute Staccato, Wood Flute FX, Zitherette,
Percussion = All Percussion, Bamboo Lock, Clave, Dol Low, Dol High, Byan, Tablas, Triangle, Epic Bass Ensemble, Epic Tom Ensemble, Snare Drum, Bamboo Poles, Crash Cymbal, Bowed Cymbal Close, Bowed Cymbal Far,
Moving on to layers three & four we find the sound design and effect sections as follows:
Sound Design = Ambient Tones, Ambient Textures, FX Boomers, FX Reveals, FX Stingers, SFX GUI, SFX Environment, SFX Foley,
Sub Synth Sustains = Sine, Sine Soft, Sine Warm 1, Sine Warm 2, Sine Hard, Square, Square Hard 1, Square Hard 2, Saw, Saw Soft 1, Saw Soft 2, Saw Soft 3, Saw hard, Saw Hard Wide 1, Saw hard Wide 2, Triangle, White Noise, Pink Noise 1, Pink Noise 2, Brown Noise
Sub Synth Staccato = (As Above)
If you take all of the above sound sources and their subsequent possible blending connotations, and add the option to further adjust the attack, decay, sample offset, pitch, pan, width, & vibrato along with per layer LFO modulation, filtering, appregiator, gliss, Strumm and scale features, then you have quite a flexible palette of sound with which to approach your canvas.
Phrases
<pre class="wp-block-syntaxhighlighter-code"><br />The phrase based presets consist mostly of operatic vocal material in the Bass, Tenor, Alto & Soprano sections from the excellent SoundIron Voices of Rapture library, but you will also find a selection of content in the Alto range from their other popular vocal libraries Voices of Gaia & Voices of Wind along with some Wooden Flutes.</pre>
The Phrase engine does not have the same multiple sound layer choices, which does make sense, as quadrupling up on this type of content would most likely very quickly plummet into the realms of vocal cacophony!
In general the overall sound quality of the library is quite respectable.
I did notice a little noise on some longer samples, however the target aim for Core Micro is to offer a small footprint sketchpad for composers, and given the flexibility it can provide, I think it achieves this really well with little compromise.
Conclusion
Core Micro for me, scores highly on several levels, for composers on the move who want to draft out an idea while away from the studio, it offers a wide range of sounds which may not end up on the finished master, but will still provide that initial spark of imagination required to fire the initial creative idea.
For those who are tentatively expanding their collection of sample libraries and perhaps do not want to throw a heap of cash into a huge genre specific product, Core Micro can work to deliver a compendium of usable instruments, sounds & FX without the large financial outlay.
For media composition in film & game, the ability to accessibly select and manipulate the content of the four sound source layers is extremely useful, and the results can easily belie the cost of the library.
Finally the sample content that is contained within Core Micro serves as an excellent taster for other SoundIron libraries, kind of like buying one of those small tester paint pots before deciding to totally redecorate your house!
Kudos should also be given to SoundIron for their willingness to promptly address an accessibility suggestion, which immediately increased the potential of the product for it’s blind & visually impaired customer base.
Be sure to checkout the SoundIron videos linked below which demonstrate how the Core Micro library works in practice.
Core Micro from SoundIron can be purchased directly from their web site for $49.00
*Note that SoundIron are participants in the Able Artist Foundation discount scheme (see link below).
Core Micro Product Page:
https://soundiron.com/products/core-micro#:~:text=Core%20Micro%20is%20a%20powerful,total%20ease%2Dof%2Duse.
Core Micro Walkthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQCYjx03g48
Composing with Core Micro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F60bMio5Hbw
Able Artist Foundation Website:
https://www.ableartist.org/
c) Chris Ankin
KK-Access.com
2ND December 2022
Disclaimer
The author can not accept any responsibility for subsequent purchase decisions made as a result of this review,or Any inaccuracies found therein. All opinions and product functions stated are based solely on information perceived as a blind user whilst using the product and/or gathered from official factual sources such as the developer, web or supplied product manual.
About the Author
Based in Buckinghamshire, England, Chris Ankin has worked as a freelance review writer and contributor with articles published in Sound On Sound, Home & Studio Recording and ST Format Magazines.
He has also worked extensively in and around music, recording, film Soundtrack scoring, Game & media composition, the creative arts, Charitable trusts,publishing, music streaming and property investments since 1982 whilst continuously and deliberately managing to evade any mainstream recognition under his own name and various other pseudonyms.
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