STACCATO BY ARTISTRY AUDIO
KK-ACCESS REVIEW
Artistry Audio have now become a notable developer in the sample library marketplace, particularly since adopting the NKS & Kontakt player platform, which for blind & visually impaired customers will now make their products available to use through Komplete Kontrol & NKS.
Their portfolio of releases has been steadily growing, and includes Monolith (Infinite Bass Engine), Scorpio (Synth Motion Engine) & Origin X (Modern Loop Engine). As you can see from the titles, movement and motion is very much at the forefront of the Artistry Audio output, which continues in Staccato (Synths in motion) their latest product.
STACCATO
Their new library Staccato, is designed to provide composers with a Kontakt engine that offers a tool for easily adding pulsing, driving, melodic & rhythmic content into their tracks, whilst simultaneously spanning a wide range of genre poss abilities into the bargain.
TECH SPECS
Staccato runs in either the full version of Kontakt 6.7.0 or above, and also the equivalent free Kontatk Player, and as such is also Komplete Kontrol compatible.
The library will require 2.26GB of space for installation, using the NCW compression format.
There is a single master Kontakt NKI file, and a further 216 NKSN Kontakt snapshot files which are used as the preset format.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION
Following purchase, your provided authorisation code can simply be pasted into Native Access which will then register, download & install the entire product for you without fuss or bother.
Loading up an instance of Komplete Kontrol in your favourite DAW will give almost instant access to Staccato and it’s presets following the initial startup scan.
KOMPLETE KONTROL PLUG-IN EDIT NKS PARAMETER MAPPING
PAGE ONE – Main, Layer 1, Layer 2, FX, SEQ
Knob 1 – Big Knob
Knob 2 – Crossfade
Knob 3 – Main Volume
Knob 4 – Not Allocated
Knob 5 – Layer 1 Volume
Knob 6 – Layer 2 Volume
Knob 7 – FX On/Off
Knob 8 – Seq On/Off
PAGE TWO – Macro
Knob 1 – Macro Filter
Knob 2 – Macro Equaliser
Knob 3 – Tube Comp
Knob 4 – Macro Modulation
Knob 5 – Delay
Knob 6 – Macro Reverb
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated
PAGE THREE – Filter, arplf Frequency, ArpHPF Frequency
Knob 1 – Filter On/Off
Knob 2 – AR LPF Frequency
Knob 3 – Resonance
Knob 4 – Not Allocated
Knob 5 – AR HPF Frequency
Knob 6 – Resonance
Knob 7 & 8 – Not ~Allocated
PAGE FOUR – EQ, Low, Low Mid, Low High, High
Knob 1 – EQ On/Off
Knob 2 – Low Freq
Knob 3 – Low Freq Gain
Knob 4 – Low Mid Gain
Knob 5 – Low High Freq
Knob 6 – Low High Gain
Knob 7 – High Freq
Knob 8 – High Gain
PAGE FIVE – Tube, Limiter
Knob 1 – Tube On/Off
Knob 2 – Input
Knob 3 – Compressor
Knob 4 – Saturation
Knob 5 – Mix
Knob 6 – Tube Output
Knob 7 – Limiter Input
Knob 8 – Limiter Output
PAGE SIX – Modulation
Knob 1 – Modulation On/Off
Knob 2 – Depth
Knob 3 – Speed
Knob 4 – Phase
Knob 5 – Feedback
Knob 6 – Wet
Knob 7 & 8 – Not Allocated
PAGE SEVEN – Delay
Knob 1 – Delay On/Off
Knob 2 – Delay Time
Knob 3 – Delay Sync
Knob 4 – Feedback
Knob 5 – Low Cut
Knob 6 – High Cut
Knob 7 – Wet Mix
Knob 8 – Panning
PAGE EIGHT – Reverb
Knob 1 – Reverb On/Off
Knob 2 – Pre-Delay
Knob 3 – Size
Knob 4 – Low Cut
Knob 5 – High Cut
Knob 6 – Time
Knob 7 – Damp
Knob 8 – Wet Mix
PAGE NINE – Sequencer
Knob 1 – Volume
Knob 2 – A & B Mix
Knob 3 – Filter
Knob 4 – EQ
Knob 5 – GT Comp
Knob 6 – Mod
Knob 7 – Delay
Knob 8 – Reverb
PAGE TEN – Layer 1, Filter
Knob 1 – Layer 1 Pan
Knob 2 – Layer 1 Stereo
Knob 3 – Layer 1 Transpose
Knob 4 – Layer 1 Sample Start
Knob 5 – Attack
Knob 6 – Release
Knob 7 – Filter On/Off
Knob 8 – Filter Frequency
PAGE ELEVEN – Layer 2, Filter
Knob 1 – Layer 2 Pan
Knob 2 – Layer 2 Stereo
Knob 3 – Layer 2 Transpose
Knob 4 – Layer 2 Sample Start
Knob 5 – Attack
Knob 6 – Release
Knob 7 – Filter On/Off
Knob 8 – Filter Frequency
PAGE TWELVE – Motion 1, Volume, Pan, Filter, Pitch
Knob 1 – Motion 1 On/Off
Knob 2 – Re trigger On/Off
Knob 3 – Speed
Knob 4 – Steps
Knob 5 – Volume On/Off
Knob 6 – Pan On/Off
Knob 7 – Filter On/Off
Knob 8 – Pitch On/Off
PAGE THIRTEEN – Motion21, Volume, Pan, Filter, Pitch
Knob 1 – Motion 2 On/Off
Knob 2 – Re trigger On/Off
Knob 3 – Speed
Knob 4 – Steps
Knob 5 – Volume On/Off
Knob 6 – Pan On/Off
Knob 7 – Filter On/Off
Knob 8 – Pitch On/Off
PAGE FOURTEEN – Arp 1, Velocity, Octave, Gate, Prob, Stutter, Transpose
Knob 1 – Arp 1 On/Off
Knob 2 – Speed
Knob 3 – Velocity Steps
Knob 4 – Octave Steps
Knob 5 – Gate Steps
Knob 6 – Prob Steps
Knobs 7 – Stutter Steps
Knob 8 – Transpose Steps
PAGE FIFTEEN – Arp 2, Velocity, Octave, Gate, Prob, Stutter, Transpose
Knob 1 – Arp 2 On/Off
Knob 2 – Speed
Knob 3 – Velocity Steps
Knob 4 – Octave Steps
Knob 5 – Gate Steps
Knob 6 – Prob Steps
Knobs 7 – Stutter Steps
Knob 8 – Transpose Steps
ACCESSIBILITY
Artistry Audio have made a good effort in assigning 15 pages of NKS controls. Although in practice, purely from an accessibility viewpoint, not all of them will offer you the extended opportunity to roll up your sleeves and fully create and shape the factory presets into something you can call your own.
I was initially encouraged to read within the manual that there was an extensive dice roll randomise facility which could be used to create our own presets, but was disappointed to discover that it was not available through NKS, possibly for technical reasons.
However, all was not lost, and as we will discover when I elaborate further, there is a solution that I feel can work really well alongside the existing NKS mapping for this particular library.
THE STACCATO ENGINE
There are two sound layers, both of which have separate and independent arp sections, these arps can be turned off to let you play the sounds in a more conventional keys style, but as the title implies, the real life force behind Staccato is in providing rhythmical and pulsing arps and patterns to your music tracks.
NKS CONTROL
There are as I mentioned a good number of pages given to NKS control, a large proportion of which relate to the various FX, Filter & Modulation sections.
When attempting to shape the existing presets, it was important to check that the parameter I was working with was actually turned on, obvious you may think, but I did find myself hitting the page up and down buttons in order to verify the state of play when something did not immediately seem to be having the desired action on the sound I was editing elsewhere.
ARP
For a library based largely on arp and sequence patterns, there was not a vast amount of programmability provided through the NKS mapping, this is not a criticism of Artistry Audio, I suspect that it is more a case that in order to incorporate any more advanced arp or sequencer features, it often requires and takes up quite a number of additional pages of mapping, and the workflow is not always as intuitive as one would hope in this situation.
ALTERNATIVE WORKFLOW
Staccato has somewhat made me go out on a lim , and suggest to you that it is actually more intuitive and productive to use this library outside of the Komplete Kontrol environment, which is something I do not recall ever saying before!
By loading up the Staccato master NKI file into Kontakt 6 on it’s own reveals a whopping 307 parameters that have been made available for automation when viewed in a DAW parameter list, (in my case Reaper on Windows).
This means that we have more finite control over the shaping and sound design potential than is possible from inside Komplete Kontrol alone.
The caveat may be that depending on your platform & DAW, not all of us will be able to access the snapshot based presets as readily as we can within Komplete Kontrol.
There is however another saving grace on what some may see as a bit of an accessibility roller coaster, and this is that if the master Staccato NKI file is loaded into Kontatk 6, and we use our OCR (Optical Character Recognition), then it is possible to find the Random button which for us with Staccato is going to be the holy grail of a personalised sound design experience.
STACCATO, THE IDEA STARTER
I quickly found myself hitting the random button, where Staccato would then generate all sorts of very useful new tempo synced presets, which I could then tweak further within Kontakt to obtain the result I desired.
I was then able to save the preset with a new name (which is important to avoid overwriting the Staccato master NKI), as a preset only, it would then be found inside the main Staccato sample library instruments folder.
Rescanning Komplete Kontrol would then add my new preset to the KK browser, still within the factory side, and I could then additionally use the assigned NKS mapping to make further edits.
This workflow on the surface, may seem a little unorthodox, particularly when as a reviewer I am supposed to be concentrating on the use of NKS and Komplete Kontrol, worked surprisingly well, and within half an hour I had created over 20 new presets that I could legitimately call my own.
STACCATO FACTORY PRESETS
For the less adventurous, Staccato does already come with an impressive number of factory presets which demonstrate the potential of the library, and they do span across a broad section of genres.
Many of the presets as you would expect, make excellent use of the arp feature, offsetting the two layers to create elaborate sounding poly rhythms, there is also a nice stutter effect which can throw a melodic or rhythmic trill into the pattern which makes for some added interest, and will certainly work very well with those music styles that frequently make use of this technique.
In most cases the modulation wheel has been programmed so that in the lower position the preset is dry, while pushing up will gradually introduce the FX and or modulation, which is a sensible approach.
The presets have been well crafted and belie the fact that there are only two sound layers, this is due to the clever use of added delay, reverb, filtering and creative rhythmic variations.
There are plenty of mallets, chimes, tick tock tensions, deep saw wave bass sounds, rhythmic pads, dystopian atmospheres, EDM, glitch, ambient sequences and cinematic soundscapes to keep sparking those musical ideas, certainly in this respect Staccato is really useful as an inspirational tool alone.
Do checkout the videos I have linked at the review footer to explore the sound possibilities that Staccato can offer in your creative pursuits.
CONCLUSION
For what it offers I believe Staccato to be excellent value for the number of presets it provides, and the level of NKS access despite some limitations still exceeds similar libraries of it’s type that cost much more.
If you are able to engage with the additional workflow usage that I have outlined with Kontakt to generate your own presets, then the value will increase exponentially, as the ability to truly make something our own is a commodity we can all too often be denied in the world of Komplete Kontrol.
Staccato (Synths in motion) is available to purchase from the Artistry Audio website for the introductory price of $99.00 (regularly $149.00).
Staccato Product Page:
https://artistryaudio.com/staccato/
Staccato – Product Overview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf5cTNRW7zY
Staccato – Preset Playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hlXDbrjrdE
Staccato – Instruments in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKG6mmZJjmo
(c) Chris Ankin
KK-Access.com
19th May 2023
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 successfully worked extensively in and around the 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 managed to evade any mainstream recognition under his own name by the use of various pseudonyms.
E&OE
KK-ACCESS 