GRAVITY 2 BY HEAVYOCITY
KK-ACCESS REVIEW
When the press release for the latest Heavyocity product landed on my desk, I was slightly startled to read that it had been almost eight years since the release of the original and genre busting Gravity library.
Sure enough after checking the facts, it had been one of the first reviews I wrote under the guise of KK-Access way back in 2017.
Many reviews have come and gone since then, however there are some products which still stand the test of time.
Among these, Heavyocity libraries with their unique signature sounds remain widely used within the industry, and certainly Gravity along with Damage have become prerequisites for many trailer composers templates.
GRAVITY 2 – FALLING TO EARTH
Inevitably any popular product will eventually generate it’s own sequel, and so it is that we eagerly hold our hands up to the skies, in a bid to catch Gravity 2 as it crashes down to earth!
TECH SPECS
Gravity 2 runs in both Kontakt full version & Kontakt Player versions 7.60 and above, and is compatible with Komplete Kontrol.
Komplete Kontrol 3 & NKS 2 is supported, although there are no specific features that take advantage of this.
The library requires 9.55GB of disk storage for the NCW format sample files.
There are three master Kontakt NKI files which relate to the Gravity 2 instrument & bank types,and these in turn by my counting feed a further 600 NKSN snapshot files.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION
The download & installation comes courtesy of the Heavyocity portal which is mostly accessible with a screen reader.
The portal will download, unpack and assemble your Gravity 2 library to your chosen location, or you can opt to move it later, as long as you then locate the path within Native Access, speaking of which, the same serial number is required to authorise it for your use within Komplete Kontrol.
KOMPLETE KONTROL PLUG-IN EDIT NKS CONTROL MAPPINGS
<pre class="wp-block-syntaxhighlighter-code"><br /><br /><strong> Gravity 2 Designer, G2 Menu & G2 Menu XL (Mappings are duplicated for each master Kontakt NKI)</strong> </pre>
Page One – Macro Controls
Knob 1 – Macro Amount
Knob 2 – Modulation On/Off
Knob 3 – Modulation Amount
Knob 4 – Envelope
Knob 5 – Tone
Knob 6 – Drive
Knob 7 – Motion
Knob 8 – Space
Page Two – Macro LFO
Knob 1 – Macro LFO On/Off
Knob 2 – Rate (Hz)
Knob 3 – Spread
Knob 4 – Envelope
Knob 5 – Tone
Knob 6 – Drive
Knob 7 – Motion
Knob 8 – Space
Page Three – Mixer
Knob 1 – Random On/Off
Knob 2 – Drift
Knob 3 – Scatter
Knob 4 – Volume Channel 1
Knob 5 – Volume Channel 2
Knob 6 – Volume Channel 3
Knob 7 – Mixer X
Knob 8 – Mixer Y
Page Four – Punish & Filter
Knob 1 – Punish On/Off
Knob 2 – Punish Amount
Knob 3 – Bass
Knob 4 – Response
Knob 5 – Tone
Knob 6 – Filter On/Off
Knob 7 – Cut
Knob 8 – Resonance
Page Five – EQ
Knob 1 – EQ On/Off
Knob 2 – Amount
Knob 3 – Gain
Knob 4 – Frequency
Knob 5 – Gain
Knob 6 – Frequency
Knob 7 – Gain
Knob 8 – Frequency
Page Six – Compressor
Knob 1 – Compressor On/Off
Knob 2 – Threshold
Knob 3 – Ratio
Knob 4 – Attack
Knob 5 – Release
Knob 6 – Make-Up
Knob 7 – Mix
Knob 8 – Unallocated
Page Seven – Modulation
Knob 1 – Modulation On/Off
Knob 2 – Rate (Hz)
Knob 3 – Amount
Knob 4 – Feedback
Knob 5 – Width
Knob 6 – Mix
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated
Page Eight – Delay
Knob 1 – Delay On/Off
Knob 2 – Time 1/1 to 1/32 (Including Triplets)
Knob 3 – Feedback
Knob 4 – Pitch
Knob 5 – Width
Knob 6 – Level
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated
Page Nine – Reverb
Knob 1 – Reverb On/Off
Knob 2 – Pre-Delay
Knob 3 – Size
Knob 4 – Damp
Knob 5 – Modulation
Knob 6 – Mix
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated
ACCESSIBILITY
As I always mention, there is inevitably a number of advance features that we are unable to access and control purely using NKS, so the large number of available presets is usually going to be the accepted saving grace for Heavyocity products where blind users are concerned.
I did however note one or two discrepancies when compared to the parameters that were made available for automation within Kontakt in comparison to the Komplete Kontrol mappings.
Looking at the parameters directly within Kontakt 7, there are Pan controls available for each of the three Channels which have not been carried forward over to the NKS mapping.
Likewise, and perhaps more importantly, per per channel Tuning has also been omitted.
The EQ controls within the Komplete Kontrol pages appear not to be labelled according to their frequency ranges, so Low, Mid & High are available in that order.
Finally, I noticed that in the Kontakt parameters, there was an on & off switch for the LFO sync, which was missing within the NKS mapping, this means that if the LFO for a preset is turned off then it is not possible to turn it on via NKS in order to sync to your DAW tempo, and the rate control reads in Hertz rather than tempo rates such as 1/1, 1/4/1/8/1/16 etc, which from a musical perspective makes syncing to your DAW a tricky affair if you are dealing with Hertz values.
G2 THE NEW GRAVITAS
The inevitable question folk will ask, is what’s the difference between Gravity 1 & Gravity 2?
In answer to this, Heavyocity have not strayed too far from the original product concept, and in fairness, why would they, with an already successful product structure in place.
There are however, over 1000 new sound sources crammed into the 9.5GB sample pool, and in true Heavyocity style these have been processed and polished into another huge collection of presets which should satiate the hunger pains of media composers for some time to come.
G2 PRESET EXPLORATION
The Gravity 2 library is divided into three areas, the gravity 2 Designer, the G2 Menu, & G2 Menu XL.
The Designer is where users would create & craft their own presets, dipping into the GUI browser to choose from the included sample pool to mix and match up to three channels of material.
We are sadly unable to access these browsers via NKS, so instead need to load and tweak the existing available presets that Heavyocity have already designed.
There is plenty of content to explore here, helpfully sub divided into categories.
Cue Creators, Rhythmic Beds, Tonal Textures, Atonal Textures, Modal Textures, Stings, Transitions, & Impacts, all offering us precisely what their titles suggest, and enable the user to quickly find a preset to match the next track cue point.
MENU & MENU XL
The Menu & Menu XL presets respectively provide 36 & 72 individual sounds mapped across the keyboard, which is great for the combined playback of several samples, and is likely to be our best workaround for reaching the browser sounds not accessible through NKS.
I would like to have seen the ability to map a single sound across the keyboard range, which is something possible using the ‘Expand Source’ control from the mouse driven user interface, but again this is not available through either NKS or Keyswitches.
Talking of keyswitches, these are assigned and used to control pitch of single sounds within the aforementioned menu and menu xl multi sound presets.
Although we are not able to accessibly customise the duration of time based presets such as risers, these presets have been tagged with bar lengths which is certainly helpful, however precise bar & beat tweaking is not achievable for us via NKS.
THE PULL OF GRAVITY
I cannot in all earnest find fault with the sound design quality of Gravity 2.
Heavyocity know their onions (or should I say Apples if adhering to the Isaac Newton theme of Gravity!), when it comes to creating presets that are instantly production ready, and it is entirely possible to quickly produce a polished sounding slice of perfectly credible audio media by sorting your way through this inspiring sound toy box.
There are some great presets like ‘A Haunting Ordeal’ found in the Cue Builders section.
This delivers an ideal instant bedrock of evolving spookiness, a kind of granular radio interference layered with a haunting and drifting pitch sound, with a sparse percussive tapping layer, it can instantly provide an introductory ambience with perhaps no need for further embellishment.
With some 600 presets including those multi menu patches at your fingertips then the sonic playground becomes quite substantial.
As always Heavyocity have come up with an excellent series of walkthrough videos which perfectly demonstrates the potential of Gravity 2, and I would recommend giving them a watch to absorb the full impact of G2.
CONCLUSION
Gravity 2 is a natural progression of the iconic original, building further on the concept of the first version.
It is, and has always been, much more than just a rise & hit trailer production kit, although it certainly excels in that particular arena.
In terms of access for blind & vision impaired users who rely solely on NKS implementation, then G2 offers little difference from that of the original, and may even be a slight regression in this respect, and will perhaps be a considered purchase for those not working in the professional market.
however for those who do gain returns from the field of modern media production, then this fresh injection of presets may still tip the balance of bang for buck over accessibility versus value for money.
Casting an eye over the impressive list of Hollywood composer endorsements is further testimony that this new edition of Gravity2 is still likely to remain a force to be reckoned with in the genre.
Gravity 2 by Heavyocity can be purchased directly from their website. For a limited time, Heavyocity is offering GRAVITY 2 for $349 (reg. $449). In addition, owners of GRAVITY 1 or any GRAVITY Pack will get an additional $50 off with serial. Offers end November 3, 2023.
Gravity 2 Product Page:
https://heavyocity.com/product/gravity-2/
Gravity 2 Content Overview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OzHmCyZ_yI
Gravity 2 Preset Playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDWl3fz7KaM
Gravity 2 Quick Start Guide:
https://heavyocity.com/Downloads/Gravity2_Quickstart.pdf
(c) Chris Ankin
KK-Access.com
30TH October 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 managing to evade any mainstream recognition under his own name by the use of various pseudonyms.
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