PANORAMA ACOUSTIC BY SONORA CINEMATIC

KK-ACCESS REVIEW

Panorama Guitars became a very popular library among KK-Access readers judging on the feedback we received following our review last June.

Sonora Cinematic also received plenty of plaudits from the industry and wider audience, and in response to this success and user demand, have now released the natural follow up, in the form of Panorama Acoustic.

Taking three distinct acoustic guitar models as the core sample sources, and then meticulously sampling them whilst in the talented hands off guitarist and film composer Matteo Nahum, and once again wrapping the end results into the accessible and intuitive Sonora Cinematic Aria Kontakt Engine, sounds to me like another recipe for success, join me and let’s check it out!

TECH SPECS

Panorama Acoustic runs in Kontakt version 8.1 or higher, either the full version, or the free Kontakt Player edition.

It is compatible with all versions of Komplete Kontrol when hosting the appropriate Kontakt version.

The library requires 6.5GB of disk space for installation, and uses the NCW lossless compression file format for the sample content.

There is one master Kontakt NKI preset file, which is the source for a further 100 Kontakt NKSN snapshot presets, which are then divided among 6 categories.

DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION

Panorama Acoustic can be downloaded and installed entirely via Native access following authorisation of your post purchase license code.

The library will quickly be added to the factory browser of Komplete Kontrol using it’s auto scan feature after running either the standalone application, or your usual plug-in version within your DAW.

FULL KOMPLETE KONTROL PLUG-IN EDIT NKS PARAMETERS CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS REVIEW AFTER THE MEDIA SECTION

ACCESSIBILITY

Panorama Acoustic as mentioned once again uses the excellent bespoke Sonora Cinematic Aria Engine, which provides good levels of access and control of the libraries main user interface via it’s intuitive NKS mapping template.

The two sound layers each offer the user independent selection of the main sample articulations, which can be combined to your own specifications.

There are also independent LFO and filter controls for layers A & B, which also include 5 blendable waveforms for each layer.

Three separate effect slots can also be configured to create your own personal FX chain, selecting from a wide choice of popular effects.

The only user interface element for which we do not have access to via NKS is the X & Y axis, and also the ability to drag & drop in our own samples, which is unfortunate, but I guess technical limitations and related NKS inplementation have made this difficult, certainly where the latter is concerned.

ACOUSTIC DREAMSCAPES

Panorama Acoustic excels at putting those much sought after floty, dreamy, and ethereal sounds into your hands, the old adage less is more seems to permeate the ethos behind this library, and after all, why play a gazillion notes when merely playing and sustaining something more sparse and then letting them hang in the ether can itself often speak volumes.

Sonora Cinematic have made pragmatic choices regarding the acoustic guitars used to record the library, offering 3 models including steel stringed, Nylon strings, and a 12 string guitar which all equally contribute to bring you those desirable timbres from the unplugged acoustic world.

Each of these guitar models are suitably reflected within the available articulations, whose content is mirrored between each of the engine’s two sound layers.

this means you can combine any chosen combination of two articulations to achieve the final sound you might wish to create for your project.

PRESETS & SOUND DESIGN

If you do not wish to dabble with designing your own sounds, or perhaps just need a jumping off point befor doing so, then you can simply dive right into the ample collection of factory presets.

Here you will discover defined categories such as Impros Natural, Impros Processed, Motions, Single Strokes, Sound Design, & Tremolos, whose presets have all been carefully curated to reflect their namesakes.

There are single stroke playable representations for each guitar type, however much of the creative appeal behind Panorama Acoustic comes from the improv articulations.

Here, if you hold down a chord, the patch will play in an improvised style, reflecting the notes that you chose to play, depending upon the preset, or if editing, the sound articulation that you have selected, and these can be sparse, or dense in the improv style and frequency of note playback.

There are also plucked, picked, tremolos , harmonic, granular, and other variants, which when melded together with the second layer, can produce some particularly appealing ambient and animated soundscapes, and in most cases the modulation wheel can be used to crossfade between the two sound layers.

CHAIN REACTION

Whilst the initial choice of articulations will certainly form the key fundamentals of your final sound, the 3 part flexible effects chain featured within Panorama Acoustic can also go a long way to deliver that final polished and atmospheric end result.

Here, the NKS mapping is duplicated across 2 mapped NKS pages for each of the A, B, & C, effect modules.

However, as we observed with the original Panorama Guitars, The noteworthy NKS scripting here is dynamic, meaning that dependant upon which effect type you choose for each individual FX rack the NKS control map gets updated accordingly.

Whether you opt to use delay, reverb, lo-fi, or indeed any other of the many included inbuilt Native Instruments Kontakt Fx, the NKS mappings will immediately be refreshed to then reflect any advanced controls for the effect that you have selected for each of the 3 racks on their relative second page.

PANORAMA ACOUSTIC – AMBIENT, REFLECTIVE, IMMERSIVE

Panorama Acoustic sounds fantastic with lashings of long, warm spatial type reverb, and although those included within the library do sound just fine, I decided to throw on some Eventide Black hole which is generally my go to for sounds of this nature, and it added another level of beauty, where the notes would linger in the air, and the gentle guitar noodling provided enough movement to retain interest.

There are other preset examples which are more experimental, and while they may not see everyday use, it does demonstrate the versatility of what can be achieved with the articulation and effect combos.

Do take a look at the Panorama Acoustic walkthrough video linked in the media section at the end of the review, there is also a detailed look at the Sonora Cinematic Aria Kontakt engine.

If you already happen to own Panorama Guitars, then there is a further discount available on the already reasonable introductory price of Panorama Acoustic, also detailed at the end of this review.

CONCLUSION

Panorama Acoustic is a perfect partner for Panorama Guitars, and can provide composers with a Yin & Yang guitar sound palette whenever either bold or subtle ambient guitar brushstrokes are called for within a project.

Some ideal scenarios for it’s use would be cinematic, media, game, app, soundscapes, or ambient music productions, but of course many other genres can potentially make good use of these sounds.

The continued use of the Sonora Cinematic Aria Kontakt engine, means that accessibility remains at a good level for blind & visually impaired owners, and the reasonable price point mean it’s possible to obtain those guitar flavours you need without breaking the bank.

Panorama Acoustic is available from Sonora Cinematic for the introductory price of £49.00 (regularly £59.00)

Panorama Acoustic Upgrade (for existing Panorama Guitars & Aria Bundle customers) – £39.00

Panorama Acoustic Product Page:
https://sonoracinematic.com/products/panorama-acoustic-by-sonora-cinematic?srsltid=AfmBOorIdmOwTn0mlloD2Dk_3a6MJYiOtud2994fU8ZwpuXKc7wNpbqw

Panorama Acoustic Walkthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4KPtN74LE

Aria Engine Manual:
https://sonoracinematic.com/pages/aria-engine

KOMPLETE KONTROL PLUG-IN EDIT NKS PARAMETER MAPPING

Page One – Main Controllers

Knob 1 – Sound A (selection)
Knob 2 – Sound A, Volume
Knob 3 – Sound B (selection)
Knob 4 – Sound B, Volume
Knob 5 – Attack
Knob 6 – Release
Knob 7 – Interval, (tuning between layers plus or minus 12 semitones)
Knob 8 – DAL NIENTE On/Off (linked to CC11 expression where if turned on defines lowest level as silence)

Page Two – LFO & Filter A

Knob 1 – Frequency, (in Hertz or beat values depending on sync mode being off or on)
Knob 2 – Sync, On/Off
Knob 3 – Volume Intensity
Knob 4 – Pan Intensity
Knob 5 – Filter, On/Off
Knob 6 – Frequency Cut-Off
Knob 7 – Resonance
Knob 8 – Filter Intensity

Page Three – LFO Waveform Layer A

Knob 1 – Sine
Knob 2 – Triangle
Knob 3 – Rectangle
Knob 4 – Saw
Knob 5 – Random
Knob 6 to 8 – Unallocated

Page Four – LFO & Filter Layer B (as per page two)

Page Five – LFO Waveform Layer B (as per page three)

Page Six – FX Slot Layer A

Knob 1 – FX : None, AC Box, Bass IMB, Bass Pro, Hot Solo, Cat, Cry Wah, Distortion, Stortion, Dirt, Bite, Lo-Fi, Screamer, Tape, Wild Flood, CL. Delay, Replika, Psych Delay, Twin Delay, Out Rev, Plate, Raum, Choral, Flair, Freak, Phasis, Ring Mod, Rotator, Vibe Chr,
Knob 2 – Rate, Hertz
Knob 3 – Blend
Knob 4 – Width
Knob 5 – Mix
Knob 6 to 8 – Unallocated

Page Seven – Additional Controls & Advanced – Relating to previous page

Knob 1 to 8 TBC – Dynamic adjusts to effect selection

Page Eight – FX Slot B (as per page six)

Page Nine – Additional Controls (dynamic dependent upon loaded effect)

Page Ten – FX Slot C

Page Eleven – Additional Controls & Advanced (dynamic content dependent upon loaded effect)

(c) Chris Ankin

KK-Access.com

2ND April 2025

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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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