OBSIDIAN BRASS BY EMERGENCE AUDIO

KK-ACCESS REVIEW

Things turn decidedly darker in this new release from Emergence Audio, as an Ambient French Horn takes centre stage, and becomes the very latest instrument to be fed through their Infinite Motion Engine™.

As always this unique sound processing engine puts a new spin on the traditional, and transforms the sounds into something atypical, yet still successfully manages to retain the core elements of the original instrument sound, with the results offering composers a real sense of atmospheric dark majesty.

TECH SPECS

Obsidian Brass runs in Kontakt 7.7 or higher, either the full version, or the free Kontakt Player.

It is compatible with all versions of Komplete Kontrol hosting the above Kontakt specifications.

The library requires 4GB of disk space for installation, and uses the NCW lossless compression format for the 24bit 48kHz sample content.

There is one master Obsidian Brass Kontakt NKI preset, which is the source for a further 125 + Kontakt NKSN snapshots divided among several categories.

Emergence Audio has as ever, also provided a further selection of 15 Kontakt NKM multi presets, which combine various single presets in a multi mapped patch.

DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION

Obsidian Brass can be downloaded and installed entirely through Native Access, just paste in your post purchase serial number to register, locate the product, and hit install.

Once completed, running an instance of Komplete Kontrol will add the library to your factory database ready for use.

FULL KOMPLETE KONTROL PLUG-IN EDIT NKS PARAMETER MAPPINGS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE END OF THE REVIEW FOLLOWING THE MEDIA LINKS SECTION

ACCESSIBILITY

At this juncture, I seem to find myself repeating words from previous Emergence audio product reviews, and our regular followers will know what’s coming, but for new readers, rest assured that the NKS accessibility continues to be excellent.

The NKS mapping is now uniform across All Emergence Audio libraries, meaning that all features of the Infinite Motion Engine™ have been made usable via NKS, such as individual sample articulation selection for each of the two layers, LFO, ADSR, filters, and other effects.

OBSIDIAN BRASS ARTICULATIONS

Emergence Audio have carefully captured 21 sample articulations from the French Horn, and these are duplicated for both Layers 1 & 2, which will enable users to mix, match, and blend any combination they choose when designing their own presets.

Here are the articulations included:

Double Tongue, Flutter, Grace HS, Hand Bends, Lip Trills, Sforzando, SFZ Swells, Staccato, Sustain Open, sus Swells, Triple Tongue, TWA, Vibrato, Grace WS, SFZ Sustain, Swell Shot, Stack Stop, Sus Stop, Sus SWLST, TWA Stop, and Vibrato Stop.

Once selected, each layer can then be independently mixed, panned and tuned, and , crossfading between the two layers is available using the modwheel.

The global LFO can be synced to your project with beat divisions, or alternatively left free running using Hertz values, we can also ramp up the LFO intensity, as well as apply a selection of waveform types.

There are per layer ADSR envelopes, and also both Low and High Pass filters with resonance controls.

EFECTS

Obsidian Brass has an impressive collection of outboard effects, in particular, the reverb has a nice selection of 50 different impulse response types available, rather than just the usual Room, Hall, or Plate ambiences, there is actually a broad choice with some deliciously long tails, useful for those lush and atmospheric ambient washes!

The delay can be synced to your project, or if you prefer to turn off the sync, then you can make finite adjustments in milliseconds.

Next up we have the Distortion & Saturation, Lo-Fi, & Tape.

Impressively all of the above effects are not merely confined to a global two layer blanket application, they can be applied to either layer 1, layer 2, or both layers which certainly adds an extra level of flexibility seldom seen elsewhere in other libraries.

We finally round off the effects section with Stereo, Rotator, Chorus, and Phaser.

Obsidian brass – presets

There are familiar categories of presets within Obsidian Brass, which should make any existing emergence Audio product owners immediately feel right at home.

Alternates, Correlated,Experiments, Infinite Drones, Infinite Pads, Pulses, & Swells, are all familiar territory for existing owners.

I would highly recommend checking out the walkthrough in order to fully appreciate what these categories translate to in actual sounds, as they are a mainstay across all of Emergence Audio’s now expansive product portfolio.

There is also the chance to try out Emergence audio libraries by grabbing yourself a free copy of their Infinite Collection Kontakt Player library, (also linked in the media section).

My favourite, and ever faithful and invaluable ‘random’ control is again safely assigned to knob 8 on page 1, this has an instantly gratifying result of generating a new preset for you, and can be a useful source of inspiration.

OBSIDIAN SOUNDS

There are a plethora of interesting and varied sounds waiting to be explored within Obsidian Brass.

As mentioned the general tonality of the French Horn, and biting brass timbres, with post processing do lend themselves extremely well towards a darker mood and ambience.

However the wider flexibility of the engine still offers plenty of scope to a lighter side when needed.

It excels at creating those menacing sci fi pads and dystopian drones, but can just as happily add some brighter inflections to a track.

As always the sounds are non-static, that is to say there is a constant evolvement and movement in either the timbre, envelope, pitch, or LFO depending on the parameter settings, making it a viable contender for film scoring work, game sound, or ambient soundscapes.

Again, do make a point of checking out the walkthrough to explore and hear the creative options it could bring to your music.

CONCLUSION

I often find myself comparing instruments and sound to the colour choices made by an artist, although this is perhaps somewhat of a cliche, we are in our way alternatively instead painting pictures with sound.

The emergence Audio library portfolio, is now well stocked with a plentiful array of colours and textures, Obsidian Brass being the latest edition to potentially add to your creative musical palette.

Brass is a brand new shade that will sit nicely alongside the existing Cello, Violin, Clarinet, Flute, Soprano, Tenor, Piano, or even their more eclectic releases, giving composers the opportunity to use some even broader and bolder brushstrokes.

There are no concerns in my recommendation for the accessibility, as reliable consistency across all of the product range is now well established.

If you are looking for some unusual other worldly brass sounds that reject the more traditional approach if favour of something more unconventional, then take a look at Obsidian Brass.

Obsidian Brass can be purchased directly from the Emergence Audio website for the introductory price of $79.00, (regular price will be $119.00)

Obsidian Brass Product Page:
https://emergenceaudio.com/product/obsidian-brass/

Obsidian Brass Official Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYwwBvlrOB0

Obsidian Brass – Walkthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzSrSFM_HnU

Infinite Collection Free Library:
https://emergenceaudio.com/product/infinite-collection/

Obsidian Brass – User Manual:
https://emergenceaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Obsidian-Brass_Quick-Guide.pdf

KOMPLETE KONTROL PLUG-IN EDIT NKS PAGE MAPPINGS

Page One – Master, Main Fx

Knob 1 – Crossfade (between two sound layers)
Knob 2 – Expression
Knob 3 – LFO sync On/Off
Knob 4 – LFO speed: In Hz or beat values dependent upon sync value
Knob 5 – LFO Intensity
Knob 6 – Main FX LFO Wave: Off, Sine, Triangle, Saw, Square, Random
Knob 7 – Reverb
Knob 8 – Random: On/Off – applies the randomiser to the currently loaded preset

Page Two – Layer 1 & Layer 2 settings

Knob 1 – Layer 1 sound Selection
Knob 2 – Layer 1 Volume
Knob 3 – Layer 1 Pan
Knob 4 – Layer 1 tune plus or minus 1 Octave
Knob 5 to 8 – As above for Layer 2

Page Three – Layer 1 & Layer 2 Envelope

Knob 1 – Layer 1 attack
Knob 2 – Layer 1 decay
Knob 3 – Layer 1 sustain
Knob 4 – Layer 1 release
Knob 5 to 8 – As above for layer 2

Page Four – Layer 1 & Layer 2 Filters

Knob 1 – Layer 1 Low pass cut-off
Knob 2 – Layer 1 Low Pass resonance
Knob 3 – Layer 1 High Pass Cut-Off
Knob 4 – Layer 1 High Pass resonance
Knob 5 to 8 – As above for layer 2

Page Five – Reverb

Knob 1 – Reverb On/Off
Knob 2 – Reverb Presets: multiple selections
Knob 3 – Dry/Wet Balance
Knob 4 – Pre-Delay
Knob 5 – size
Knob 6 – Low Pass
Knob 7 – High Pass
Knob 8 – Layer application: L1, L2, L1 & L2

Page Six – Delay

Knob 1 – Delay On/Off
Knob 2 – Dry/Wet Balance
Knob 3 – delay Sync: On/Off
Knob 4 – Time: Milliseconds or Beat values dependent upon sync mode
Knob 5 – Feedback
Knob 6 – Damping
Knob 7 – Delay Pan
Knob 8 – Layer Application: L1, L2, L1 & L2

Page Seven – distortion, Saturation

Knob 1 – distortion On/Off
Knob 2 – Drive
Knob 3 – Layer Application: L1, L2, L1 & L2
Knob 4 – Not allocated
Knob 5 – saturation On/Off
Knob 6 – Saturate level
Knob 7 – Layer application: L1, L2, L1 & L2

Page Eight – Lo-Fi

Knob 1 – Lo-Fi On/Off
Knob 2 – Bits: off, or selectable value
Knob 3 – Sample Rate: off, or a selectable value
Knob 4 – Noise
Knob 5 – Colour (tone)
Knob 6 – Layer Application: L1, L2, or L1 & L2
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated

Page Nine – tape

Knob 1 – Tape On/Off
Knob 2 – Gain
Knob 3 – Warmth
Knob 4 – Roll Off
Knob 5 – Layer Application: L1, L2, or L1 & L2

Page Ten – Extra Fx

Knob 1 – Stereo On/Off
Knob 2 – Width
Knob 3 – Rotator On/Off
Knob 4 – Amount
Knob 5 – Chorus On/Off
Knob 6 – Mix
Knob 7 – Phaser On/Off
Knob 8 – Mix

(c) Chris Ankin

KK-Access.com

12TH May 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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