LATITUDE LATIN ROCK PERCUSSION BY ORANGE TREE SAMPLES
KK-ACCESS REVIEW
It is widely recognised by industry and users alike that Orange Tree Samples have arguably created and released some of the most authentic sounding guitar sample libraries over the past two decades.
Now with The release of Latitude Latin Rock Percussion their sampling expertise shifts in a different direction, with the promise of a truly vast collection of 376 percussive instruments at your fingertips.
Latitude Latin rock percussion has been something of a labour of love for Orange Tree owner and creator Greg Schlaepferfor over 10 years, much of the content having originally been recorded back in 2015, and those ensuing years have been spent meticulously editing and shaping the samples and Kontakt engine into something Greg was finally satisfied with.
The end result is an unparalleled and comprehensive collection of Latin Rock Percussion instruments that can potentially add that missing touch of realism and sparkle to your music.
TECH SPECS
Latitude Latin Rock Percussion runs in Kontakt 7.6.0 or higher, either the full version or free Kontakt Player edition.
It is compatible with all versions of Komplete Kontrol hosting the above Kontakt versions.
The library requires 15.07GB of disk space for installation, samples are delivered at 48 kHz, 24-bit quality in the NCW file format, there are over 88,000 samples included.
There is a single Latitude master NKI Kontakt preset, which in turn has 259 NKSN Kontakt snapshot preset files divided across 4 categories.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION
Download is directly via the Orange Tree website, where following purchase your files will be available in your account and downloadable from there as an archive.
Full instructions are helpfully provided for both Windows & MAC for the entire process, and after extraction the compiled Latitude Latin Rock Percussion folder can be moved to the preferred final resting place on your system.
It is then a matter of using the provided serial code to license the product within Native Access, and then locating and adding it for inclusion in your Komplete Kontrol/Kontakt database.
Launching Komplete Kontrol with its autoscan function will take care of this final stage, and you should then be all set to go.
FULL KOMPLETE KONTROL NKS PARAMETER MAPPINGS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE END OF THE REVIEW FOLLOWING THE MEDIA SECTION
ACCESSIBILITY
We do need to get the age old and thorny issue of accessibility out of the way before continuing the review, as for some users this could be a make or break element for any purchase consideration of the library.
The truth from the outset is that there are advanced features included within Latitude percussion that blind & visually impaired users will not currently be able to access out of the box.
Greg himself was very keen to state this point for the review, and with due respect for his openness, in my experience his honesty has always been foremost when it comes to the topic of accessibility and any shortfalls, something that is certainly underlined and reflected by Orange Tree Samples membership of the Able Artist discount scheme.
He wanted to make it absolutely clear to potential users that at present access is not in the place that he would ultimately like it to be.
This is due to much of the initial library engine scripting being done prior to the inception of NKS2 and the Komplete Kontrol MK3 keyboard release. The scripting for sighted users still remains advanced in terms of what the library interface can deliver, however as things stand these complexities do not easily lend themselves to the NKS environment.
The current nine pages of NKS controls cover the close and room microphone settings, with EQ, compressor, the FX buss with reverb, EQ, Tape Saturation, & Limiter.
We do not have access to the sample browser, where it would otherwise be possible to select and load instrument samples into the 16 available slots.
Also absent are things such as tuning, panning, sample offset, and the loading of the libraries many included groove patterns which use the Kontakt NKA file format.
Understandably For some readers this may well add up to a bottom line that refuses to tally with a cost versus value for money formula.
However despite these obvious shortfalls, I did still feel there was a positive element to Latitude Latin Rock Percussion in consideration of the excellent sound quality and large collection of percussive instruments that populate it’s overall content.
With no definitive timeline in place, Greg does still plan to take another look at the accessibility of the library, however in recognition of these shortfalls, Orange Tree have also been mindful to ensure that all of the library instrument content has been fully represented in the included factory presets.
This means that although we cannot directly access, load & mix and match our own instrument kits & ensembles, it will still remain possible to cherry pick and load instrument presets across multiple Komplete Kontrol or Kontakt instances as a workaround.
LATITUDE INSTRUMENT CATEGORIES
The presets have been divided into useful sections for ease of discovery, and the following banks are included:
Ensembles x 12
Grooves x 152
Kits x 30
Menus x 65
I will not list all of the instruments here, however here is a small taster followed by a link to the complete list:
Agogo Bells (5), Bell Tree (2), Bongos (5), Bulb Horn (2), Cabasa (5), Caixa, Cajon (16), Caracaxa, Castanets (6), Caxixi (2), Chimes (3), Chocalho (2), Clapper (2), Clave (11), Congas (5), Countoff, Cowbells (35), Crasher, Cricket, Cuica (4), Cymbal (32), Djembe (5), Finger Cymbals (5), Finger Drum, Frame Drum, Gong (2), Guicharo (2), Guiro (18), Hand Claps, Handbell, Handpan, Helix Bowl, Jingles (7), Kokiriko, Lens Drum, Maracas (6), Mark Tree (3), Mixed Bells (2), Ocean Drum, Octobans, Pandeiro (2), Peng Bells, Potz (3), Rainstick (4), Rakatak, Ratchet, Rattle (5), Rattle Drum, Rebolo, Reco Reco, Repinique, Riq Drum, Rototoms, Shaker (70), Shekere (3), Snare (8), Spring Drum, Steelpan, Street Can (3), Surdo, Tam Tam (2), Tamborim (2), Tambourine (12), Tan Tan, Temple Blocks (2), Thumb Pianos (2), Timbales (4), Timbalitos (2), Timbau, Tongue Drum (3), Triangle (5), Tubano, Vibra-Tone, Vibraslap (2), Whistle (3), Wind Chimes, Wind Wand, Woodblock (17), Xequebalde (2)
Here is the entire list of included instruments:
https://www.orangetreesamples.com/blog/latitude-latin-rock-percussion-complete-iinstrument-list
The ensembles provide a set of presets that contain typical instrumentation for several styles of music, which can serve as handy starting points.
Similarly the kits which are laid out to conform around the general midi layour, will give you instant gratification when you just want to play some beats into your DAW.
The grooves provide a reasonably decent enough collection of styles with the time signature and suggested tempo included in their titles, each has several pre-recorded patterns assigned as triggerable phrases on your keyboard.
The menus are where you will find the individual instrument sounds, when you want to construct your own comprehensive rhythm tracks using multiple instances.
Suffice to say in respect to the instrumentation, there should be more than enough here to satisfy even the most ardent of global groove creators with such an exotic palette of percussive options at their disposal.
LATITUDE MICROPHONES
We have the option to choose between either the close or room microphones, or a combination of both as each have their own on/off switch.
Close is the clear choice if you are looking for a very detailed and naturally dry sound, whilst the room offers a nice mix ready ambience with a short and unobtrusive reverb tail.
Bothmicrophone positions include a switchable effects buss routed to the main global output, so you can opt to include or exclude either from the Latitude effects section if desired.
LATITUDE EFFECTS
As mentioned the Close and Room microphones have their own EQ & Compressor controls, but there is also the main global output which includes a handful of effect processors.
REVERB
The reverb options provide a really nice selection of convolution based reverb’s with classic offerings from the likes of Eventide, Kurzweil, Lexicon, AMS, Yamaha, Roland, and even an Alesis Midiverb II from the 1980’s, something that still graces one of the racks in my studio today!
This initial model selection then has a sub group for the reverb type, gated, plate, Stereo, Delay, and so forth, followed by a collection of their related presets.
Finally there are settings for reverb length and delay time, along with low & High pass frequency controls.
The globally applied effects section is then topped off with EQ, Tape Saturation & Limiter.
THE SOUND OF LATITUDE LATIN ROCK PERCUSSION
As with all Orange Tree Sample libraries, the recording quality is right up there with their usual high standard, this is backed up with, and quite audibly evident with the 48 kHz, 24-bit sample format used for the recording.
The realism is consistent, with up to 16 round robins being used. Just as an example playing in things like shakers responded well to varying degrees of velocity, enabling you to emphasize up & downbeats with a dynamic authenticity, which further allows you to obtain a tangible and realistic sense of natural sounding grooves.
There are plenty of excellent pre-constructed and perfectly serviceable rhythmic patterns that can be used from the included snapshots. however, it would perhaps also have been useful to have had the full 1500 or so NKA preset patterns found in the user interface browser also available as a folder of midi files, a bit like the old Abbey Road series, where we could then drop them onto a track in a DAW and further edit them.
Do checkout the walkthrough videos and demos linked in our media section and on the Orange Tree Samples website in order to hear the sounds for yourself.
CONCLUSION
Orange Tree Samples have always consistently demonstrated their expertise in sampling guitars throughout their now large portfolio of products over many years, indeed their catalogue does also include some other instruments all with this similarly high pedigree of quality sound and playbility.
Latitude Latin Rock Percussion continues this timeline of quality without distraction, and is sure to find it’s way into many musicians DAW templates.
Whilst accessibility may be initially disappointing in comparison to some of the other scripting advances we have seen elsewhere, it is not a total show stopper. Most of us who have been working in the NKS eco system from the beginning a decade ago have been used to employing workaround strategies, and in this respect much also hinges upon how you opt to use the library, for accessing the sounds it is certainly achievable, but if you really want to dig down deep and get at the bells & whistles (yes they are included!), that you might hear and lust over in the walkthrough videos, demos, and promos, then this might not quite be for you.
Latitude Latin Rock Percussion is available directly from the Orange Tree Samples website at the introductory price of $159.00 (regularly $199.00), until 31st May 2026.
Latitude Latin Rock Percussion Product Page:
Latitude Latin Rock Percussion Overview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM5zRjJb1kQ
Latitude Latin Rock Percussion – Tutorial Guides Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1xo58KqfejbS2VH51mzH1aNJKbxHP6yS
Latitude Latin Rock Percussion User Manual:
https://www.orangetreesamples.com/download/manual/LatitudeLatinRockPercussion-UserGuide.pdf
KOMPLETE KONTROL NKS PARAMETER MAPPINGS
Page One – Close, Close EQ
Knob 1 – Close On/Off
Knob 2 – Close Volume
Knob 3 – Close Width
Knob 4 – Close Send Amount
Knob 5 – Close EQ On/Off
Knob 6 – Low Freq
Knob 7 – Low Gain
Knob 8 – Mid Freq
Page Two – Close EQ, Compressor
Knob 1 – Mid Gain
Knob 2 – High Freq
Knob 3 – High Gain
Knob 4 – Unassigned
Knob 5 – Close Compressor On/Off
Knob 6 – Input
Knob 7 – Ratio
Knob 8 – Attack
Page Three – Close Compressor, Room Microphone
Knob 1 – Compressor Release
Knob 2 – Gain
Knob 3 – Unassigned
Knob 4 – Unassigned
Knob 5 – Room On/Off
Knob 6 – Room Volume
Knob 7 – Room Width
Knob 8 – Send Amount
Page Four – Room EQ
Knob 1 – Room EQ On/Off
Knob 2 – Low Freq
Knob 3 – Low Gain
Knob 4 – Mid Freq
Knob 5 – Mid Gain
Knob 6 – High Freq
Knob 7 – High High Gain
Knob 8 – Unassigned
Page Five – Room Compressor
Knob 1 – Room Compressor On/Off
Knob 2 – Input
Knob 3 – Ratio
Knob 4 – Attack
Knob 5 – Release
Knob 6 – Gain
Knob 7 & 8 – Unassigned
Page Six – FX Buss, Reverb
Knob 1 – FX Buss On/Off
Knob 2 – Volume
Knob 3 – Unassigned
Knob 4 – Unassigned
Knob 5 – Reverb On/Off
Knob 6 – Reverb Type: EventideSP2016, Kurzweil KSP8, Lexicon 960L, Lexicon PCM96, AMS RMS16, Alesis Midiverb II, Yamaha SPX90, Roland SRV330
Knob 7 – Sub Type: Gated Reverb, Generic Reverb, Plate Reverb, Lossless Room, RMX Simulation, Room Reverb, Stereo Room, Ambience, Unusual, Lazerverb, Hall, Reverb Delay, Chambers, Post, Wild Spaces, EFX
Knob 8 – Reverb Presets
Page Seven – Reverb, Main, Main EQ
Knob 1 – Reverb Length
Knob 2 – Reverb Delay
Knob 3 – Low Pass Freq
Knob 4 – High Pass Freq
Knob 5 – Main Volume
Knob 6 – Main EQ On/Off
Knob 7 – Low Freq
Knob 8 – Low Gain
Page Eight – Main EQ, Main Tape Saturation
Knob 1 – High Freq
Knob 2 – High Gain
Knob 3 & 4 – Unassigned
Knob 5 – Main Tape On/Off
Knob 6 – Gain
Knob 7 – Tone
Knob 8 – Roll Off
Page Nine – Main Limiter
Knob 1 – Main Limiter On/Off
Knob 2 – Threshold
Knob 3 – Release
Knob 4 – Ceiling
Knob 5 to 8 – Unassigned
(c) Chris Ankin
KK-Access.com
19th May 2026
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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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