Ambient Tape Machines: C1 by Genera Studios- REVIEW

                      

Ambient Tape Machines: C1 by Genera Studios

Total Sample Size - 805MB

184 Samples

Over 70 Snapshot Presets

Intuitive GUI with Plenty of Control

Custom Dual Arpeggiators

Open script for all you KSP scripters out there!

Recorded at 24 Bit and 48kHz

Full version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or above is required (will not work in Kontakt Player)

Features:
3 sound sources with volume, pan, tuning, and tape speed controls
Two ADSR’s for VCA and VCF (with VCF ENV depth)
Switchable LFO synced to your host tempo (with mod depth)
Vibrato depth and rate control
4-pole LPF and HPF
Delay, Reverb, and Saturation Controls
Custom dual arpeggiators for LPF cutoff and resonance

 

 

REVIEW 

 

Ambient Tape Machines:C1 by Genera Studios is an ambient soundscape Kontakt Library created by recording samples on a cassette tape and playing them back with a variation of speed using a vintage Library of Congress C1 cassette player. Genera Studios wanted to capture the warmth of true analog to create something truly unique. I was excited to hear this was another ambient library since I really liked Lush Atmosphere, which I reviewed earlier in 2018.
There is a total of 184 samples used in this library and 70 snapshot presets. You will have to copy the Ambient Tape Machines snapshots folder and place them in the user folder of Kontakt found in the Native Instruments folder to have access to all the presets.
The folder in Kontakt can be located by following the path below, depending on your system.

Mac OS Snapshots Folder:
System Drive/Users/<your username>/Documents/Native Instruments/UserContent/Kontakt/
PC Snapshots Folder:
C:\Users\<your username>\Documents\Native Instruments\User Content\Kontakt\

This is another Kontakt library from Genera Studios that is very affordable, weighing in at only $20. The GUI is simply laid out with all the controls, ADSR, and dual arpeggiators on one page. Genera Studios teamed up with 2 musicians and sound designers to create many presets in this library. Jetfire Prime contributed a collection of incredible ambient and FX sounds. Franklin Vanderhyde of Music For Film and Media contributed diverse patches in almost every category.

 
There is some really great presets in this library and some that are perfect for a haunting underscore. Very deep, dark, and thick ambient sounds drenched in some spacey reverb. It was amazing to hear what came out of the samples recorded from the C1 cassette player. There is a lot of atmosphere and unique sounds within this library that can be easily manipulated into something of your own.
To do this review fairly though, I must address a couple issues I had with this library. For one, I found myself adjusting the volume between some of the presets a little more than I would have liked but it's an easy fix. One other thing I would have liked to have is some FX assigned to the mod wheel because I always use my mod wheel. This is one issue I hope gets addressed in future libraries.
I did do a video demonstrating the presets in this library so you can get a clear understanding of what Ambient Tape Machines:C1 contains. I also included the great demonstration video from Genera Studios.
As a budget Kontakt instrument I think it's a great companion to other ambient libraries. It took me a few days to play with it but I really found potential in this library. Even though a some of the presets fell a little short to my needs, others really delivered. For now, this low cost library comes in as a high recommendation and another job well done by Genera Studios.

4 Out of 5 Stars!

To Learn More Visit: Genera Studios