The story
The Knife
A long time ago, I was really bored while eating my lunch. So, as normal people do, I started hitting my wrist bone with a knife. It made a tuning fork-like sound.
I finally decided to make an instrument out of that knife. So here we are.
I have zero experience in sampling and recording(I recorded it with an iPhone), but I was pleasantly surprised by how well the result sounded.
In the Kontakt(V6 I’m afraid) version you can create a mix between a dry, an amp and a distorted signal. Additionally there’s a reverb knob and I highly recommend using it. There’s also a lowpass filter knob, which ends up primarily controlling the harshness of the “hammers”/attack.
The amp signal creates an almost organ like sound.
And the distorted… well a distorted sound.
I also created a EXS24 version, which has its root key at A1 (not A3 as the Kontakt version) and sounds completely different, so is worth a try to listen to as well.
Unfortunately it doesn’t feature all those fancy effects and they have to be added manually in your DAW.
Unfortunately #2 I don’t have that iZotope software for noise-reducing the samples. Once I do, I will update the sample. Or maybe I will get some help with that from someone in the community.(There are even birds in the recording, but they somehow created a nice ambience)
Have fun!
(I used the new Kontakt template made by Angus Roberts-Carey, so thank you a lot, Angus, for creating that. It really helped me creating this instrument quite fast, but at the same time allowed me, a very beginner in sampling, to create an instrument with effects and UI.)
Reviews for The Knife
- Sound
- Character
- Playability
- Inspiration
- GUI
Leave a review to let others know what you thought of the instrument!
Super nice sound but has some noises!
A really interesting mallet-like sound produced by a knife! I can see it fitting in many scenarios, and in general it's really well made. There are two things I can note though. First, the volume of the instrument is controlled by both velocity and the modwheel, but I'd recommend focusing on the velocity for this kind of instrument. The second thing is that, if you are planning to sustain the notes too much, you might be able to hear birds chirping in the background.
The GUI aesthetics are very pleasing to me. I think it's perfect and it should somehow be the default for every instrument here - but I personally expect the knobs to work vertically instead of horizontally...
Really nice sound but not my favorite
This sound is really cool, metallic and organic. It has a nice bite to it without being harsh. I think you should just have the velocity control dynamics and not the mod wheel because this isn't really something you want to subtly creep in, or maybe you do, just how i was feeling. While this is a really nice sounding instrument i think its a bit boring compared to similar metallic found sound percussive instruments on pianobook that have more interesting or pleasing resonance or overtones. Nothing against this instrument, its really good but with so many instruments on pianobook i have to be picky with which sounds i keep around or my folder will just get way too big. Good job on this
Great For Video Games
When I first heard this sound, the first thing that came to mind was Super Mario Brothers. This sound would work well as a video game cue. All made from a kitchen tool that's used for cutting food. LOL. Enjoy!
Thick bells
There are some great sounds to be had here. So many metallic sounds suffer from clangorous upper inharmonic frequencies, but this is very pure sounding. There is some extraneous noise in the sample. Sounds like a cable picked up a stray AM radio signal, or like someone was having a loud conversation in the next room. The first thing that struck me about this sound was that I'd highpass filter it to eliminate some of the massive thump present in the sample, but curiously, the instrument has a lowpass filter instead of a highpass. I appreciate that I can easily eliminate the reverb and have a dry sample to work with, as this suits my purses bests. This is a fun library, creative, playable, and inspiring!
