# KORON: Traditional Instruments of Iran, now available from Impact Soundworks! (10 instruments)



## Andrew Aversa (Mar 15, 2017)

*RELEASE TRAILER
*


Welcome to *https://impactsoundworks.com/product/koron-traditional-instruments-of-iran/ (KORON: Traditional Instruments of Iran)*, our most extensive and largest world instrument library yet! Originally conceived by producer Siavash Mozaffari, this collection will take you on a journey through the rich musical heritage of Iran through *10 deep-sampled instruments* (5 melodic, 5 percussive). In total, there are over 17,000 samples across two mic positions, including over 1,200 performances and phrases for your inspiration.







*KORON* includes the following instruments:

*Kamanche*: Four-stringed bowed instrument thought to be an ancestor of the Western violin
*Santoor*: A type of hammered dulcimer with a haunting and resonant tone
*Setar*: Four-stringed plucked and strummed instrument with a long neck and movable frets
*Tanbour*: An ancient fretted and strummed instrument with three sets of strings
*Tar*: A crucial instrument in Iranian classical music with three sets of two unison strings played by plucking and strumming
*Bendir*: Wooden frame drum with a skin membrane, played with fingers and brushes
*Daf*: Larger Persian frame drum reinforced with metal rings, thought to be a precursor to the tambourine
*Kuzeh*: Unique Iranian instrument constructed from clay with holes that can be opened or closed to create fascinating sounds when struck, similar in some ways to the tone of an Indian tabla
*Tombak*: Goblet-shaped hand drum that is foundational to Persian music with a wide top, great for both bassier tones and treble-heavy rim hits
*Zarbe Zoorkhaneh*: Over 2,000 years old and originally used by knights during fitness workouts, a larger version of the Tombak
Though *KORON* has more instruments than any world library we've released, it does not skimp on depth - we recorded multiple strings and frets, true legato and glissando articulations (where possible), dozens of drum techniques, etc.

The large pool of performances and phrases can also be used to augment your writing for each instrument, instantly adding character, and can be edited right in the KORON interface.

Whether you are seeking to write traditional and authentic Middle Eastern music OR you are looking to add unique non-Western sounds to your modern productions and scores, *KORON* will no doubt be a source of great inspiration and creativity.

*KEY FEATURES*

17,000+ samples / 10gb
10 instruments total
2 mic positions
Per-articulation envelope settings
All-in-one percussion patch
Microtuning support and native authentic scales
9 instruments worth of performances and phrases in multiple tempos, time signatures
Built-in easy FX rack
Total Articulation Control Technology - TACT
Performance patches with easy phrase editor
*AUDIO DEMOS
*

*
VIDEO WALKTHROUGH
*


*PRICING / AVAILABILITY

https://impactsoundworks.com/product/koron-traditional-instruments-of-iran/ (Koron: Traditional Instruments of Iran)* is available now for the introductory price of $179 (MSRP: $199) through March 31st. Kontakt 5.5.2 (full version) is required.

Let us know what you think!


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## Lode_Runner (Mar 15, 2017)

Very nice Andrew. I can't say no to this.


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## dhlkid (Mar 15, 2017)

Good one


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## Niah2 (Mar 15, 2017)

the tanbour and the tar sound pretty good


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## Joe_D (Mar 15, 2017)

Thank you for making this library, Andrew and ISW; it is definitely welcome. The walk-through exhibits very nice sounds, and I appreciate the "deep" approach and level of control.

I have one feature request, which may be a bit esoteric for the general pool of composers, but I'll mention it anyway. If you researched Persian music (as you must have in making this library), you are probably aware that in classical Persian music, it is common to have different tuning inflections of the same pitch class in different octaves. For instance, the tuning of an "Eb" in one octave may be different than the tuning of an "Eb" in the next octave above. In other words, the music is not organized around a "scale" that repeats in every octave. Therefore, your tuning feature as it is currently implemented does not facilitate the (re)creation of some classical Persian music.

Here's a quote from _The Dastgah Concept in Persian Music_ by Hormoz Farhat: "In certain modes a range of pitches beyond the limits of an octave is needed, as in the higher octave some notes are different from what they are in the lower octave."

Here's an attempt to link to the Google Books page (quote is from page 16): https://books.google.com/books?id=N...lassical persian musical scales cents&f=false

So, as you may guess, my question is: can you expand the tuning parameter so that two or three ("Western") octaves worth of notes can be individually tuned? I know that Kontakt is (unfortunately) oriented around 12 note repeated tunings, but that does not fit Persian music so well.

Whether or not you can, I do appreciate you making this library, and will spread the word about it. I do realize that your primary market for this library is likely to be composers looking for variety in their palette rather than interest in authentic Persian tuning and musical structures. I wish you the best with it.


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## BabyGiraffe (Mar 16, 2017)

Joe_D said:


> Here's a quote from _The Dastgah Concept in Persian Music_ by Hormoz Farhat: "In certain modes a range of pitches beyond the limits of an octave is needed, as in the higher octave some notes are different from what they are in the lower octave."
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Load several instances of the instruments for the different octaves and change the tuning. You will have to split your notes between them.
What is the default tuning of the Impact soundworks' ethnic libraries (I guess some form of just intonation, not 12et)?
Do you have to tweak them to fit the Western symphonic orchestra?


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## procreative (Mar 16, 2017)

Just for a second my eyes saw Moron not Koron (maybe I was looking in the mirror), initial thought: charming product name!

But well done anyway and maybe I can stop being one now...


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## EvilDragon (Mar 16, 2017)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koron_(music)





Joe_D said:


> So, as you may guess, my question is: can you expand the tuning parameter so that two or three ("Western") octaves worth of notes can be individually tuned? I know that Kontakt is (unfortunately) oriented around 12 note repeated tunings, but that does not fit Persian music so well.



This is not impossible, however tweaking such a table would demand some pretty involving changes in the GUI and the way microtuning controls operate (because all scales that are in there revolve around having 12 values that repeat every octave, as you stated).

I guess probably the easiest way to add this is to support absolute tuning tables for the whole 88 keys (_despite the fact that most instruments here do not use all 88 keys - this is more for consistency in implementation between all these instruments_), but *not *give the user the ability to edit this from the GUI itself - it would need to be done in a text editor, rather, by tweaking the NKA file (a default template would be provided). How do you feel about that?


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## Rob Elliott (Mar 16, 2017)

Keeping my eyes on this company - have many of their releases. TRULY deeply sampled stuff - human - small and detailed - perfect for giving a wide variety of cues personality - not just the ethnic ones. For someone who is tiring of the epic libraries wall-o-sound out there - this is a no brainer purchase. Looking forward to using. Will pick it up soon.


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## Andrew Aversa (Mar 16, 2017)

Thank you Rob!  We're always trying to capture things that people have not heard before, or instruments that have never been sampled in real depth. Even if it's an instrument that _has _been sampled, we strive to put a new spin on it and approach it in a novel way. Whether that means different recording techniques, different spaces, a new approach to UI/playability and scripting... it's all fair game.

Re: Microtuning, @EvilDragon 's solution seems like the most flexible way and we could indeed do it.


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## C-Wave (Mar 16, 2017)

Yoyoma had a very interesting project SILKROAD few years ago.. in which he joined many musicians highlighting ethnic music from their regions, some of them were virtuoso musicians and masters of their own instruments in their own right; several used instruments found in the Koron library, here:
https://www.silkroadproject.org/ensemble/artists/kayhan-kalhor
Edit: indeed you will find several instruments already sampled by isworks in other libraries like the oud and shakuhachi.


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## Joe_D (Mar 16, 2017)

EvilDragon said:


> I guess probably the easiest way to add this is to support absolute tuning tables for the whole 88 keys (_despite the fact that most instruments here do not use all 88 keys - this is more for consistency in implementation between all these instruments_), but *not *give the user the ability to edit this from the GUI itself - it would need to be done in a text editor, rather, by tweaking the NKA file (a default template would be provided). How do you feel about that?



That sounds like a good solution (especially considering that this function may be important to only a small subset of library owners). Would the workflow be: a user tweaks a NKA file, then loads a Kontakt instrument, then loads NKA file for the desired tuning, then saves the instrument (presumably with a new name, reflecting the tuning)? Or would the NKA file need to be reloaded every time one used the instrument? I am not familiar with how NKA files work or are handled. Thanks.


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## Joe_D (Mar 16, 2017)

BabyGiraffe said:


> Load several instances of the instruments for the different octaves and change the tuning. You will have to split your notes between them.



I thought of that, but you would lose legato anytime you crossed the "break."


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## EvilDragon (Mar 17, 2017)

Joe_D said:


> That sounds like a good solution (especially considering that this function may be important to only a small subset of library owners). Would the workflow be: a user tweaks a NKA file, then loads a Kontakt instrument, then loads NKA file for the desired tuning, then saves the instrument (presumably with a new name, reflecting the tuning)? Or would the NKA file need to be reloaded every time one used the instrument? I am not familiar with how NKA files work or are handled. Thanks.



Yes, that's pretty much it. Once you save the NKI, the tuning persists (or, in case of a DAW project, you don't even need to save NKI individually, it will be written in the project file).


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## LamaRose (Mar 19, 2017)

The library sounds amazing. Looking forward to picking this up in the near future.


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## Andrew Aversa (Mar 20, 2017)

Today we have a beautiful new demo using only KORON and live bass, composed by Henning Nugel! Really cool stuff here, and a very creative use of the instruments.


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## Andrew Aversa (Mar 27, 2017)

New week, new demo! This incredible mix of Iranian instruments with modern metal is another fantastic showcase of creativity, and inspiration for how KORON can be used beyond traditional styles.


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## Sid Francis (Mar 27, 2017)

2 very very nice examples of creativity with sound libs. Thanks. I don´t like metal, I am a 55 year old new age musician but I enjoyed listening to this very much also. Finally something different than "braam" and "trailer" and "epic"


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## Ian Dorsch (Mar 27, 2017)

I _really_ enjoyed working on that demo.


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## Fer (Mar 27, 2017)

Hey @Ian Dorsch this is a great demo! the section that goes from 0:5 to 0:28 is made with sampled phrases or is the playable instrument? it sounds veery real. Thanks


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## Ian Dorsch (Mar 27, 2017)

Fer said:


> Hey @Ian Dorsch this is a great demo! the section that goes from 0:5 to 0:28 is made with sampled phrases or is the playable instrument? it sounds veery real. Thanks



Thanks! It's a prerecorded phrase right at the very beginning, but the section from :05-:28 is all the multisampled playable instruments.


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## Fer (Mar 27, 2017)

Great!!


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