# Zero-G release Middle Eastern Percussion for Kontakt



## Zero-G Ltd (Nov 8, 2017)

New Zero-G Eastern Percussion Module gives you all the sounds and customisation tools needed to create realistic Middle Eastern percussion rhythms and styles as well as completely unique percussion-based sounds.

This collection includes over 5,000 high quality drum samples in an incredibly dynamic Kontakt GUI with full mixing control coupled with high quality effects and a huge selection of MIDI grooves covering Middle Eastern, Egyptian, North African, and Turkish Styles.

Each individual percussion instrument can be manipulated in a multitude of ways to create totally unique percussion instruments and tracks.

Eastern Percussion Module is available now with 20% off until 21st November.

https://zero-g.co.uk/products/epm

Don from Sample Library Review will be hosting a Facebook Live First Look at Eastern Percussion Module today (8th Nov) at 11am PST / 7pm (GMT)


----------



## ysnyvz (Nov 8, 2017)

Everything is clear (!) to me from demos. But I have to ask one thing. So you say you sampled more than 50 instruments with 12 round robins and multiple velocity layers. And whole library is only 240 mb? Seriously?


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Nov 8, 2017)

@ysnyvz Where do you see 240 mb? The manual says you need 1 GB of free hard drive space.


----------



## Sosimple88 (Nov 8, 2017)

That's the week of ethnic sounds releases.


----------



## ysnyvz (Nov 8, 2017)

TigerTheFrog said:


> @ysnyvz Where do you see 240 mb? The manual says you need 1 GB of free hard drive space.


Here it says download size is 239 mb:

https://www.bestservice.com/eastern_percussion_module.html

Also I found out this is not a new library from Zero-G, just a rerelease:


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Nov 9, 2017)

Where did you find out that this is an old library being re-released? When was it released before and what was it called?

The manual has a 2017 copyright. 

Also where does it say multiple velocity layers? The manual says "automatic dynamic velocity," which to me suggests that it just gets louder.


----------



## ysnyvz (Nov 9, 2017)

TigerTheFrog said:


> Where did you find out that this is an old library being re-released? When was it released before and what was it called?
> 
> The manual has a 2017 copyright.
> 
> Also where does it say multiple velocity layers? The manual says "automatic dynamic velocity," which to me suggests that it just gets louder.


Look at the video I posted. Apparently it was released by a company called Findasound with name of Fayez Saidawi Percussions:
https://www.youtube.com/user/findasound/videos


----------



## sean8877 (Nov 9, 2017)

I bought this yesterday and it did seem like a very small download. Sounds great though and will be useful for me.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Nov 9, 2017)

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, @ysnyvz. I think they should have been more upfront about it.

That said, the price this February (when it was introduced by Findasound) was $249
http://www.kvraudio.com/news/findas...wi-percussions-library-v1-0-for-kontakt-36429
After that, it dropped to $179.

The walkthrough that Zero-G did was not IMO very helpful in helping me make up my mind, because the focus was more on effects and interface (I know what reverb does) than on the sounds of the individual drums. I was looking forward to the Don Bodin Facebook demo, but that had technical issues and didn't work out.

The two Findasound videos taught me more, even though the Karem Fatar walkthrough is in Arabic. More by what wasn't there than what was there. I'm going out on a limb and will guess (until somebody tells me otherwise) that this is not what I would consider a solo library. There are so many articulations you can get out of a Daf--Impact Soundworks' Koron has 26. If this library had a lot of articulations for each instrument, I would think Findasound or Zero-G would have spotlighted them more. This is best seen as a library of ensemble rhythms. If you have a better middle eastern solo percussion VI (Koron, Evolution, even Ra or World Suite, etc) you could substitute instruments and apply articulations. But I think it sounds great as an ensemble instrument, and probably good enough for many as a solo instrument too, because the rhythms are authentic.

With my eyes open about this I think $54 is a good price. Arguably that many MIDI files alone could be worth fifty bucks. What do people pay for EZDrums MIDI files? And if I buy soon, it comes with the Ethnic Flavours loops. https://zero-g.co.uk/collections/africa/products/ethnic-flavors which lists for $26. The loops and hits on that are a perfect combination with this library.

A bonus of your post is that you have turned me onto Findasound. Thank you! Their other products have great synergy with Eastern Percussion Module.

They also have a lot of free products that would work the same way, including 217 free Oud loops, 90 oriental strings loops, 80 Maksum beats, and a whole middle eastern VSTi called Easterone with a variety of instruments, among others
https://www.findasound.net/free-stuff

I wonder if other Findasound VIs will come out at some point from Zero-G? Obviously it's an advantage to Findasound to have an association with a respected company like Zero-G. And perhaps Zero-G will provide upgrades as they have done with their other products.

Looking at the videos, I also love Najati's Rhythm Guitar. It has a different approach to any guitar VST I've seen before, and used to sell for $139, very reasonable considering what it appears to do. It's not on the Findasound site anymore. Will it also turn up on Zero-G? I hope it turns up somewhere.


----------



## Zero-G Ltd (Nov 9, 2017)

Hi everyone, we've taken the feedback about the initial walkthrough video on-board, and will look at hopefully creating more informative content around Eastern Percussion Module, and new releases going forwards.

EPM comes as quite a small download for a couple of reasons. As the samples are all incredibly short one-shots, it keeps individual file sizes to a minimum, so even though there are thousands of samples they take up very little hard drive space hence the library is deceptively small. Additionally, we take advantage of Kontakts nkx. format and compression algorithm to keep overall file sizes right down. After that, the instrument is based around midi loops and triggers - which take up next to no space. At the end of it all, you have a huge amount of percussion at your fingertips without taking up huge amounts of space on your harddrive. 

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us on here, facebook, twitter, or via our support email - we're always happy to help!


----------



## Batrawi (Nov 10, 2017)

sean8877 said:


> I bought this yesterday and it did seem like a very small download. Sounds great though and will be useful for me.


If any chance you can post a short audio of playing solo instruments (no grooves/loops) that would be very helpful as the demos were not useful in this regard..


----------



## sean8877 (Nov 10, 2017)

Batrawi said:


> If any chance you can post a short audio of playing solo instruments (no grooves/loops) that would be very helpful as the demos were not useful in this regard..


Sure I'll try to get that together this weekend. Do you want to just hear some basic dry hits for each instrument? Or do you want to hear some with the effects also?


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Nov 10, 2017)

sean8877 said:


> Sure I'll try to get that together this weekend. Do you want to just hear some basic dry hits for each instrument? Or do you want to hear some with the effects also?


Personally I'm interested in dry hits. Some of the instruments have a number of keys. I'd be interested in what kinds of different sounds are available for each instrument. For example riqs and dafs can be played with jingles/chains or without. All these instruments make many different kinds of sounds depending on how and where you hit them, how you hold them, etc. There's a lot of great videos on YouTube. 

And thank you for doing this @sean8877


----------



## Batrawi (Nov 10, 2017)

sean8877 said:


> Sure I'll try to get that together this weekend. Do you want to just hear some basic dry hits for each instrument? Or do you want to hear some with the effects also?


Many Thanks @sean8877 
Better pure/raw sound - same note with different velocity just to hopefully hear some RRs


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Nov 11, 2017)

Batrawi said:


> Many Thanks @sean8877
> Better pure/raw sound - same note with different velocity just to hopefully hear some RRs



@Batrawi According to the manual, Eastern Percussion Module has 12 controlled round robins for increased realism and "automatic dynamic velocity." Based on this, I don't think the developers recorded different samples at different velocity levels. If that was the case they would have said so and the size of the instrument would be much bigger.

So I think that velocity just makes the notes louder, not different.


----------



## sean8877 (Nov 11, 2017)

Guys - I'm sorry but I'm running into technical issues getting you a recording. I'm really a complete newbie with Cubase and the technical side of things in general. I tried to install OBS screen recorder but the audio isn't getting recorded. I've also tried recording the audio using audacity and that isn't working either. I'm sure there's a way to route my VST output to an audio track using a bus but I haven't been able to get that working. Sorry I've spent the afternoon on this and I'm not any further along. I'll keep working at it but I can't promise anything. Maybe someone will post a real review on Youtube or something. Sorry about that.


----------



## Batrawi (Nov 11, 2017)

sean8877 said:


> Guys - I'm sorry but I'm running into technical issues getting you a recording. I'm really a complete newbie with Cubase and the technical side of things in general. I tried to install OBS screen recorder but the audio isn't getting recorded. I've also tried recording the audio using audacity and that isn't working either. I'm sure there's a way to route my VST output to an audio track using a bus but I haven't been able to get that working. Sorry I've spent the afternoon on this and I'm not any further along. I'll keep working at it but I can't promise anything. Maybe someone will post a real review on Youtube or something. Sorry about that.


No problem at all, at least you tried & thanks for that


----------



## heisenberg (Nov 11, 2017)

sean8877 said:


> Guys - I'm sorry but I'm running into technical issues getting you a recording. I'm really a complete newbie with Cubase and the technical side of things in general. I tried to install OBS screen recorder but the audio isn't getting recorded. I've also tried recording the audio using audacity and that isn't working either. I'm sure there's a way to route my VST output to an audio track using a bus but I haven't been able to get that working. Sorry I've spent the afternoon on this and I'm not any further along. I'll keep working at it but I can't promise anything. Maybe someone will post a real review on Youtube or something. Sorry about that.



If you are on Windows you will need to use Voicemeeter Banana. Make sure you download the Virtual Cable that goes with it as well.


----------



## Batrawi (Nov 12, 2017)

TigerTheFrog said:


> @Batrawi
> So I think that velocity just makes the notes louder, not different.



I think this would still be reasonable/expected from a perc library as long as they compensate with enough RRs


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Nov 12, 2017)

Thanks for trying, @Batrawi. I appreciate it.


----------



## Zero-G Ltd (Nov 13, 2017)

Hi everyone, we made some videos that demo ALL of the articulations from the preset kits that come with Eastern Percussion Modules. No walkthroughs here, just the raw one shot sounds!

https://zero-g.co.uk/products/epm#tabs-4


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Nov 13, 2017)

Thanks for doing this. @Zero-G Ltd 
But I couldn't wait and went ahead and bought it this weekend!


----------



## Batrawi (Nov 13, 2017)

Zero-G Ltd said:


> Hi everyone, we made some videos that demo ALL of the articulations from the preset kits that come with Eastern Percussion Modules. No walkthroughs here, just the raw one shot sounds!
> 
> https://zero-g.co.uk/products/epm#tabs-4



This was really helpful...
Bought!


----------



## Batrawi (Nov 13, 2017)

After playing around with EPM, I must say that as much as I'm so pleased with the variety of instruments (some of which you'll never even find in any other library) and the authenticity of the sound, I'm pretty annoyed though with how the natural release/decay has been noticeably slaughtered (yes, literally!) and chopped off of some good amount of samples! 
I appreciate ZG's intention to deliver a versatile and quick tool that is light on resources as much as possible, yet I think they seriously need to consider some sort of scripted/fake sample releases (in case if they can't retrieve the natural ones from the original recording).... Until then, the only workaround is maybe to just add tons of reverb which I'm sure is not the best solution for everyone included myself...
Other than that I'm happy with what I got.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Nov 13, 2017)

@Batrawi Actually the instruments in EPM are very common in world percussion libraries. In fact you can find a lot of them in the World Percussion Library that comes with Kontakt, including a Riq, Darabuka, and Djembe (as well as a Daf and a Tar). Of course there is also more premium stuff like Impact Soundworks’ Koron, Evolution World Percussion Middle East, SoundIron’s Riq Drum (which also has Dafs), PrecisionSound’s Persian Daf, etc., as well as general libraries like Evolution World, Ra, and UVI World Suite. I really like SONiVOX's small library, Silk Road Percussion, which is currently on sale at Reverb.com for $5.

So it's not hard to make substitutions if your interest is using the MIDI rhythms in EPM to drive solo instruments. If anybody has invested in a middle eastern percussion library they will super-charge it by buying this.

But I see the main strength of this library is to use it just as it is--as a wonderful ensemble instrument. It doesn't bother me that the samples are cut off or that the articulations are minimal when I listen to the whole band at once. The MIDI files are incredible and there are so many of them. The names aren't arbitrary--most of them represent the rhythms of different kinds of middle eastern music. I really enjoy looking up the examples of the various styles and seeing people perform them in YouTube videos.

There actually aren't that many different kinds of instruments in EPM, although each one does have variations. 7 out of the 15 instruments are Bandirs aka Bendirs (Moroccan Frame Drums) and four of them are varieties of goblet drums: 2 Dohalas (Egypt), a Darabuka (Eastern/West African), and a Djembe (Africa) There are also a Riq (Egyptian Tambourine), 5 claps, 7 Sagats (Egyptian finger cymbals) and the 15th instrument is a grab bag of middle eastern and latin percussion spread across a keyboard, so you don't know the middle eastern instruments you're playing unless you are an expert. Maybe @Zero-G Ltd could put the keyboard layout in a future version of the manual? Or even better if the GUI on instrument 15 was like the others and changed the icon for the different instruments.

One quibble: I'm not from the Middle East, but my reading tells me that Bendirs are supposed to have snares underneath their goat skin heads. I only hear snares in one of the 16" Bendirs, but I hear them in at least some of the articulations of all my other Bendirs in other libraries. Most of the Bendirs in EPM just sound like frame drums to me, which is no big deal as the overall effect of 7 Bendirs playing at the same time sounds really great--it's got the power of a Brazilian Carnival Band with a crowd of Surdos.

There is one issue with the MIDI files, and that is that some of the keys on instruments like the Riq and one of the Doholas have some rolls, and the Darabuka is largely a loop player, so playing one key will give you a full rhythm (it has single hits too). So you're not necessarily going to be able to take the MIDI files and get the exact same effect on anything but EPM. But I haven't found it to be a problem. I've been playing around, putting the MIDI files on a track of a solo virtual instrument. You maintain the rhythm, but get interesting random effects, as instead of an ensemble of instruments, you get an assortment of articulations.

The closest library to this that I know of is Sonokinetic's Sultan Drums, but this is driven by audio loops rather than MIDI. It sounds much better out of the box, but it has a tiny fraction of the musical possibilities of EPM. Still it's a nice library with a different approach and could serve as a complement to EPM. It's definitely easier to play a simpler rhythm with a few instruments in Sultan Drums and have it sound great.

I look forward to spending exploring the rhythms and learning more about middle eastern music. I'm very happy with my purchase.


----------



## Batrawi (Nov 14, 2017)

TigerTheFrog said:


> @Batrawi Actually the instruments in EPM are very common in world percussion libraries. In fact you can find a lot of them in the World Percussion Library that comes with Kontakt, including a Riq, Darabuka, and Djembe (as well as a Daf and a Tar). Of course there is also more premium stuff like Impact Soundworks’ Koron, Evolution World Percussion Middle East, SoundIron’s Riq Drum (which also has Dafs), PrecisionSound’s Persian Daf, etc., as well as general libraries like Evolution World, Ra, and UVI World Suite. I really like SONiVOX's small library, Silk Road Percussion, which is currently on sale at Reverb.com for $5.
> 
> So it's not hard to make substitutions if your interest is using the MIDI rhythms in EPM to drive solo instruments. If anybody has invested in a middle eastern percussion library they will super-charge it by buying this.
> 
> ...


@TigerTheFrog I must say that I'm impressed by how well you've educated yourself around middle eastern percussions. And these words are coming from an Egyptian composer (me)

Yet I totally disagree that EPM's instruments are common in other libraries as you mentioned. The only common thing is just the "name" of the instrument, yet under this name comes a variety of shapes/sizes/materials that constitutes several instruments that are unique in their own rights. (you've been surprised youself when you found that a "bendir" in EPM is not what you expected according to your previous experience )

Being an Egyptian myself and knowing how unique/rare these instruments are in the VI world, I almost screemed out loud "I FINALLY FOUND YOU" when I saw them in EPM.

HOWEVER, and back to my main concern, ZG really let me down here by cutting the natural release from most of the samples (what for? to reduce space?!). It's a shame since middle eastern percussions are extensively used to perform solo parts in a middle eastern music.

These Instruments deserve their tails back from the guys at @Zero-G Ltd .
Please consider this in any future fix/update or even expansion if you wanna call it. But EPM is a really well thought product and it deserves to be better.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt (Nov 14, 2017)

Well I feel very foolish because you are an Egyptian composer and know infinitely more than I do. Still, when I speak of, for example, a Bendir I am not speaking of the sounds I hear in any virtual instrument. I am speaking of the sounds I hear in the many videos I've watched on YouTube. So of course I know about the varieties of materials and designs. And I also know that similar things, like frame drums, have different names depending on the country they're from. Like Daf or Duff is used in Arab countries, but something pretty similar is called a Tar in the Sudan. It's hard to be definitive about what a Bendir is any more than you can be definitive about what a "guitar" is.

Here's a Bendir so everybody can see the snares and some of the articulations.


But maybe in Egypt a Bendir is called a Bandir and doesn't have snares. Fayez Saidawi, the developer, must know what he's doing.

I was being positive in what I wrote before, because I love the library, but IMHO the instruments in EPM drums do not have nearly enough articulations to represent ANY Bendir as a solo instrument. I don't think that was the intention. You may not consider the Bendir in Impact Soundworks' Koron (which, full disclosure, I don't own yet) to be a real Bendir, but it has 14 playing techniques, and multi-sampled dynamics, which EPM does not. (Their Daf has 26 playing techniques) I realize the Koron Bendir is from Iran and you are from Egypt, but even you are disappointed with the sounds in EPM. The Bendirs I do own have a lot more articulations and seem to me to be closer to the real ones I've heard.

And don't get me started on the Riqs.

But EPM sounds good to me when all the instruments play together and the MIDI files are a real gift.

Ultimately I'm not trying to recreate the sounds of the original music, like you, because that would be a ridiculous thing to attempt. I'm interested in all world drums, which makes me a dabbler at best. I just want to learn, not write scores for international films. It's a hobby.

So I think this is all I've got to say on this subject, before I embarrass myself further. Buy this library, people!


----------



## ysnyvz (Nov 14, 2017)

TigerTheFrog said:


> Here's a Bendir so everybody can see the snares and some of the articulations.


Bendir is the common name for frame drums in Middle East and North Africa. There are a lot of different shapes and sizes. For example my favourite bendir type doesn't have snares or jingles and is made of leather instead of plastic like this:


----------



## sean8877 (Nov 14, 2017)

Hi,

Sorry for the delay, I was finally able to record demos of all of the instruments in the Eastern Percussion module. I had to mixdown each instrument to a separate file, I'm sure there's a better way to do that but my technical abilities are pretty limited. I played every note available for each instrument starting with a low velocity followed by a higher velocity. I put all of the files up on Google drive, I hope they're useful to someone. They should be accessible to everyone but let me know if you can't access them.



Thanks.


----------

