# SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar! (DI, multisampled, $49) - 9/10 in CM



## Andrew Aversa (Feb 9, 2010)

From the halls of Valhalla comes an electric guitar library so powerful, it needs two subtitles.

*SHREDDAGE: Electric Rhythm Guitar: Rock & Metal*


Forged from the hammer of Ragnarok, Shreddage is a next-generation rhythm guitar library. It has been designed to provide the most realistic and flexible sound for rock and metal playing, giving the user the ability to recreate nearly any riff. 

Unlike many other guitar libraries, Shreddage is extremely focused and took nearly two years to become fully realized. We recorded and re-recorded samples and articulations, analyzing multiple types of playing techniques, classic riffs, guitars, strings, DIs and mapping methods. The result is not only extremely deep and realistic, but intuitive and easy to play.

Features:

* The sound of a classic metal guitar run through a pristine, high-end Avalon DI at 24/96 and downsampled to 24/44.1 for the final release.
* All multisamples, NO LOOPS
* Tuning all the way down to Bb (the "B" stands for "brutal")
* CLEAN recordings to amp however you want
* Every crucial articulation for rock and metal rhythms: open sustains, powerchords, palm mutes, fast mutes, powerchord mutes, fast powerchord mutes, powerchord half-mutes, chord stops, pinch squeals, pick scrapes and slides
* A staggering 8x round robin for just about all articulations, on every note - say goodbye to the machine gun effect
* Double-tracked patches/multis that can even be used to pull off quad tracking!
* Dead-simple interface with quick mix controls (attack, decay, release, filters, EQ)
* NO convoluted, complex scripted system that takes weeks to learn - just load up patches and play. No need for extensive MIDI CC control, modwheel, aftertouch or keyswitch manipulation
* A set of amp/cab sim presets for such plugins as Guitar Rig 4, Amplitube Metal, Amplitube 2, Line6 Podfarm and Overloud TH-1. Just load the presets and play - no tweaking needed.

SHREDDAGE is available NOW at the truly metal price of *$49* (Kontakt 2 format.) That's not a typo - *$49*!

Demos

[mp3]http://www.impactsoundworks.com/audio/demos/Shreddage_-_Sketch_Montage.mp3[/mp3] Montage showcasing a number of different metal riffs using multiple guitar amp tones.

[mp3]http://www.impactsoundworks.com/audio/demos/Shreddage_-_Heroic_Trailer_Cue.mp3[/mp3] An epic, heroic trailer cue. Used in the first half of the trailer video!

[mp3]http://www.impactsoundworks.com/audio/demos/Shreddage_-_Desertion.mp3[/mp3] "Desertion", an arrangement of a piece from the video game Final Fantasy 6. Shows how Shreddage can convincingly be used for the entirety of a full-length instrumental piece!

[mp3]http://www.impactsoundworks.com/audio/demos/Shreddage_-_Deep_Impact.mp3[/mp3] Another trailer-style cue using Sitar Nation, Impact: Steel, Groove Bias and one external drumloop.

[mp3]http://www.impactsoundworks.com/audio/demos/BLEED_4.mp3[/mp3] Short mockup of Meshuggah - "Bleed" showcasing fast and normal mutes in action at very higih speeds. Simple sequencing + pitch bend.

*FAQ*

*Aren't there enough guitar libraries out there already?*
It's true that there are a lot of guitar sample libraries out there, including some that are even oriented toward rock and metal playing. However, you simply will not find a library that sounds as realistic as this for rock/metal rhythm playing that is also DI AND multisampled... and definitely not at our price! 

*Why didn't you include an amped version?*
We actually recorded amped samples too. However, when we experimented with actually playing and sequencing them, they sounded much less realistic than the DI version. Nothing sounds as good as actually amping the guitar yourself. Luckily, we have amp sim presets to make that really easy.

*How hard is it to play?*
One of the things we're most proud of with this library is how great it sounds out of the box. You don't need any sort of fancy layering or automation to get it to sound good. Even a sequence of straight eighth notes with different velocities (to trigger the appropriate articulations) sounds excellent with absolutely no other humanization added. Once you load up one of the multis or master patches you'll see how easy it is to get a huge, realistic sound.

*How much time did it take to make the demos?*
95% or more of the time spent on the demos went to sequencing every instrument BESIDES Shreddage. Making the Shreddage parts took a few minutes at most. Just hit record, play in a pattern, load an amp sim preset included with the library, done. 

*Can I do lead playing?*
The range of the open sustain patch is Bb2 to G5. This is not the whole range of the guitar, however, and we specifically did not record common lead articulations or implement any kind of legato system. That's because this isn't meant to be a lead library, and we accept that there are actually other (more expensive) products out there that can really do convincing leads. Rhythm was the weak area so that's what we focused on.

*Can I do chords?*
We sampled open notes and powerchords (1-5-1), and nothing more than that. You can of course play in your own chords using the open sus or mute patches, but again, the focus of the library is rock/metal and filling in the niche (big, chuggy riffs, rapid thrashing, etc.) that was previously neglected. We may at some point do another library that is oriented toward jazz/pop rhythm playing in which case we would dedicate more time + space to chords.


----------



## Ed (Feb 9, 2010)

*Re: Announcing SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar (DI, multisampled, $49)*

Wasn't convinced at the start of that video,. but when it got into it I think it sounds really good!


----------



## Pietro (Feb 9, 2010)

*Re: Announcing SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar (DI, multisampled, $49)*

Not bad! Not bad at all actually :D. I agree the orchestral demo doesn't do justice to this library .

No keyswitches, no modwheel. How then? Velocity ?

A lot seems to depend on the amp sim though.

- Piotr


----------



## madbulk (Feb 9, 2010)

No keyswitches! No Modwheel! LOL!!!
Try and buy would be nice under these mysterious circumstances. But it's 50 bucks.


----------



## Farkle (Feb 9, 2010)

*Re: Announcing SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar (DI, multisampled, $49)*

It can feel a little weird thinking that a guitar lib doesn't use keyswitches or modwheel.

Here's the thing about this library (I know a bit about it, I got a chance to try it out during its beta).

It does one thing. Power/metal rhythm and hook generation. It does it *exceptionally* well. Zircon/Impact is not trying to create David Gilmour style leads, or Mahavishnu orchestra arpeggios. He made a kickass metal rhythm guitar library that lets me run it through any amp sim I want.

This guitar set plays chugging power chords, palm mute chords, and sustained power chords excellently, and intuitively. It does some other variations as well, but I'm buying it because it does those three things amazingly well. 

The reason it's a no-brainer? This library is @#*&$%*& fun to play. When I fired it up, I just started smacking down chords on the keyboard with both hands, and was instantly building a dream theater riff. It's just fun! And, because it's pristine DI, it sounds epic through my amp sims. 

Did I mention it's fun as hell to play? And, for me, when I'm having fun, I write a lot of good, fun music. 

It also sounds excellent once I'm done. So, now I've got _two_ things I love about this library.

Zircon mapped the keyboard out so you use both hands to set up riffs and grooves. Using a zone-mapped keyboard, with velocity, and releases, you can play all the above demos with just your left and right hand. That's why you don't need a modwheel or keyswitch combo.

I don't know how else to explain it, I don't want to accidentally reveal any Impact secrets (I think I didn't), but it's a fun-as-hell lib to use, that gives that epic metal/hard rock rhythm sound easily. 

I'll post a demo in a couple of weeks, with a quick description of how long it took. Gotta finish some client works first.

Rock on!

Mike


----------



## autopilot (Feb 9, 2010)

Very interesting sounding... 

Can we hear some non amped up demos please? 

I'm interested how this will fit in a non crunchy sound, and indeed what the library actually sounds like!


----------



## Polarity (Feb 9, 2010)

*Re: Announcing SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar (DI, multisampled, $49)*

It sounds very interesting.
It would be nice a (also simple) tutorial video to see how the library actually works.

But why ampli presets for Guitar Rig version 4 only and not Guitar Rig 3 too?


----------



## Synesthesia (Feb 9, 2010)

Sold. Sounds great!

I had a small issue with the dl, there doesn't seem to be a right click save as option in Safari 4 on 10.6.2 (Mac) - it just opens a new window full of data - but I got around that by copying that link and pasting it into Speed Download.

Just a heads up!

Cheers

Paul


----------



## shakuman (Feb 9, 2010)

*Re: Announcing SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar (DI, multisampled, $49)*

Congrats Andrew =o any information about the size of this library ?

Shakuman.


----------



## Andrew Aversa (Feb 9, 2010)

*Re: Announcing SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar (DI, multisampled, $49)*

Hi guys, thanks for the kind words, and let me clarify some things to answer your questions. 

1. I do want to make a demo video just showing the basic usage of the library but I've been having some trouble with my screen capture software lately (frames dropped, desyncing, etc.) As soon as I can get it fixed I will work on it.

2. The "No Modwheel" etc. stuff was a bit tongue in cheek; there are some excessively complicated guitar libraries out there that require a good amount of practice to use. We wanted something much easier to load and play.

As Farkle mentioned, Shreddage can keep it simple by splitting patches into left and right hands. Since we didn't sample the entire range of the guitar, you can put one set of velocity-controlled articulations in the left hand (ie. powerchord fast, full, half mutes) and another set in the right (sustained powerchords, pinch squeals.)

Our "master patch" multi puts fast, full, half and sustained powerchords in the LH with pinch squeals at high velocity, and the same thing except with open notes on the right. Releases and chordstops are separate patches on the same MIDI channel. Really simple and works great, but you can use the alternate mapping method too (mutes - left, sustains - right.)

3. I'm not sure why you would want demos using the unamped sound but we can include a bit of this in the next video. The samples are pure DI with no effects or processing so they sound about as neutral as you can get.

4. We will definitely be doing more amp sim presets in the future, including GR3. For now we just wanted to do the latest versions of several popular sims. Honestly though, NI has some pretty good built-in presets for GR3/GR4. In particular their "Nickel Power", "Chemical Thrash" and "Heavy 800" are all nice. 

It IS a library dependent on your amp sim but we're talking to some manufacturers to see if we can add, as an optional download, a presets-only version of some popular products like TH-1 or StudioDevil. In the meantime, if you don't have an amp sim at all, there are some great free ones out there like Voxengo Boogex, Overloud Slego, StudioDevil's Marshall amp, SimulAnalog guitar suite, etc. What makes the sound really big is our double-tracked multis, and even with fairly simple guitar sims, putting a different one on each output makes a BIG difference!

5. The library is a little over 1gb unpacked. The samples are all mono, which saves a lot of space.


----------



## Andrew Aversa (Feb 9, 2010)

Weeeeeeeeeell technically the page for it is up, yes, and it's available to purchase  Reason being, it was easier to have the page launch with our redesigned website than to release them separately. It's definitely the final release version. We just thought it would be fun to call Valentine's Day the release date and do all our big press releases then.


----------



## shakuman (Feb 9, 2010)

Synesthesia @ Tue Feb 09 said:


> Sold. Sounds great!
> 
> I had a small issue with the dl, there doesn't seem to be a right click save as option in Safari 4 on 10.6.2 (Mac) - it just opens a new window full of data - but I got around that by copying that link and pasting it into Speed Download.
> 
> ...



Hi Paul.
Did you success to download the library ?

Shakuman.


----------



## Pedro Camacho (Feb 10, 2010)

Sold  Loved it


----------



## Andrew Aversa (Feb 13, 2010)

Happy Valentine's (Shreddage) Day! Now it's officially released 

And as promised...



...a simple demonstration video of how the library is used in real-time (all improvised.)


----------



## Polarity (Feb 14, 2010)

*Re: ISW releases SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar! (DI, multisampled, $49)*

Very cool, thanks.
As I thought, it seems to be what I need for rhythmic guitars compositions.
Sold. :D


----------



## Stephen Baysted (Feb 14, 2010)

*Re: ISW releases SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar! (DI, multisampled, $49)*

Great library and excellent programming. Much more flexible than I imagined. 

Cheers


----------



## clonewar (Feb 16, 2010)

Bought it.. the price made it a no brainer for me!

I've spent a little bit of time with it and am looking forward to digging deeper, especially playing with double and quad tracking. Very easy to play and sounds great. It's a perfect compliment to the guitar libraries that I already own.

For some reason I found myself making Jack Black-esque faces involuntarily while jamming with Shreddage!


----------



## Blackster (Feb 16, 2010)

*Re: ISW releases SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar! (DI, multisampled, $49)*

I'm a guitar player myself ... and I bought this lib  ... sounds great !! =o


----------



## Tmon (Feb 19, 2010)

*Re: ISW releases SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar! (DI, multisampled, $49)*

I bought this yesterday. Jammed with it for like 5 hours last night. Seriously awsome! Exactally what I was looking for especally with the low tuning! Shreddage rules!

+1 =o


----------



## madbulk (Feb 19, 2010)

My reluctance here has been that I expect I'd rather hear a few well recordò•×   Å¦•×   Å¦•×   Å¦•×   Å¦•×   Å¦ •×   Å¦!•×   Å¦"•×   Å¦#•×   Å¦$•×   Å¦%•×   Å¦&•×   Å¦'•×   Å¦(•×   Å¦)•×   Å¦*•×   Å¦+•×   Å¦,•×   Å¦-•×   Å¦.•×   Å¦/•×   Å¦0•×   Å¦1•×   Å¦2•×


----------



## Andrew Aversa (Feb 19, 2010)

When we attempted to record a pre-amped version, the sound was significantly less realistic than software amps. The problem is that if you record the distortion baked into each sample, and then play, for example a pre-distorted C and a G, you don't get the same sort of harmonic interaction that you would if you played a C and G and ran them through an amp. Pre-distorting also makes the attacks and releases sound weird.

The double tracked patches are versions of the standard patches with the RR order changed. They are intended to be loaded on the same MIDI channel and sent to a separate output. Thus, you're getting a different recording on each output and you can then amp these separately and pan them left/right. Every patch (DT or not) also has a "Timing" knob which adds a randomized timing offset to each MIDI note. By doing this to the double-tracked channel you will get an even more realistic sound.

There aren't any quad-tracked patches _per se_ but the way I've gotten that effect is to basically use the standard double-tracked method, but then load both the standard and DT patch on to the same _output_. I then load another instance of Kontakt cloned from the first one and send that instance to another output. This is how I did the "Desertion" demo which sounds pretty hefty. With the various timing offsets you get that ever so slightly 'phasey' sound, perfect for a big quad tone


----------



## madbulk (Feb 19, 2010)

*Re: ISW releases SHREDDAGE - Electric Rhythm Guitar! (DI, multisampled, $49)*

Well that certainly seems reasonable.
Thanks, man. I'll pick it up next week. Good luck with your lib.


----------



## Andrew Aversa (Jun 2, 2010)

A bump - we received a 9/10 for this library in Computer Music:



> This library focuses on rock and metal rhythm guitar with raw samples DI'd from a Guitar tuned to Bflat (ie its meant for use with an amp sim). Articulations include sustained notes, power chords, pinch hammronics, mutes and slides, with switching accomplished via velocity. The note range goes up to around the first A (fifth fret) on the high E string, which is plenty. The 1GB sample set sounds superb, and with eight round-robin alternatives, up and down strokes and double-tracked patches (using Kontakt's multiple outputs), it can be highly convincing, even with frenetic thrash and metal picking patterns.
> 
> 9/10



Additionally, the editor mentioned in his own separate column that as a guitar player of many years, he had previously not considered seriously using guitar samples. However, now that Shreddage is available, he will be using it for his own rhythm tracks. High praise!


----------

