# OUT NOW: Toska



## Noon Instruments (Oct 24, 2022)

nooninstruments.com

*----

*

A New Instrument for Kontakt.

Toska is a palette of evolving, atmospheric textures created from multi-layered, imperfect performances.

A unique combination of analog synths, brass, strings, winds, vocals and field recordings have been heavily processed to create a collection of immediate, contemporary sounds.

The source material is carefully curated to offer depth, movement and colour to modern composition.

It is an instrument with Toska at its heart.

“No single word in English renders all the shades of Toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause.”

An intro price of £69 is available until 02/12/22 (regular price £89).

If you are currently receiving Universal Credit, read more here.

*----*


----------



## ymouhoun (Oct 24, 2022)

The UI looks cool !


----------



## Akoustecx (Oct 24, 2022)

Presets sound really good, with great variety.
Such a generous offer to help out those who are less financially secure.
Definitely a dev to watch.


----------



## anothercomposer (Oct 24, 2022)

Installing now !!!!


----------



## pranic (Oct 24, 2022)

This sounds pretty interesting -- What a unique video of the presets, in making mini-scores for each of the video clips. That's actually tremendously useful, to be honest. I would like to see an actual walk-through video, showing hands on a keyboard (or even including the keyboard representation in Kontakt in the existing presets video).

This is another in the "I don't need this, but I think I want this" category. From a pricing perspective, I am fond of the USD to GBP conversion, too.

_Update: I purchased... and my initial impression of playing through a number of presets and making some multis, is that this is a brilliant new library! Congrats on the release!_


----------



## PeterN (Oct 25, 2022)

The sounds sound very nice, they really capture a dystopian reality of 2020s. Visuals here are brilliant too. Congrats, you created something that stood out.


----------



## davidson (Oct 25, 2022)

Now that's how you make an entrance, and a Snakes of Russia demo too! Sounds absolutely stellar, and kudos for helping those on universal credit


----------



## Ned Bouhalassa (Oct 25, 2022)

Everything about this is terrific! Congratulations.


----------



## Bear Market (Oct 25, 2022)

Utterly inspirational stuff!


----------



## midiman (Oct 25, 2022)

With a developer like this, I want to be an early adopter to support the amazingly creative and original talent. Purchased.


----------



## Niah2 (Oct 26, 2022)

Outstanding at every level !

Btw have any of guys tried this library in a windows system? This made me a bit uneasy:

"Kontakt’s effects may respond differently on PC. When using Windows, some of Toska’s effects, specifically the Wash and Absorb Menu are extremely CPU intensive. It is recommended that you use use a Mac to run Toska if possible. If you’re having issues when using a PC, try setting the Wash and Absorb Menu controls to 0."


----------



## Noon Instruments (Oct 26, 2022)

Niah2 said:


> Outstanding at every level !
> 
> Btw have any of guys tried this library in a windows system? This made me a bit uneasy:
> 
> "Kontakt’s effects may respond differently on PC. When using Windows, some of Toska’s effects, specifically the Wash and Absorb Menu are extremely CPU intensive. It is recommended that you use use a Mac to run Toska if possible. If you’re having issues when using a PC, try setting the Wash and Absorb Menu controls to 0."


Thanks so much for the kind words. Unfortunately, when testing we found the parameters mentioned above to be extremely CPU intensive on PC.

Due to the nature of serialised, digital products (and specifically the inability to return them) we felt it was best to be as transparent as possible and recommend that customers use a Mac to run Toska.

Our advice remains that for the best experience, Toska should be run on a Mac if possible.

Thanks so much again for checking out Toska and I can assure you that any library in the future will be much more PC friendly!


----------



## Akoustecx (Oct 26, 2022)

I had just been going to contact Noon support, regarding this, but I shall post here and share my experience.
I can confirm that any attempt to utilise Absorb in any way on a 1600X, ramps up the CPU very significantly, leading to crackling and dropouts. Once a note or chord has been played, this continues to occur even when the Absorb settings are dropped to 0dB, and the patch needs to be reloaded before returning to a playable state. If I attempt to actvate a second Absorb option, even after dialling back the first, they appear to act as multipliers, and just one note will instantly send Kontakts cpu meter to 100%.
If I check whether a patch utilises Absorb and disable it by making sure all 4 options are at 0dB before playing anything, then it works fine. I have not experienced any problems with Wash, even at 100% with 7 note chords.
Personally, I don't see this as being too much of a problem, as the sounds are already creamy and unctious enough for me already, and the Absorb options, as far as I can tell just make them more so.
In terms of PC workflow, an update with either an Absorb bypass button, or making it so that dropping it to 0dB bypassed it even after having played a key, would render it as a non issue for me, though I don't know enough about Kontakts back end effects to know if this is possible.
I should point out that all this comes from the perspective of having recieved Toska free, as part of Noon's incredibly generous support for those of us on UC, for which I am hugely grateful, but even had I payed the £69 intro price, I'm pretty certain I would still consider myself to have recieved entirely fair value.
Even if you can't take advantage of the Absorb effects, it's still all killer, no filler.


----------



## Niah2 (Oct 26, 2022)

Thank you for your replies really appreciate it.


----------



## Noon Instruments (Oct 27, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> nooninstruments.com
> 
> *----
> 
> ...



nooninstruments.com

*----*




(Contextual - Percussion not from Toska)

The incredible Snakes Of Russia combines Toska with his existing percussive, sound world.

snakesofrussia.bandcamp.com
instagram.com/snakesofrussia


----------



## PeterN (Oct 27, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> nooninstruments.com
> 
> *----*
> 
> ...



whatsup, is the snakes of russia not part of toska? why not a direct link. or is this an upcoming project?

maybe clarify what it is and what is the percussion.

again, stunning visuals.

--

edit: oh, starting to get it. snakes of russia is a band. percussion still a mystery.


----------



## Noon Instruments (Oct 27, 2022)

PeterN said:


> whatsup, is the snakes of russia not part of toska? why not a direct link. or is this an upcoming project?
> 
> maybe clarify what it is and what is the percussion.
> 
> ...


Thanks so much for the kind words. The Demo has been written by producer, composer and sound designer Snakes Of Russia. The Demo is contextual so includes his own percussive elements - these are not from Toska as specified below the video. Thanks so much again.


----------



## SvenE (Oct 27, 2022)

Congratulations to the library release. Instant buy from me. The patches and two demos sound incredible.


----------



## Daren Audio (Oct 27, 2022)

This sounds great! Congrats on the release! The visuals are amazing as well.


----------



## SvenE (Oct 28, 2022)

onnomusic said:


> curious if 2Wei has something to do with it? with it sounding all trailerish etc ?


I don't think so, as the 2wei announcement was related to a performance of their anthem "The Call" at the Opening Ceremony of the League of Legends World Championship finals in San Francisco on Nov 5th.


----------



## Noon Instruments (Oct 28, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> nooninstruments.com
> 
> *----
> 
> ...




nooninstruments.com

----

MusicTech has named Toska one of the “Best new mixing plugins, effects and VST instruments out this week”.

musictech.com/news/gear/new-plugins-this-week


----------



## Mr Sakitumi (Oct 30, 2022)

Well the Trailer, Demos and Selected Presets vid grabbed my attention!
Each preset sounds so inspiring, well done 👏 
Even though I have many textural libraries and synths, you’ve managed to narrow down your selection to have very useable and creative sounds.
I think I’ll be picking this up pretty soon.

*edit- just purchased


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 1, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> nooninstruments.com
> 
> *----
> 
> ...



nooninstruments.com

----



Saturated tape tones in a world of warmth and nostalgia.

A beautiful exploration of analog noise from LA based artist and composer, Robot Koch (AKA Foam and Sand).

robotsdontsleep.com
instagram.com/robotkoch


----------



## gzapper (Nov 4, 2022)

Mr Sakitumi said:


> Well the Trailer, Demos and Selected Presets vid grabbed my attention!
> Each preset sounds so inspiring, well done 👏
> Even though I have many textural libraries and synths, you’ve managed to narrow down your selection to have very useable and creative sounds.
> I think I’ll be picking this up pretty soon.
> ...



Hey Mr Sakitumi, how is it now that you've had a chance to check it out?


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 8, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> nooninstruments.com
> 
> *----
> 
> ...



nooninstruments.com

*----*




(Contextual - Percussion not from Toska)

Intense, atmospheric soundscapes with arresting percussion. 

A journey through darker territories from London based composer and electronic musician Evan Gildersleeve.

*----*

Evan's contribution to Toska has been immeasurable. He was involved in the initial recording process, playing ocarina and capturing Mallory Hamm’s wonderful violin performances. He then went on to design a number of presets now found in the Curated Presets bank. 

You can hear more of his music here:

evangildersleeve.com
instagram.com/evangildersleeve


----------



## wunderflo (Nov 8, 2022)

I'd be very interested in this, but I'm on Windows-PC. Do you plan to release a PC-friendly update for this library (you only mentioned future libraries to be more PC-friendly)?


----------



## davidson (Nov 8, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> nooninstruments.com
> 
> *----*
> 
> ...



Do I feel a Noon perc library in the works?!


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 8, 2022)

wunderflo said:


> I'd be very interested in this, but I'm on Windows-PC. Do you plan to release a PC-friendly update for this library (you only mentioned future libraries to be more PC-friendly)?


Hey,

Hope you’re well.

Thanks so much for checking out Toska. Really appreciate the support.

Unfortunately, as the CPU issues relate to how the specific Kontakt effects mentioned on our FAQ perform on PC, our only genuine resolution would be to completely remove these effects from Toska.

Completely appreciate that this is hugely frustrating for PC users. As mentioned before, this won't be the case for any future library. 

Thanks so much again for getting in touch and for the support.


----------



## soulofsound (Nov 9, 2022)

Lovely sound


----------



## Benjamin Duk (Nov 10, 2022)

@Noon Instruments If we turn those problematic effects down to zero will the CPU usage then be fine for PC? 
How many effects utilize these CPU heavy effects and if we turn them to zero would it heavily effect the sound of those presets?


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 11, 2022)

Benjamin Duk said:


> @Noon Instruments If we turn those problematic effects down to zero will the CPU usage then be fine for PC?
> How many effects utilize these CPU heavy effects and if we turn them to zero would it heavily effect the sound of those presets?


Hey Benjamin,

Hope you’re well.

Thanks so much for getting in touch. Really appreciate it.

Due to the nature of serialised, digital products (and specifically the inability to return them) we felt it was best to be as transparent as possible and recommend that customers use a Mac to run Toska.

We advised setting the Wash & Absorb controls to 0 as a possible workaround as Kontakt’s effects only use CPU power when audio passes through them. (If set to 0, the effect is essentially bypassed). It feels slightly problematic to go too far down the road of recommending workarounds and as I mentioned before, we just want to be as transparent as possible with this.

There has been a little more discussion about this earlier in this thread - https://vi-control.net/community/threads/out-now-toska.131399/#post-5205613

Our advice remains that for the best experience, Toska should be run on a Mac if possible but I hope the above gives you a little more information. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any more help. 

Thanks so much again for getting in touch and for the support.


----------



## will_m (Nov 12, 2022)

Benjamin Duk said:


> @Noon Instruments If we turn those problematic effects down to zero will the CPU usage then be fine for PC?
> How many effects utilize these CPU heavy effects and if we turn them to zero would it heavily effect the sound of those presets?


I was going to do a full Youtube review for this library but I've just been super busy lately. I had some of the same questions as you before I bought it so hopefully I can answer a few of those. I spoke with Greg at Noon before ordering and he was very up front with me about the performance on Windows systems.

So to try and answer your questions after using the library for a few days. For context I'm on Windows 10, Cubase 12 and I have a Ryzen 3900x 12 core CPU.



> How many effects utilize these CPU heavy effects and if we turn them to zero would it heavily effect the sound of those presets?



I would say the majority of presets use either the wash or absorb effects. Turning these effects to zero obviously does alter the sound but I would say these effects are more like a final glue and gloss, they don't make or break the sound for me. What I've done is set-up an effects buss of my own with similar sounding plugins on.



> If we turn those problematic effects down to zero will the CPU usage then be fine for PC?


For me most of the presets as loaded report a 40-80% CPU usage in Kontakt, removing the wash and absorb effects take this down to about 20%-40%. The reduction is substantial but the usage is still very high. I own a substantial amount of sample libraries and Toska hits my CPU more than anything I own. Slate and Ash libraries like Auras are also quite demanding but not to this level. I know very little about scripting for kontakt but I'm not understanding why its as demanding as it is.

The good news is that the sounds are superb across the board, one of my favourite libraries this year. If Noon are able to reduce the CPU usage on Windows in this or future libraries I think they could be a really serious contender and I'm excited to see what they do next.


----------



## Benjamin Duk (Nov 14, 2022)

@will_m Thanks for this detailed reply!

It's good to hear that those effects don't hugely alter the overall sound of the presets.

Yeah that is a very high CPU usage even with those effects off. Hopefully Noon can work on some optimizations there in the future. 

From what I head from the demos the sounds are fantastic!


----------



## SojournerMike (Nov 14, 2022)

I would absolutely love to get this, but unfortunately the PC issue (and having no access to a Mac) rules this out for me for now. Part of me wants to purchase it to test it anyway...a few other plugins like the Slate + Ash ones and Pharlight also hit the CPU hard...but I don't know. Definitely let us know if there's any addressing the issue in the future though!


----------



## tabulius (Nov 14, 2022)

Inspiring sounds! Well done. Shame it seems like a CPU killer, but the sound is spot on.

Edit: Maybe consider releasing a small ”taste demo” were we can test how well the effects and patches run in our DAWs?


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 14, 2022)

Benjamin Duk said:


> @will_m Thanks for this detailed reply!
> 
> It's good to hear that those effects don't hugely alter the overall sound of the presets.
> 
> ...


Hey Benjamin,

Hope you’re good. Thanks so much again for the kind words and for checking out Toska.

As mentioned before, the issues encountered on PC are due to how these processes in Kontakt respond on PC specifically. (Which is why Mac users do not experience the same issues). 

Unfortunately the only optimisation option available would be to remove these effects/processes completely.

For this reason we’ve been reluctant to recommend work arounds and maintained that for the best experience, Toska should be run on a Mac if possible. However @will_m is completely right - bypassing the effects mentioned will significantly reduce the CPU power required to run Toska on PC (even if it remains fairly hungry afterwards due to some of the background processes).

We’ve been blown away by the positive response for Toska and appreciate that PC users are looking for ways to use the instrument. We also want to be as transparent as possible about the PC specific issues. This ensures that PC users have as much information as possible to allow them to make a decision that they’re happy with.

It’s unlikely that significant changes will be made to Toska which would alter how it responds on PC. However we of course want as many people as possible to have access to our instruments so can assure you that any future libraries will be MUCH more PC friendly.

Thanks so much again!


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 14, 2022)

tabulius said:


> Inspiring sounds! Well done. Shame it seems like a CPU killer, but the sound is spot on.
> 
> Edit: Maybe consider releasing a small ”taste demo” were we can test how well the effects and patches run in our DAWs?


Hey @tabulius,

Thanks so much for the kind words. 

Just to be clear, the issues mentioned above are specific to PC only. 

Really appreciate the feedback RE: Demo Patches. Definitely something we’ll look at. However for full transparency, NI encoding would make this extremely difficult. 

Thanks so much again!


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 14, 2022)

SojournerMike said:


> I would absolutely love to get this, but unfortunately the PC issue (and having no access to a Mac) rules this out for me for now. Part of me wants to purchase it to test it anyway...a few other plugins like the Slate + Ash ones and Pharlight also hit the CPU hard...but I don't know. Definitely let us know if there's any addressing the issue in the future though!


Hey Mike,

Thanks so much for the kind words. Really appreciate it!

Some of your questions have been answered in the response to @Benjamin Duk above. Hope that helps.

Thanks so much again!


----------



## SojournerMike (Nov 14, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> Hey Mike,
> 
> Thanks so much for the kind words. Really appreciate it!
> 
> ...


Sounds good, definitely will follow you on future releases though! Thanks for the transparency on the issues up front, the library sounds beautiful.


----------



## SvenE (Nov 20, 2022)




----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 21, 2022)

nooninstruments.com

*----*



(Contextual - Additional Prophet ’08 & Empress Reverb used)

Sweeping synth tones drenched in atmosphere.

Beautiful, ambient swells from musician, songwriter and electronic performer Paolo Cattaneo.

You can hear more of his music here:

paolocattaneo.it
instagram.com/paolocattaneo


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 22, 2022)

nooninstruments.com

*----*



A number of people have messaged to ask for Toska’s Intro price to be extended.

The Intro price of £69 will now be available until 02/12/22 (regular price £89).

🙏


----------



## Reznov981 (Nov 25, 2022)

Hey @Noon Instruments ! Toska seems like such a hit! I'm super duper curious if there is _anything _you can tell us about your plans/ releases? A general stylistic direction (more hybrid synth-orchestral comps, traditional instrument VIs), dare I ask if you could tell us of any specific instruments you might be doing something with? So excited for your future 😊


----------



## Reznov981 (Nov 25, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> nooninstruments.com
> 
> *----*
> 
> ...



Also this is very unfairly tempting when I've been fighting GAS on this the whole time! 😂
I'm a student but not in the UK. You lot have made me half-consider moving there just for the student discount 😜


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 28, 2022)

Reznov981 said:


> Also this is very unfairly tempting when I've been fighting GAS on this the whole time! 😂
> I'm a student but not in the UK. You lot have made me half-consider moving there just for the student discount 😜


Hey @Reznov981,

Thanks so much for the kind words! Really appreciate the support.

If you are a student or educator at any accredited institution worldwide, you are eligible for Educational Discount. Please contact [email protected]. Hope that helps!


----------



## Reznov981 (Nov 29, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> Hey @Reznov981,
> 
> Thanks so much for the kind words! Really appreciate the support.
> 
> If you are a student or educator at any accredited institution worldwide, you are eligible for Educational Discount. Please contact [email protected]. Hope that helps!


The link to the university page says UK only, so that might need to be updated? Sending an email now


----------



## Noon Instruments (Nov 30, 2022)

Reznov981 said:


> The link to the university page says UK only, so that might need to be updated? Sending an email now


Hey @Reznov981,

You may be referring to our scheme for anyone currently receiving Universal Credit which is UK only. All information regarding Educational Discount is listed on the Toska FAQ page. Thanks again!


----------



## Noon Instruments (Dec 6, 2022)

Noon Instruments said:


> nooninstruments.com
> 
> *----
> 
> ...




nooninstruments.com

*----

*


Atmospheric, textured grandeur from London-based, multi-instrumentalist Ciaran Morahan. (Codes in the Clouds // Collisions // Erased Tapes)


instagram.com/ciaranmorahan
instagram.com/codesclouds
instagram.com/collisions.cto
instagram.com/erasedtapesmusic


----------



## Noon Instruments (Jan 6, 2023)

Noon Instruments said:


> nooninstruments.com
> 
> *----
> 
> ...



----



"Noon Instruments delves into the dystopian darkness with Toska for Kontakt Player, a Stand-Out with its sheer depth and size and a great fit for heavy dark scores.

Sample Library Review (@donbodin) contributor @bfreepro reviews Toska by Noon Instruments

I was really impressed with the sounds from this library. They were very dark and moody, atmospheric and inspiring. Most of the sounds are very long, evolving soundscapes, though you do have ADSR controls to shape the sounds into anything from pads and keys to leads and basses, though it really shines with pure ambience and soundscape-esque material. It’ll be great for those scores inspired by Blade Runner, Stranger Things, etc. It stands out from other libraries with the sheer depth and size of the sounds, and the variety of included effects and controls allow you to have a clean sound, or something more raw and distorted. I would say these fit best with modern synth scores that focus on heavy, dark topics. None of these sounds felt very light hearted and uplifting, instead they were hauntingly dark and beautiful, but never veering into stereotypical “horror” sounds, just very dark and wet."


----------



## bfreepro (Jan 6, 2023)

Noon Instruments said:


> ----
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Definitely had a great time exploring these sounds, and I continue to use it in my daily work. It’s actually replaced some other libs as my go-to for dark hybrid/orchestra sounds.


----------



## Noon Instruments (Jan 6, 2023)

bfreepro said:


> Definitely had a great time exploring these sounds, and I continue to use it in my daily work. It’s actually replaced some other libs as my go-to for dark hybrid/orchestra sounds.


Thanks so much for the support Brian! 🙏


----------

