Orchestral Tools - Monolith by Richard Harvey (AIR Studios)

[Baronvonheadless]

I guess I will be the 1st person to gripe a little bit.
My first impression is although it sounds great,for me it sounds way to ambient with the percussion swimming in the room.
A question for anyone who has actually used this can you effectively get this sounding more punchy,less of the Air room with microphone choices?
For me it’s just too much room, I want more attack.
Thanks

I've got you, here:

I took my demo, and lowered the tree/outrigger/overheads mics (or deep trees when used) to -5db and raised the close, spot, and vintage close mics to 0db.

I think the result is just as inspiring, and yields quite different results. (I wouldn't use JUST the close mics, tbh, that's never how these things sound best. But here is a much drier version).


View attachment Air Percussion Demo 1 Final (close mics).mp3

 

[Jackal_King]

Well done, OT! I don't need the entire library but I will buy an a la carte or two (taikos being one).

 

[kgdrum]

I've got you, here:

I took my demo, and lowered the tree/outrigger/overheads mics (or deep trees when used) to -5db and raised the close, spot, and vintage close mics to 0db.

I think the result is just as inspiring, and yields quite different results. (I wouldn't use JUST the close mics, tbh, that's never how these things sound best. But here is a much drier version).


View attachment Air Percussion Demo 1 Final (close mics).mp3

@Baronvonheadless
Thanks Michael this sounds much better to my ears,although as crazy as i am,I would love to hear this even dryer if possible.

Thanks

 

[prodigalson]

@Baronvonheadless
Thanks Michael this sounds much better to my ears,although as crazy as i am,I would love to hear this even dryer if possible.

Thanks

Then you probably don’t want a percussion library recorded at AIR.

 

[Trash Panda]

Then you probably don’t want a percussion library recorded at AIR.

AIR LYNDHURST. AIR Studio 1 on the other hand…

 

[Petrucci]

I always wanted to get HZ Percussion someday, been waiting for a good sale))) Now comes this..! Is there anyone here who has both and can compare??

 

[David Kudell]

I always wanted to get HZ Percussion someday, been waiting for a good sale))) Now comes this..! Is there anyone here who has both and can compare??

HZP has a darker sound, more rolled off, boomy and quite reverberant. Monolith I would say is more impactful, present, and a lot more definition in the close mics. But still plenty of the gorgeous hall as well. I would generally suggest Monolith first, then HZP if you wanted that specific flavor.

 

[Bara Matahari Pagi]

This is basically like LAMP if it was wetter and more ambient! Amazing stuff!!

It has that Kung Fu Panda drums vibe

 

[KEM]

This library sounds SO good, exactly what I want out of a percussion library. Fingers crossed for OT x Air Lyndhurst libraries

 

[ALittleNightMusic]

It seems like the 20 dynamic layers are in lieu of multiple round robins? So it is more similar to TH Perc / LAMP's recording approach?

How is the consistency between the dynamic layers? I have the Ronroco from Andea and found significant variation in the round robins in terms of tuning and dynamics. Makes it pretty frustrating to program and get consistent playback (and worse, it's not the same round robin for each note that is variable, but SINE's round robin wheel applies to every note when you turn one off. No way to adjust per note).

 

[axb312]

It seems like the 20 dynamic layers are in lieu of multiple round robins? So it is more similar to TH Perc / LAMP's recording approach?

How is the consistency between the dynamic layers? I have the Ronroco from Andea and found significant variation in the round robins in terms of tuning and dynamics. Makes it pretty frustrating to program and get consistent playback (and worse, it's not the same round robin for each note that is variable, but SINE's round robin wheel applies to every note when you turn one off. No way to adjust per note).

Nobody seems willing to confirm this yet. Not sure why.

 

[Petrucci]

HZP has a darker sound, more rolled off, boomy and quite reverberant. Monolith I would say is more impactful, present, and a lot more definition in the close mics. But still plenty of the gorgeous hall as well. I would generally suggest Monolith first, then HZP if you wanted that specific flavor.

Thanks a lot! Yeah, it seems that Monolith is for me then

 

[alchemist]

Nobody seems willing to confirm this yet. Not sure why.

Single RR for the 20 individual dynamic layers like the JXL way. Then the Alternative Mapping articulation and the menu patches present them as 3 RR's grouped through 6 dynamic layers for a more playable option.

 

[Baronvonheadless]

@Baronvonheadless
Thanks Michael this sounds much better to my ears,although as crazy as i am,I would love to hear this even dryer if possible.

Thanks

Ask and you shall receive (I'm accepting tip/beer money on my Venmo @Baronvonheadless) hahaha!


View attachment Air Percussion Demo 1 Final (close mics 2).mp3

 

[kgdrum]

Ask and you shall receive (I'm accepting tip/beer money on my Venmo @Baronvonheadless) hahaha!


View attachment Air Percussion Demo 1 Final (close mics 2).mp3

Thanks,
This sounds great,I prefer hearing the percussion dry enough so I can hear the samples, attack and dynamics clearly.
For me it’s hard to process what a library actually sounds like if there’s too much room ambience for me it just becomes a blur.
fwiw I prefer dealing in herbal currency

 

[Baronvonheadless]

Thanks
fwiw I prefer dealing in herbal currency

I can’t smoke anymore after I ripped a hole in my lung last year (true story).

 

[kgdrum]

edibles

 

[Baronvonheadless]

edibles

Child’s play.

 

[kgdrum]

Child’s play.

Sometimes I feel the opposite………

 

[pranic]

Congratulations to @OrchestralTools on a really interesting percussion release. The walkthrough by Richard is so genuine and humble! The library sounds great!