Tablas complete the second CD‑ROM, the low tones of the copper Baya complementing the higher ones of the wooden Tabla, with a variety of hits, rolls, and rim shots in various positions on the heads, mapped so that you can play each drum sound with one hand.

Both provide authentic sounds that work far better if you understand the scales of the region. There are two stringed instruments - a Middle Eastern fiddle and an Indian Sarangi with four main strings and twelve sympathetic ones. These are articulated using keyswitching, and there are three collections of 'licks' to load in, as well as a separate drone. This small wooden reeded instrument is normally accompanied by a second player blowing a continuous drone, while the first plays the melody with ornaments and flourishes. The highlight of the Middle East and India collection for me was the Duduk. The Taiko drums have been recorded with various mic techniques, including the floor‑shaking Thunder and Earthquake versions! The final two representatives from this region are the melancholy Erhu (a two‑stringed Chinese fiddle), and the evocative 10‑foot Tibetan Rag Dung trumpet. Both are played with large mallets, sticks, and hammer, in a variety of ways. It's not totally comprehensive - you'd need several CDs per country for that - but instead concentrates on capturing the full expressive possibilities of a limited selection of ethnic instruments.įrom the Far East comes a 34‑inch Chinese Gong, for the classic 'big' sound, while the 23‑inch Thai Gong provides a mid‑range tone. You really need multisampled instruments that you can play yourself, but with articulations and performance flourishes played by talented musicians and mapped in for easy access.Įnter Rare Instruments, a three‑CD set covering the Far East, Middle East/India, and Europe. In some cases the recordings sound as if they were captured out of the window of a still‑moving tourist coach, but nearly all limit your possibilities, since it's almost impossible to timestretch or pitch‑shift them far.

If you want to add ethnic flavour to your music, there are various sample CDs containing traditional phrases for cutting and pasting into compositions. (QUANTUM LEAP AKAI/GIGASAMPLER CD‑ROM SET)

Uilleann pipes vst instrument