Review: Boxed Ear Sys100 for Kontakt

Boxed Ear has recently released a sound library featuring the System 100 analog synthesizer by Roland.

Sys100 is a Kontakt library made entirely with the incredible Roland System 100 semi-modular analog synthesizer and we were very excited to get our mitts on one earlier this year. After months of patching, sampling, looping, tuning and tweaking we can finally unleash the results – a unique and modern sounding sample pack which sounds as good as the System 100 looks.

As with our Mighty M5 pack, we’ve put all our efforts into coaxing the most interesting patches and sounds from the System 100 so you get a wonderful library of expressive and playable Kontakt instruments.

The library includes no less than 4,619 wav files (24bit/44.1kHz) and 80 Kontakt instruments with up to 16 velocity layers and round robin samples. The instruments are grouped in Raw mono, Raw poly, Processed mono, Processed poly, Drums and FX, and Waveforms categories.

Boxed Ear Sys100 in Native Instruments Kontakt 5.

There is a good amount of variety bass, leads, pads, strings, plucks, glitchy sequences, drum/percussion hits, sound fx and more. Check the audio demos below to get an idea of what’s included.

So what do I think?

Boxed Ear continues in the same high standard set by its first sample library, the Mighty M5.

The samples sound authentic, vintage, full of life. Clean when it needs to be, at times noisy, raw and pure, but always chock full of character. I can’t get over how fat the bass sounds are, and I love how some of those are looped. Reminds me of the sounds of 90’s jungle/drum’n’bass, especially with a patch like “Big Sync Lead”. Hold a note and start sliding for instant reese. Boh!

While the palette of sounds suits any type of electronic music, it took me only a good half hour before I found myself knee deep into a Board of Canada vibe. The warble/drift in patches like “Twisted Beauty” and “Canadian Sine” are just so musical, they can easily carry a tune.

In short, Boxed Ear delivers another set of beautifully crafted instruments, with heaps of unique and exciting sounds. This library is a true gem!

More information: Boxed Ear / Sys100

Hey there, I'm Ronnie and I run Rekkerd.org. I'm a bedroom music producer and guitar player, and I love chicken vindaloo & all things glitch.