Image-Line has announced the release of Sakura, a physical modeled string instrument plug-in for Windows and Mac.

Like the transient beauty of Sakura (Japanese for Cherry Blossom), the sound of stringed instruments blossoms and fades.

Sakura can reproduce the delicate pluck of a single string, a violins bowing or the sonorous resonance of a grand piano. Most importantly, the curious musician can take control of every aspect of the simulation to create fantastic instruments.

Virtual modeling in Sakura

  • Contact – An impulse, the mechanical contact with the string, is first generated then shaped to simulate plucks, picks, scrapes, hammers, taps or humble fingers.
  • Vibration – Sakura’s dual string model then gives the operator control over a wide range of parameters such as damping, tension, positioning and string properties.
  • String interaction – The dual strings are then mixed, panned and enveloped to simulate interactions.
  • Resonance – The string’s vibration then interacts with an 8-resonator ‘body simulator’ to create the size, material and shape of the instrument
  • Acoustics – Virtual acoustic space is then simulated with chorus, delay and reverberation effects.

Sukaru is currently only available as a FL Studio plug-in for Windows for $99 USD (VST/AU format coming).

More information: Image-Line