The University of Iowa Electronic Music Studios has an extensive database of Musical Instrument Samples.

The instruments were recorded in the Anechoic Chamber in the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center at The University of Iowa on the following equipment:

  • Neumann KM 84 Cardioid Condensor Microphone
  • Mackie 1402-VLZ Mixer
  • Panasonic SV-3800 DAT Recorder
Anechoic chamber and studio @ University of Iowa

Each note is approximately 2 seconds long and is immediately preceded and followed by ambient silence.

Some instruments are recorded with and without vibrato. String instrument recordings include arco (bowed) and pizzicato (plucked). The only non-anechoic instrument is the piano, which was recorded in a small faculty teaching studio.

All samples are in mono, 16 bit, 44.1 kHz, AIFF format. The exception is the piano, which is recorded in stereo.

The samples can be used without restriction.

Visit the University of Iowa Electronic Music Studios for more information.