Zach Heyde has released a virtual harp instrument for Native Instruments Kontakt.
Samantha Ballard Harp features the full range of sounds of a 6.5 octave harp recorded with a close mic pair, noise treated for a crisp and clean sound. The sample library contains 180 samples mapped to 4 velocity layers per note, crossfaded for extra nuance. The velocity curve and strength are adjustable from the user interface.
After purchasing and using countless harp VSTs from various sample libraries, I just couldn’t find the sound I was looking for. Every VST I tried either had too much noise floor, or sounded too “plucky” for my liking. That’s why I decided to make this harp VST in collaboration with my friend, Samantha Ballard. I wanted a harp that would feel intimate but present, with virtually no noise floor and a soft-leaning sound.
To accomplish this, Samantha mic’ed her harp as close as possible, using an Aston Spirit and Neumann KM 184 stereo pair and recording 4 dynamics: pp, p, mp, and mf. I cleaned her recordings to remove any remaining noise floor, and programmed them into Kontakt, ensuring an even bed of volumes and EQ throughout the sampler.
Samantha Ballard Harp for the full version of Kontakt 6.7.1 or higher is available to purchase for $20 USD.
More information: Zach Heyde