Softstruck

You’ve Heard Of Felt Piano, Meet Sonora Cinematics' ‘Felt’ Guitar…

An unconventional, cinematic guitar library inspired by the delicate warmth of the felt piano, Softstruck is the third addition to Sonora Cinematic’s Select series and one of their most unusual instruments yet.

The idea for Softstruck was born during a felt piano recording session – a technique where felt is placed between the hammer and strings to produce a soft, muted sound often heard in film scores and ambient music. It got the team thinking – could the concept of the felt piano be brought to guitar?

The experiments started by placing felt on the guitar bridge, which created a sound like palm muting – interesting but not quite what they were striving for. Then came the lightbulb moment - what if the stroke was muted instead of the guitar?

By using ultra-soft, felt guitar picks – typically meant for nylon instruments like the ukulele – the team captured a brushed, blurred guitar tone that felt instantly nostalgic, dark, and intimately textured.

The Instruments

Taking their new-found technique, the team sampled three distinctive guitars…

• Guitar 1 (‘Butterscotch’) - a classic guitar with an added middle pick-up that offers an iconic scooped clean tone which is very bright to begin with and darkened considerably with the felt.
• Guitar 2 (‘Flatwounds’) – a fantastic, chambered guitar with a p90-style pickup – a much darker instrument made even darker by fitting flatwound strings
• Guitar 3 (‘Singlecut’) – a classic model renowned for its bassy sound at the neck pickup.

The guitars were recorded through four signals: two different amps for each guitar for some tonal variation and two different pedalboard chains, one ambient and lush, the other more experimental.

As with all Select series titles, Softstruck features Sonora Cinematic’s signature processing, tweaked for guitar…

• White Cloud – a high-quality studio reverb
• Blue Signal – a dreamy, diffused cinematic ambience
• Pink Signal – a granular reverb based on Native Instruments’ Raum.

You’ll also find a Double Track switch for different round robins which can be panned hard right and left for a richer, stereo feel.

A Soft Touch For Powerful Storytelling

Across 51 presets, Softstruck’s beautifully muted, brushed tones offer an expressive, organic softness that’s both familiar and refreshingly original.

Whether you're composing a cinematic score, crafting ambient soundscapes, shaping emotional cues, or writing delicate, heartfelt songs, Softstruck provides a deeply inspiring palette. Its understated character makes it equally suited for introspective solo pieces or layered textures in complex arrangements.

Features

• Cinematic guitar library inspired by felt piano technique
• Uses ultra-soft felt picks for muted, brushed guitar tones
• Includes 3 distinctive guitars:
  • Butterscotch (bright scooped clean tone, middle pickup)
  • Flatwounds (chambered guitar with p90 pickup, flatwound strings for darker tone)
  • Singlecut (classic bassy neck pickup sound)
• Recorded with 4 signals per guitar: 2 amps + 2 pedalboard chains (ambient and experimental)
• Sonora Cinematic’s signature guitar-tailored effects:
  • White Cloud (studio reverb)
  • Blue Signal (dreamy cinematic ambience)
  • Pink Signal (granular reverb based on NI Raum)
• Double Track switch for stereo layering with different round robins
• 51 presets featuring muted, organic, expressive guitar tones
• Ideal for cinematic scoring, ambient soundscapes, emotional cues, and delicate songwriting
• Powered by Kontakt Player 8.1 or higher