Balalaika v2

Russian Melancholia

In the context of Cinematique Instruments' previously released string instruments, they have again set a great focus on creating an instrument with a soft and warm sound that will have an organic and realistic feel. It features a "Tremolo-Option“ which is controlled over the Mod Wheel and is capable of creating a very tragic and dramatic but also extremely natural tremolo sound, which fits perfectly in a lot of different music styles and genres.

The Balalaika

The Balalaika is a small string instrument that most likely originates from central Asian lute instruments but is nowadays most closely associated with Eastern European, especially Russian music. First mentioned in the 17th Century, it was primarily used for village and folk music whereas the Balalaika also starts to take part in concert performances since the 19th Century. This even lead to the forming of Balalaika orchestras. Additionally, the Balalaika acquired its iconic triangular shape at that time.

The Balalaika that Cinematique Instruments has recorded is a three-stringed prima Balalaika which has a typical E-E-A tuning.

In order to concentrate on the main instrument articulations, Cinematique Instruments have recorded the Balalaika in the regular "plucking“ articulation in eight times round robin which is well suited for playing melodies but also offers many more uses.

Balalaika features a "Tremolo-Option“ which is controlled over the Mod Wheel and is capable of creating a very tragic and dramatic but also extremely natural tremolo sound, which fits perfectly in a lot of different music styles and genres. The other articulation which has been captured is the "Strumming“. This is great for accompanying and creating a good backing for your music. Along with these samples Cinematique Instruments have additionally recorded strummed dead notes.

You can play these notes manually or with a tiny but very powerful "Pattern" engine which lets you create patterns in an easy and self-explanatory way. Furthermore, the Balalaika is equipped with different options to enhance the entire sound with three types of reverb, some fx features, and editing possibilities.

Overall the Balalaika is an instrument that is easy to use while still offering loads of capabilities to augment your sound with its soft and organic feel and extremely versatile uses.

Update Note

With update 2.0, Cinematique Instruments have added presets and some new features (like Arp) and effects. They have also taken the design to a new level.

Features

• Approximately 320 samples
• 200 MB compressed data
• Organic Tremolo
• Shiny and realistic sound

System Requirements

• The FULL Version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or higher is required.

Important Notes:

• The FULL Version of Kontakt 5.8.1+ is required in order to use this instrument.
• You will be stuck in DEMO MODE if trying to use this instrument in the FREE Kontakt Player.