Ample China Erhu

Name: Ample China Erhu
Price: 126 USD
Author: Ample Sound

by Ample Sound · Instrument · Sampled Chinese erhu (bowed fiddle)

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Ample China Erhu is a sampled erhu, the two-string Chinese bowed fiddle, in Ample Sound's own plugin.

It has 27 articulations, a 7.6 GB chromatic library and the Riffer 4 MIDI editor. It costs $126 on sale (regular $169).

Best for: Acoustic Instruments. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Jazz, Acoustic & Classical, Pop.

Keywords: world instruments, sample-based, monophonic, leads, cinematic, extreme, film & game audio, multisampled, subtle.

What it does

The erhu is a two-string Chinese bowed fiddle. Ample China Erhu was played by Ying Wang, a Doctor of Erhu Performance at the Central Conservatory of Music, and covers a standard D-tuned erhu and a lower G-tuned erquan erhu, from hard bowing to "extremely soft, delicate, and sustained light bowing."

Bowed articulations: sustain, staccato, ricochet, tremolo and portato.
Expression: whispering, sighing, crying and hoarse.
Fingered articulations: pizzicato, diminuendo, sforzando, expressive, vibrato, trill, three mordent types, slide turns up and down, and slides in and out from above and below; 27 articulations in all.
Portamento: real sampled slides between any pitches at any timing, plus Virtual Portamento with adjustable slide speed.
Samples and mics: no pitch-shifted samples, five microphones (Mid-Low, Mid-High, Front, Rear and Distant) and three mic modes.
Legato and fingering: an intelligent legato system with up to four velocity layers, and three fingering modes: Outer String, Inner String and Position.
Riffer 4 and effects: piano-roll and tab views, one-click auto expression and vibrato, CC and velocity editors, quantize and swing, plus 8-band EQ, compressor, delay and convolution reverb.

Source: Ample Sound product page

When to use it

Ample China Erhu is a solo instrument with the sliding, crying expression of the erhu, which a violin patch does not reproduce, where Berlin Strings and BBC Symphony Orchestra Core give you Western string sections and Augmented STRINGS blends strings with synth layers. The sampled portamento and the expression articulations do most of the work, so a lead line can sound played rather than programmed. Its two instruments let you choose between the standard erhu and the darker erquan for lower lines. Pair it with Ample China Dadi if a score needs a Chinese wind voice as well.

Best for: expressive erhu leads in film, game, C-pop and traditional music.
Genres: cinematic, pop and traditional Chinese music.
Look elsewhere if: you need a string section; Berlin Strings or BBC Symphony Orchestra Core fit better.

What producers say

Users praise the sound and playability; the complaints are about support.

KVR users rate it 3.5 out of 5 from 2 reviews. One gave five stars, calling "the sound quality superb"; the other gave two stars over unanswered support requests.
VI-Control walkthrough by Pete Checkley called it "the most detailed erhu instrument created" and said it delivers on sound and playability.

Where to buy

Ample Sound: $126 (regular $169)
Plugin Boutique: $169

Tutorials and reviews

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