Resonate

Name: Resonate
Price: 249 USD
Author: Spitfire Audio

by Spitfire Audio · Instrument · Percussion resonance library

Not rated yet

Resonate is a percussion library made with Dame Evelyn Glennie at AIR Studios that focuses on the resonance and aftershocks of instruments rather than their attack.

It has 49 techniques, a water tank, thundersheet, timpani and barrel as resonators, stretch and warp effects, and 100 presets, for $249.

Best for: Sound Design, Drums, Acoustic Instruments. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic.

Keywords: preset-driven, sound design, textures, drones, cinematic, eerie, gritty, hybrid, organic, sample-based, tube.

What it does

Resonate was developed with percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and recorded at AIR Studios' Lyndhurst Hall. Instead of the hit itself, it captures how instruments ring, hum and decay, using a water tank, thundersheet, timpani and barrel as resonating chambers.

Techniques: 49 techniques and pairings across the four main resonators, in over 32,000 audio files.
Mic positions: seven placements: valve close mics, a Decca tree, ambient mics at the back of the hall, stereo mid, contact mics on the chambers, boundary mics underneath, and submerged mics in the water tank.
Signals and mixes: 14 signal paths, organic and treated, plus Balanced and an exaggerated Hype mix.
Warp FX: five effect chains, from gritty and textural to endlessly ringing reverb.
Stretch: changes playback speed without changing pitch, so decays become sustained sounds.
Grid: a grid tool for finding and playing new combinations of the sounds.
Presets: 100 presets.

An education discount is available; no trial is listed.

Source: Spitfire Audio product page

When to use it

Resonate is a sound design tool built from percussion, not a percussion section. Compared with the orchestral percussion in BBC Symphony Orchestra Core or Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, it has no playable timpani rolls or cymbal crashes for writing parts; what it gives instead is drones, rumbles and shimmering tails from resonating objects. Next to Acoustic Shadows it is far deeper, with seven mic positions, warp chains and Stretch, though it costs much more. Its contact, boundary and underwater mics give sounds that few other libraries capture.

Best for: tension beds, drones, eerie tails and hybrid percussion textures.
Genres: cinematic, trailer, ambient and experimental music.
Look elsewhere if: you need playable orchestral percussion; BBC Symphony Orchestra Core or Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition cover that.
Tip: MusicRadar suggests using Stretch in real time on the longer samples to reshape their timing.

What producers say

Reviewers rate it highly as a niche sound design library rather than a mainstream percussion tool.

MusicRadar praised the recording, full mic control and an interface that invites real-time play, and said the Evo Grid makes "real sonic magic".
Criticisms: MusicRadar noted limited appeal for mainstream producers and fairly slow sample loading.

MusicRadar review

Where to buy

Spitfire Audio: $249
PluginFox: $249

Tutorials and reviews

Similar plugins

Studio Elements by Vienna Symphonic Library · Sampled unusual percussion · $279
Fractured Strings by Spitfire Audio · Experimental strings library · $299
Studio Percussion by Vienna Symphonic Library · Sampled orchestral percussion · $453.06
Originals Cinematic Frozen Strings by Spitfire Audio · Experimental strings library · $29
Originals Epic Choir by Spitfire Audio · Choir instrument · $29
Symphonic Elements PERRCS by UJAM · Cinematic percussion instrument · $249
BBO Percussion by Vienna Symphonic Library · Sampled epic percussion ensembles · $99
Ample Percussion Cloudrum by Ample Sound · Sampled steel tongue drum · Free
Instant Orchestra by Garritan · Orchestral ensemble library · $149
Iconica Sections & Players by Steinberg · Orchestral sample library · $799.99

All orchestral & other instruments