"The guitar's deconstruction explores decay, texture, and spatial recollections: Stephen O'Malley of Sunn O))) collaborates on innovative virtual instrument production"
New Experimental Guitar-Based Kontakt Instrument: Ruins by Slate + Ash
Slate + Ash has released a groundbreaking new instrument, Ruins, an experimental guitar-based Kontakt library that transforms electric guitar sounds into rich, layered sonic landscapes. This innovative tool emphasizes collapse, texture, and spatial memory, offering a unique experience for sound designers and producers seeking experimental, evolving guitar textures beyond conventional guitar libraries.
Rich Sound Content and Recording Techniques
Ruins' sound library consists of loops, textures, resonances, and mechanical failures, recorded from six avant-garde players, including Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, Oren Ambarchi, David Torn, Bill Horist, Ben Greenberg, and Arjan Miranda. The samples were recorded using multiple mic positions and treatments, such as pristine direct input (DI), tube-powered amplifiers, eroded stereo spring reverb, and a cavernous re-amped signal from Berlin’s Funkhaus sound chamber. Users can blend these mic positions using an XY grid to create complex tonal combinations.
Instrument Features and Compatibility
Ruins runs in Kontakt 7.10.7 or higher (including the free Kontakt Player) on macOS and Windows. It costs £179 (introductory price). The library arrives with a selection of 250 curated presets, and the interface provides eight macro controls to adjust sounds. The multi-loop playback engine is inspired by tape loops, offering extensive sample shaping with effects like delay, reverb, filter, modulation, and tape emulation. Almost every parameter can be modulated via LFO, step sequencer, or MIDI CC.
Key Features
- Experimental guitar textures exploring collapse, decay, and spatial depth.
- Dual-layer sample architecture for combining multiple samples.
- Multi-mic recordings from DI, tube amps, spring reverb, and Funkhaus chamber.
- Extensive modulation: LFO, step sequencer, MIDI CC controls.
- Audio effects: delay, reverb, filter, modulation, tape emulation.
- 250 curated presets across basses, leads, pads, and more.
- XY grid to blend mic positions and treatments.
- Compatible with macOS/Windows and Kontakt 7.10.7+.
Ruins: A Must-Have for Sound Designers and Producers
Ruins is geared toward sound designers and producers seeking experimental, evolving guitar textures. Its dual-layer architecture and playback engine feature a multi-loop system for asynchronous repetition, granular manipulation, and deep modulation. The library contains 4,636 sounds, divided into single and multi-samples, and categorized by the performer and the sound's tonal properties. With its rich sound content, versatile features, and user-friendly interface, Ruins is a must-have for any sound designer or producer looking to expand their sonic palette.
You can find Ruins on Slate + Ash's website. Randall Dunn, a producer, engineer, and musician known for his work with Sunn O))), Thurston Moore, Boris, Wolves in the Throne Room, and various film and television projects, curated and produced Ruins at his Williamsburg studio Circular Ruin.
- This innovative tool, Ruins by Slate + Ash, not only offers experimental guitar textures but also incorporates technology in its recording techniques, such as utilizing multi-mic positions and various treatments like pristine direct input (DI), tube-powered amplifiers, eroded stereo spring reverb, and a cavernous re-amped signal from Berlin’s Funkhaus sound chamber.
- For entertainment purposes, Ruins presents a unique experience for sound designers and music producers, as it transforms electric guitar sounds into rich, layered sonic landscapes, featuring a collection of loops, textures, resonances, and mechanical failures, inspired by artists like Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, Oren Ambarchi, and others.
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