Kinetic Metal is a virtual instrument released by Native Instruments for their Kontakt sample player in 2013.
It consists of 211 patches (“instruments”) based on 1751 samples and is 1.55 GB in size.
NI describes the product as:
The focus of KINETIC METAL lies on high-quality metallic sounds and textures that can be modulated and played dynamically. Despite its relatively simple interface, this collection of instruments for KONTAKT and KONTAKT 5 PLAYER provides vast sonic possibilities by morphing your sounds in two dimensions.
It’s easy for a product like this to become gimmicky, but I think it’s pretty well balanced. Despite being almost eight years old, it has aged well.
NI delivers on their promise: with Kinetic Metal, you get a large set of instruments based on recordings of diverse metal objects carefully transformed into playable sounds.
Sample recording of me playing with the “Aluminum scratches” patch:
Original Press Release:
Press Release: Berlin, September 25, 2013 – Native Instruments today introduced KINETIC METAL, a new instrument for creating ethereal sound beds, shifting textures, and delicate, tonal percussion. KINETIC METAL combines creatively-sampled, unconventional metal objects with artificial waveforms and is aimed primarily at producers and sound designers seeking atmospheric textures, mallet-like lead sounds, and delicate percussion. Two large, easy-to-use modification wheels allow users to quickly manipulate the sound. An auto-motion feature allows producers to set one or both of these wheels turning on their own, giving them freedom to focus on performance. KINETIC METAL runs in KONTAKT 5 and the free KONTAKT 5 PLAYER. It is available from the NI Online Shop for $99 / 99 € / ¥ 9,800.
KINETIC METAL consists of over 200 individual, multi-layered patches. These were created by sampling a wide range of non-traditional sources such as cauldrons, broken clocks, kettles, and swords. Each patch is made up of a combination of four of these sampled sounds plus four artificial waveforms. The four most distinct ‘personalities’ of each custom patch are set as starting points on KINETIC METAL’s Forge wheel. Turning the Forge wheel continuously, clockwise or counterclockwise, morphs the sound through different combinations of these four ‘personalities’. Furthermore, eight sliders allow manual adjustments to the level of each sample and waveform in the mix, allowing a fine degree of customization of each patch’s overall sound.
KINETIC METAL’s FX wheel provides another level of sound manipulation. It controls a set of custom effects that are mapped to blend together as the wheel is turned. Like the Forge wheel, the FX wheel has four main settings. The combination of these two wheels provides near-limitless possibilities for sonic sculpting. Producers can also design their own combinations by adjusting any of the eight effect knobs linked to the FX wheel – the new setting automatically maps to that position on the FX wheel for instant recall within the session. The Motion button turns KINETIC METAL into a dynamic performance instrument, freeing producers to play chords, melodies or percussion while the textures morph automatically. When Motion is engaged, users have three options, depending on user-definable settings – it automatically turns either the Forge or FX wheel, or both wheels together in sync, providing a sound that evolves over time.
KINETIC METAL was envisioned by renowned sound designer Jeremiah Savage. For over a year, Savage recorded a huge inventory of unconventional samples, then chose the best of them to create the sound palette in KINETIC METAL.
KINETIC METAL is available from the NI Online Shop for $99 / 99 € / ¥ 9,800.