Hey what’s good fam!
It’s Friday so you know we gotta dig into some Big Fish!
Today I’m checking out “Ambient Black” from Funk/Soul Productions
Let’s dig in!
So what is Ambient Black?
Well, it’s a sound design/ambient library that leans more towards the edgy, dark, and treacherous side of things.
It’s the companion and alter-ego of their Ambient White library.
What I can say is it’s full of found sound and organic/acoustic based instruments.
Of course the source material is abused, mistreated, mangled, and turned into all sorts of textures, ambiences, drones, impacts, hits, and more.
It runs in the free Kontakt player and has a super simple interface so you can just focus on the sounds!
Quick Specs
- content: Over 6.5GB (3.4Gb compressed), 280 patches
- format: Kontakt 5, Kontakt Player 5
- price: $199.95
- product page:Β http://www.bigfishaudio.com/detail.html?1;16;1:115:::::::::A115::528033
How does it sound?
There’s some really edgy sounds in this one, from metallic scrapes and distorted textures, to eerie drones and even trashy drum kits.
Everything retains an organic feel to it, thanks to the source material, but the end result is no doubt rugged and experimental.
Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t just use distortion for the sake of it, everything was done in a way that keeps the instruments in line with the goal of the library.
I really dig the metallic tones and percussive hits, some of the guitar stuff is pretty cool also, and there is an old creepy piano that I enjoyed.
The atmospheres, drones, and fx are also very usable and all have just the right amount of “non-niceness”
What’s the bottom line?
If you need a collection of sound design elements with a little more grit, bite, and overall edginess they definitely have you covered.
I give Ambient Black 4 out of 5 subs, it delivers a nice collection of sound design tools that would just as at home in any ambient track as the next horror or thriller track.Β
The organic/found sound nature of the library really gives it a different vibe that I don’t think would be quite there if it relied solely on synthesized sounds.
There’s a sharpness to the metal, as well as a nice texture to the hits and impacts.
If you need something a little more edgy, this is definitely one to check out.
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!
there are 7
1. Multi-Layered Instruments
2. Pads & Atmospheres
3. Melocid Instruments
4. Percussive Instruments
5. Bass Instruments
6. Looped Instrument Phrases
7. Effects & Textures
Not exactly, but thanks!
6
Atmos
Bass
Fx
Loop
Melo
Perc
Yep, I’ll be in touch!
there are 6
ATMOS Layered Atmospheres and Pads
BASS Layered Bass Instruments
FX Layered Effects & Textures
LOOP Layered Looped Phrases
MELO Layered Melodic Instruments
PERC Layered Percussive Instruments
That’s it but looks like you got edged out by Reggie π
There are 7 categories
1. Multi-Layered Instruments
2. Pads & Atmospheres
3. Melodic Instruments
4. Percussive Instruments
5. Bass Instruments
6. Looped Instrument Phrases
7. Effects & Textures
Not the answer I was looking for but thanks for watching!
Thanks for the review, Joe – as always, much appreciated. Glad you liked AB π
No doubt bro, thanks!
ok!
Thanks for watching
Is it royalty free once you buy it?
Yes it is
Did you have any initial issues in downloading this program? I purchased this last night and the actual programs keep downloading some (.rar) type file which will not open. I already have Komplete 9 so you know that includes Kontakt 5. The Kontakt 5 installer and manuals downloaded perfectly. Any suggestions on this? This is too much cost for it not to even download. This is my first purchase from Big Fish Audio and I gotta say that for now I’m not feeling them well.
You did an excellent review though on this!!
I won the copy, and was never able to get the program to work. I basically had the same problem as you… I bugged big fish (who I like very much) about it. But they weren’t able to see or fix the problem that I was dealing with.
A .rar is an archive/compressed file, you need to extract it first in order to use it. Use something like stuffit, winzip, winrar, etc to extract it.
Okay, I’ll try one of those. Do you know if those will work on Mac systems?
I think stuffit on mac would work, not sure though. Or maybe the built in extractor on OSX?
SaintJoe my brotha’… you are a life saver!!!! Downloaded a trial version of Winzip for Mac and I got it!! Took a minute to figure it out but it worked and I’m going through the patches now! I’ll probably buy the program before the trial session ends as it’s only $29.95! Reggie, this may work for you as well if you’re running a Mac. But of course it will work for Windows. Thanks again SJ… you singlehandedly saved Big Fish Audio!! LOL! Peace!
Hahahaha, glad to help fam!