SRM Sounds has partnered with ex-Spitfire Audio CEO Will Evans to make a series of virtual instruments designed to work in Kontakt. The first instrument, released today is the Max Richter Piano, his signature grand recorded at Studio Richter Mahr.
Max Richter has launched a new imprint producing products for music creators. The instruments, all under the imprint, are designed to work in Native Instruments’ Kontakt software. The first of these is the Max Richter Piano, his signature grand recorded at Studio Richter Mahr.
Richter’s 2015 Sleep album is one of his most successful to date and over eight hours is designed to be a sleep aid. It’s no surprise, therefore, how he describes the sound of his first instrument:
“Just like a real acoustic piano, this instrument has its own properties; it is not an “everything piano”. You wouldn’t perform Prokofiev on a piano that had been set up for Mozart, and the same applies here. This piano is a specialist. It loves to play quietly and whisper in your ear. If you are looking to cut through a busy mix, then go elsewhere but if you want to evoke the intimate stories we all carry inside us, then you will be well served by this instrument and the rest of the forthcoming collection.”
“For composers, sound is an incredibly personal and emotional thing. For many of us, the experience of falling in love with the physical and tactile aspects of sound is what got us into music in the first place, so working with sounds that aren’t quite right is really disturbing. Therefore, we decided to make our own Kontakt instrument collection, using the wonderful acoustics and technical resources of Studio Richter Mahr. These instruments have the colours that I love to use to tell the stories I want to tell.
Max Richter, Studio Richter Mahr
SRM Sounds see Max Richter and Studio Richter Mahr (Richter’s Cotswold studios), partnering with ex-Spitfire Audio CEO Will Evans and his new studio Song Athletics to bring the instruments to life.
The centrepiece of the main live room at Max Richter’s spectacular countryside studio is the coveted Steinway Model D Spirio | r grand piano.
Recorded in great detail with a range of modern and vintage mics, and focusing on the softer dynamics, this is an accurately sampled, precision virtual instrument, capable of performing the level of detail Richter’s work demands.
The Steinway is used by Max to compose, rehearse and perform his latest works.
Key Features Of Max Richter Piano
- 2 instruments total ~98GB
- 3 microphone positions per instrument
- 5 Round Robins
- 10 dynamic layers (ppp to mf)
- 2 varieties of reverb
- Action, dampers & pedal volume control
- Velocity sensitivity control
- Kontakt Player library (Version 6.8.0 or higher required)
- NKS compatible
Max Richter Piano is available now for £119 / €135 / $150 (Intro pricing until 31st January, 2024)
Follow Attack Magazine
Produce music?
Max For Live: Chance Engine
Add controlled yet random fluctuations to your most important parameters
Max For Live: Mouth Play
Unconventional vocal shaping with a brass model or FM oscillator source
Max For Live: NerualWaves
Synthesizer fuelled by a custom neural network, forging waves with precision
Max For Live: The Spellbook
LFO inspired by sacred geometry, weaving nature's fabric into your projects
Max For Live: Travelogue
A Max for Live MIDI device creating a unique sonic journey with joyful surprises
Max for Live: Plecto LFO
A lifelike, deterministic, non-linear LFO for Ableton Live, the Plecto LFO Max for Live device can be mapped to any instrument or effect in your set.