Ancient Greek Strings is a deeply sampled Kontakt library of seven historical stringed instruments, featuring authentic articulations, dual microphone positions, and extensive sound-shaping tools for creative scoring.
Historical Instruments
This library captures seven handcrafted reconstructions of ancient Greek stringed instruments, including the Barbiton, Cithara, Lyre, Goat Horn Lyre, Pandura, Phorminx, and Trigonon. Master craftsman Panagiotis Stefos built each piece, and producer John Valasis recorded them with meticulous detail, using eight round-robin variations and four dynamic velocities per string to preserve natural playability.
The instruments, made from wood, gut, and goat skin, reflect the timbral foundations of modern harps, guitars, and zithers. This collection offers a direct sonic link to classical Greek traditions, making it suitable for period-accurate compositions, historical films, or adding an organic, ancient character to contemporary productions.
Sampling and Articulations
The library includes finger plucks, picks, mutes, staccato, and special effect articulations, recorded in both close and overhead microphone positions. You can blend these mic perspectives independently within the interface to shape the spatial image, from intimate and direct to more ambient and roomy.
All 15,158 samples are uncompressed 24-bit PCM WAV files, totaling 8.23 GB when installed. The raw sample folders are unlocked, allowing you to load the WAV files into other samplers or software that supports the format, although the full Kontakt scripting is required for the complete interactive experience.
Sound Shaping and Effects
The Kontakt interface provides automation-ready controls for swell, attack, release, offset, vibrato, filter, and pitch, alongside articulation switching and cross-fading. An adaptable LFO system offers selectable shapes, modulation targets, speed, intensity, tempo-syncing, and fade-in time, while twelve filters can be assigned to velocity, mod wheel, expression, aftertouch, key position, or step sequencer.
A customizable arpeggiator includes velocity control and settings for direction, timing, swing, randomization, and duration, with a key/scale lock to constrain notes for easy melodic work. The modular FX rack provides 18 DSP modules, such as phaser, flanger, delay, distortion, amp/cab simulators, compressors, EQ, and rotator, assignable to ten slots in any order.
Ambiences and Creative Use
Beyond the raw instruments, the library includes 20 sound-designed ambience patches created from the source audio, plus 20 custom FX presets to expand your sound palette. The convolution reverb offers 99 impulse responses from rooms, halls, chambers, and outdoor spaces, with 40 additional custom FX impulses for drastic transformations.
This combination suits scoring for historical documentaries, trailer music, or ambient electronic projects. The arpeggiator and scale lock make live performance or quick melodic sketching straightforward, while the full FX chain can push the instruments from authentic ancient timbres into modern, processed territories.
Key features
- Seven instruments in open Kontakt format
- Close and overhead mic positions
- Eight round-robins and four dynamics per string
- 20 ambience patches and 20 FX presets
- LFO, arpeggiator, filters, and scale lock
- FX rack with 18 DSP modules and 99 reverbs
Best for
Best for composers and sound designers needing authentic plucked-string textures for historical film scores, ambient soundscapes, or adding a classical Greek flavor to modern electronic tracks. The flexible articulation and effects suit both realistic passages and experimental sound design.