Welcome to ELECTRIC SUNBURST

SESSION GUITARIST – ELECTRIC SUNBURST, or ELECTRIC SUNBURST, as we will call it in this manual, is a pattern-based guitar library designed for ease of use in songwriting and music production. Its samples originate from a carefully selected instance of the iconic single-cutaway, double humbucker electric guitar. The instrument was recorded through Universal Audio Solo 610 preamps, whose bold transient reproduction and tube saturation prepared the guitar for further effects processing with virtual amps, cabinets and effects. To enable you to freely combine the two pickups, the individual signals were routed through two separate outputs and recorded through two separate preamps. In addition, for greater sonic variability, a small membrane condenser microphone was mounted directly above the strings to capture the sound of the plectrum hitting the strings.

The signals were then converted by the SPL Madison analog-to-digital converter, and fed into an RME MADIface XT via MADI. Thanks to the superior tonal balance of the instrument, it was not necessary to add further effects like EQ or compression. When playing the instrument through high quality guitar amp and cabinet emulations, the sound will be as true to the original as technically possible.

The ELECTRIC SUNBURST library consists of one single KONTAKT instrument, containing a total of 154 patterns covering a wide selection of musical genres and playing styles, such as strumming, picking of arpeggiated chords with fingers and plectrum, and pre-recorded riffs. On top of that, all the included arpeggio patterns can also be performed in flageolet playing technique with both plectrum and fingers. The included patterns were performed live by professional studio guitarists Andreas Dombert, Joschi Joachimsthaler and Christoph Bernewitz. The patterns are grouped as “songs”, each of which contains 6-8 patterns that go together well. You can select patterns via key-switches and play them as chords on your MIDI keyboard. Pattern playback will always stay in sync with your host project.

Regarding sound options, ELECTRIC SUNBURST delivers the full flexibility of the original instrument: selection and volume control of the included pickups, individual tone control per pickup, and a microphone signal that can be added to enhance the pickup signals. These combined source signals are routed through a signal chain of up to seven audio effects, comprising a selection of guitar effects pedals, amps, and cabinets, as well as professional-grade reverb and delay units. Like its acoustic predecessor, STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2, ELECTRIC SUNBURST provides a true doubling mode. Depending on the selected pattern, it can be played over a pitch range of almost four octaves.

The key feature of ELECTRIC SUNBURST is its revolutionary playback engine. You can seamlessly switch between different patterns, and also alter the dynamics in real-time, thus creating true-to-life musical performances. In contrast to most pattern-based instruments, the number of available chord types is virtually endless. Because all nuances of the original performance, such as exact timing and dynamics, are preserved, you will notice that the instrument feels very natural and organic. All of the integrated patterns can be played over a wide tempo range in an outstanding sound quality.

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