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A bridge between worlds
Naada, rooted in the ancient practice of Nada yoga, embodies the belief that sound is the fundamental link between the cosmos's outer and inner realms. This instrument library, inspired by MNTRA founder Brian D’Oliveira's profound connection to Indian Classical Music, offers a rich tapestry of sounds that span the subcontinent's musical diversity. From the serene to the vibrant, Naada's meticulously recorded instruments, including the Nadaswaram, Sarangi, and the unique Anahata, offer a window into India's soul.
Reviving ancient traditions
With Naada, the traditional 22 shruti system comes alive, offering precise intonation and tuning for each Raga's note. This attention to detail provides users with an authentic experience of Indian music's rich tonalities. The inclusion of ambient field recordings from South India and Auroville adds depth and context, creating a soundscape that is as diverse as the country itself. Naada is not just an instrument; it's a journey through India's musical heritage, crafted with respect and a deep understanding of its cultural significance.
Unrivalled audio quality
Not just a marketing claim, MNTRA Instruments uses bespoke recording methods to ensure industry-leading audio quality when recording their sounds. Capturing ultrasonic audio quality up to 384kHz at 32-bit depth, each sample, instrument and sound within Naada delivers incredible detail and depth. Deeply sampled, MNTRA has collected 105 individual instruments, each with a high dynamic range consisting of 20 round robins and three dynamic layers, perfect for composing throughout the MIDI velocity range to express the full emotion in your performance. With 190+ presets to choose from, you can explore the full sonic range of Naada to see how it can transform your productions.
Proprietary MNDALA 2 engine
A multi-dimensional audio engine built for the future, this bespoke playback engine features a myriad of sound-shaping tools and controls to carve out Naada exactly the way you want. With no additional software required, MNDALA 2 runs in any DAW capable of hosting VST3 and AU plug-ins. Built over years of research and development in reproducing extremely high-definition audio, you can dive into the ultrasonic textures in never-before accessible performance-ready format. A first of its kind, MNDALA 2 is built to recreate the ultrasonic samples at incredibly high fidelity: up to 24-bit and 96kHz. This allows for extreme pitching and manipulation of the sounds while retaining a resolution never before available in this form.
It's not just the immaculate audio quality that sets MNDALA 2 apart, it's the creativity and flexibility with which you can manipulate your instruments. Six fully-featured samplers let you load whichever instruments you want, with independent processing across all six channels. Customising the sound of each channel can be achieved with the onboard effects slots. Choose between 35 different effects, ranging from delay, reverb, saturation, modulation, filters and EQs where up to five can be loaded per instrument sampler each!
Each instrument has been recorded in a multi-microphone setup and MDNALA 2 gives you access to the volumes of each microphone, letting you adjust the spatial positioning per sampler, making it simple to create space in a mix. Additionally, you will find global modulators, custom modular effects routing and complex sequencing per sampler, offering a near-endless amount of customisation and automation for your sound over time. Controlling all of this processing power is condensed down into three simple performance controls. The three Axis-animated performance controls let you take control of up to 62 parameters simultaneously when mapped to your favourite controller, letting you take a hands-on approach to mixing and customising your sound.
A new kind of instrument
Striving to create unique instruments which stand out from the crowd, MNTRA don't simply create cut-and-paste sample libraries but instead lets you transform what you think is possible with traditional musical instruments. Rather than creating true-to-life replicas of existing sounds, MNTRA Instruments ventures off the beaten path, letting you experiment with sound design inspired by the natural world. Embracing the imperfections of musical instruments, you can record performances full of dynamism and ever-evolving sounds which move with every turn of a knob or lift of a fader.
What's Inside
Strings:- Anahata (Long Dyn, Long Harmonics, Long Straight, Grained, Grained Dist, Shimmer Dist, Shimmer): Custom Indian Cello with random expressive longbows. Each round-robin is positionally different in a 180 stereo field. It was crafted in collaboration by genius luthier Alexandre Letellier at Nouvelle Luthier Labs. It has 23 sympathetic strings that resonate when playing the five main strings when bowed or plucked.
- Ektar:A drone lute consisting of a gourd resonator covered with skin.
- Tanpura (Female, Male, Combined): Plucked string instrument notable for its role in providing a continuous drone that enriches the music’s melodic and rhythmic flow. It features a hollow body made from a gourd and a long neck, with four strings tuned to the raga being performed. The Tanpura samples in this instrument map were crafted by the renowned Naeem Sitarmaker from Miraj.
- Sarangi (Jhala Texture, Medium Stretched, Medium Stretched Low, Short, Short Stretched, Short Stretched Low): The Sarangi is a medium-sized stringed instrument played with a bow. It has no frets, so it can produce a wide variety of tones and articulations. It has three strings and three resonant boxes of different sizes.
- Sarod (Singles, Glissando Up, Tremolo, Grain Dist, Grain Pitched, Grain Verb, Dyn Overload, Dyn Shimmer, Dyn Verb, Trems Grain Octave, Trems Grain, Trems Wash, Up Dist): Plucked string instrument, with no frets, resonant strings, and a gourd resonant body.
Wind:- Nadaswaram (Long, Long Stretched, Short, Short Stretched, Short Stretched Low, Flutter, Flutter Stretched, Glissando Up, Rhythm, Rhythm Stretched, Detuned Dream, Dist Verb, Dist Wah, Flange Hit, Grain Drone, Grain Ensemble, Grain Octave, Low Dist Bass Bright, Low Dist Bass Wide, Low Dist Crackle, Noisy Tape, Rumble Bass, Short Grain Octave, Short Grain, Short Tape, Verb Hit): Wooden double reed instrument with a bell-like ending. It’s one of the loudest reed instruments on the planet, and its uses are varied in both North and South India.
- Shruti Box (Long, Driven Sub, Overtones Dry, Overtones): The Shruti Box, an essential accompaniment in Indian classical music and sound meditative practices, is a hand-operated reed instrument used to provide a drone in a fixed pitch or pitches. It supports vocalists and instrumentalists by offering a stable tonal foundation. Its simple design allows for continuous airflow through reeds, producing a sustained sound that can be adjusted to match the specific pitch requirements of any performance.
Percussion:- Damaru (Texture 1, Texture 2, Texture 3): Small ‘Shiva’ drums, made in a shape similar to an hourglass, with beaters tied to the centre, that when twisted hit both leather drum heads rapidly. For these sample maps, you’ll hear two Damaru ‘Shiva’ spinning drums from Varanasi.
- Kanjira (Modern Single, Modern Muted, Traditional Single, Far, Muted, Slide, Texture, Rim Dist): The Kanjira is a small South India Frame drum using a lizard skin.
- Pakhawaj (Bass Face, Treble Face, PL): Medium-sized goat skin drums with two heads to be played on both ends because they have different diameters and sounds. It’s placed sideways on the floor or a stand, and the dominant hand usually plays the higher-pitched side. It’s used commonly in Dhrupad music.
FX (Soundscapes original and effected):- Auroville Day Ambience: Ambience captured during captured during early morning in Auroville. Sample Start Modulation (SSM) option available.
- Farm 4 AM Ambiences: Ambience captured during the dawn hours in the countryside of Tamil Nadu, with calls of wild Peacocks. Sample Start Modulation (SSM) option available.
- Farm Field Insects Ambience: Ambience captured during midday hours in the countryside of Tamil Nadu, with flies buzzing around microphones. Sample Start Modulation (SSM) option available.
- Farm Midday Birds Ambience: Ambience captured during the hours before dawn in the steps of an ancient forest in the countryside of Tamil Nadu. Sample Start Modulation (SSM) option available.
- Farm Monsoon Ambience: Ambience captured during midday hours in the countryside of Tamil Nadu, with light monsoon rains. Sample Start Modulation (SSM) option available.
- Farm Night Ambience: Ambience captured during the hours before dawn in the steps of an ancient forest in the countryside of Tamil Nadu.
- Pondycherry Restaurant Walla: Ambience crowd wall captured at a roadside restaurant on the way to Puducherry
- Wild Peacocks Ambience: Ambience captured during the dawn hours in the countryside of Tamil Nadu, with calls of wild Peacocks. Sample Start Modulation (SSM) option available.
Specifications
- Operating system: Windows & Mac (10.11+)
- Format: AAX, VST3, and AU
- Number of instruments: 105 multi-sampled instruments
- File size: 24GB installed, 50GB for setup
- RAM: 8GB
- CPU: i5+, Apple M1
- Activation: Offline
- Supported DAWS: All 64-bit VST3/AU compatible DAWs. Please note: Mixcraft 9 Pro is not supported
- Product code: 1436-1022