Sonokinetic

I run this in Kontakt 5 on a Macbook Pro i7 with an Rme FireFace 800. I use both Logic 9 and Ableton 8. I have noticed that this set works better in Ableton for me for some reason. Occasionally I get some glitches in Logic 9, some due to me not being patient and playing the instrument while it is still loading in Kontakts memory server. But other instances occur where one particular sample will have a distorted, digital clipping sound (not a good sound). I am not sure if it's my settings or Logic 9 itself, but I have not noticed the same behavior in Ableton. No real need for a manual on this one, it's simply a collection of samples pre-mapped to specific notes with some basic envelope options, a few harmony options and tempo. The configuration is very simple, just like any other basic Kontakt instrument. The setup is simple yet unpolished. Some of the controls are sort of hard to read as the interface appears a little fuzzy, like it suffers from low pixelation. The controls are very easy to access but I some panels seem like they waste a lot of space. The envelope tab for example only has 4 basic, sideways faders which occupy maybe 5% of the GUI. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Besides the issues of "clipping" I have on a (very) few samples, everything else appear to run fine. So far I haven't lost any sets saved in my DAW's or Kontakt and now crashes of any kind. As for performance, if you are looking for a nice size collection of Male Middle Eastern voices with a fair amount of variability, then this will come in handy. I do feel like the instruments them selves need to be tweaked quite a bit to make it more "playable." For example, you can run a few notes that are next to each other and get some interesting phrasing, but then all of a sudden the next note in the succession has a super short attack and quickly blasts volume at you with almost no natural feeling. Although in fairness, I don't imagine many people trying to play this as an actual Instrument but more as a quick sampler. I have had this for over a year now but in all honesty, I don't use it that much. Maybe 3 or 4 tracks in the past year. OVERALL OPINION What I like about this set is pretty much what it is, a collection of Male middle eastern voices. I bought them when I had the need for them for a track and they worked great. The quality is good and the phrases are very interesting as the language sounds very passionate. I also liked the quiet speaking samples as I use them in the background of eerie sounding pads where they are almost inteligible even if you spoke the language, to add a little creepiness to the feel. What I don't like is the interface, which is pretty low quality and I don't care for the issues I have had with those few and far between samples that clip. I paid around $100 which isn't too bad for a nice collection of samples, but due the lack of there use over the past year, I probably would not make the same choice. This is the only collection of male middle eastern vocals I have used other than the few ones found in Logic or "all-encompassing" synth/sample sets.