Tonehammer Plucked & Bowed Grand Piano

Plucked Grand Piano [$99]

For the Plucked Grand Piano library, Tonehammer captured sustains and release triggers every note, over multiple velocities and round-robin variations, using a giant nylon pick. The sound is described as much more singular, focused and narrow, with more buzz and twang in the sound.

Tonehammer says it’s more like a harp crossed with a gigantic 88-string guitar. Then Tonehammer used a small 1-oz. stainless steel hammer to strike each string for the “hammered” articulation, which gave a harder, metallic dulcimer-like tone.

Bowed Grand Piano [$79]

For the Bowed Grand Piano, Tonehammer used a 3-meter deep sea fishing line to capture super-long sustains on every note, with separate attacks and releases. The hard metal strings evoke sinister sustains, growls, rumbles and all manner of droning and piercing harmonics, overtones and undertones, they say.

Tonehammer then used twine, picks, fingers, fingernails, mallets and other odds and ends to scrape, sweep, strike, grind and otherwise abuse the stings for the effects section. These sweep, swells, rumbles and glisses are described as ideal for suspense, drama and horror scoring.