Audio library – Some sounds are just too cool not to share

I try to ignore as many of the offers that come into my email box as I can. Some entice me too much.

VIEGO sound library by Rigid Audio

When I received the email from Rigid Audio (RA) saying their new sound library was “deep, spacey, and epic”, I was intrigued. When I saw that it was only $5.00 (initial offering), I thought, “what’s the catch”. In a rare moment, there was none.

This sound library turns out to be a catch, for sure. Over 250 patches (sounds) that run the range of ambient, soundtrack, soundscape, electronic orchestral, and more. It was not that difficult for me to fork over the mere five dollars and start the download.

Mixed Bag of Sounds

I’ve had varied luck with Rigid Audio (RA). Some of their sound libraries haven’t been my sort of thing. One of the early sound-sets I licensed from them caused my recording software (DAW) to crash. But more recently, their libraries have been varied and solid.

Several of RA’s libraries are all about the beat. That’s not typical of my songs or instrumentals, so some of these are collecting dust. However, their recent library named “Limerence” had many sounds that I’ve already included in tracks.

These libraries all work in Native Instruments’ Kontakt. And that’s one of my foundational virtual instruments.

Moving On Up The Frequency

VIEGO was even more up my alley. On the first listen to this library, I ended up with about 35 patches in my favorites (QuickLoad). This is really unusual for me. Typically, I’m lucky to find one or two handfuls of sounds in each library even of this size (250+ patches). (The $5 deal is over now. Regular price is $49 and still worth it.)

In this video, you’ll hear 14 patches (if I counted correctly). The first four are what I’d classify as drones: they primarily sound best in low registers on long, sustained single notes. The remaining ten are what’s known as “pads“. Though this is a fairly broad category, I mostly think of pads as sounds that

• fill in the sound of a track
• often soften harshness in the mix
• are usually synthesizer sounds (though they may be a mixture of acoustic and electronic sound sources)
• help create the harmonic structure of the arrangement
• are frequently low in the mix

The Tech of the Track

For those who are curious, I did no processing of any kind on the sounds from VIEGO. There are no other effects added to these sounds and I did not mix or master the track.

As I began to play each sound, I responded to its character as the inspiration for a brief improvisation. Even so, the video turned out to be about ten minutes long. I guess that’s what fast-forward is made for if you want to skip to the next sound. <grin>