Westwood Instruments Novella Blackwater KONTAKT

A love letter to Americana and the modern Western
Novella Blackwater is a complete toolkit of virtual instruments for scoring and songwriting. This is a mountainous range of sounds, taking inspiration from the homestead of Americana and contemporary Western cinema, with a modern approach and very versatile palette of sounds to suit multiple styles.

An outstanding string ensemble lead the band, surrounded by a remarkable selection of spirited solo instruments. Backing everything up is a rusty oil barrel and a medley of unconventional percussion.

A resilient force of ideas for film scores. An expansive plain of sounds for songwriting. We invite you to explore new horizons and prepare yourself for the wild.

STRINGS
[spoiler]Spirited and courageous
A chamber string ensemble with an essential collection of inspiring and unique articulations for sketching ideas immediately. Introducing “Motion” a tempo-synced automated dynamics control to help you create realistic swells and movements without your hands leaving the keyboard.

The strings are broken out into two detailed string sections. The High Strings feature Violins and Violas and the Lows feature the Cellos and Basses performing a wide range of matched articulations including 'Fire & Flint' aimed at creating instant drama and tension using dynamic and timbre sliders. 3 tempo synced tremolos, Hairpins, Shorts and a range of other unique sounds.

These strings are small enough to feel detailed and alive when you need them to be, but with a quick change of mic positions and a splash of reverb, you can easily create cinema-filling sounds for the biggest scores.

Human legato
A beautiful natural legato recorded independently on Violins, Violas, with Cello and Basses playing together. With a key switch to play a standard or marcato attack.[/spoiler]

VIOLIN
[spoiler]For love songs and laments
An 1800s violin made by John Betts with gut strings. Recorded with legato and 3 attack options; standard, marcato and a bluegrass-style bend. There's also two drone articulations played using open strings.

For both love songs and laments, this is a very honest and unrefined sound with a vulnerable performance.[/spoiler]

HARMONIUM
[spoiler]Small keys, big sounds
A harmonium recorded in its natural range but then stretched for a huge full-sized experience. As well as traditional sounding recordings we've experimented with a range of treatments for unconventional playing styles and textures.

D ELECTRIC GUITAR
[spoiler]Who needs some twang?
A Danelectro electric guitar played with a classic twang and in a dozens styles through a Fender Reverb tube amp. Included is a mixture of versatile articulations and never before captured sounds, perfect for modern day scoring.

T ELECTRIC GUITAR
[spoiler]Delicate moody tones
A Fender Telecaster recorded in Studio 2 at Nave Studio for a drier, more intimate sound. We've recorded western inspired slides, muted notes, chords, harmonics and gently wandering playing techniques for an amazing atmospheric feeling.

STEEL ACOUSTIC
[spoiler]Vintage steel vibes
A beautifully warm example of the best vintage Gibson acoustic guitar we've ever heard. As well as sustains, muted styles, tremolos and drones, we've captured a handful of loose, human performed rhythms and chords, aimed at adding realism to your scores.

NYLON ACOUSTIC
[spoiler]A guitar that's seen the best and worst of times
A gloriously aged nylon guitar. Rough around the edges with plenty of vibe. We've included a selection of unique rhythms, chords and sustains to create beautiful melodies. Also includes six 'Wends'; lost and meandering finger-style playing to bring some mood and depth to your music.

MANDOLA
[spoiler]A classic country sound
Folk-inspired sounds that help cut through a busy mix, but can stand on their own too. This is a beautiful Sobel octave mandolin, tuned up to a Mandola. Recorded with a pick for a bright attack sound. We've captured a selection of articulations including shorts, tremolos and a set of 'ready to go' rhythms for scoring and songwriting.

TRUMPET
[spoiler]Lead the charge
A solo trumpet, recorded in a non-traditional way to give you new creative sounds in your brass writing. As well as moody, wandering sustains we've thrown in some classic western inspired motifs for when you need to mark that moment and conjure nostalgia.

HARMONICA
[spoiler]You brought two too many
A classic harmonica instrument. The sound synonymous with Western films. Recorded across multiple scales of harmonicas for a full range performance. A specially crafted selection of unusual sustains and bends that will add a distinct flavour to anything you create.

PIANO
[spoiler]The Westwood take on the tack piano
Using a hickory drum stick, this is our homage to the genre's classic sound. Designed to give you a different option for when it comes to the piano. We've included octave and some non-rhythmical 'tapping' patches for added inspiration.

DRUMS & PERCUSSION
[spoiler]There's a whole ocean of oil under our feet
Our largest untuned ensemble to date, a huge selection of drums and percussion. We've recorded an old, rusty oil drum in various ways to give you a bespoke take on metallic hits. 2 snares including a highly tuned military snare with flams, drags and rolls. A brass snare with tambourine ring, vintage toms, a very old hand drum and an interesting selection of cymbal stacks. To top the instrument off we've included jaw harp, claves, cowbell, plus thunder and seed shakers to give you some very useful sound designing elements.

Recorded with plenty of dynamic layers and round robins to keep everything alive.[/spoiler]

What's included

[spoiler]PLAINVIEW ENSEMBLE
All Strings
Frontiers
Fires
Flint
Dust Devils
Short Hairpins
Shorts

LEGATO STRINGS
Includes 2 key-switchable styles of attack; Regular and Marcato.
Violins Legato
Violas Legato
Low Strings Legato
Violins Longs
Violas Longs
Low Strings Longs

HIGH STRINGS
Violins & Violas
Fire & Flint
Stutters
Dust Devils
Drifting Tremolo 85bpm
Tremolo 110bpm
Tremolo 150 bpm
Longs
Short Hairpins
Long Hairpins
Long Hairpins Sync
Shorts
Back Bow

LOW STRINGS
Cellos & Basses
Fire & Flint
Stutters
Dust Devils
Drifting Tremolo 85bpm
Tremolo 110bpm
Tremolo 150 bpm
Longs
Short Hairpins
Long Hairpins
Long Hairpins Sync
Shorts
Back Bow

DEADWOOD
Gut Violin
The Legato and long articulations include 3 styles of attack; Regular, Marcato and a bluegrass style bend.
Legato
Longs
Drones
Sul Pont Drones

MORGAN
Harmonium
Longs
Yonder
Yonder Reverse
Windpipes
Exhale
Exile

OUTLAW
Electric Guitar
Longs
Longs Pitch Shifted
Palm Mutes
Palm Mutes Pitch Shifted
Chords
Tremolo
Coil Tremolo
Coin Tremolo Thirds
Coin Tremolo 4ths/5ths
Railheads Knuckle
Railheads Ring
Smokebox

RAILS
Electric Guitar
Fingerstyle Longs
Pitched Fingerstyle Longs
Woolen Mutes
Pitched Woolen Mutes
Splangs
Slide
Fret Hover
Harmonics
Promontory
Promontory Reverse
Hangfire
Hangfire Reverse

FLAT TOP
Steel Acoustic
Longs
Shifted Longs
Mutes
Pitched Mutes
Tremolo
Unison Drones
Unison Drones Reversed
Rhythm – Homestead
Rhythm – Stourbridge
Rhythm – Creekside
Rhythm – Byways

NOMAD
Nylon Acoustic
Longs
Chords (Maj/Min)
Rhythms – Highplains
Rhythms – Chitlins
Rhythms – Outrider
Rhythms – Cavallard
Wends – Chords
Wends – Chuparosa
Wends – Brittlebrush
Wends – Desert Sage
Wends – Saguaro
Wends – Feverfew

JUNIPER
Mandola
Pick
Tremolo
Tremolo Storm
Chords
Rhythm – Cottonwood
Rhythm – Barnum
Rhythm – Gadabout
Rhythm – Sagebrush

HERALD
Trumpet
The Gambler
The Drinkers
The Rustler
Short Sustains
Short Swells
Long Swells
Motif – Maverick
Motif – Bittersweet
Motif – Forward
Motif – Forward Minor
Motif – Forward Major
Motif – Charge

BRONSON
Harmonica
Wild & Moody Longs
Moody Longs
Wild Longs
Slow Bends
Fast Bends
Swells
Chords
Longs

HICKORY
Upright Piano
Hickory Piano
Octave Hickory Piano
Reverse Piano
Tapping
Reverse Tapping
Stacked Tapping

OIL FIELDS
Drums & Percussion
Oil Drum – 10 unique sounds
Military Snare including Flams, Drags, Roll, Rimshot and Splash Stack
Brass Snare
Broken Crash
Cymbal Stack
Stick Ride
Cymbal Scrapes
Old Bass Drum
Dead Old Bass Drum
Hand Drum
Jawharp
High Cowbell
Low Cowbell
Claves
Thunder Shaker
Seed Shakers[/spoiler]

Mixes & Microphones
[spoiler]Production-ready Mix
All instruments in the library include a production-ready mix. A beautifully balanced and natural image that's good to go straight out the box. Sweetened EQ, some gentle compression and a light dusting of tape saturation to add some tasteful harmonic colour.

Close Mic
A stereo position for detail, clarity and revealing the nuances of the performances.
All instruments

Room Mic
An XY stereo pair with plenty of life from the studio acoustics. The most balanced and natural sound of all the signals. Can easily collapse to mono if needed.
All instruments

Gallery Mic
A stereo position, high up in the gallery of Studio 1. Diffuse and open capturing the full bloom of the studio.
Strings, Gut Violin, Trumpet, Harmonica, Drums

Overhead Mic
An additional stereo mic position on the drums and percussion.
Drums

Copperphone Mic
A mono mic with a limited frequency response and natural compression, sounding much like the earliest radio transmissions. Wonderful on its own for a nostalgic feel, or mix in gently for interest and character.
All instruments except Piano and Strings[/spoiler]
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- Chamber strings with legato
- Solo Violin with legato
- Harmonium
- Two Electric Guitars
- Steel & Nylon AcousticGuitars
- Mandola
- Trumpet
- Harmonica
- Hickory Piano
- Drums & Percussion







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