SKIDDAW STONES
The deal
$69.30 at Native Instruments (down from $99). No coupon needed. Sale ends June 30.
What it is
Skiddaw Stones is a Kontakt sample library built from 61 tuned and shaped rocks made of rare hornfels stone from Cumbria, England. Three articulations were captured: wooden mallet hits (bright and clangorous, similar to a Balinese gamelan metallophone), rubber mallet hits (softer, like a ceramic wind chime crossed with a bass marimba), and scraped stone surfaces (liquid and undulating, useful for soundscapes). Five octaves were chromatically sampled at up to 12 velocities per note with 5 round robin layers, generating nearly 5,000 samples across a 1.7 GB library.
Who it's for
Composers and producers working in cinematic, experimental, or world music contexts who need a genuinely unusual tuned percussion instrument. It works as a lead melodic voice, a textural layer, or an ambient soundscape source.
Key features
- Works with the free Kontakt Player - no paid Kontakt license required
- Includes a KSP Jammer script that generates automatic randomized arpeggio patterns with adjustable note range, octave range, speed, and note value
- Three distinct articulations give it flexibility across melodic, rhythmic, and atmospheric roles
- Ableton Live and EXS24 versions are also included alongside the Kontakt instrument
