Native Instruments Launches Scarbee Rickenbacker Bass – 1st Software Version Approved by Rickenbacker
To see where things are going in 2013, aim low – the low end of the frequency spectrum that is.
Get dowwwwwwwwwn with the Rickenbacker 4003, NI style.
The latest product launch to tend to that sector of sound is Native Instruments’ Scarbee Rickenbacker Bass, a new KONTAKT instrument which features the characteristic, throwback sound of a Rickenbacker 4003 bass guitar.
Available now for $99/99 € at the NI Online Shop, this new virtual instrument was meticulously sampled by bassist and instrument designer Thomas Skarbye, and marks a milestone as the first software version of this bass to be approved by Rickenbacker.
Here are the complete details, direct from NI:
“SCARBEE RICKENBACKER BASS delivers the sound of a Rickenbacker 4003 bass for the first time in software as a Rickenbacker-approved KONTAKT instrument. Featured on many of history’s most important rock and pop recordings, the bass provides deep lows and a detailed midrange response that allow it to remain clear and present in a mix. RICKENBACKER BASS features two varieties of picked articulations – open and palm-muted.
RICKENBACKER BASS is the first bass from SCARBEE to offer picked articulations. This playing style adds extra punch and attack to the crisp sound of the instrument. The palm-muted articulations recall the sound of popular recordings from the 1960s and 1970s.
Another first in the SCARBEE line is the inclusion of the Jump Amp from GUITAR RIG PRO 5, providing all the amplified sounds in RICKENBACKER BASS. By keeping the sound of the bass and the amplifier separate in this way, users are given an added degree of fine control over the tone.
RICKENBACKER BASS was sampled by Thomas Skarbye – a highly regarded bassist whose sound design brand has become synonymous with quality and playability. To ensure the highest level of detail, Thomas Skarbye used a top-of-the-line Metric Halo LIO-8 preamp, Mogami patch cables, and Rotosound bass strings to capture this instrument.
His attention to detail also extends to playing technique. Avoiding Rickenbacker’s integrated foam muting system, Skarbye recorded the palm-muted articulations with the pick hand over the bridge to ensure the realism of a true performance, while the open articulations were played between the pickups. All samples were recorded with the unique Rick-O-Sound stereo output for unmistakable Rickenbacker tone. In recognition of the SCARBEE team’s exceptional work, SCARBEE RICKENBACKER BASS has received Rickenbacker’s official approval.
The SCARBEE and Native Instruments partnership have released numerous instrument libraries for KONTAKT and the free KONTAKT PLAYER. SCARBEE RICKENBACKER BASS adds to SCARBEE’s reputation for precision and detail in sampled instruments.”
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