Kageyama Taikos

A diverse set of traditional Japanese drums performed by a taiko grandmaster.

$99

134 in stock

Authentic & Realistic

Audio Demos

  1. Taking Flight Ben Hicks 1:29
  2. Petals Henning Nugel 1:19
  3. The Village Ali Goldstein 1:11
  4. Bring Taikos Up Alessandro Ponti 2:07
  5. Hokkai Bon Uta Isaku Kageyama 2:39
  6. Rising Light of Dawn Matias Dapena & Maximo Parisi (mixed by Titanio) 1:48
  7. Deathly Dance Tremendouz 1:30
  8. Taiko Tribute for Small Ensemble Fredrik Häthén 0:59
  9. 奈良市の幽霊(Ghost of Nara) Taylor Ambrosio Wood 2:07
  10. Mountain of Hope Andreas Wimmer 1:26
  11. Bring Taikos Up (Naked) Alessandro Ponti 2:07
  12. Petals (Naked) Henning Nugel 1:19
  13. Taking Flight (Naked) Ben Hicks 1:29
  14. The Village (Naked) Ali Goldstein 0:35
  15. Mountain of Hope (Naked) Andreas Wimmer 1:26
  16. Rising Light of Dawn (Naked) Matias Dapena & Maximo Parisi (mixed by Titanio) 1:48

Overview

The power and presence of Japanese drums, recorded with a focus on authenticity and versatility. Kageyama Taikos shines in traditional music and epic orchestral works, but it’s equally at home wherever your imagination takes it: pop and rock, jazz fusion, tense underscores, and anywhere else you need expressive, nuanced performance. Featuring master percussionist Isaku Kageyama on nine distinct solo instruments (expanded in 2023!).

Product Info

Three mic positions in a studio space

Pristine 24-bit 48kHz samples recorded with two mono mic positions and one stereo overhead for an ultra-detailed sound.

Extensive drum selection

Odaiko, two chudaiko (16 & 18″), shimedaiko, two okedo (1.5 & 1.4 shaku size)

Extra Japanese percussion

Two atarigane (high & low) and hyoshigi (clave-like wood blocks)

Expressive dynamics and variation

Play the full breadth of these instruments’ true range with up to 10x dynamics, 10x RR, 9 playing techniques

10 tonal snapshots included

Covering dry, up-close sounds to more reverberant and boomy styles.

Taiko Playing

Features

Inspiring 3D-modeled UI
Per-drum tonal shaping and tweaks
Extra performance controls
Easily create custom mappings
CONSOLE FX rack and mixer

Requirements

System Requirements
11GB disk space

7200 RPM hard drive or solid state drive recommended.

8GB RAM

Higher amounts of memory let you load more instruments.

KONTAKT 6.7+ (FULL version)

This library IS compatible with the FREE Kontakt Player. 

Kontakt Requirements - Mac OS

Intel Macs (i5 or higher): macOS 10.14, 10.15, 11 or 12 (latest update).
Apple Silicon Macs (via Rosetta 2 & natively on ARM in Standalone or in hosts that support it): macOS 11 or 12 (latest update)

Kontakt Requirements - Windows

Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 (latest Service Pack, 32/64-bit). Intel Core i5 or equivalent CPU. Graphics hardware support for OpenGL 2.1 or higher. Windows 10 strongly recommended.

Tutorials

Instrument Walkthrough

"The Village" Demo

Live Taiko Demonstration

Featured Artists & Composers

Richard Jacques 500px

Richard Jacques

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Mass Effect, Overwatch 2, James Bond 007: Blood Stone

"I'm a huge fan of the Ventus Winds series. They feature rare instruments deep-sampled to an incredibly high level of detail. It's so liberating to have such a wide range of articulations & phrases that perfectly capture the nuances and performance style of these instruments... from beautiful to haunting, celebratory to sorrowful. Each is expertly recorded and the sound quality is superb, sitting in the mix with ease. If you want to add authentic world winds to your palette, then look no further."

Kevin Manthei

Kevin Manthei

Angry Birds Mystery Island, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Villainous, Neverwinter, Star Trek Online

"ISW creates some of the most inspiring & realistic guitar sample libraries. I had to write a bunch of really gritty, angry heavy metal & sports action rock cues. I used Shreddage 3 Serpent for leads and was blown away by its onboard processing, programming, and amazing live-sounding leads. I also created a signature sound based on the lead guitar in David Lynch's Twin Peaks series, originally played on baritone guitar. [Serpent] built a convincing replica of that sound just using on-board FX. It was so fun and easy to do!"

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Jimmy Hinson

Black Ops 4, Mass Effect 2, There Came An Echo, Borderlands 2

“Between Shreddage, Super Audio Cart, Juggernaut, and Mega Brass I don’t remember the last time I haven’t used an Impact Soundworks instrument in a track. The attention to detail is astonishing and it’s all so easy to use out of the box, which is a big deal.”


About the Library

Taikos have been an essential part of traditional Japanese music for thousands of years. Their deep, resonant, yet crisp sound is unmistakable, whether played solo or as part of a massive ensemble. In the last century, their prominence has risen far beyond the borders of Japan, appearing in major film & television scores, video game soundtracks, and international events. We wanted to devote a sample library entirely to taiko, with several accompanying percussive instruments, played by a master to open up as many options for inspiration as possible.

We brought these drums out of the more common ensemble or concert hall setting, focusing instead on an intimate studio sound. These detailed, up-close recordings result in a much more versatile sample library, allowing you to use it in any style of music you can imagine. We’ve recorded every drum in this set in great depth, spanning many articulations, dynamics, and variations.



The Instruments

Chudaiko

18-inch mid-sized drum recorded on the front and reverse* sides; crisp edge, rich resonant center

16-inch drum recorded on the front and reverse sides

Odaiko

32-inch large drum; deep, booming sound with a dry edge, rich central wash

Also recorded on the reverse side*

Shimedaiko

“Tightened” drum, higher register to soar over other percussion

Okedo (1.5 & 1.4 shaku size, approximately 18″ & 16.75″)

“Barrel” drum; heavy attack and clear definition

Atarigane (Low and High)

Played with a mallet; clear, metallic sound

Hyoshigi

Wood blocks; full, resonant sound

* Playing on the reverse side of the drum is a common practice particularly in taiko ensembles, lending even greater authenticity to the library. These additional samples were recorded by Isaku Kageyama in 2022 to expand and improve the library.



About Isaku Kageyama

Award-winning performer, instructor, and recording artist Isaku Kageyama has had a storied career. He’s been heard in concert halls like Carnegie Hall, on video game soundtracks like Ghost of Tsushima, and on TV shows, music tours, and artist residencies. We’re honored to bring his masterful playing to artists and composers around the world.



Console Modular FX Rack & Mixer

Console is a fully-featured mixer, modular effects rack, and pedal board, designed to give you full control over your mix. Effects include multiple EQs (digital and analog-style), compressors, spatial FX, modulation FX, amps, distortion pedals, reverbs, and more.

Each mic channel can be loaded with up to 8 FX in any order, plus another 8 slots on the master channel, with support for send routing as well. The new “Galois Reverb” added in Kontakt 6 Player sounds fantastic as an alternative to our included custom IRs.

Download the Console manual here to learn more!


Reviews

stars
Kageyama Taikos – Sample Library Review

“As a working composer, for $99, this is an absolute bargain. It’s not massive, huge taikos and that’s all it can do; yes, as I say, you can layer all of these and use the ten velocity layers to create really big ensembles if you want to, but you have the option of going really really small, really delicate, really intricate. And that is what I love about this instrument. So for me, if you’re looking for some world percussion, and taikos in particular, played by a world-renowned percussionist, this is a fantastic purchase.”

Sample Library Review (12/21)