Plectra Series
Guzheng
Intricate sample library featuring the authentic and beautiful sound of the Chinese Guzheng.
US$49
Hear Plectra Series 5: Guzheng In Action
- View from the Clouds (Dressed) Andrew Aversa 1:30
- The Sun and the Mountain Samuel Lidström 0:47
- Qin (Dressed) Henning Nugel 2:28
- Hidden Waterfall Brad Jerkins 1:34
- Sword Dancer Nabeel Ansari 1:05
- Shanghai Center Marc Celma 1:21
- Black Tea Pixelee 1:07
- Jade Horizon Joshua Matthews 1:51
- Lin Hai Dinu Ivancu 1:21
- Midnight Duel Michael Hoffman 1:42
- Third Garden Abel Vegas 1:58
- The Last Dynasty Andreas Wimmer 1:37
- View from the Clouds (Naked) Andrew Aversa 1:30
- Qin (Naked) Henning Nugel 2:23
Reviews
Simon Franglen
Titanic, Skyfall, Spectre, Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water
Impact Soundworks make detailed, emotive instruments. I’ve happily bought over two dozen of their libraries which should say everything. They get used every day.
Mark Portmann
Ariana Grande, Luis Fonsi, Celine Dion, Quincy Jones
"[ISW]'s instruments consistently deliver the sound, feel, and reliability I need to do my best work. Thank you for raising the bar and making tools that inspire."
Neal Acree
World of WarCraft, Diablo III, StarCraft II, Overwatch
"Impact Soundworks has some of the most creative and innovative libraries out there. From world instruments to the insanely deep sampled Shreddage guitar series the Impact catalog is full of must-haves and unexpected and inspiring surprises. Highly recommended!
Stewart Winter
Co-founder, VideoHelper
"I'm a keyboard player -- I can't even make a REAL guitar sound convincing. But Telos and Rosette are my go-to guitars because they sound incredible, sit well in a mix and are so easy to configure to my personal playing habits. I'm constantly discovering new ways to play them and they've saved my ass more times than I can count. And the pedal Steel is still my favorite library of its kind for Country, Folk and organic layering behind synths."
Brian Pickett
PAW Patrol, Lucas the Spider, Daniel Tiger
"I never would have thought that sampled guitars could sound as good as ISW's do. The fact that I can use them to lay down a realistic solo is unprecedented. They’ve pushed the boundaries of realism."
Rosette Mandolin – Sound on Sound
Rosette Mandolin review
"The sound of the library is very pleasing...the more I used the library the more I felt I was learning how to write idiomatically for the instrument." "Rosette Mandolin provides a good sound that could have many applications, with versatile input options that cater to writing realistic mandolin lines, impossible 5+ note chords and everything in between." Thomas Field, September 2024
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
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!"
Audio Demos
- View from the Clouds (Dressed) Andrew Aversa 1:30
- The Sun and the Mountain Samuel Lidström 0:47
- Qin (Dressed) Henning Nugel 2:28
- Hidden Waterfall Brad Jerkins 1:34
- Sword Dancer Nabeel Ansari 1:05
- Shanghai Center Marc Celma 1:21
- Black Tea Pixelee 1:07
- Jade Horizon Joshua Matthews 1:51
- Lin Hai Dinu Ivancu 1:21
- Midnight Duel Michael Hoffman 1:42
- Third Garden Abel Vegas 1:58
- The Last Dynasty Andreas Wimmer 1:37
- View from the Clouds (Naked) Andrew Aversa 1:30
- Qin (Naked) Henning Nugel 2:23
Overview
An intricate, detailed Kontakt sample library featuring the authentic and beautiful sound of the Chinese Guzheng! Performed by Qianqian Jin, this virtual instrument includes both crucial articulations and extended bowing techniques.
Product Info
14,580 x 24bit recordings with 3 mic positions
Up to 4x dynamics / 3x RR per key
Wide array of articulations
- Finger plucked & picked techniques
- Harmonics & bends (whole/semitone)
- Up/down bows & crescendos
- Edge bows, staccatos, sponge picks
Features
Fully customizable mapping with TACT 2.0
Console modular mixer and FX rack
Includes over 30 FX modules
Deep articulation tweaking
Requirements
10GB of disk space
7200 RPM hard drive or solid state drive recommended.
4GB of RAM
Higher amounts of memory let you load more instruments.
Apple M1, Intel I5, or equivalent CPU
A faster CPU with more cores will allow you to play more simultaneous voices.
Kontakt 5.7+ Full Version
This library is NOT compatible with the free Kontakt Player.
Kontakt Requirements - Mac OSX
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
Overview & Walkthrough
Featured Artists & Composers
ShadyCicada
“Impact Soundworks software is an absolute mainstay in my work when it comes to Video Game and Anime-inspired tracks! The amount of ease and wonderful sounds these plugins offer allows me to get straight into writing and brainstorming.”
Ben Prunty
FTL: Faster Than Light, Into the Breach, Subnautica: Below Zero
“I’ve been using ISW since 2015, and their instruments have shown up in Into the Breach and Subnautica Below Zero, and in nearly all of my solo albums. Shreddage helped me fill in the gaps around my own guitar performances. Super Audio Cart provided some great raw synth sounds for parts of Below Zero. Impact Soundworks is often the first place I go to when I’m shopping for a new project. Everything they make works and sounds great.”
Simon Franglen
Titanic, Skyfall, Spectre, Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water
Impact Soundworks make detailed, emotive instruments. I’ve happily bought over two dozen of their libraries which should say everything. They get used every day.
Guzheng is the 5th installment in our acclaimed Plectra Series, which explores plucked stringed instruments from around the world. Also known as the Chinese zither, the guzheng is an ancient instrument comprised of 21 strings stretched over a long, decorative wooden body with movable bridges for tuning.
We collaborated with classically-trained musician and sound designer Qianqian Jin who performed both standard and extended articulations for this collection. The instrument is equally suited for authentic Chinese-inspired music as well as modern scores or soundtracks. Our wide range of audio demos showcase this flexibility across a variety of styles!
Qianqian Jin is a multimedia performance artist and designer with a strong passion for innovative sound design and composition. She began her Eastern classical training as a Guzheng player at the age of eight and received an education in Western music specializing as a digital composer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
During the summer of 2017, she recorded over 50 GB of Guzheng samples using various techniques and tools to augment the capacity of the traditional Chinese instrument so it is available to more composers. She is currently inventing a customized midi controller for the Guzheng and frequently uses Arduino boards with various sensors. Read an interview of her here: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-qianqian-jin/
Console is our new mixer and modular effects rack, designed to give you full control over your instrument tone and space. Unlike our previous FX racks, which were limited to a small amount of preset modules, Console gives you 30 effects modules to choose from!
These include multiple EQs (digital and analog-style), compressors, spatial FX, modulation FX, amps, distortion pedals, reverbs, and a selection of over 30 custom cabinet IRs! Using Console, you can easily save and load FX chains or presets between projects or even different Console-enabled ISW instruments. It also allows you to mix and blend between mic positions, with custom inserts on each if you’d like.
Download the Console manual here to learn more!
Plectra Series 5: Guzheng includes an updated version of TACT, allowing you to customize how all articulations are mapped and triggered! Everyone has their own preferences for how to perform or write for virtual instruments, and with TACT you can create the perfect setup for your DAW.
Download the TACT 2.0 manual here to learn more!
Reviews
Plectra Series 5: Guzheng – Sample Library Review
“The Plectra Series Guzheng does have what it takes to get [sic] build a convincing performance: excellent recordings, captured details and techniques, and plenty of interface control. If you’re willing to dig into this library, I think you’ll find it to be of great value.”
Steven McDonald (Sample Library Review)