Outer Limits is a new Zero-G/XFONIC virtual instrument powered by Native Instruments Kompakt and featuring a massive Four Gigabyte core library of more than five hundred unique soundscapes. It is a journey through dreams and nightmares, full of sounds beyond your imagination.

Outer Limits is Ian Boddy's follow-up to his critically acclaimed Morphology Kompakt instrument but this time he has delved deeper and darker than ever before. Every patch in this fantastic collection will stimulate your creativity. The range of sounds this instrument is capable of is truly amazing, from shimmering pads, to mysterious drones, crystalline digital manipulations to dark distorted atmospheres, menacing mechanisms, evocative resonances, surreal sound effects, complex cascades, formant sheens, dark disturbing horror, analogue waves, amazing space textures, strange vocal synthesis and of course, sounds from the Outer Limits of space and time. Patches this complex put many other synths to shame! And you can layer Eight of these at a time to create incredibly complex soundscapes.

Categories include: Ambient Loops, Analogue Waves, Chamber of Horrors, Click & Glitch, Deep Space, Dense Soundscapes, Digital Drones, Digital Manipulations, Distorted Views, Heavy Drones, Machine Dreams, Minimalism, One Shot Synth FX, Outer Limits, Surreal to Real, Transcendental, Twisted Pads, Vintage Synth Atmos, Vocal Transformations and White Noise Atmospheres.

Ian Boddy is one of the UK's most celebrated synthesists, and a veteran of the European electronic music scene since the late 1970s. Ian's exclusive arsenal of vintage and modern synths and software plug-ins have been extensively plundered together with cutting edge sonic manipulations and the audio mangling of "real" environmental sounds to create the unique and inspiring new library that you will find within this powerful virtual instrument.

The whole library is presented within a stunning new state-of-the-art plug-in interface by Native Instruments which combines intuitive handling and a capable architecture with excellent sound quality. It is a powerful version of NI's Kompakt sampler interface, and it makes no compromises playing and performing sample-based instruments. Powerful multi-mode filters, envelopes, and LFOs give a wealth of creative possibilities. Integrated high-quality reverb, chorus, and delay effects give each sample life and depth. The clean and intuitive interface doesn't let technology get in the way of creativity. All important instrument parameters can be immediately adjusted without the need to page, scroll, or fumble through a manual.

Programming Notes

Sound Quality

All the sounds were recorded and processed at 24 Bit resolution and 44.1KHz sample frequency.

Organisation

The Instrument list groups the sounds into 20 categories. Each of these contain between 21 to 30 programs of sonically related instruments. In addition there are 2 preview programs per category. The thinking behind this is that the preview programs give a quick and easy way to listen to all of the programs in a given category. Please note that the samples are presented in their "raw" form here with no additional Kompakt programming as found in the individual programs. The preview programs are split into 2 for those with smaller amounts of RAM but if memory allows load up preview program 1 into slot 1 and program 2 into slot 2. The sounds run up the keyboard on the white keys from C1 with the 2 preview programs designed to run contiguously. To find out which program you are playing click once on the group edit button and then once on the group pop-up button which should then appear. This will then show a list of the programs for that particular preview program and will, therefore, allow you to quickly audition all the programs in a given category.

Memory Size

The size in Mb is given for each instrument in the contents document. The vast majority are under 20Mb except of course for the preview programs. All programming has been carried out with the samples loaded into RAM. However if you wish you can activate the Direct from Disk (DFD) function if you prefer to stream the samples direct from your hard disk drive. Please refer to the relevant section of the user interface manual.

Modulation Wheel Assignments

Every single instrument (except the preview programs) has the Modulation Wheel assigned to a function. This gives a lot of dynamic control over the character of the sound. These assignments are listed for your convenience in the contents document. Alternatively click once on the words Pitch Mod just above the on screen pitchbend/mod wheels and a small pop-up window will show what the assignments are for this particular program. Where a negative "-" assignment is shown this indicates that pushing the mod wheel up actually decreases the effect. Thus a - Filter Cutoff would indicate that pushing the mod wheel up would reduce the filter cutoff, effectively closing the filter down.

Polyphony

All instruments are programmed at the default polyphony of 32 notes.

Multis

Up to 8 instruments can be combined in a Multi giving a vast array of possible combinations of the supplied single instruments. If you want to cross-fade between 2 different programs this is easy to set up by over-riding the pre-programmed Mod Wheel assignments. Simply set the Mod Wheel to control one instrument with positive volume control and the other with negative volume control.

CPU Load

The exact CPU load of any given instrument depends on a myriad of factors - the power of your computer, notes played, complexity of the instrument etc. However if you find the CPU load is too high for any particular instrument the quickest way of reducing this is to see if the instrument uses any of Kompakt's own built-in FX. If so these can be turned off to maximise CPU efficiency.

Tuning

Where the sounds have a definite pitch they have been tuned to C3 as the root key. However bear in mind that many of the more esoteric sounds either use heavily detuned or pitch scrunched effects so exact tuning can be tricky in such cases. Also several sounds use exotic micro-tonal scales so again they can be difficult to sit into a normal harmonic structure. Where the original pitch is anything other than C3 the relevant sample is mapped to the appropriate root key - details are given in the notes column of the contents document. Some of these programs have as part of their name useful clues to what key, mode or notes are involved in their construction. Sounds with no definite pitch content are also mapped to have their root note on C3.

Features

• Over 4 Gigabytes of core library and more than five hundred unique soundscapes of dreams and nightmares from shimmering pads to mysterious drones, crystalline digital manipulations to dark distorted atmospheres, menacing mechanisms, evocative resonances, surreal sound effects, complex cascades, formant sheens, dark disturbing horror, analogue waves, amazing space textures, strange vocal synthesis and much more...
• All original samples, recorded at 24 Bit sample resolution for hi-fidelity
• Easy and intuitive user interface (a version of Native Instruments' superb Kompakt sampler)
• Engine is based on Kontakt audio engine, the world's finest software sampling engine
• Professional sound quality with advanced 32-bit processing
• Powerful filter offers six types, including low-pass, high-pass, and band-pass
• Three AHDSR envelopes and four LFOs
• Integrated effects: chorus, reverb, and delay
• Total Recall (complete MIDI automation and control)
• Sound Library can also be loaded into other Native Instruments samplers including Kontakt version 1.5 for even greater flexibility and more options for working with the material.

System Requirements

PC

• Windows XP/ME/98
• Pentium III/ Athlon 400 MHz
• 256 MB RAM

Mac

• Mac OS 10.2.6 or higher
• G3 500 MHz
• 256 MB RAM
• DVD-ROM drive

Supported Formats

• VST 2.0
• DXi
• ASIO
• Audio Units
• Core Audio
• RTAS