The sho is a Japanese wind reed instrument. The sho is a free reed instrument and one of the three main woodwind instruments used in gagaku court orchestra music. Composed of 17 thin bamboo tubes, it is sometimes said to resemble a resting phoenix in shape. In ancient times, the sho’s smooth timbre was associated with light falling from the heavens.
Having completed the world’s first comprehensive sho sampling, Sonica Instruments is proud to add the SHO library to the Japanese Virtuoso series.
- Unparalleled recordings of the impeccable tone and technique of renowned sho player Ko Ishikawa.
- The individual tones of all 15 pipes* and 11 chords are sampled separately in each articulation, making the library applicable to all musical styles from gagaku to contemporary music.
- Detailed analysis of sho playing technique has resulted in a model of the instrument that can play any combination of the sho’s characteristic tone clusters (chords) and individual tones.
- Two key modes, including a traditional fingering mode that reproduces the actual sho fingering with one key per pipe.
- A pipe indicator allows the player to see the placement of the pipes in the sho and keep track of the pipes currently being played.
- Comes with traditional sho Pythagorean tuning, equal temperament tuning, and fully customizable settings for flawless reproduction of tones from both the classical and modern scales.
- The unique trigger key connection feature allows the performer to move through a colorful set of articulations without ever interrupting the sound.
- Expression control adjusts tone color in a natural and continuous manner, without gradations.
- Ensemble selection simulates gagaku ensemble performances with up to three performers.
- The library’s lively yet subtle sounds are sampled in full 24-bit precision at 96 kHz (the library itself contains 24-bit, 44.1 kHz samples).
- Create your own mixes using multi-mic samples and a dedicated mixer with individual controls for direct, overhead, room and stereo mixing.
- Compatible with NKS ready and Kontakt Player.
