ROOTS BALAFON

A realistic Kontakt instrument based on a west-african Balafon

This virtual instrument was created by Thomas ZAGO and Didier ROBIN during a training session on "Sampling and Virtual Instrument Creation" led by Julien TAUBAN from October 28 to November 1, 2019, at Studios Palace in Moulins, France.

This Balafon was recorded with 6 velocity layers across two different takes, creating 2 Round-Robins. While the sampled instrument is originally based on a pentatonic scale, we are offering it here mapped chromatically.

"The balafon player has the power to make the balafon speak; he is feared and respected because he is believed to be in league with the spirits of music."

— Konomba Traoré, Practical and Poetic Treatise

2 microphone pairs are available:

An XY setup (Schoeps CMC6U with MK4 cardioid capsules)

An AB setup (Neumann U87 in omnidirectional mode)

The instrument is playable from G-1 to E3.

We have included 3 built-in effects (Delay, Compressor, Mono)

In addition to this default configuration, we have also provided a few presets.

All samples are mono or stereo WAV, 48kHz, 24bit

Please use the full commercial version of Kontakt 5.3+. The instruments will load in demo mode with the free Kontakt Player.

About the Balafon

The Balafon is a West African instrument dating back to around the 12th century. It is a xylophone made of wooden bars (padauk or rosewood) with resonators (calabashes) placed underneath. The bars are struck with mallets.