Introduction

The Freesk+ is a sample based instrument for NI Kontakt, emulating an ancient little flute of Sicily called Zufolo or, in Sicilian, Friscalettu.

To extend the limited range of this kind of flute the Freesk+ was made combining four zufolos tuned in different keys. These flutes were made by hand from very seasoned reeds. In particular the one tuned in A, that is the primary, was made with a hundred years old reed.

The Freesk+ by Suonopuro was born as an evolution of the old The freesk, after a long and meticulous research and experimentation work. It is a highly innovative virtual instrument, which differs greatly from the previous version, because it combines the realism of instruments entirely based on sampled sounds, with the versatility and playability of virtual instruments based mainly on algorithms.

A new, modern and complex algorithm makes the most of the myriad sampled sounds of the previous library, allowing you to obtain an instrument with a highly convincing timbre, playable in a fluid, expressive and intuitive way.

With The Freesk+ you can start a note with a wide range of nuances, from portato to accented, or with different types of bending, also controlling its duration. You can perform both legato phrases and glissato passages, up to twelfth intervals (19 semitones of distance), with great realism. It also has a wide dynamic and tonal range, adjustable and controllable in many ways, and a four and a half octave range. The crescendo and diminuendo are very natural, without earing overlapping notes.

The Freesk+ also has a wide range of effects, which transform the zufolo sound into something more modern: brilliance effect, chorus, distortion, adjustable breath noise, automatic vibrato, flutter, stereophonic effect and more.

The Freesk+ is designed to get the best, in terms of expression and control, from any kind of MIDI instrument:
 • Electronic Wind Instruments (Akai EWI, Roland Aerophone, Yamaha YDS, Berglund NuEVI, etc.);
 • MIDI strings (Cantini MIDI violin, Zeta MIDI violin, etc.);
 • MIDI converters, like the Sonuus i2M;
 • MIDI keyboards (NI Komplete control, M-Audio Oxygen, etc.);
 • MIDI controllers (TEC breath controller, MIDI expression pedal, Yamaha BC3, etc.).

Interface

Features

• A new, modern and complex algorithm for maximum realism and the best playability. UPGRADE 2023!
• More than 1000 sounds sampled at 24bit / 48kHz, managed in a fully automated way in real time.
• Perfect Crossfade: transition from piano to forte and vice versa on 2 levels, without earing double notes.
• Selectable dynamics controller and editable dynamic range.
• Two monophonic modes with real time automatic recognizing of legato and staccato: by dynamic controller and by keys.
• Play on release mode: when you release a note, the software plays the previous note still pressed.
• Configurable legato mode and real time controlled glissando.
• Playing staccato, each new note is slightly different from the previous one, with multiple and gradual gradients from soft to marcato.
• Two parallel voices at configurable intervals, as used by Michael Brecker.
• Polyphonic mode for polyphonic instruments and sustain or hold 1st note modes for monophonic instruments.
• Bending technique, which consists in starting a note with an ascending glissando, based on 2 levels and live controllable in duration.
• Release of notes with a descending (Fall) glissando that can be controlled in duration.
• Automatic vibrato and flutter-tonguing both configurable and controllable live.
• Easy to use Chorus, Compressor, Resonance, Three-band equalizer, Convolution reverb, Distortion and Delay effects.
• Adjustable and live controllable breath noise.
• A Brilliance effect, which boosts or cuts high frequencies dynamically.
• Keyswitches that can be disabled and a live options activator to instantly switch from one configuration to another.
• 4 and a half octaves of range.
• Splitter by Suonopuro, to split and layer many sounds across your keyboard or your MIDI instrument.

Requirments  

• NI KONTAKT 5.8.1 or higher FULL retail version. tested with Kontakt 7. It is NOT compatible with Kontakt Player. You can open and run The Freesk+ in the Kontakt player just for 15 minutes. After that the demo period of the player times out and you have to re-start and reload the library.

• A COMPUTER: Windows or Mac or a Maschine+ by Native Instruments.

• A MIDI CONTROLLER: an Electronic Wind Instrument or a Keyboard or any kind of MIDI Instrument.

 

Dynamic controllers for keyboards  

With The Freesk+ you can select how to control the dynamic, from pp to ff. It also affects the timbre and slightly the pitch of notes. You can choose between:

You may also choose to control the dynamic by Velocity (the speed of the key-press), as a common keyboard patch, but you can no longer do crescendos and diminuendos, and The Freesk+ will become less expressive.

 

The Freesk+ on action

Steve Tavaglione, multi-styled saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist and E.W.I. player, who has worked on various films and television shows including CSI and CSI:NY, wrote: "The Freesk sounds great!!! The breath was captured so beautifully. I will use this maybe even as soon as tomorrow."

Judd Miller is arguably THE top EVI (electronic valve instrument) player in the world. He has performed on numerous big budget movie soundtracks and with the world's top recording artists like Michael Breaker, John Williams, Stewart Copeland, James Newton Howard, The Jellow Jackets and many others.
He wrote: "The Suonopuro Bansuri is so beautiful. Your creations feel so good to play. I just love playing your bansuri and freesk. really, really beautiful sounds."

 

How to obtain "THE FREESK+"

The Freesk+ is part of a private collection that I'm going to give to everyone who supports my site www.suonopuro.net with a donation of at least € 48,00.

To use it you need a FULL retail version of NI Kontakt 5.8.1 or higher. Tested on Kontakt 7.

 

Instructions:

1. Make a donation of at least 48,00 euros using Paypal (payment is automatically converted to your desired currency):
   
   
   

2. Send an E-MAIL with your name, your e-mail and details of the payment made, to:

            

Within a few days you will receive an e-mail notification, containing the download link and the instructions.

If you want a different method of payment, or are having problems with the Paypal link, you can write an email to the address above.

 

How to use

Download the instruction manual

 

Versione Italiana