Engineer Series: Hammer Klavier
An Impact Soundworks Instrument for Kontakt 6.6
Created in partnership with Mattias Krantz
INTRODUCTION
The moment we heard Mattias Krantz’s new experiment — replacing every single hammer on an upright piano
with real, metal hammers — we knew we’d found something truly unique that could inspire musicians
around the world. It’s not quite like anything you’ve ever heard before. The sound is reminiscent of a
particularly powerful and full-voiced harpsichord, with the dynamic responsiveness of a regular piano and the
percussive nature of a hammered dulcimer.
While it’s a fun conceptual experiment, we think you’ll find that Hammer Klavier is also beautiful and a delight
to play! Mattias worked with us to record his instrument in great depth; it has been carefully sampled to the
fullest so that it’s every bit as playable and realistic as a standard piano. We created it with the same love and
care that makes our Pearl Concert Grand a staple choice for many composers.
Think of this not as a sound design toolbox but as a custom upright piano with a unique voice. While
Mattias might have destroyed a piano to get this great sound, we think you’ll agree it was worth it.
What is the Engineer Series?
Mattias Krantz is a guitarist and YouTuber known for his wild, imaginative experiments with pianos and guitars.
We are collaborating with him to bring his unique instruments to composers and musicians around the world.
Hammer Klavier is the first instrument in this series, but it won't be the last!
INSTALLATION
1. Download Native Instruments Kontakt 6 Player, which will also install Native Access.
2. Open Native Access, click “Add a Serial”, and input your Hammer Klavier product code.
3. The product will be downloaded and installed through Native Access. You can then load Kontakt Player as
a plugin in your DAW, and load Hammer Klavier from the “Libraries” tab.
SNAPSHOTS & SCRIPT TABS
Hammer Klavier uses Kontakt’s native “snapshots” feature to handle various types of presets. We’ve
extended this feature allowing you to save and load specific types of snapshots without overwriting your
entire patch.
To support this, Hammer Klavier uses two separate scripts: one for instrument editing, the other for mixing
and effects.
Each of these tabs can save or load its data independently! For example, you can load a mixer setup from
Console without affecting your mapping, or load a specific performance preset without affecting your FX.
At the bottom of each tab’s UI, you’ll see two icons in the lower left and lower right: a Lock, and a Camera.
When the Lock icon is enabled (white), the contents of that tab will not be overwritten when you load a new
Snapshot. When the Camera icon is enabled (white), the contents of that tab will be saved when you save a
snapshot.
You can save your own snapshots using whatever combination of tabs you’d like. Make sure to check your
Lock/Camera settings when saving and loading.
MAIN CONTROLS
IMPORTANT: Virtually every slider and button on the interface can be MIDI learned! Simply right click and then
move the desired MIDI CC (in your DAW, or on a physical MIDI controller) to create a link.
Also, you can hover over any control to see help text at the bottom of the Kontakt UI. Try it!
KEYS Section
Here you can “stack” additional voices to create a wider, richer, and/or more detuned effect. The three knobs
will not do anything unless “Stacking Mode” is set to 2 or 3 voices.
Stacking Mode: Sets the total number of voices played with each key press.
Detune: Increasing this knob will tune the voices further away from each other.
Spread: Sets the panning spread of the voices. At 0, the voices are not panned. At maximum, the voices are
panned as wide as possible.
Volume: Sets the volume of the additional voices.
Playback Tab
Transpose: Transposes incoming MIDI input by semitones.
Bend Range: Sets the maximum pitch bend range when using the pitch bend (wheel) controller.
Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release: Sets the volume (amplitude) envelope of the piano.
Tone: Decreasing this knob applies a gentle filter that reduces the brightness of the piano.
Sample Offset: Adjusts the start point of each sample. At 0, each sample is played from the very beginning.
This results in a noticeable ‘lag’, because the physical piano’s hammers take a little time to strike the strings
after a key is pressed.
Key Noise: When enabled, the Volume knob controls the loudness of the actual key presses of the piano. This
does not affect the tone (hammers) - just the key presses.
Anti-Rep: When enabled, the Chance knob controls how often neighboring pitches will be used as extra note
variations (for example, when playing C3, the sampled C#3 may be used as an extra variation.)
High Dampers: When disabled, high notes will be released when the key is lifted. The default enabled state is
how a real piano works.
Round-Robin: When enabled (default), note and key round robins will be used (every note has two recordings
total, or 2 RRs - key noises have 5).
Perform Tab
VEL > VOL: Controls how much MIDI velocity affects volume. The higher this knob value, the greater the
correlation between velocity and volume.
Dynamic Filtering: Controls the amount of extra filtering applied depending on MIDI velocity. At max values,
low velocity notes will be more filtered (less bright).
Vel Curve / Table Editor: Changes incoming MIDI velocities to make the instrument more or less sensitive
overall.
Microtuning: Microtuning allows fine tuning of individual notes to approximate historical or non-western tuning
systems. You can toggle Microtuning on/off and save/load presets from the menu button.
● Microtuning Key: Sets the root (aka tonic) note the microtuning indices start from.
● Microtuning Table: Allows manual adjustment of pitches in the scale.
CONSOLE TAB
The second tab at the bottom of the GUI is where you can find Console, our extensive mixer and effects rack.
Since this is deep in scope and features we’ve created a separate manual for it.
Console Manual
CREDITS
Lead Producer: Andrew Aversa
Recording & Performance: Mattias Krantz
Programming: Mario Kruselj, Theodore Chatzilamprou
Editing: Kent Kercher
UI Design: Paulo Nunes
TROUBLESHOOTING
Having trouble with Hammer Klavier? Use it in a project you want to tell us about? Drop us a line via our
Contact page (but be sure to read the FAQ first!)
COPYRIGHT & LICENSE AGREEMENT
The following license is granted non-exclusively to all purchasers of our products. This version
(updated December 4, 2017) supersedes any prior printed or digital versions of our license.
Overview
All sound recordings, performances, scripting and/or code contained in this product is the intellectual property
of Impact Soundworks unless otherwise noted, and remain the property of Impact Soundworks after the
product is purchased. When purchasing an Impact Soundworks product, you are purchasing a non-exclusive
license to use, edit, perform, or otherwise utilize these recordings, performances, scripting and/or code for
commercial and non-commercial purposes as defined below.
Authorized Users
Depending on the type of customer and usage scenario, authorized users of this license will vary. ALL
purchases fall into category A or B.
A. Individual Purchase
This license is extended to customers who are purchasing as the primary user of the product, OR are
purchasing on the behalf of another primary user (i.e. as a gift).
The licensee (primary user) MAY install the product on as many computer systems as he or she has
access to. However, ONLY the licensee may use the product. No other users are authorized.
B. Corporate, Academic, Institutional Purchase
This license is extended to customers who are purchasing for a multi-user setting, such as a shared studio,
networked workstation, computer lab, etc. In this case, the licensee is the institution and not any one user.
In contrast with individual purchases, an institutional license applies to ONE computer / workstation. All
users of that workstation who belong to the purchasing institution (licensee) shall be considered
authorized users.
However, at no point may multiple authorized users access one license simultaneously. Multiple licenses
must be purchased if the product is to be used by multiple users simultaneously.
Scope of License
The licensee is entitled to the use and unlimited editing of the product within the scope of music production,
performance, recording, and composition. This includes both non-commercial and commercial usage of all
types, including, but not limited to, film scores, television scores, music libraries, video game soundtracks,
digital and physical music releases, albums, compilations, etc. Exceptions to this scope are listed below.
The licensee MAY NOT use the product in the production of any other sample library or virtual instrument
products.
The licensee MAY NOT sell individual sounds from a product in any context.
For clarity: The licensee MAY use sounds from the product to create individual sound effects (SFX) for use in
film, TV, advertising, and video games. However, the licensee cannot sell these sounds individually via
marketplace, stock music/stock audio site, etc.
Ownership, Resale, and Transfer
Redistributing, reselling, electronically transmitting, uploading, sharing, or renting the product in any way,
shape, or form is prohibited by law. The licensee may create a physical backup copy of any digitally purchased
and downloaded product. This backup copy is subject to the same limitations as the original copy of the
product, and may not be transferred to any other individual for any reason.
Copyright © 2021 Impact Soundworks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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