An exploration of a 70s classic
We’ve long wanted to capture the essence of this electro-mechanical classic - and by essence, we mean all the mechanical clicks, noises, and beautiful imperfections of a machine over 50 years old.
At first, we saw it as a natural evolution of our Cassette series, taken few steps further: 16 dynamic layers, release and mechanical samples - all still passed through tape in the end. Then, out of curiosity, we loaded the raw samples into the Tapes engine and started playing around - and it quickly became clear how we should shape its final form.
The result? A deeply sampled, expressive instrument - a playground of evolving textures, all housed in a sound engine built for discovery and experimentation.
Just the way we like it.
While themkI builds on the engine introduced in Tapes.01, it’s not meant to be version 2. Instead, it takes things in a different direction, better suited to the sampled material.
Animated mode (known as Swarm mode in Tapes) now features polyphonic modulation, with each layer running on its own independent engine (which also makes it MPE compatible). This setup allows you to combine standard polyphonic playback (Single mode) with sequenced / granular, two Single modes or two sequenced / granular.
We’ve also introduced a system of instrument modes, 16 at the moment, designed to keep things simple and fun while still encouraging deep sound exploration.
Each layer has its own 16-step sequencer, available in both Animated and Single mode, where it can act as a voice-specific modifier. For example, you can set it to play one sound source on notes 1–3, another on notes 4–6, shift every third note up an octave, reverse every fifth note, detune the last few notes, or set a unique sample start position per note. The list goes on.
Another example, first layer might play single notes with a classic ’70s soul vibe, while the second is faded in via the mod wheel or an MPE controller, scanning through the waveform in a granular fashion or playing micro-loops with duration and position set by the voice sequencer / modifier.
It took a lot of work, plenty of trips back to the drawing board, and a good dose of nerdy joy to bring this instrument to life - and we genuinely hope it'll inspire you as much as it inspires us.
Feel free to check out the videos below, where we show a few ways to work with the instrument.
Specifications
Works in free Kontakt Player 7.10.7 (or higher) - Kontakt Player download
10.50GB Size
500 Presets
12507 Samples
System requirements
macOS: 12, 13, 14, and 15 (latest update)
Windows: 10 or 11 (latest Service Pack)
Intel Core i5 or equivalent CPU, or Apple Silicon
At least 8GB of RAM
An internet connection is required to download, install, and activate the product. Once installed, product can be used offline.
