Ambient Black by Big Fish Audio Kontakt instrument artwork

Ambient Black: Dark Ambient Kontakt Instrument by Big Fish Audio

Ambient Black is a Kontakt instrument from Big Fish Audio with 280 patches of harsh, atonal, mysterious and industrial ambient sounds. It is the darker companion to Ambient White.

REQUIRESKontaktHost player sold separately

KontaktWindowsmacOS64-bit

AVAILABLE ATPlugin Boutique

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01Overview

Ambient Black is a sound design-based virtual instrument for composers and producers who want dark, textural material for ambient music. It covers the aggressive end of the ambient spectrum, with patches built around drones, effects, looped phrases and percussion. Its sounds combine acoustic, human, industrial and electronic elements, and the library ships as a Kontakt instrument that works with the full or free Kontakt Player.

Best for

Dark ambient music
Cinematic sound design
Industrial textures
Atonal drones and pads
Experimental percussion
Film and game atmospheres

Developer: Big Fish Audio
Category: Kontakt Instruments
Requires: Kontakt
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

280 different instrument patches
Multi-layered instruments built from combined patches
Effects and textures designed for cinematic sound design
Acoustic, industrial and electronic drum kits
Drones and atmospheres that evolve over time
Looped instruments, some intentionally unsynced to tempo
Over 6.5 GB of uncompressed WAV data
Compatible with Kontakt 5.8.1 and higher

03In depth

Sound Character and Source Material

Ambient Black focuses on harsh, aggressive, atonal, mysterious and industrial sounds. Big Fish Audio says most of the material started from organic sources: found sounds, field recordings of natural environments, and prepared and heavily processed musical instruments. Synth sounds were processed with sound design techniques and layered with these organic sources.

The developer describes the result as a blend of acoustic, human, industrial and electronic elements, producing an organic-sounding instrument. It is the second part of a linked pair, and Ambient White covers the opposite end of the ambient spectrum.

Patch Categories and Playing Tips

The library contains 280 patches grouped into categories, including multi-layered instruments, effects and textures, percussive instruments, drones and atmospheres, melodic and bass instruments, and looped instruments. Multi-layered patches combine several evolving atmospheres, effects and loops.

Big Fish Audio suggests playing many multi-layered and drone patches with one finger or in octaves. Drones are long and evolve over time, so holding a key for 10 to 30 seconds lets you hear how they develop. Some loops are intentionally not locked to tempo, adding randomness to the patches.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

Developer	Big Fish Audio
Type	Plugin
Category	Kontakt Instrument
Requires	Kontakt
Formats	Kontakt
Operating systems	Windows, macOS
Architecture	64-bit

05FAQ

Questions, answered

What is Ambient Black?

Ambient Black is a Kontakt instrument from Big Fish Audio with 280 patches of harsh, atonal and industrial ambient sounds. It is the darker half of a linked pair with Ambient White.

What do I need to use Ambient Black?

Ambient Black requires Kontakt. It is compatible with Kontakt 5.8.1 and higher and works with both the full version and the free Kontakt Player.

Which operating systems does Ambient Black support?

Ambient Black is listed for Windows and macOS and is a 64-bit product. The developer lists 6.5 GB of free hard drive space as required.

Is Ambient Black good for cinematic sound design?

The Effects and Textures category was designed mainly as cinematic sound design elements. Most of these sounds have no clear pitch or key center and can be used as drones.