Chroma Bells by Soundiron Kontakt bell instrument interface

Chroma Bells: Tuned Hand Bell Instrument for Kontakt by Soundiron

Rated 4.9/5 on Plugin Boutique (7 ratings)

Chroma Bells is a Kontakt instrument from Soundiron containing 12 tuned steel, brass and bronze hand bells recorded in England, India, China and Tibet. It is built for melodic composition, percussive accents and sound effects.

REQUIRESKontaktHost player sold separately

KontaktWindowsmacOS

AVAILABLE ATPlugin Boutique

Download Now

Opens the store in a new tab

01Overview

Chroma Bells covers a range of bells, from English handbells and a Tibetan ceremonial bell to a Swiss cow bell, a Chinese brass temple bell and an Indian claw bell. Soundiron recorded single-note rings, sustaining rolls and muted articulations, with velocity layers and round robin variations for natural dynamics. The instrument runs in Kontakt on Windows and macOS and includes 21 instrument presets and 20 FX and ambient presets.

Best for

Melodic bell compositions
Percussive accents
Cinematic sound effects
Ambient textures
Arpeggiated bell patterns

Developer: Soundiron
Category: Kontakt Instruments
Requires: Kontakt
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

Brass and bronze hand bells with Close, Room and Retro Cans microphone positions
Twelve tuned bells from England, India, China, Tibet and Switzerland
21 Kontakt .nki instrument presets
20 sound-designed FX and ambient presets
6,959 stereo samples in 24-bit / 48 kHz uncompressed PCM WAV
LFO, filter, glide and arpeggiator controls with scale lock
Modular FX rack with 8 slots and 27 DSP modules
Convolution reverb with 99 rooms and halls plus 40 custom FX impulses

03In depth

Sound Character and Microphone Positions

Each bell has its own bright or dark resonance, so the set works across different arrangements. Three stereo microphone positions can be mixed and layered. The Close pair is a pair of large-diaphragm studio mics that gives a dry, crisp and present tone. The Room pair is a wide-spaced pair of pencil omnis that adds a spacious room sound. The Retro Cans position uses tin can microphones for a raw, lo-fi vintage tone with a warm midrange, dark character and rounded transients.

The sampling is deep, with 6,959 stereo samples across 24-bit / 48 kHz uncompressed PCM WAV files.

Controls, Arpeggiator and FX Rack

The interface offers an LFO with selectable shape, target, speed, intensity, tempo sync and fade-in time. Twelve lowpass, highpass and FX filters can be assigned modulation from velocity, mod wheel, expression, aftertouch, key position and a step-sequencer table.

The arpeggiator includes a velocity table and controls for direction, timing, swing, randomization and duration. A key and scale lock keeps notes within chosen scales. The modular FX rack has 8 slots for 27 DSP modules, and its convolution reverb includes 99 room, hall, chamber and outdoor impulse responses plus 40 custom FX impulses.

04Specs

Will it run?

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

Developer	Soundiron
Type	Plugin
Category	Kontakt Instrument
Requires	Kontakt
Formats	Kontakt
Operating systems	Windows, macOS

05FAQ

Questions, answered

What do I need to use Chroma Bells?

Chroma Bells requires Kontakt. The developer lists Kontakt Full Version 6.2.2 or later and notes that the Kontakt Player is not compatible with this instrument.

Which operating systems does Chroma Bells support?

Chroma Bells is listed for Windows 7 or higher and Mac OS X 10.12 or higher. Installed size is 9.8 GB, and the developer recommends a SATA or SSD drive.

What bells are included?

The library includes English handbells, a Tibetan ceremonial bell, a Swiss cow bell, a Chinese brass temple bell and an Indian claw bell, among others.