Stradivarious EKO: Kontakt Instrument Based on the EKO String Synth

The instrument is built around the six sections of the original EKO Stradivarius, each sampled in great detail. Loot Audio describes the EKO as one of the rarest string synthesizers of the 1970s, and the developer notes that Vangelis used it in his 70s live shows.

Beyond the core samples, Loot Audio added a special set of Ensemble-processed samples for a richer, more vibrant sound. Both sample sets can be mixed freely, which gives you room to build layered strings, pads and leads from the same base.

Each section has its own filter shapes, with a wide range of filter types, vowel filters and phaser filters, and each of the six sections has them. Independent panning for each section adds further control over placement in the mix.

The effects section includes bus sends for each synth section, so you can set the amount of effects for each one separately. The included effects are chorus, phaser, flanger, a convolution reverb with 37 impulses to choose from, and sync delay.

Snapshots are supplied as starting points. You can tweak and modify them to shape your own sounds, or build string sounds, pads, leads, analog-style effects and stabs from scratch and then process them through the effects section.

The instrument requires the full version of Kontakt 5.8.1 or later. It will not run in the free Kontakt Player.