Ample China Guqin - ACGQ

Ample China Guqin – Ancient String Art, Captured in Detail

Ample China Guqin (ACGQ) brings the deep, calm and distinctive sound of one of China’s oldest plucked string instruments into your studio. The seven-string Guqin has a history spanning several thousand years and remains one of the most culturally significant instruments in traditional Chinese music.

For this library, a Shennong-style Guqin crafted by Wang Peng of Juntianfang was recorded and performed by Ning Lu of the China National Traditional Orchestra. In total, the library includes 12 GB of high-quality sample content with a wide range of articulations, slides, vibrato techniques and legato transitions.

Authentic String Positions and Traditional Playing Techniques

All seven strings were fully sampled at their actual playing positions rather than being captured by pitch alone. This preserves the tonal differences of the same note played on different strings and positions. Fingering, string position, slides and other playing techniques can therefore be reproduced using real samples.

The Head Group includes Sustain, Natural Harmonic, Harmonic Slap, Short Tremolo and several Slide-In techniques. The Body Group provides Legato Slides, Slide Up/Down and Return, Upward and Downward Vibrato, as well as Virtual Legato Portamento. In addition, the Key function automatically adjusts pitch and string arrangement according to the selected key, following the retuning approach of the real instrument.

Flexible Performance and Riffer 4

Ample China Guqin offers three playing modes: Instrument Mode, Keyboard Mode and Open String Mode. The instrument was recorded with five microphones, including two Outer, two Inner and one Mid microphone. Four microphone modes provide different tonal and spatial characteristics in the mix.

Riffer 4 is tailored specifically to plucked string instruments and offers switchable Piano Roll and Tab views. The integrated string visualization reflects the behavior of real string instruments, prevents unnatural polyphony on the same string and supports intelligent fingering assignment. Articulations, legato, expression, MIDI CCs and velocity can all be edited directly.

Features at a Glance:

• 12 GB of high-quality Guqin sample content
• Performed by Ning Lu of the China National Traditional Orchestra
• Shennong-style Guqin crafted by Wang Peng of Juntianfang
• All 7 strings fully sampled at their actual playing positions
• Head Group with Sustain, Harmonics, Tremolo and Slide-In techniques
• Body Group with Legato Slides, Vibrato and Virtual Legato Portamento
• Key function with automatic tuning and string arrangement adjustment
• 3 playing modes: Instrument, Keyboard and Open String
• 5 microphones and 4 microphone modes
• Riffer 4 with Piano Roll and Tab views
• String visualization and intelligent fingering assignment
• Direct editing of articulations, legato, expression, MIDI CC and velocity
• MIDI import and export plus Quantize, Swing, Legato and Monophonic tools
• Studio FX: 8-band EQ, Compressor, Delay and Convolution Reverb

Ample China Guqin combines the distinctive sound and subtle expressive qualities of this traditional instrument with modern sampling and editing technology, making it an excellent choice for film, games, world music, meditative soundscapes and detailed acoustic arrangements.

Mac:

• macOS 10.15 or later
• 64-bit
• Intel Core i5, Apple Silicon M1 or higher

Windows:

• Windows 8–11
• 64-bit
• Intel Core i5, AMD Ryzen 5 or higher