Softstruck

Cinematic guitar library inspired by the felt piano

Softstruck is an unconventional cinematic guitar library inspired by the warm intimacy of the felt piano. The third release in Sonora Cinematic’s Select Series, it’s also one of their most experimental instruments to date.

The idea emerged during a felt piano recording session—a technique where felt is placed between the hammers and strings to produce a muted, delicate sound often used in film and ambient music. But instead of staying with piano, the team asked: What if you could “felt” a guitar?

Early experiments involved placing felt on the bridge, mimicking a palm-muted effect—not quite the sound they were after. The breakthrough came when they switched focus: What if the player, not the guitar, was softened?

By using ultra-soft felt picks—normally used for nylon-string instruments like ukuleles—they uncovered a unique brushed tone: dark, textured, nostalgic. Familiar yet entirely new.

The Instruments

The team sampled three custom-voiced guitars, each offering distinct sonic characters:

• Butterscotch – A bright, classic guitar with an added middle pickup. The felt softens its top-end for a smooth, scooped tone.
• Flatwounds – A chambered guitar with a p90-style pickup and flatwound strings for an extra-dark, mellow sound.
• Singlecut – A bass-heavy classic, sampled at the neck pickup for added warmth and depth.

Each guitar was recorded through four signal chains: Two different amps and two pedalboard setups—one ambient and lush, the other more experimental.

The Engine

As with all Select Series instruments, Softstruck features Sonora Cinematic’s signature processing tools, tailored for guitar:

• White Cloud – Clean, high-end studio reverb
• Blue Signal – Lush, cinematic ambience
• Pink Signal – A granular reverb built on Native Instruments’ Raum

Plus, a Double Track switch lets you pan alternate round robins hard left and right, creating a fuller stereo image.

51 Presets. One Soft, Striking Voice.

Softstruck delivers an expressive, organic guitar tone—subtle, brushed, and full of emotion. With 51 thoughtfully crafted presets, it’s a powerful tool for:

• Cinematic scoring
• Ambient sound design
• Emotional underscore
• Intimate songwriting

Whether you're layering textures or composing a sparse solo moment, Softstruck gives you a fresh, inspiring palette—soft-spoken, but deeply resonant.

Requires Kontakt Player 8.3 or higher.

This product requires the free Native Instruments Kontakt Player, the latest version can be downloaded through Native Access, Native Instrument’s download manager!

The minimum required Kontakt version for this product is stated in the product description or can be found on the manufacturers website.

System Requirements:

Mac:

• macOS 11, 12, 13
• 64 bit
• Intel Core i5 or Apple Chip
• RAM: 4GB (6GB recommended)

Windows:

• Windows 10 or 11
• 64 bit
• Intel Core i5 or similar CPU
• RAM: 4GB (6GB recommended)

Supported Interfaces:

• Mac (64-bit only): Stand-alone, VST, VST3, AU, AAX
• Windows (64-bit): Stand-alone, VST, VST3, AAX

Legacy Versions:

If you require legacy installers of Kontakt Player please refer to this Knowledge Base Article.