Kora

21 String African Harp

A beautiful & fascinating African instrument, the Kora is hard to classify. With 21 strings and a cow-hide resonator, it's a type of bridge harp, but with some lute or guitar DNA in the mix. Originally from Gambia, it is widely played in Mali, Senegal and across Africa.

Sonically it is similar to the harp, but when played in the traditional style it also bears resemblance to a guitar played using the flamenco or Delta blues technique of plucking polyrhythmic patterns with both hands.

Soniccouture's virtual instrument is designed to be very playable and versatile, featuring a MIDI pattern player for authentic accompaniment and micro-tuning for authentic scales if desired

Overview

• 40 Velocity Layers
• mic + contact channels
• Pattern Player
• 6GB Library
• Kontakt Player + NKS

The kora is made from a gourd, which is cut in half and covered with cow hide. This forms the resonator of the instrument. There are 21 strings, suspended by a double notched bridge - 10 on one side, 11 on the other. This is typical of a double harp and it is classified as such. However, because the strings originate from a 'neck' and cross a bridge into a resonator, this also makes it a lute.

Kumbengo

Kora is played with two hands, one each side of the bridge - 10 strings on one side, 11 on the other. The thumbs of both hands play the 'kumbego' - the bassline accompaniment.

MIDI Pattern Player

Soniccouture Kora features a custom pattern player to provide this accompaniment. Featuring 20 authentic base patterns which can be tweaked and shaped: speed, velocity, swing.

Your final MIDI can then be easily drag'n'dropped into your DAW.

Details

• 6 GB Library (2.8GB compressed)
• 24 Bit, 96khz Stereo Sampling
• 40 Velocity layers with Round Robin Anti-Repeat
• Release damping samples 25 layers
• Mute detero samples 25 layers
• Custom MIDI Pattern Player
• Stereo Mic Channel, Stereo Contact Mic Channel
• Sound Design Presets

Kontakt Player 7.8 compatible

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 10.14 or higher
• 64 bit
• Intel Core i5 or Apple M1 (native)
• RAM: 4GB (6GB recommended)

Windows:

• Windows 10 or higher
• 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.