Fractured: Prepared Acoustic Guitar | MusicTech Magazine

If you were starting to think that you'd heard it all when it comes to sound design, then fear not, as the ingenious team at Vir2 is back with Fractured, a massive library of prepared acousic guitar instruments. Following on from the company's previous release, Violence (which deconstructed the humble violin), Fractured attacks the instrument from every angle with a variety of materials including mallets, metal, cardboard, pencils, bows and even rice...
The pack is a 2.3GB download, which unpacks to around 3.4GB of material, with 104 instruments for Kontakt 5. You can either open the patches using the included Kontakt 5 Player, or in the full version, which opens up the potential for more in-depth editing. All of the instruments are subdivided into five categories - Chromatic Kits, Drum Kits, Melodic, Pads & SFX, and Tempo Synced - with each featuring a variety of controls that have been custom-chosen depending on the nature of the patch. The Chromatic Kits, for example, contain a range of loosely pitched percussive sounds, and you can choose different samples for each note, making patterns come to life as different striking techniques and materials are combined. The drum kits have the option to control the volume, pan, pitch, and effects of each note, while the melodic and pad sounds add attack, release and stereo width controls. All of the patches contain reverb and delay, and many have extra effects such as distortion, flanger, vibrato and more.
Layout aside, what really matters is the quality and uniqueness of the sounds themselves, and there are some trul stunning patches here. From delicate plucked sounds and off-the-wall percussive scrapes to a raspy string-like instrument created by holding a nylon-string guitar against a moving bicyce wheel, these are complex and evocative sounds that are perfect for adding an original twist to your tracks or film scores.
Verdict: A large collection of inventive, beautiful and original sounds with an organic feel. Fractured is an inspiring resource for film composers, and an interesting alternative to the usual plucked and percussive instruments.