In their continuing promotion leading up to Christmas, Gnomehammer is offering a free download of Sleigh Bells (aka Jingle Bells aka Santas Balls). Here's what they have to say...
This library was created by recording a pair of hand-held sleighbells. We captured a small concert sleigh bell set, comprised of a wooden handle and 21 medium-sized brass bells. We also captured a smaller leather hand-grip style set, with 5 large steel bells attached to it. We captured brisk and gentle shakes, strikes and sustaining shake rolls at a wide variety of tempos, rhythms and intensity levels, all with release trigged samples. Both patches feature expression control on the modwheel: attack sharpening & muting for the single notes and subtle intensity swelling on the loops.
History behind sleigh bells:
The sleigh bell is a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers. They find use in many areas as a percussion instrument, including the classic sleigh bell sound and morris dancing.
The simplest sleigh bells are produced from a single piece of sheet metal bent into a roughly spherical shape to contain a small ball bearing or short piece of metal rod. This method of production results in the classic two- or four-leaved shape. Two halves may also be crimped together, resulting in a ridge around the middle. A glass marble may also be used as the ringer on larger bells. Sleigh bells are commonly used on Christmas decorations or as Christmas ornaments of themselves, or hung around the neck like a necklace. They can also be strung onto a heavy wire and bent into a wreath shape, usually with a metal bow. Rather than the cross-shaped opening in the bottom, other designs may by cut into the bell, such as a snowflake. Small designs like stars may also be cut into the upper part of the bell. "Jingle Bells" is possibly the best-known Christmas song. Like many Christmas decorations, jingle bells are also made in versions for other holidays, such as a jack-o-lantern for Halloween.
Gnomehammer Sleigh Bell specs:

• Modwheel expression & dynamics control
• 2 Kontakt patches
• 218 samples in this set
• 125 MB installed, 84 MB .rar download
• Sample resolution: 44.1Khz / 24Bit stereo .wav format
• Format(s): Kontakt and .wav
• Note: Native Instruments Kontakt 3 / 4 full retail versions required for all Kontakt instruments. The library is partially compatible with Kontakt 2, but we strongly recommend Kontakt +3 for full functionality.
• Note: Free Kontakt Player will only work for 30 minutes with this product. Full version required to remove this restriction.

Pricing and Availability:
Free download – 16th December only More information:

• tonehammer.com
  
  
  

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