1. The Sea Intro: ACDX

Ample China Dongxiao (ACDX) provides a wide range of articulations across the Head, Body, and Special Effects Groups, with 4.8 GB of high-quality samples.

Dongxiao is one of the most representative forms of the Chinese xiao family. Its tone is gentle and elegant, deep, rich, and rounded, making it particularly suitable for expressing solitude, distance, and melancholy. Canghai builds on the warm and restrained character of the traditional Dongxiao while incorporating the more breath-driven playing characteristics of the Nanxiao and Shakuhachi. It also expands the instrument with expressive breath techniques such as Impulse, Roaring, Espressivo, and Vibrato. The result retains the deep and refined character of the Dongxiao while adding a sense of strength and heroic spirit beneath its restrained sound.

• Performers: Xiaokui Ding (Wind instrumentalist of the China National Traditional Orchestra)
• Instrument: Deep Blue Sea series G key Dongxiao (Linqiu Zhong Masterbuilt)

System Requirements:

• macOS: macOS 10.15 or later.
• Windows: Windows 7 through Windows 11, 64-bit.
• Plugin Formats: VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX, plus the standalone application (Rectangles VST3).
• Storage: 10 GB or more. An internal SSD is recommended, or an external SSD connected through a high-speed USB interface.
• CPU: Intel Core i5, AMD Ryzen 5, Apple Silicon M1, or higher.
• Activation: Activation through the free iLok License Manager software (no hardware dongle required), or with an iLok USB dongle.

Sampling:

• Head Group includes 10 articulations: Sustain, Grace Up, Grace Down, Arpeggio Up, Arpeggio Down, Mordent, Pre-Trill, Impulse, Glissando Up, and Glissando Down. The Head Group is primarily designed for note attacks and ornaments.
• Body Group includes 15 articulations: Repeated Tonguing, Impulse Legato, Espressivo, Vibrato, Trill, Flutter, Mid Trill Down, Mid Trill Up, Slide Up, Slide Down, Sforzando, Wolf Tone, Slide Out Downwards, Impulse Release, and Repeated-Note Legato. The Body Group articulations can be used both as note ornaments and as transitions between notes through articulation legato, allowing more varied phrase transitions.
• Samples were recorded with 5 microphones, including Front, Mid, Rear, and a stereo pair of distant microphones. 3 microphone modes are provided for different tonal and spatial characteristics in the mix.
• Individual samples average approximately 8 seconds in length, allowing most notes to be played naturally without looping. Sample looping can also be enabled when longer sustained notes are required.
• Intelligent Legato System: Automatically determines and triggers the appropriate legato based on the timing between adjacent notes. Legato samples feature up to 5 velocity layers, providing natural transitions across different playing dynamics.

Riffer 4:

Designed around the monophonic and legato characteristics of wind instruments, Riffer 4 provides an intuitive visual workflow that automatically prevents unnatural polyphony and helps MIDI performances behave more like real instrumental playing.

• One-Click Auto Expression and Auto Vibrato: Once a phrase is complete, natural Expression and Vibrato curves can be generated with a single click. Riffer analyzes note length, articulation, and musical context to determine whether Expression should be applied, then automatically selects an appropriate curve type and amount of variation, avoiding mechanical or excessive dynamic processing. For example, very short Tonguing or articulations such as Sforzando, which already contain significant dynamic variation, will not receive additional Expression curves.
• Easy Articulation Editing: Easily edit fingerings, articulations, legato, expression changes, and other performance details, reducing the need for cumbersome Keyswitch and MIDI CC programming.
• MIDI CC and Velocity Editors:Display multiple MIDI CC curves simultaneously using different colors and opacity levels. Curve presets allow the corresponding CC curves to be generated instantly with a single click.
• Full MIDI Input and Output Compatibility:Whether importing external MIDI or exporting Riffer content to MIDI or instrument tracks in the host DAW, playback can remain fully consistent.
• Riffer 4 also provides a range of MIDI editing tools, including Quantize, Swing, Legato, and Monophonic processing.

FX:

• Built-in effects: 8-band EQ, Compressor, Delay, and Convolution Reverb.