Synchron Bells III

Synchron Bells III

Synchron Bells III is a subset of the Synchron Percussion III Collection that includes cencerros, hand bells, rin bells, bell tree and jingle bells. What’s more, this collection also offers the unique Low Bells & Pianos ensemble setup as well as the High Bells ensemble of BBO: Fornax (Pitched Percussion Ensembles).

Solo Instruments

Cencerros or cowbells are (of course) mainly used in animal husbandry. The oldest proven use of such bells was dated to 5,000 years ago in China. Tuned sets of cowbells have been in use in orchestral music since the 20th century, e.g., in Richard Strauss’ Alpine Symphony. Compared with other bells, cowbells have a rather short release.

Hand bells were originally intended and are still used today for signalling sounds. The first known uses took place over 3,000 years ago in China and India. Fine-tuned hand bells for playing melodies came up in England at the end of the 17th century.

Rin bells are sound bowls. The origin of this family of instruments lies in East Asia. Tuned sets of these sound bowls have only been in use since the 20th century. The set of rin bells sampled for this Collection has a very bright, bell-like sound with clear overtones. Its timbre is similar to that of crotales.

A bell tree consists of vertically nested, bright bells. It has been in use since the second half of the 20th century for creating bell-like glissando sounds.

Jingle bells (or sleigh bells) are traditionally attached to horse sleighs. In western orchestral music they can be found, e.g., in Leopold Mozart's “Musikalische Schlittenfahrt” (musical sleigh ride), Gustav Mahler's 4th symphony, and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Due to their history and their unique timbre, jingle bells are often associated with sleigh rides and Christmastime.

Ensembles

Synchron Bells III includes two very unique ensembles:

The Low Bells & Pianos ensemble features three grand pianos (Bösendorfer Imperial, Steinway D-274, Yamaha CFX), low plate bells, tubular bells and Burma gongs, all performed and recorded at the same time to create epic, exceptional sounds.

The High Bells ensemble consists of three musicians playing high plate bells, tubular bells and vibraphone, creating assertive, very colorful sounds.

Microphone Positions

Both library portions include the same set of articulations. The Standard Library offers close, mid and main (Decca Tree stereo and center) microphone positions. The Full Library adds surround, high stereo and high surround outriggers that enrich your stereo output or can be used to mix in immersive audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and Auro3D 9.1 using the Synchron Player’s full-fledged mixer. A host of mixer presets deliver a masterfully crafted sound out-of-the-box or serve as starting points for your own sonic creations.

Standard Library (“Stereo Library Download”) – includes the complete set of articulations, recorded from 4 individual microphone positions that can be used for stereo mixing:

1. Close Mic – Mono
2. Mid Layer Mic – Stereo (L/R)
3. Main/Room Mic  – Decca Tree Stereo (L/R)
4. Main/Room Mic  – Decca Tree Mono (Center)

Full Library (“Stereo and Multi Library Download”) – includes 3 additional microphone positions that can be used for stereo, 5.1 surround and Auro 3D 9.1 mixing (7 mic positions in total):

1. Close Mic – Mono
2. Mid Layer Mic – Stereo (L/R)
3. Main/Room Mic  – Decca Tree Stereo (L/R)
4. Main/Room Mic  – Decca Tree Mono (Center)
5. Main Surround – Stereo (L/R)
6. High Stereo (3D) – Stereo (L/R)
7. High Surround (3D) – Stereo (L/R)

Please note that the main surround microphone settings may also be used instead of the main stereo room mics in order to achieve a wider, and more ambient mix.