Review: GRANADA 49 Kontakt Synthesizer by Soundiron

Soundiron back with a new “classic analog synthesizer modernized for Kontakt” called Granada 49.

We previously reviewed the Bontastic vintage synth and The Granada 49 follows suit with a similar GUI design and superior sound quality.

Inspired by a legendary vintage 70’s synth, the Granada 49 was a portable wooden Organ and has an entirely different timbre than the Bontastic.

The Granada 49 was made for Kontakt. It is therefore important to note that it is a sample based synth, not a digital synth. The original instrument has been sampled and not recreated digitally. This makes for a more transparent and fat analog sound.

Overview

There are 2 different default nki instruments „Vintage Synth“ and „Ambience“. The vintage synth is a very true, distinctly warm and powerful organ sound reminiscent of Deep Purple and the likes. The interface comes with Volume, Attack, Release, Offset, Vibrato, Octave, and Glide.

The Octave knob doesn’t transpose the pitch but rather adds another octave to the sound allowing to you fatten the already fat. It also comes with 9 different envelope presets from sustains to staccatos.

The second instrument is called Ambience and is a drone type instrument made up of multiple oscillators creating sweeping tonal movement. The ambiance is extremely diverse but still maintains the warm vintage aspect of the sampled instrument.

The instrument comes with 30 very convincing FX presets that give you lots of sound options.

A click of the arrow underneath the Granada 49 header reveals the Lfo, Filter and Arpeggio engines.

They are all nicely constructed for simple and intuitive usage. The Lfo can be set to 5 different wave forms and designated to particular parameters.

The filter comes with all types of filters and source options and can be automated with up to 32 different steps. There is also an effect rack where you can add Fxs directly in the Kontakt player allowing you to avoid using 3rd party plugins and maxing out your CPU.

As with the Bontastic, Soundiron has included 20 custom instruments that go way beyond the capabilities of the original synth.

There’s some great stuff here for cinematic and game soundtrack producers looking for quirky sounds or lush, rich soundscapes. With all the sound design capabilities I can imagine doing all kinds of things with synth.

The vintage character is striking but the Ambience nki is perfect for Deep House, or chill out productions.

The instrument comes NKS ready and can be mapped further to your preference. Meaning if you own a Maschine or Komplete keyboard the essentials are already mapped out for you.

Conclusion

If you are familiar with Bontastic or not Granada 49 is easy to get along with. Each one has its own distinct sound but share the same concept for the user. Soundiron is offering us vintage, rare and unique instruments to work with and at the price of the 30€.

Is this perhaps the beginning of a whole series of such instruments from Soundiron? I hope so! Great sounding, rare sample instruments that can be fine tuned and manipulated into individual modern sounds is a fantastic idea.

Instead of buying one huge complicated digital synth to make all my sounds I can use very affordable and high-quality sample based synths. I really enjoy what Soundiron is up to and these synths are a great way to get to know their wide range of products.

Granada 49 synthesizer is available for $29, and requires the full version of Kontakt 5.5.2 and later (OSX 10.9 or later / Windows 7 or later required).

More Details: Granada 49