Celeste by Soniccouture
Soniccouture collaborated closely with Schiedmayer to produce Celeste. Knut Schiedmayer selected their very best instrument, fully tuned and serviced to a ‘perfect’ condition before shipping it to the Soniccouture studio. The 5.5-octave ‘Studio’ model represents the pinnacle of the Celesta building, and we thank Schiedmayer for their support. Produced in conjunction with Schiedmayer, and featuring 32 velocity layers & dual-mic channels, it’s set to follow Vibraphone & Grand Marimba into the Soniccouture percussion Hall Of Fame.
Schiedmayer Celesta GmbH has been producing celestas since 1890 and since 1975 is the sole manufacturer to build celestas according to the inventor’s original specifications.
The celesta, or celeste instrument (from French “cèleste” for “heavenly”) is an idiophone with a keyboard which looks somewhat like a piano. The instrument was invented in 1886 by Victor Mustel and the warm sound resembles a combination of a glockenspiel and a metallophone.
A unique mechanism with a keyboard felt hammers, steel plates, and wooden resonators is crucial for sound production. Although it is a keyboard instrument, the celesta belongs to the family of percussion instruments but is usually played by a pianist. Unfortunately, there are many misleading and incorrect representations of the celesta instrument, its history, and its action mechanism in music literature. Even the so-called classical reference works are often incorrect.
Celesta instrument Facts
- The celesta was invented and patented in 1886 by Victor Mustel in Paris. The name celesta, which Victor Mustel created especially for this instrument, was already evident in the patent.
- The unmistakable sound of the instrument is produced by its special mechanism: by pressing a key on the keyboard a felt hammer is triggered which strikes the top of a steel plate. Beneath the steel plate is a wooden resonator. The celesta has a pedal for damping and, as a transposing instrument, sounds an octave higher than notated.
This is a Kontakt Player instrument. This means that you do not need to own the full version of NI Kontakt to use it. It will run as a plug-in instrument in any VST/AU/RTAS/AAX/WASAPI, compatible host program or DAW eg: Cubase, Logic, Ableton Live, DP, Reaper, Pro-Tools. No extra purchase necessary.
Pricing and Availability
Celeste is available with an intro offer 30% off, until October 30th, 2020.
