Experimental. Evolving. Emotive.

Ominous, unsettled and dusky viola textures that ebb and swell beneath your fingers as you play... Penombra Viole for Soundbox joins The Founder's Locker, our series of affordable, experimental instruments born from our own musical curiosity.

Penombra is Italian for twilight: that half-lit space between light and dark – and that’s exactly where these sounds live.

Penombra Viole began life as the experimental source recordings for our Movimento series – which featured three violas (among other stringed instruments). For those sessions, we asked the players to perform highly dynamic single sustained notes, pushing and pulling the sound however they felt, independently of the others. Later, we processed those sounds into something more subtle for Movimento Strings but the original takes were too good to go to waste.

We kept returning to them, processing them, layering them with synths and guitars, and blending them with heavily treated versions of themselves.

Some presets stay close to the raw acoustic sound. Others drift somewhere far darker and stranger.

From the quivering, tension-building Electric Sparkle and unsettling Warped Viole, to the obscure and multi-layered Refractions, the aptly named Scene Builder and beyond, the 12 included presets will add depth, drama and anticipation whether for TV and film, video game scoring, or ambient, orchestral or experimental music.

Built For Expressive Playing

Penombra Viole runs in Soundbox and takes full advantage of the platform’s new MPE features released in the latest version. Shape every note individually as you play, pushing the sounds into stranger, darker and more dramatic directions.

Penombra Celli or Penombra Viole?

Penombra Celli and Penombra Viole are entirely separate libraries, with no content shared between them. Each has its own character, role and exclusive sound sources.

Penombra Celli lives in the lower register, with a darker, more brooding tone and real weight. Penombra Viole sits in the middle register, where the viola's dusky, veiled tone brings a more restless quality.

In Penombra Viole, ebow and fuzz guitar layers fuse with the violas, adding sustain and a gritty edge. In Penombra Celli, processed acoustic guitars and analogue synths bring sparkle to the cellos' darker tone.

Penombra Celli is ideal when you need dark textures, tension and dramatic moments. Penombra Viole excels at carrying a composition forward, adding movement and momentum through the middle register.

Use either on its own or combine them to cover everything from brooding depths to restless mid-range movement.

Penombra Viole Key Features

• Experimental, evolving and emotive Viola textures
• Great for adding movement and momentum
• Ideal for TV, film and video game projects, or ambient, orchestral or experimental music.
• Includes 12 presets
• Full MPE and aftertouch support via Soundbox.
• Requires Audiomodern Soundbox v1.3 or later.
• Download size: 154.8MB (compressed FLAC file: 71.5MB)

Short on storage space? You’ll receive two files in the download: a FLAC file – use this if your hard drive space is limited (for example, while using the Soundbox app on iPad), and a .sbpack for if hard drive space isn’t a concern.

Always Affordable. Endlessly Fascinating.

Libraries in The Founder’s Locker will never be discounted. They're made for those moments when you just want to try something new, or to find a quick spark of inspiration without breaking the bank.

Read more about the concept of The Founder’s Locker on our blog or check out the video below.

Designed For Soundbox

Penombra Viole is designed for Audiomodern Soundbox (v1.3+) – a customisable MPE sampler which is completely free, offers built-in MPE support and works on Mac, Windows and iOS.

Just download the player from Audiomodern’s website here, and start exploring our Soundbox packs instantly!

What Is Audiomodern Soundbox?

Soundbox supports MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) and is also multi-touch enabled, making it one of the very few audio samplers offering both MPE and full multi-touch support on iPad.

By using any of our packs with Soundbox, all features are unlocked with the exception of the Sample and Mapping editor (which allows importing and editing of your own sounds). If you’d like to unlock this editor, you’ll need to purchase at least one original Soundbox expansion from Audiomodern’s website. Once activated, the editor is permanently unlocked and includes free lifetime updates.