Forgotten Keys FK2 Maestro MRK-1 MRK-2 V.4.2 KONTAKT
AUDIOSTRiKE 20/07/2015 | 5 MB
The Forgotten Keys FK2 Kontakt instrument is based on 2 Maestro Rhythm King drum machines, the MRK-1 and MRK-2. These American drum machines from the 1960s were large, heavy and solidly built. As well as the transistor-based analogue sound source, they featured 18 combinable rhythms in 3 groups: Latin, American and Traditional. The only difference between the 2 models were a couple of rhythm pattern changes and the inclusion of a balance control and metronome on the MRK-2. These drum machines could also be found in other forms as part of various Lowrey home organs from this period, either built-in or as an optional add-on.
Sounds
All sounds of the FK2 originate from an MRK-1 that was dismantled and carefully sampled in order to get the best signal-to-noise ratio from what is — it has to be said — a rather noisy machine! Although there are 8 sound trigger buttons on the front of the Rhythm Kings, they do not give access to all internal sounds used within the rhythms. The cymbal sounds for instance have varying decay and attack depending on the rhythm selected. All these variations have been included, as well as the rimshot, hi-drum, lo-drum and soft low-drum sounds that are essential to be able to re-create the built-in patterns.
The sounds are in 24-bit 44.1KHz wav format.
Rhythms
The 20 rhythms on the FK2 are not sampled loops but are exact re-creations of the original patterns from both the MRK-1 and MRK-2 using the Kontakt scripting engine. This allows manipulation of each sound individually, artefact-free tempo changes and the ability to combine rhythms without volume and phasing problems. Essentially, the internal rhythms of the FK2 trigger the individual sounds to create the rhythms much as the real machine does except that samples are used instead of a sound generator circuit.
Setup
The Setup tab offers greater control over how the FK2 sounds and operates. There are volume, pan, tune and mute controls for each sound. Incoming MIDI notes can be mapped to any rhythm or sound and outgoing sounds can be assigned to any available Kontakt output. Random tune and volume controls add a little human element to the sounds.
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