Hopkin Instrumentarium: The U

Hopkin Instrumentarium: The U by Soundiron is a Kontakt instrument library built around Bart Hopkin’s unusual steel lamellophone. Instead of a single tine for each note, it uses clusters of closely spaced, overtone-tuned steel screws, stroked with a plectrum to create shimmering, liquid-metal glissandos. Close stereo and binaural recordings capture both detailed attacks and an intimate playing perspective. Tuned and untuned articulations sit alongside sound-designed pads, textures and tones, giving hobby producers and adventurous composers material for atmospheric melodies, experimental arrangements and cinematic layers. Blend acoustic and processed sounds, then shape their response with envelope controls, vibrato, pitch adjustments and filters. An adaptable, tempo-syncable LFO and 20 custom FX presets provide further movement and colour. It suits anyone looking beyond familiar keys and percussion for an expressive metallic sound.