Let's get the facts straight - There is no Kontakt Instrument that could replicate a live singer! But, you could create something closer, and this is where Vocal Kontakt Libraries thrive, you could imitate the sound of a real live singer or choir in a track, and some library also gives you the option to create a background vocal sound and articulations, synthesized vocal pads, intricate noise and lots more.
If you are interested in a top-notch vocal library for Kontakt, the below list is the rundown of the 5 best in the Kontakt Library market currently, so, let's dive in...
Note: These are the current prices as of the time of writing this review, so, they might change.
1.) Output EXHALE Vocal ($129.00)
EXHALE is a modern vocal engine built from the ground up for every composer, producer, artiste, and sound engineer seeking a truly modern library or in, or in line with today’s current records, film scores, and sound design. The engine features three distinct modes:
- Notes for chromatic playing,
- Loops for looping vocal elements, and
- Slices for sliced vocal phrases.
What I love about this library is the fact that you can control, reshape and customize your sound on the main page using 4 Macro sliders, or dive deep into modulation, mixing, and effects on the Engines page. You will also find over 500 presets, many of which include full banks of loops and slices, there’s a world of starting points to help you be creative. In detail, you will find the collection of recorded vocals by real singers and a choir, Sounds crafted with endless analog and vintage gear, tape machines, vocoders, and more.
Features:
- 500 Unique Presets
- 3 Modes: Notes, Loops & Slices
- 10 GB raw material
- Custom FX Presets
- Custom Macros Per Preset
- NKS Support
- Snapshots for Maschine
- Macro Editing
- Main and Engine Pages
- Automatable Insert and Mod FX
System Requirements:
- EXHALE runs in Kontakt or Free Kontakt player version 5.3.1 or higher.
- Mac OS X 10.7, OS X 10.8 or later.
- Windows 7 or later.
- At least 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended), and 9.2 GB of free drive space.
- Access to a stable internet connection for digital delivery and activation.
- Also compatible with the FREE Kontakt Player.
2.) Mosaic Voices ($119.00)
Mosaic Voices is a vocal library instrument that features a collection of foundation elements, that are designed to be combined and stacked into lush, and cinematic textures. Mosaic Voices is a re-envisioning of the human voice, with organic male and female choirs, synthesized vocal pads, and intricate noise and drone layers.
You would find a full palette of vocal sources, developed specifically for the modern score. Its intuitive workflow and over 8 GB of production-ready content empower you to build rich vocal beds by combining live organic vocals, synth vocals, and intricate noise layers.
What I find interesting in this library is the way you can layer sounds across the Mosaic Engine’s three channels. Rhythmic, lyrical, sparse, emotional, dynamic. The possibilities are truly endless -- especially considering Mosaic Voices contains 180 carefully-crafted Snapshots to get you started.
Features:
- Tailored Hybrid Vocals: Designed for Unique Customization
- Synthetic + Organic Voices: Build dynamic vocal beds and soundscapes
- Includes 130 Snapshot Presets carefully crafted by the Heavyocity team
System Requirements:
- Powered by the Kontakt 6 Engine
- Kontakt 6 (Player) or later
- Komplete Kontrol integrated (NKS-ready)
- Mac: macOS 10.12, 10.13 or 10.14 (latest update), i5
- PC: Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 (latest Service Pack), Intel Core i5 or equivalent CPU, 2 GB RAM
3.) Voices of Rage ($79.00)
If you are looking for aggressive death metal or hardcore voice library, you can't go wrong with Voices of Rage. It combines awesome vocal performances, powerful word, and lyric-building systems, tempo-synced phrase step sequencing features, multiple mic types, rack multi-FX, and tons of cutting-edge content and capabilities. It explores the raw, brutal, and guttural vocal style that death metal is known for, in all of its roarings, screaming, hissing, and screeching glory.
You would find 100 vocal words, covering a variety of nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives. What is even interesting is that each word can create an effective lyrical toolbox, with sustaining and staccato variants. Also, there are hundreds of live micro-phrases that can be assembled into your songs using Voices of Rages phrase step-sequencer and tempo-synched, stretched, layered, and blended in all manner of ways.
Features:
- 18,128 Samples
- 4.43 GB installed (5.3+ GB uncompressed wav source)
- 23 nki Kontakt instrument presets
- 24-bit / 48kHz losslessly compressed NCW samples
- Works with the free Kontakt Player (version 5.6.8+)
- 2 microphone choices (stage & studio) independent mix and enable/bypass control
- 100 Staccato Words with 2X round-robin, with instant switching between independent death and scream modes
- 100 Sustaining Marcato Words with looping sustain and release samples, and instant switching between independent death and scream modes
- Tons and tons of long-sustaining and short dynamic death vocal effects, including roars, screams, screeches, hissing, whispers, growls, breaths, and more.
- Live performance phrases with pitch transposition, instant pattern sequencing, legato blending, tempo-synching/time-stretching, shaping, and more.
- A full selection of female rock vocals sustains by Mixi, including multiple dynamic levels and attack variants for the vowels Ah, Ay, Ee, Oh, Hmmm, and Oo.
- Lyrical phrases include hundreds of original royalty-free lines, categorized into 9 songs, each with a wide selection of unique improvised variants and re-interpretations. The Phrase Master system lets you chop, slice, sequence, recombine and modulate each line however you like, for an essentially infinite number of new possibilities.
- Convenient real-time visual wave-form display in every preset.
- Bonus vocal Ambiences, Atmospheres, and other custom melodic FX instruments.
- Swell, Attack, Release, Offset, Attenuation and Humanization controls allow for real-time dynamic performance shaping.
- Full Multi-FX rack panel with Chorus, Compression, Distortion, Amp and Cab simulation, EQ, Delay, and Reverb
- Our Reverb rack unit includes 25 unique creative FX convolutions and 45 excellent live rooms, studios, chambers, cathedrals, halls, and other real-world environments, with flexible tone, size, and mix controls.
- Fully automatable, with a customizable key switch and GUI controls.
System Requirements:
- This Powered-By-Kontakt Player Edition is supported by the latest version of the free Kontakt Player (VST, AU, AAX) and the special “Libraries” rack.
- Windows 7 or higher is required for PC.
- OSX 10.10 or higher is required for Mac.
- Dual-Core CPU, 3 GB System Ram, SATA, or SSD hard drive recommended for this library.
4.) Mercury Boys' Choir Micro ($39.00)
SoundIron Mercury Boys Choir Micro is the compact version of SoundIron full Mercury Symphonic Boys Choir Library. This edition features a collection of piano and forte versions of the sustaining and staccato articulations of two important vowels: “Ah” and “Oo.” It also includes two sustaining, tempo-sync-able word articulations from the Christian liturgy, “Kyrie” and “Eleison.”
In detail, it captures the youth and purity of a full boy’s choral ensemble consisting of 25 singers ages 8 to 13 with a close microphone position. You will also find 3 standard instrument presets, each focusing on a category of choral articulations. Also included are 17 special FX presets that demonstrate the creative possibilities of this compact yet powerful library. These FX presets are exclusive to Mercury Micro and each offers a unique sonic flavor all its own.
Features:
- 320 MB Installed (246 MB uncompressed wav source)
- 209 Samples
- 35 Kontakt 5.6.8 .nki instrument preset banks
- 24-bit / 48kHz lossless NCW format samples
- Works with the free Kontakt Player (version 5.6.8+)
- A chorus of 25 singers from the award-winning Pacific Boychoir
- 2 Dynamic Layered PP/FF sustaining Vowels (Ah, and Oo)
- 2 Dynamic Layered PP/FF Staccato Vowels (Ah, and Oo)
- Dual-Layer layout for mixing and blending between vowels and articulations
- 2 Chromatic Latin sustaining multi-syllable words (Eleison and Kyrie) with automatic tempo-synching
- Tempo-synching and time-stretching presets optimized for Kontakt 5
- Children's choral vocal effects
- A deep bonus collection of custom effects presets
- Integrated DSP effects and custom convolution impulses included
- Fully automatable custom user interface
System Requirements:
- This Powered-By-Kontakt Player Edition is supported by the latest version of the free Kontakt Player (VST, AU, AAX) and the special “Libraries” rack.
- Windows XP or higher is required for PC.
- OSX 10.10 or higher is required for Mac.
- Dual-Core CPU, 2 GB System Ram, SATA, or SSD hard drive recommended for this library.
5.) Questionably Barbershop ($19.00)
The last vocal library on our list is the Questionably Barbershop by the renowned SoundIron. It is a simple 4-piece male vocal ensemble, crafted in the style of an old-timey Barbershop Quartet.
Featuring the humble vocal talents of SoundIron Mike Peaslee, Gregg Stephens, and Spencer Nunamaker, this library offers basic chromatic sustains and staccato articulations, improvised scat, and bebop phrases, and even a couple of classic Americana folk song construction kits that are broken down line-by-line with each vocal part directly accessible in several different root keys.
Features:
- 955 MB
- 2588 Samples
- 24 instrument presets for Kontakt 5.1
- 24-bit / 48kHz uncompressed PCM wav samples
- Unlocked Kontakt presets and samples that you can customize
- 4 Separate Male Voices: Lead, Bass, Baritone, and Tenor (Falsetto)
- 2 Classic American Folk Songs in 4-Part Harmony
- 3 Staccato types with 8RR for each Voice
- 3 Sustain types for each Voice
- 356 Improvised Scat 'N Bebop Phrases for each Voice in multiple Keys
- Full Multi-FX rack panel with Chorus, Compression, Distortion, Amp and Cab simulation, EQ, Delay, and Reverb
- Our Reverb rack unit includes 25 unique creative FX convolutions and 45 excellent live rooms, studios, chambers, cathedrals, halls, and other real-world environments, with flexible tone, size, and mix controls
- Fully automatable, with a customizable key switch and GUI controls
- Convenient real-time visual wave-form displays
System Requirements:
- This library is designed for the full retail version of Native Instruments Kontakt 5.1.0 or later.