MNTRA Instruments Arca

Interdimensional Strings Suite.

Dark and ancient string textures captured at our legendary Montreal RCA Victor studio. Creatively processed and warped to offer a wide range of expressive otherworldly sounds; from dystopian clusters to dark & ethereal textures.

The Story of Arca

Arca is an exploration into the dark side of string textures. Inspired by our love for sci-fi, we set out to create a playground of multidimensional sound possibilities. Using a selection of ancient bowed world instruments as sources that were then deeply processed to extend their timbres to beyond the realms of imagination, we have created a curated collection of dark, cinematic soundscapes. Taking full advantage of our MNDALA 2 Sound Design Engine, these unusual sources have been artfully sculpted to offer a wide variety of uniquely expressive sounds.Arca is built around our powerful 3-axis control system represented by a custom Perform view animation created for seamless intuitive live expression. Each preset is a unique performable instrument unto itself to be learned and explored.We simplified the manipulation of these sound-shaping parameters by creating global controls that are assignable to any MIDI sliders, knobs, or controllers. Map the controls once and you are ready to go without having to re-map them for each new MNDALA 2 instance.In addition to the curated sound worlds we created within Arca's many presets, you can easily sculpt your own sonic landscapes using MNDALA 2's powerful non-linear Sound Design environment.

What's Inside?

Acoustic Strings Sample Maps

• String Trio Long MF
• String Trio Long F
• String Trio Short
• String Trio Glissandi Trill
• String Trio Up-Down Glissandi
• String Trio Scratch
• Cello Long Harmonics
• Cello Short Harmonics
• Kemenche Long Gut
• Kemenche Long Metal
• Kemenche Long Harmonics
• Kemenche Short Harmonics
• Morin Khuur Long Harmonics 1
• Morin Khuur Long Harmonics 2
• Morin Khuur Short Harmonics 1
• Morin Khuur Short Harmonics 2
• Nyckelharpa Long
• Nyckelharpa Short

Creatively Processed Sample Maps

Our approach to creating revolutionary instruments

Continuous play and the pushing of creative boundaries are foundational to our instrument creation process. Rather than trying to recreate true-to-life instruments, we choose to experiment and go off the beaten track, in search of a new kind of virtual instrument.

Inspired by the natural world and ancient knowledge from around the world, we embrace expressive (im)perfections. Performing and recording instruments using experimental methods to create sounds like you’ve never heard before.

From our bespoke extreme-quality recording method using ultrasonics, to our constant experimentation with unique workflows and sound sources, each Instrument we release is a playable manifestation of our exploratory journey.

During our sampling process, the subtleties and imperfections of live human performance are embraced and encouraged. Depending on the final intent, we will creatively post-process as little or as much as needed (sometimes beyond recognition), always making sure that the soul and character of the performance is intact once it’s been implemented as one of our expressive playable instruments.

If this approach is something you resonate with, go ahead and explore our instrument catalogue!

Features

• 85 Presets
• 35 Individual Instruments
• Up to 29 Round Robins

Compatibility

 MAC OSX    WINDOW

*Requires MNDALA V2.0.0 Free Engine

Mixcraft 9 Pro is not Supported

 Windows Requirements

• Host application compatible with:
  
  • AAX Native plugins
  • VST plugins

• Windows 8 or higher (64-bit)

 Mac Requirements

• Host application compatible with:
  
  • AAX Native plugins
  • Audio-Unit plugins
  • VST plugins

• MacOS, 10.11 or higher (64-bit) including Apple Silicon Chip (M1)