The mission of the Virtuoso Japanese Series concept is to bring the authentic sounds of Japanese instruments to sound creators the world over. TAIKO THUNDER: The Ultimate Collection carries on this mission.

Because the most important process in creating a sample library is, of course, capturing the samples, we obsessed over every detail of the sampling process. For example, we worked with The Asano Foundation for Taiko Culture Research, a taiko producer located in Ishikawa Prefecture with a history dating back more than 400 years. With their assistance, we arranged perfectly set-up taiko instruments in an Ishikawa hall known for its acoustics. Then, with a world-class recording engineer at the controls and elite taiko performers who know the instruments inside and out, we painstakingly recorded every individual hit contained in the library.

To record every part of the taiko’s massive sound image and complex resonances, we used multiple close mics, overhead mics, and mics positioned to capture the sounds in front of the stage, behind the stage, and the hall’s overall ambience. The mic signals were ultimately fed to seven channel faders and recorded. The result is a perfect reproduction of the instruments’ soundscape and atmosphere. And having multiple mic channels provides the flexibility to modify the soundscape and atmosphere how ever you like to get your desired sound.