Zero-G Altered States is a wonderful and inspiring sample library featuring a vast and unique palette of sounds from out of this world, that will inspire you for years to come.

This goldmine of creativity is absolutely massive (over 4 GB in total, with around 3500 .nki instrument patches and thousands of unique source sounds in WAV format). The diversity and flexibility of this remarkable resource simply has to be experienced to be believed.

In the rhythm department of this enormous library, there are thousands of loops and all are presented either in sliced format or timestretch format (via the KONTAKT/INTAKT instrument patches which use either the NI Beat Machine feature or the NI Time Machine feature), so they will automatically sync to your songs, and you can even use KONTAKT or INTAKT to apply sound-shaping to each slice if you wish.

Altered States was originally created when the contents of all of the following 10 Zero-G products (all of which scored either 4 or 5 stars in review in Sound On Sound magazine) were integrated into one mind-bogglingly powerful library:

- Zero-G Ambient Volume 1
- Zero-G Ambient Volume 2
- Zero-G Cuckooland Unhinged
- Zero-G Cuckooland Ghost In The Machine
- Zero-G Cuckooland Asylum
- Zero-G Cuckooland Ambience
- Zero-G Malice In Wonderland
- Zero-G Fields of Motion
- Zero-G Junk Percussion
- Zero-G Dream Zone
- Zero-G Ibiza Chillout

The re-programming, conversion, and organisation of this vast product was expertly carried out by IAN BODDY, one of the UK's leading synthesists, and was designed to be as user friendly and logically creative as possible.

Users of NI KONTAKT or NI INTAKT please note:

The Altered States library is presented in WAV format together with instrument (.nki) patches. This download version is not a plugin or so called "ROMpler" and no Native Instruments 'player' software is included. You can use the WAV files with any software, but when using with NI Kontakt or NI Intakt, any loops within the library can be automatically synced to tempo via Beat Machine or Time Machine controls. The Beat Machine programming has loops divided into their individual hits (slices) so they can be played at a wide range of tempos without change in pitch or audio quality.

It also allows you to give each hit individual settings for pitch, playback direction, pitch envelope, amp envelope, distortion, delay, and more; a MIDI file of each loop can be easily exported so that groove, accent, and feel can be manipulated in any host sequencer.

Large Download

Please note, this product is downloadable in 9 parts, weighing in at around 500MB per download. Therefore, please ensure that your internet connection is fast enough and that you have enough bandwidth and hard drive space for this product as we cannot refund for any technical errors caused by any limitations in your own setup.

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Full Contents

Press Reviews

"Need some atmosphere in your tracks?...

by Future Music Magazine, UK

"Need some atmosphere in your tracks? ... Take ten highly rated Zero-G sample libraries produced by the finest sound designers on the planet, throw in more than a gigabyte of 'never before heard' sounds... Finally put the whole thing on sale at a fraction of the original asking price of the libraries. Interested? Well, if you're as bored as I am of the standard libraries of tired drum loops, tacky analogue sweeps and embarrassing vocal snippets and need inspiration for your arrangements, then the esoteric collection of samples in Altered States could be just what you're after... The Time Machine function enables you to change the pitch of the sample without altering the speed of its playback. Great if your sample is in the right tempo but wrong key, as it acts like an instant pitch shifter and enables you to play chords of a loop and still have each instance stay in perfect time. The algorithm used to manipulate the sounds is impressive, sounding nearly transparent in normal use. Inevitably, artefacts start appearing as the sample is transposed further from its original pitch, but they're subtle. And with some of the more 'out there' samples, these glitches add an extra layer of digital weirdness that some sound designers will enjoy. There's also Beat Machine, which enables you to slice up a loop (similar to Steinberg's Recycle) and then play it back at any tempo from 10 - 315bpm without time stretching artefacts. You can also play the individual slices manually, creating your own rhythm from the source material. The most useful aspect of both the Time and Beat Machines is that the instrument instantly synchronises any loop to the current tempo of your arrangement, making the auditioning of the 993 individual loops a breeze.... The first patch in every subcategory contains all of the samples and settings in that subcategory mapped across the keyboard, so you can audition each patch without having to return to the file selector. Okay, so you can't play chords with any of the sounds at this point, but you can play samples using your computer's QWERTY keyboard. In fact, it's when you're first confronted with a patch with over 50 different huge samples that you realise the breadth and depth of Altered States.... If that's not enough for you, you can also edit the sample loop settings so if there's one element of a sample that you like, say a single bass note in a longer run, you can isolate it and play your own riff. Needless to say, you can save all your adjustments as your own patches too... There's no faulting the sonic quality of Altered States, the whole library looks and sounds professional. I like the Native Instruments sound - from Battery through to Intakt and Kontakt, they all sound clear, detailed and musical; something you can't say of many samplers out there! You can confidently use an Altered States patch as the basis of a whole composition, or have it running quietly in the background, sounding crystal clear without swamping the arrangement. Altered States is not for everyone, though. If you're looking for an everyday workhorse library there are very few traditional instruments featured in this collection. The occasional Arab flute turns up, but we're mainly looking at dense, atmospheric loops and strange noises from esoteric sources. We're talking lush soundscapes, some sounding like they've been recorded on the ocean floor, some from the planet Pluto! There's more here to interest Aphex Twin and his friends than for Natasha Bedingfield to move to. The drum loop section is outstanding, many of which actually sound like they'll make it onto hit records. How many drum loop libraries can you say that about? Special mention must also be made of the pad section of the library - the best collection of pad sounds I've heard, and a good enough reason to buy Altered States on its own. There's too much reverb and stereo width on some samples that can limit their usefulness, but really I'm nit picking here; this is a product where the sound quality positively shines. After all, we're talking about samples made by some of the best-respected sound designers in the business, and you can trust their reputations. This library is well suited to composers working in TV or radio where spot effects and musical beds 'straight out of the box' may be just what's needed. I spent a mesmerised couple of hours trying to work out how these sounds were made. There's no explanation in the documentation and so what? We're not looking for realism here, just atmosphere and a touch of the unusual, which Altered States has in spades. This is a library for creatives- imagination rules here.... So, if you're seeking a multisampled oboe or valve miked Rickenbacker you're in the wrong place. But if you need a sample library to expand your mind and your sound palette, add some depth to your arrangements, or just make your partner go 'what the hell was that?!', then Altered States must be on your shopping list."

"Altered States is a massive collection...

by Computer Music Magazine, UK

"Altered States is a massive collection of 3499 instrument patches that have mostly been gathered from previous sample CD releases. Those fine folks at Zero-G have rounded up material from ten of their most popular libraries - including "Ghost in the Machine" and "Unhinged" - and chucked it all together to form a very comprehensive package. As well as past material, you also get a selection of newly recorded offerings thrown in for good measure, including some interesting Ibiza chillout moments.

Pretty much all of the material in the package was well-received on its original release, and on the whole, we found the sounds to be of good quality. Fans of dark and moody atmospherics are especially well catered for; there are some stunning pads and leads that have a fantastic dark and menacing feel - these would be perfect for drum 'n' bass or hard-edged breakbeat. Some of the percussion elements are also worth a mention, especially the Junk series, which gives you a stack of quirky and interesting percussion elements that should prove highly usable for those who prefer their beats to be slightly out of the ordinary... The material here has been edited superbly, meaning that you can dive straight in. Altered States is a package that covers many bases well, and when you consider that you're getting ten sample CDs and lots tasty instrument functionality, it's good value. Highly recommended. 8/10"

"...You can absolutely bury yourself in...

by AUDIOMIDI.COM

"...You can absolutely bury yourself in the possibilities... The sounds are great fun to use and even greater fun to tweak into new mutations. The sheer number of sounds makes Altered States a worthy buy..."