One instrument. Played two ways.
SPLINTERED: GUITAR VIOL takes the raw, unpolished recording philosophy behind Splintered Violin and turns it on a single hybrid instrument — struck and plucked like a guitar, bowed like a viol. Every performance was recorded with the same commitment to noise, imperfection, and character left fully intact.
67 individual textures were pulled from those sessions — plucked and struck techniques sitting alongside bowed ones, all from the same instrument. Instead of triggering them one at a time, Guitar Viol lets you load any two side by side, on two fully independent layers, and blend between them in real time — so a bowed drone can breathe underneath a struck, percussive pluck, or two unrelated textures can be crossfaded into something that sounds like neither on its own.
Plucked | Bowed | Splintered
67 textures, two at a time
Every one of the instrument’s 67 textures is available to either layer. Load one texture into Layer 1 and a completely different one into Layer 2, then cross-fade between them with a single blend control, built as an equal-power blend so the transition stays smooth and full at every point in between.
Each layer runs its own on/off switch, pan, ADSR envelope, and a dedicated send into the reverb — so the two halves of the blend can be panned, shaped, and sent to space, completely independently of one another before they ever meet in the middle.
Above it all, a pair of master faders — Instrument and Granular, each with its own on/off — set the overall balance between the two-layer blend and the granular engine underneath.
The Granulator
Underneath the two-layer blend sits a dedicated granular engine, loaded from its own pool of source recordings pulled directly from the Guitar Viol sessions — the same raw material, now available to warp, freeze, and reshape.
Size, density, detune, pitch, position, spread, and width controls sit alongside a full envelope and a Drift / Freeze pair of states — Drift keeps the grain cloud moving and evolving, Freeze locks it in place so a single moment can be held and explored indefinitely.
Run it on its own for pure granular sound design, or blend it in behind the two-layer instrument for texture that never quite sits still.
Character and motion
Convolution Reverb
A bank of selectable impulse responses — from tight rooms to cavernous spaces like “Hangar” — shapes where the instrument sits, with its own on/off and mix control.
Delay & Saturation
Independent left and right delay times feed a saturation stage with its own on/off and amount control, for grit that ranges from subtle warmth to full-on breakup.
Motion
A dedicated Motion pad drives speed and intensity, animating the sound continuously so nothing sits static for long — the same restless, evolving quality that runs through the whole Splintered series.
What’s included
✓67 raw textures — plucked, struck, and bowed — loadable across two independent layers
✓Equal-power blend control with per-layer on/off, pan, envelope, and reverb send
✓Full granular engine with Drift / Freeze states and its own source pool
✓Convolution reverb, delay, and saturation on the main bus, plus master Instrument/Granular level faders
✓Motion engine for continuous, evolving movement
✓Full preset browser
✓Part of the SPLINTERED series
Built for
Film. Television. Games. Horror. Trailers. Experimental composition.
Anywhere you need a stringed instrument that feels handled rather than performed — textures that sit between instrument and sound design, always shifting, never quite settled.
FAQ
What is SPLINTERED: Guitar Viol?
A raw hybrid instrument — struck and plucked like a guitar, bowed like a viol — built on two independent, freely loadable layers. Pick any two of its 67 textures and blend them into one voice, backed by a full granular engine, reverb, delay, saturation, and motion system.
How does the two-layer system work?
Any of the 67 textures can be loaded into either layer. A single blend control cross-fades between them using an equal-power curve, and each layer has its own on/off switch, pan, envelope, and reverb send, so both halves can be shaped independently before they meet.
Does it need Kontakt?
No. It’s a standalone VST3 and AU plugin — no additional software required.
Is there a granular engine?
Yes — a full granular engine sits alongside the two-layer blend, with its own pool of source recordings, Drift / Freeze states, and complete size, density, pitch, and envelope controls.
System Requirements
Standalone VST3 & AU plugin. macOS 11+ (Intel & Apple Silicon) or Windows 10+. No additional software required.
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