Hummingbird SPI lets you perform ultra-realistic acoustic guitar parts in real time. Instantly access a wide range of playing techniques without interrupting your performance, and create convincing guitar tracks with speed and precision.

• Single notes
• Sampled Real Chords (octave, major, minor, 7th, m7, maj7, add9, sus4, 9th, m7(9), maj7(9), dim7, aug, plus open chords and low-position voicings)
• Emulated Chords (major, minor, 7th, m7, maj7, add9, sus4, 7sus4, 9th, ♯9, m7(9), maj7(9), dim, dim7, m7(♭5), aug, plus open chords and low-position voicings)
• Emulated Double Stops / 2-string dyads (minor 2nd, major 2nd, minor 3rd, major 3rd, 4th, ♭5th, 5th, ♯5th, 6th, 7th, maj7th, octave)
• User Chords (create any chord you like with the User Chord Editor)
• Real-Time Legato Slide / Hammer-on & Pull-off
• Vibrato
• Trill / Picking Tremolo
• Mute & Picking Noise
• Gliss Down
• Natural Harmonics
• Percussion
• Fret Noise, Pick-Stop Noise, Bridge Mute Noise, Release Noise, Position Change Noise
• Special FX
• …and more

As with any virtual instrument, the realism and playability achievable in real-time performance may vary depending on playing technique, workflow, and musical context.

The SPI engine automatically selects the optimal string and fret position based on your performance, and you can also switch strings manually using key switches. The Fretboard Monitor shows the current fret position and playing technique in real time.

You can instantly select any instrument or articulation using the Instrument Select Key Switches, and every articulation can be freely assigned to any key, so you can build your own key switch map.

These switches also feature chord recognition: you can call up a chord instrument not only by pressing its assigned key, but simply by playing the notes of that chord within the key switch range.

In other words, there is no need to memorize specific key switches—just hold the chord in the designated range and you are ready to play.

Hummingbird includes an extensive collection of real recorded—or “pre-played”—chord samples: octaves, major, minor, 7th, m7, maj7, add9, sus4, 9th, m7(9), maj7(9), dim7 and aug chords, plus open chords and low-position voicings. They are instantly available and make your guitar tracks remarkably convincing. Few other guitar libraries, if any, offer such a comprehensive selection of real chord recordings.

In addition to the large set of real chord samples, Hummingbird offers an even wider range of chord types and voicings through emulated chords. Our proprietary recording and scripting techniques make these emulated chords virtually indistinguishable from the sampled ones.

Double stops (2-string dyads): minor 2nd, major 2nd, minor 3rd, major 3rd, 4th, ♭5th, 5th, ♯5th, 6th, 7th, maj7th, octave
Chords: major, minor, 7th, m7, maj7, add9, sus4, 7sus4, 9th, ♯9, m7(9), maj7(9), dim, dim7, m7(♭5), aug, plus open chords and low-position voicings

The User Chord Editor lets you create custom chord shapes with full control over every string. You can define exactly how each string behaves: whether it sustains or is muted, whether it produces picking noise, whether it always plays open regardless of the fret position, whether it is included in the strum, whether it is the root string, and more.

Hummingbird includes an extensive collection of percussion samples—hitting, tapping and knocking various parts of the guitar body—letting you build percussive, rhythmic guitar tracks.

Beyond the User Chord Editor, you can also customize how each string responds when it is triggered by the Strum Keys or the Normal Key.

Each string has a dedicated Arpeggio Key. When you select a chord instrument, the notes of that chord are automatically assigned to the corresponding Arpeggio Keys, so you can play arpeggios intuitively.
 
Note that this is not a traditional arpeggiator: it lets you play the individual notes (strings) of a chord yourself, one at a time.

The samples were recorded with three microphones: a pair of small-diaphragm microphones for the stereo image, and a single large-diaphragm microphone for the mono signal. A Double-Tracking instrument is available as a stereo option for the large-diaphragm microphone (see below).

Double-tracking is a widely used guitar recording technique that creates a rich, wide stereo image and adds thickness to the sound. With Hummingbird SPI, you can achieve this simply by loading the Double-Tracking instruments—no stereo delay, no MIDI tweaking required. The two channels never play the same sample at the same time, which keeps the result natural and spacious. It complements the stereo-recorded samples, giving you a second way to create a stereo image.

Hummingbird’s Real-Time Legato Slide uses actual legato samples to deliver the expressive nuance of a finger sliding along the string—something pitch-based emulation simply cannot replicate. Hammer-ons and pull-offs are also real recorded performances, not emulations. Real-Time Legato Slide is available on every instrument except the FX and Percussion instruments—chord instruments included. Real-Time Hammer-on & Pull-off is available on the single-note instruments.

SPI’s Auto Stroke Detection analyzes the current beat position and automatically chooses the appropriate stroke direction—down or up. Several detection modes are available, and you can always take manual control.

Hummingbird officially supports NKS (Native Kontrol Standard^®), which allows for intuitive, seamless integration with KOMPLETE KONTROL keyboards and MASCHINE hardware. You can control the main parameters directly from a KOMPLETE KONTROL S-Series keyboard or from MASCHINE hardware and software, and the Light Guide on S-Series keyboards shows the available key switches and the playable key range of each articulation.

• An expansive range of playing techniques and extraordinary expressive power, unmatched by any other acoustic guitar library
• Kontakt Player included—no separate sampler required