Nuno Silva’s Persian Santur
Persian dulcimer with a shimmering tone and traditional articulations.
The dulcimer has been played around the world for millennia. It’s an instrument that comes in many varieties, each of which has been shaped accordingly by the culture in which it developed.
This library captures one of the earliest forms. The Persian Santur. An ancient instrument developed in Persia during the Bablyonian era.
Renowned musician Nuno Silva performed all of the recordings used in this library.
We included a wide range of traditional articulations played with both wooden and felt mallets.
You’ll also have access to a microtuning system with plenty of presets for non-western configurations.
Listen to Nuno Silva’s Persian Santur
Highlights
Idiomatic Articulations
13 authentic articulations, including sustains, damped, strikes, tremolos, and harmonics.
Round Robin
2x recorded round robin + variation engine to give endless possibilities.
Dynamic Crossfades
The tremolos are provided in two varieties. Velocity controlled, or the more express continuously controlled, allowing for real-time crescendos.
Microtuning
The interface provides access to an easy to use micro tuner. Allowing you to shift the pitch of individual notes ± 100 cents.
Velocity & Ahdsr
The velocity curve and AHDSR envelope can be set independently for each articulation.
Mallets
With the exception of harmonics, the articulations include both wood and felt mallet variations.
What’s Included
A full range of santur articulations is included, from longs and damped notes to harmonics, dorab (triple-strike), and rizz (tremolo), with most captured across three dynamic layers for expressive control.
Nearly all articulations feature two round robins, paired with a scripted repetition engine that keeps repeated notes varied and natural.
Sustain
This is the default articulation. The mallet striking the string and the note ringing out. You can control the decay of the articulation using the built in envelope.
Damped
Similar to the sustain but less resonant, providing a rounder sound that tails off a little more quickly.
Strike & Mute
For these Nuno hit the string then a moment later palm muted it. The result is a short, staccato articulation.
Dorab (triple strike)
Three notes played as a quick triplet. Great for use as an ornament or to give your music a fuller texture.
Harmonics
A bell like sound with a short release time.
Rizz (tremolo)
Looped unmeasured tremolo, with both velocity-controlled and crossfaded dynamics options.
Tech Specs
| Format | Rhapsody |
| Samples | 1118 @ 24-bit / 48kHz |
| Size (Compressed) | 2.5GB |
| Max Round Robins | 2 |
| Articulations | 13 |
Rhapsody Player
Built for the free Rhapsody Player. Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a sample library?
A sample library is a virtual musical instrument.
They are created by recording 1000s of individual notes on a real instrument.
These recordings are then chopped up into individual files, called samples, and mapped in software so that they can be triggered using MIDI.
Is it Apple Silicon Native?
Yes, the instrument runs within the free Rhapsody Player, which runs natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon systems.
Can I use it in commercial work?
Yes absolutely! For full details please see the software license.
What is the Persian santur
A hammered dulcimer with a bright, shimmering tone, widely used in Persian classical music.
Is it suitable for genres beyond Persian music?
Yes, it works well in film scoring, ambient, and experimental contexts.
Does it work in Pro Tools?
Yes. The instruments runs in the free Rhapsody Player which is available as an AAX plugin for use in Pro Tools.
Does it work in FL Studio?
Yes, but FL Studio occasionally brings up unique issues.
If you run into any problems in FL Studio there are two things you can try straight away.
- Firstly, make sure you are using an audio buffer size that is a power of two: 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, etc.
- Secondly, enable FL Studio’s align tick lengths option. You can find this in Options > Audio Settings > CPU > Align Tick Lengths.
If you’re still having problems with Rhapsody Player in FL Studio please contact us and we’ll do what we can to get you up and running.
How do I install it?
The instrument runs within the free Rhapsody Player.
Simply download and install Rhapsody, and download all the .hr files for the instrument – there might just be one file or there could be multiple, it varies by instrument. The files are numbered so you know how many there are.
Next launch the Rhapsody standalone app, then click the + button and follow the on-screen instructions to install the instrument.
Does it support alternative scales or microtuning?
Yes, in addition to Rhapsody’s standard coarse and fine tuning controls, this library includes a dedicated micro-tuning grid. This allows you to shift the pitch of individual notes ± 100 cents.
Can I adjust response and sensitivity?
Yes, the velocity response can be adjusted using the table in the top left corner of the interface. The volume curve can be controlled using the AHDSR.
Both the velocity and envelope controls are set separately for each articulation, giving you total control. The values are stored in your DAW session or with any custom presets you create.
Modern Tradition
Enjoy the authentic sound of the Persian santur.