Sparks 1: Neptune Pad

What it does

A single preset pack for SoundBox, AudioModern’s free sampler, from Kompose Audio’s Sparks series. The Neptune Pad layers four sources taken from new and vintage hardware keyboards and routes them through SoundBox’s own effects, modulators and vector engine. It ships twice, at standard tuning and at 432 Hz. Attack is long by default, so notes arrive as swells.

In the demo

Jade holds a chord on her keyboard and lets the pad evolve hands free, then plays the same progression on the 432 Hz version. She points out that one preset still leaves four layers open to muting and replacement, and treats the pack as an accompaniment to Kompose Audio’s larger soundscape packs.

Worth knowing

It is one preset, which Jade flags as the thing people react to first. Anyone wanting a varied library in one purchase will want one of the bigger packs instead.