Evolution® Clawhammer Banjo

Product Details

Banjo playing generally falls into two main camps: the fingerpicked bluegrass style pioneered by Earl Scruggs, and the older traditional clawhammer style.

Clawhammer technique produces a very different sound compared to the three-fingered bluegrass banjo approach. The clawhammer method involves using your thumb to pluck strings accompanied by downward strums with the back of your fingernails. This style allows for simple rhythms as well as more complex patterns that include melodic playing. Its distinct sound is compounded by the typical use of the mellower-toned open back banjo, in contrast to the loud resonator banjos favored for bluegrass music.

Evolution Clawhammer Banjo is the first ever sample library to cover this playing style and was recorded using a folk-style open back banjo modeled after the archetypal Whyte Laydie banjo. The instrument also includes fingerstyle articulations for even more versatility. That way you can benefit from the sweeter, resonant sound of the folk banjo while playing banjo rolls.

We developed the library in collaboration with Rosewood Recording Company, one of Utah's most venerable recording studios. Guy Randle, the owner and recording engineer at Rosewood Recording Company, had a central role in researching how to authentically recreate the clawhammer playing style, analyzing its various articulations to determine what and how to effectively capture them. Evolution Clawhammer Banjo includes an as-recorded signal as well as an enhanced signal that Guy Randle skillfully guided through analog gear to emphasize the rich tonal qualities of the instrument. Both the as-recorded and enhanced signals are phase coherent and can be blended to your taste.

The banjo samples were performed by talented multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tilby, who is well-versed in both the bluegrass and clawhammer playing styles. Known for his broad palette of sounds and styles, Ryan Tilby is an in-demand session musician as well as a Billboard charting artist with five solo albums. As a performer, Ryan has played at Telluride, Merlefest, FanFest, RockyGrass, and countless other music festivals throughout the United States, as well as having toured Europe multiple times. His music has been featured on Duck Dynasty, the Discovery Channel, and on Outdoor Photo Adventures.

Evolution Clawhammer Banjo is hosted by our Evolution engine, which provides you with a wealth of appointments: built-in patterns that instantly get you authentic clawhammer rhythms, a comprehensive collection of effects, and a generous amount of settings to tailor the instrument to your performance needs.

Key Features

- Integrated pattern engine with ready-to-use clawhammer rhythms.

- Built-in effects collection for production-ready banjo tones.

- Adjustable pick position using our proprietary physical modeling technology.

- Powerful mapping system that lets you set how you want to trigger articulations, assigning them to velocity ranges, MIDI CCs, and keyswitches.

Sampling Specifications

- 6.48 GB (compressed to 2.89 GB using the lossless NCW audio format) of 24-bit samples.

- All the articulations needed for authentic clawhammer playing: specialized clawhammer sustains, fully muted notes, muted nail strums, fingerstyle sustains, plus harmonics and performance effects like brushes across the head of the banjo, slaps on the banjo head, clawhammer thumb hits, and more.

- Legato samples for slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs.

- The articulations have 3 dynamics and up to 4x round-robin.

Complete Articulation List

Sampled articulations: Clawhammer sustain, clawhammer “chiff” sustain, clawhammer thumb sustain, clawhammer muted strum, clawhammer harmonic, fingerstyle sustain, fingerstyle harmonic, hammer on, pull off, slide up, slide down

MIDI-based articulations: Grace note up, grace note down, buzz trill, whole-step slide in, whole-step hammer on, velocity slide, quarter note slide, eighth note slide, sixteenth note slide, release slide down, octaves, powerchord

Performance effects: Right hand string slap, left hand slap (low), left hand slap (med), left hand slap (high), head slap, head brush, finger brush, clawhammer thumb hit (1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th strings), open string hit, chord ring, fret noise