Toontrack releases three new salsa-inspired MIDI packs

These releases are part of Toontrack’s ongoing MIDI Month campaign. Find all titles previously released during October as well as current deals here >

About the Salsa EZbass MIDI pack
A Latin rhythm section is like a steam engine where every piece has a pivotal role and equally important part to play. If you remove one, it shuts down. For example, the bassline, or tumbao, as it’s called, is the invisible bridge between the piano and the groove – filling in the blanks and adding vital syncopation, weight and body.

Performed alongside its siblings for drums and EZkeys, this EZbass MIDI pack provides the missing piece and further cements the crucial role the bass plays in a rhythm section. From the basic tresillo patterns and repetitive ostinatos to the wild and funk-infused timbas, this essential collection of tumbaos will provide you with a burst of melodic, syncopated and playfully percussive colors. If you’re looking to brighten up your songwriting palette and make sure your bass always hits the bombo and the ponche in just that right way, this EZbass MIDI pack is it.

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

• EZbass MIDI inspired by a variety of salsa-oriented styles (mambo, rumba yambú, comparsa, timba, guaracha, bembé, cha-cha-cha and more)
• Categorized by common song parts
• Approx. 200 individually played files
• 4/4 and 6/8 in straight feel with tempos ranging from 66 BPM to 120 BPM

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About the Salsa EZkeys MIDI pack
If the groove and the bass are the heart and the body of a salsa, the piano is the melodic and harmonic soul. Guided by Grammy Award-nominated Cuban piano player Manuel Valera, this EZkeys MIDI pack will give you an unforgettable fireworks display of styles, patterns, chords and melodic motifs. Ready to be swept away?

Based around a wealth of different percussive and repetitive patterns – montunos – piano in traditional Latin music is just as much a cornerstone of the groove as the drums, the percussion or the bass is. In addition to adding that unmistakable Latin harmonic voice, how it interacts, bounces off and plays in circles with the rhythm – clave – is where it truly stands out. Simply put, traditional Latin piano isn’t just piano, it’s a complex musical language that covers anything from delicate note choice and precise rhythmic structures to glaring confettis of wild and colorful improvisation.

Get ready for the mambo, rumba yambú, comparsa, timba, guaracha, bembé, cha-cha-cha and more – all masterfully performed with the inimitable touch, feel and nuance that only a true master at the craft can provide.

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

• EZkeys MIDI inspired by a variety of salsa-oriented styles (mambo, rumba yambú, comparsa, timba, guaracha, bembé, cha-cha-cha and more)
• Categorized by common song parts
• Approx. 200 individually played files
• Performed by Grammy Award-nominated piano player Manuel Valera
• 4/4 and 6/8 in straight feel with tempos ranging from 66 BPM to 120 BPM

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About the Salsa Grooves MIDI pack
If there is a style of music where rhythm plays just as much of a leading role as melody, it’s in salsa. Under its vast umbrella, you’ll find an entire ecosystem of grooves, patterns and dynamics. You’ve got flavors like the son, mambo, rumba yambu, comparsa, timba, guaracha, bembe and cha-cha-cha – all with their own and unique push, pull and pulse.

In this MIDI pack, Venezuelan native and Grammy Award-nominated drummer Pablo Bencid takes you on an unforgettable ride through a veritable universe of salsa-related rhythms. Expect a collection of grooves that covers the entire spectrum from the utmost in finesse and subtlety to the absolutely wild and untamed – all expertly performed by a world-class artist with years’ worth of experience behind the kit.

Looking to spice up your songwriting game with a new kind of beat that bursts with color, feel, energy and passion? Here’s a slew of brand new old-school grooves!

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

• Grooves and fills inspired by a variety of salsa-oriented rhythms (mambo, rumba yambú, comparsa, timba, guaracha, bembé, cha-cha-cha and more)
• Performed by Grammy Award-nominated drummer Pablo Bencid
• Each category contains several four-bar variations in increasing complexity for hi-hats, cymbals, rims and toms as well as a broad selection of fill-ins
• 4/4 and 6/8 in straight feel with tempos ranging from 66 BPM to 120 BPM
• More than 400 individually played files

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