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Company: Mattia Cellotto
Product: Polarity
Price: $90
Our Rating: 4.8/5
Mattia Cellotto's latest library Polarity is a real shock to the system with it's intense electricity based effects.
Pulling The Lever
The library was recorded at 192KHz with a Sanken CO100K, a couple of Sennheiser MKH8040's and a LOM Elektrosluch 3+ for electromagnetic interferences. The recordings were taken in Italy and the UK (much to our excitement!)
On opening our review copy, the library was split into six sections, with sounds numbered by their variation along with extensive metadata.
Everything here is clearly labelled, and well edited into sub themes, making it a breeze to find that perfect electrical sound punch for your project.
A handy useful information .pdf is a nice touch from Mattia - explaining the mic positioning and file naming conventions to the user. The behind the scenes video (featured at the bottom of the review) is also a very useful, and adds value to the hard work behind this library.
The metadata names for many of these sounds along with the artwork, give the user fond thoughts of Frankenstein being electrically charged and brought to life!
Charging Up
The content here just oozes with fizzy quality and abundance. Everything is on offer, from aggressive electrical sounds, to warm and soft hums, zaps, tesla coils. There is even a 'Cheats Section' where electricity sound is created from miscellaneous items such as tape, dry ice and synthesizers. Another nice touch is the variations of each sound on offer, which all have personalities of their own.
As well as the base content, Mattia also generously recorded some vintage devices (phones, rusty levers, telegraphs etc.) and machines which add immense value and continuity when combined with the wonderful electrical elements!
The way the library sounds is truly magical. Full in all frequencies, without being harsh or over emphasised (clearly due to the great recordings). It sits well in a mix, with sounds for big electrical moments such as Thor's hammer hits and softer hums that would work great within a Sci-Fi ship's engine generator. Basically, if there is an electricity sound you are imagining, it's very likely in here and I promise it will get your film scene fully charged up.
The Cheats Section is great for layering with other electrical sounds to add a high texture, and the Jacob's Ladder effects are our favourite show stoppers. The theme was met extremely well and Mattia clearly spared zero Watts when working on this - giving users an all in one solution to electricity that has a touch of class throughout every carefully chosen sound.
It's Aliveeeee!
This library is very impressive and is a testament to how one can take a theme and really put time and design into the sounds recorded and the overall aesthetic. There are no real mishaps to be found in the quality or consistency of what you get here for your hard earned cash.
One thing that I felt was lacking slightly was the use of more complex synthesis. There are some great Granular style glitch effects but base elements made from synthesis would have been a nice detail to fill this lavish library out further.
The price is rather high, but it reflects the high level of detail and care put into making this library what it is - a masterpiece.
The Bottom Line
Usually specific themed libraries like these are not worth purchasing unless you have a scene that requires them, but for this product, you should definitely make an exception. It can be used in a wide variety of circumstances and it will definitely be our go to electricity library from now on.
Grab the FREE exclusive mini library below to hear why this library is so special.