Embertone have garnered quite the reputation for their low-cost, high-quality offerings since arriving onto the sampling scene a few years ago. Their libraries have been especially praised for their smooth legato, expressiveness, and the variety of control options offered to the end-user without complication. These qualities and design philosophies have carried over into their recent Chang Erhu library, extensively reviewed today by Chris Harris (AKA The Darris). Below is Embertone’s description of their baby, as it appears on their website: “Introducing the CHANG ERHU – a deeply sampled and incredibly playable authentic virtual erhu. The erhu is a two-stringed, bowed musical instrument. It may also be called a “southern fiddle”, and sometimes known in the Western world as the “Chinese violin” or a “Chinese two-stringed fiddle”. It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles and large orchestras. It is the most popular of the huqin family of traditional bowed string instruments used by various ethnic groups of China. A very versatile instrument, the erhu is used in both traditional and contemporary music arrangements, such as in pop, rock, jazz, etc. Our Erhu can create profoundly expressive and beautiful music, and it’s also sooooo much fun to play. Its flexibility and out-of-the-box sound is undeniable! …and we don’t think there’s a virtual erhu out there to match it!” The Chang Erhu is designed for the full version of Kontakt 4.2.4 (or higher), and comes in at a relatively modest 1.6 GB when installed. It’s priced at USD 80 for the 16-bit version, and at USD 85  for the 24-bit bundle. It can be purchased and downloaded directly from the Embertone website. Watch Chris’ review below: