I’ve been a fan of the Blueprint collection by Fracture Sounds from day one, and probably don’t need to repeat it, but I’m amazed at how far this series of free instruments has come. Their latest release is the Blueprint: Thumb Piano, a free characterful kalimba for Kontakt Player.
The Blueprint collection now features over 20 free instruments, including percussion, strings, guitars, keyboards, woodwinds, and more.
Textural Cello and Electric Strings are a couple of my favorite recent additions.
All Blueprint instruments are compatible with the free Kontakt Player v8 or higher.
Thumb Piano is the latest addition to the collection, and although it has a simple kalimba at its core, it’s full of character, in typical Blueprint fashion.
The distinct character of the Thumb Piano comes from its four layers: the raw kalimba sound and three atmospheric layers.
The atmospheric layers (Reverie, Amulat, and Gleam) allow you to transform the typical plucky, percussive, happy sound into something more textural, ethereal, or suspensful, and lots in between.
You can mix or mute the layers freely to create sounds for different purposes (melody, chords, riffs, etc.).
You also have an Atmosphere Intensity knob to control the dynamics of the atmospheric layers. This control is a great way to manipulate expression in real time, especially when you have a more textural sound.
Additional controls include Colour, Stereo Width, Damping, and Reverb.
The Colour knob adjusts the EQ, altering the brightness of the sound.
Stereo Width allows you to widen the signal or switch to a mono signal.
The Damping control dampens the release of the current sample, and the Reverb control offers further settings by clicking the cog next to the dial.
Admittedly, a kalimba might not be at the top of everyone’s wishlist, but its unique sound is enough to convince multiple developers to get on board.
Already in 2025, we’ve had Echo Sound Works ESW Kalimba and Splash Sound Kalimba, two free alternatives.
Blueprint: Thumb Piano is an excellent example of taking the kalimba beyond the stereotype sound, which is hours and hours of Pachelbel’s Canon on repeat.
As you can hear from the demo, it’s not limited to elevator music or cheesy novelty songs.
If you haven’t checked out the Blueprint series already, you’re missing out; do it!
Download: Blueprint: Thumb Piano (FREE – Kontakt Player required)
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Last Updated on August 27, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
