Continuing their series, the Crow Hill Company has released Glass Beaker, a free experimental instrument in the Vaults series.
But, for anyone who isn’t, the Vaults series is a collection of free instruments, each available for a limited time.
Once the time expires, instruments move into donationware, you can purchase previous Vaults for £3, and all profits go to music-related charities.
What I like most about Vaults instruments is that they typically come with an interesting backstory, whether it’s an unusual or rare instrument, recorded in a distinct way, or at a special location.
As a collection, it has a lot in common with LABS, which is still a subject of much contention, I know.
Now, turning to this latest release, Glass Beaker embodies The Crow Hill Company’s constant message that formal music education and expensive instruments are not prerequisites for talent and creativity.
Glass Beaker is exactly what it sounds like; it’s the sound of glass beakers being manipulated through touch, movement, and experimentation.
The developer suggests the sound of this instrument sits somewhere between a glockenspiel and a celeste, which is fair, but it’s more interesting than that.
Glass Beaker offers that typically dreamy and haunting quality that you get from most Vaults releases.
It has a percussive nature, but it works well as chilled keys or as a melodic pad.
It comes with the typical Vaults interface: two large controls and four small.
The first large dial is Chorus, and that’s where much of the dreamy quality comes from.
The second of the large dials is expression, which lets you fine-tune the glasses’ timbre.
The smaller controls don’t offer anything too crazy this time, but still enough to further shape the sound.
The small dials include an LPF (low-pass filter), Delay, Reverb, and Chrystalizer.
The Chrystalizer is a granular synthesis effect that can add subtle texture to pad-like sounds or push the dreamy quality into sparkly, ethereal territory.
Reverb and Chrystalizer have replaced the previously ever-present Echo and Splosh controls in the last two releases.
Glass Beaker is more than the sum of its parts, so check it out while it’s free.
More:
Last Updated on February 2, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
