Wavelet Audio’s Runa: Elder Scoring Strings is a rare thing: a deeply sampled, modern scoring instrument rooted in a truly ancient voice. Built from the Central Asian kobyz (a two-string, bowed instrument with shamanic lineage), Runa translates that raw, haunted character into a cinematic toolset that’s equally at home in thriller underscores, folk-noir, and hybrid trailer cues. Rather than emulating a symphonic string instrument, it leans into intimacy, grit, and ritual color. Exactly the kind of timbre you reach for when you want a cue to feel personal and slightly uncanny.
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First things first: Runa isn’t a string library in the orchestral sense; think of it as a solo, story-forward instrument with an unusually broad dialect. The core palette covers sustains & true legato with three playing behaviors under your fingers (velocity chooses between portamento, fast legato, and trills). Runa features Rebow legato (8 round-robins per note) for organic bow-direction changes, which is great for creating rhythmic beds and ostinati.
You can choose between two harmonic types: Normal harmonics (loopable, blendable mid-phrase) and Hard harmonics (edgier, non-looped peaks that decay naturally). Runa also comes with a set of short articulations: staccato, spiccato, short harmonics, pizzicato (uncommon on the source instrument but sampled here), plus ricochet. A nice bonus articulation is Runa’s tremolo technique that comes with adjustablespeed.
Runa’s Crescendo engine locks to the DAW’s grid and features adjustable length and attack offset, including a Combine Types mode to vary the texture per note (sustain/harmonic/tremolo) while finishing in sync.
The “Rhythm” tab tucked inside the Sustain page acts as a performance sequencer for bow phrasing. Here you can load patterns (or roll your own with triplets, rests, etc.), choose whether phrases restart on new notes, or set legato/rebow offsets to fit your touch. The rhythms sync to tempo, and you can even export the pattern as MIDI to drive drums or companion layers.
Beyond articulations, Runa is built for shot-to-score workflow: two mic positions with full per-channel control (level, pan, tune) and a mic-to-mic delay for width. There are three independent FX racks (Mic A, Mic B, Master) with drag-reorder and modulation as well as 218 pre-designed snapshots spanning from playable instruments to designed textures.
Runa is Kontakt Player/NKS compatible. In terms of library size, expect roughly 3.6 GB on disk. The regular price of Runa – Elder Scoring Strings is $199.
Runa’s interface is tidy and performance-first, with deeper setup exactly where you expect it. A central articulation lane gives quick access to Sustain, Legato (true/rebow), Shorts, Tremolo, Crescendo, and Harmonics.Velocity switching on the front panel lets you change legato feel without having to dive through menus.
The Harmonics hub flips between Normal (loopable, reversible to sustain) and Hard (one-way, more aggressive) at a click. The Sustain → Rhythm tab is the sleeper feature: load or edit phrasing patterns, decide whether phrases restart on new notes, and enable “wait for next step” so fast rhythms don’t stumble. Patterns follow host tempo, and a handy MIDI export turns a good bow groove into reusable session material.
Runa – Harmonics selector
Dynamics (mod wheel by default) crossfades real dynamic layers, so swells change tone as well as loudness. A string preference (“fret position”) slider blends the instrument’s two strings: one rougher/noisier, the other brighter/steadier, so you can pick the grain that suits the arrangement.
The mic mixer offers per-mic pan, level, and tuning, plus a mic-to-mic delay for width, with safeguards that auto-disable it when panning is too narrow. As mentioned, sound shaping lives in three eight-slot FX racks with copy/paste and broad modulation. The snapshots offered with Runa span from pure instrument setups to wide cinematic designs. All in all, Runa presents a UI that plays fast but allows for deep editing if necessary.
IN PRACTICE
Runa is built for the realities of media work: you need a distinctive string color that plays immediately, adapts to picture quickly, and doesn’t force you into deep programming every time. In that sense, it behaves less like a “solo violin replacement” and more like a character instrument that is part melody voice, part design layer. The core sustain/legato speaks with an immediate, ancient tone that sits somewhere between folk and psychological thriller. When deadlines are tight, you can sketch cues with just sustain + true legato for lines and flip to poly sustains for chords without switching patches. It’s a fast way to get something evocative on the timeline that already feels authored.
Two features make Runa unusually efficient in day-to-day scoring. First, the harmonics system: use normal harmonics for loopable, controllable shimmer you can fade in and out mid-phrase, then punctuate with hard harmonics when you need a spiky accent or a brittle flash of fear. That simple escalation of sustain to normal harmonics to hard harmonics lets you shape dramatic arcs without reaching for extra tracks. Second, the Sustain to Rhythm tab is a genuine gem for creating underscores. Loading a subtle bowing pattern gives you motion that isn’t “a beat,” and the restart off / wait-for-next-step switches keep phrasing steady across note changes. That is exactly what you want if you’re scoring under dialogue or to slow camera moves. When a scene needs to hit an edit or cut, the Crescendo articulation (grid-synced length, shared endpoint even on arpeggiated notes) lands those moments on rails.
As a writing tool, Runa rewards performance-first input. Velocity selects legato behavior (portamento, fast, trills), so you can “conduct” the feel from the keyboard. If you’re moving quickly, don’t overlook the tip from the developers: you can play fast lines on the sustain articulation for a tighter, more immediate tone, then drop back into legato for lyrical passages. On the texture side, the string preference (“fret position”) slider is quietly powerful: bias the noisier string for earthy, vulnerable cues, or the brighter string for cleaner, more modern lines. Tremolo with seamless speed control doubles as a tension dial. You can keep it shallow for a nervous hush or push it hard for agitation.
Runa – Effect rack
Runa’s effects racks (per-mic and master) and mic mixer are much more than just garnish. They’re a practical way to decide whether the color reads as an instrument or sound design element. A touch of saturation and a short convolution will place Runa behind the scene; a drier, closer chain lets it sit forward as a lead. Because racks exist on each mic channel, you can keep the source natural on one side and push the other for width or grit without committing globally. This is especially handy when you need options in the mix. The predesigned Snapshots are strong cue starters when you’re blocking out a sequence. However, like any curated presets, leaning on them wholesale risks overlap with other users. The sweet spot is using a snapshot to get the arc, then swapping string bias, rhythm behavior, or one rack block so the result feels like your cue.
Runa – Microphone settings
It’s worth noting small workflow quirks so they don’t trip you up: hard harmonics are one-way (great for stabs but you can’t morph back smoothly), legato offsets benefit from a quick tweak to match your playing style, and tremolo doesn’t fade to absolute niente by design. None of these are deal-breakers; they’re just characteristics to fold into your approach.
In the big picture, Runa isn’t aiming to replace your main string library. It’s a specialist instrument that moves effortlessly from intimate folklore to edge-of-frame terror, and in a world of tight turnarounds, that combination of immediacy and personality is exactly what earns a permanent track in your template.
Runa’s voice is unmistakably woody, breathy, and slightly feral in the best way. It lives between folk melancholy and psychological thriller, able to be a lead line, a brittle accent, or a low-lying textural current that makes a scene feel charged.
The core sustain is lyrical without feeling glossy. The bow noise and micro-imperfections translate as proximity and intent. Runa’s true legato offers three “feels” under your fingers: portamento for yearning moves, a clean, fast connection for nimble lines, and trill transitions for nervous energy, all selected by how hard you play. Rebow legato (with multiple round robins) is less about melody and more about propulsion: it’s great for pulsing beds and folk-leaning ostinati that still read as human rather than sequenced.
The Normal harmonics can be seen as the library’s shimmer: loopable, controllable, and cross-fadeable with sustains so you can change color mid-phrase. Hard harmonics are the opposite: struck, bright, and harsh, perfect for glassy stabs, shock accents, or to cut a path through dense sound design. The two modes alone let you trace convincing intensity curves without changing instruments.
Runa’s abrasive, expressive harmonics that scrape, scream, then fade to a keening whistle, remind me of the prominent string language heard in Marcin Przybyłowicz‘s soundtrack for The Witcher 3 and sit comfortably inside the austere, desert-tinged soundscape associated with movies like Dune.
Runa – Preset browser
The short articulations, namely staccato and spiccato, bring a dry, wiry attack that excels at unease rather than bravura. Short harmonics add a “cold light” quality that sits over pads without clutter. Pizzicato and ricochet are specialty colors, unusual on this instrument, but surprisingly practical for suspenseful ticks and eerie chatter. Tremolo is a quiet highlight: because you can adjust speed seamlessly, it ranges from a barely-there tremble to an agitated shake without turning into a defined rhythmic loop.
The grid-synced crescendo engine is built for drama. Whether you choose sustain, harmonic, or tremolo swells, the phrase resolves together at the bar/beat you choose. It’s a reliable way to “breathe into” cuts, reveals, or title cards without manual editing.
The two available mic positions cover intimate to present. Per-mic pan/tune and a variable offset between mics let you widen carefully; keep the center intact for dialogue and use the offset for a subtle halo rather than chorus. Three FX racks (Mic A, Mic B, Master) encourage a smart split: keep one mic relatively unprocessed for definition, and push the other/master for color (saturation, convolve, modulation) when you need the part to feel more designed than “played.”
RUNA: ELDER SCORING STRINGS – AUDIO DEMOS
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Runa is a character instrument done right: a modern engine built around a singular source that doesn’t sound like your other string libraries. You can sketch themes, shade subtext, or charge a frame with unease without building a stack of tracks or wrestling the mix. The library invites playing first and polishing second.
Crucially, it adapts to different jobs. It can carry a cue with a simple line, breathe life into an underscore with subtle motion, or add a brittle accent when orchestral strings just feel too familiar. The learning curve is short, the sound is distinctive, and the palette stays usable across drama, thriller, folklore-tinged stories, true-crime podcasts, and hybrid trailers. If your scoring template needs one voice that sounds personal and unique, Runa earns that slot.
At $199, Runa lands squarely in boutique sample library territory. It’s not a replacement for full orchestral strings: it’s a targeted voice that speeds up writing and gives you a color you’re unlikely to fake with other tools. If you rely on these moods, buy with confidence. Otherwise, watch for a sale and grab it then.
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Wavelet Audio’s Runa: Elder Scoring Strings is a rare thing: a deeply sampled, modern scoring instrument rooted in a truly ancient voice. Built from the Central Asian kobyz (a two-string, bowed instrument with shamanic lineage), Runa translates that raw, haunted character into a cinematic toolset that’s equally at home in thriller underscores, folk-noir, and hybrid trailer cues. Rather than emulating a symphonic string instrument, it leans into intimacy, grit, and ritual color. Exactly the kind of timbre you reach for when you want a cue to feel personal and slightly uncanny.
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationOVERVIEW
First things first: Runa isn’t a string library in the orchestral sense; think of it as a solo, story-forward instrument with an unusually broad dialect. The core palette covers sustains & true legato with three playing behaviors under your fingers (velocity chooses between portamento, fast legato, and trills). Runa features Rebow legato (8 round-robins per note) for organic bow-direction changes, which is great for creating rhythmic beds and ostinati.
You can choose between two harmonic types: Normal harmonics (loopable, blendable mid-phrase) and Hard harmonics (edgier, non-looped peaks that decay naturally). Runa also comes with a set of short articulations: staccato, spiccato, short harmonics, pizzicato (uncommon on the source instrument but sampled here), plus ricochet. A nice bonus articulation is Runa’s tremolo technique that comes with adjustable speed.
Runa’s Crescendo engine locks to the DAW’s grid and features adjustable length and attack offset, including a Combine Types mode to vary the texture per note (sustain/harmonic/tremolo) while finishing in sync.
The “Rhythm” tab tucked inside the Sustain page acts as a performance sequencer for bow phrasing. Here you can load patterns (or roll your own with triplets, rests, etc.), choose whether phrases restart on new notes, or set legato/rebow offsets to fit your touch. The rhythms sync to tempo, and you can even export the pattern as MIDI to drive drums or companion layers.
Beyond articulations, Runa is built for shot-to-score workflow: two mic positions with full per-channel control (level, pan, tune) and a mic-to-mic delay for width. There are three independent FX racks (Mic A, Mic B, Master) with drag-reorder and modulation as well as 218 pre-designed snapshots spanning from playable instruments to designed textures.
Runa is Kontakt Player/NKS compatible. In terms of library size, expect roughly 3.6 GB on disk. The regular price of Runa – Elder Scoring Strings is $199.
Related reading: Spitfire Audio – Tenebra (Review)
USER INTERFACE
Runa’s interface is tidy and performance-first, with deeper setup exactly where you expect it. A central articulation lane gives quick access to Sustain, Legato (true/rebow), Shorts, Tremolo, Crescendo, and Harmonics.Velocity switching on the front panel lets you change legato feel without having to dive through menus.
The Harmonics hub flips between Normal (loopable, reversible to sustain) and Hard (one-way, more aggressive) at a click. The Sustain → Rhythm tab is the sleeper feature: load or edit phrasing patterns, decide whether phrases restart on new notes, and enable “wait for next step” so fast rhythms don’t stumble. Patterns follow host tempo, and a handy MIDI export turns a good bow groove into reusable session material.
Dynamics (mod wheel by default) crossfades real dynamic layers, so swells change tone as well as loudness. A string preference (“fret position”) slider blends the instrument’s two strings: one rougher/noisier, the other brighter/steadier, so you can pick the grain that suits the arrangement.
The mic mixer offers per-mic pan, level, and tuning, plus a mic-to-mic delay for width, with safeguards that auto-disable it when panning is too narrow. As mentioned, sound shaping lives in three eight-slot FX racks with copy/paste and broad modulation. The snapshots offered with Runa span from pure instrument setups to wide cinematic designs. All in all, Runa presents a UI that plays fast but allows for deep editing if necessary.
IN PRACTICE
Runa is built for the realities of media work: you need a distinctive string color that plays immediately, adapts to picture quickly, and doesn’t force you into deep programming every time. In that sense, it behaves less like a “solo violin replacement” and more like a character instrument that is part melody voice, part design layer. The core sustain/legato speaks with an immediate, ancient tone that sits somewhere between folk and psychological thriller. When deadlines are tight, you can sketch cues with just sustain + true legato for lines and flip to poly sustains for chords without switching patches. It’s a fast way to get something evocative on the timeline that already feels authored.
Two features make Runa unusually efficient in day-to-day scoring. First, the harmonics system: use normal harmonics for loopable, controllable shimmer you can fade in and out mid-phrase, then punctuate with hard harmonics when you need a spiky accent or a brittle flash of fear. That simple escalation of sustain to normal harmonics to hard harmonics lets you shape dramatic arcs without reaching for extra tracks. Second, the Sustain to Rhythm tab is a genuine gem for creating underscores. Loading a subtle bowing pattern gives you motion that isn’t “a beat,” and the restart off / wait-for-next-step switches keep phrasing steady across note changes. That is exactly what you want if you’re scoring under dialogue or to slow camera moves. When a scene needs to hit an edit or cut, the Crescendo articulation (grid-synced length, shared endpoint even on arpeggiated notes) lands those moments on rails.
As a writing tool, Runa rewards performance-first input. Velocity selects legato behavior (portamento, fast, trills), so you can “conduct” the feel from the keyboard. If you’re moving quickly, don’t overlook the tip from the developers: you can play fast lines on the sustain articulation for a tighter, more immediate tone, then drop back into legato for lyrical passages. On the texture side, the string preference (“fret position”) slider is quietly powerful: bias the noisier string for earthy, vulnerable cues, or the brighter string for cleaner, more modern lines. Tremolo with seamless speed control doubles as a tension dial. You can keep it shallow for a nervous hush or push it hard for agitation.
Runa’s effects racks (per-mic and master) and mic mixer are much more than just garnish. They’re a practical way to decide whether the color reads as an instrument or sound design element. A touch of saturation and a short convolution will place Runa behind the scene; a drier, closer chain lets it sit forward as a lead. Because racks exist on each mic channel, you can keep the source natural on one side and push the other for width or grit without committing globally. This is especially handy when you need options in the mix. The predesigned Snapshots are strong cue starters when you’re blocking out a sequence. However, like any curated presets, leaning on them wholesale risks overlap with other users. The sweet spot is using a snapshot to get the arc, then swapping string bias, rhythm behavior, or one rack block so the result feels like your cue.
It’s worth noting small workflow quirks so they don’t trip you up: hard harmonics are one-way (great for stabs but you can’t morph back smoothly), legato offsets benefit from a quick tweak to match your playing style, and tremolo doesn’t fade to absolute niente by design. None of these are deal-breakers; they’re just characteristics to fold into your approach.
In the big picture, Runa isn’t aiming to replace your main string library. It’s a specialist instrument that moves effortlessly from intimate folklore to edge-of-frame terror, and in a world of tight turnarounds, that combination of immediacy and personality is exactly what earns a permanent track in your template.
Related reading: Orchestral Tools – TIME Bundle (Review)
THE SOUND OF RUNA
Runa’s voice is unmistakably woody, breathy, and slightly feral in the best way. It lives between folk melancholy and psychological thriller, able to be a lead line, a brittle accent, or a low-lying textural current that makes a scene feel charged.
The core sustain is lyrical without feeling glossy. The bow noise and micro-imperfections translate as proximity and intent. Runa’s true legato offers three “feels” under your fingers: portamento for yearning moves, a clean, fast connection for nimble lines, and trill transitions for nervous energy, all selected by how hard you play. Rebow legato (with multiple round robins) is less about melody and more about propulsion: it’s great for pulsing beds and folk-leaning ostinati that still read as human rather than sequenced.
The Normal harmonics can be seen as the library’s shimmer: loopable, controllable, and cross-fadeable with sustains so you can change color mid-phrase. Hard harmonics are the opposite: struck, bright, and harsh, perfect for glassy stabs, shock accents, or to cut a path through dense sound design. The two modes alone let you trace convincing intensity curves without changing instruments.
Runa’s abrasive, expressive harmonics that scrape, scream, then fade to a keening whistle, remind me of the prominent string language heard in Marcin Przybyłowicz‘s soundtrack for The Witcher 3 and sit comfortably inside the austere, desert-tinged soundscape associated with movies like Dune.
The short articulations, namely staccato and spiccato, bring a dry, wiry attack that excels at unease rather than bravura. Short harmonics add a “cold light” quality that sits over pads without clutter. Pizzicato and ricochet are specialty colors, unusual on this instrument, but surprisingly practical for suspenseful ticks and eerie chatter. Tremolo is a quiet highlight: because you can adjust speed seamlessly, it ranges from a barely-there tremble to an agitated shake without turning into a defined rhythmic loop.
The grid-synced crescendo engine is built for drama. Whether you choose sustain, harmonic, or tremolo swells, the phrase resolves together at the bar/beat you choose. It’s a reliable way to “breathe into” cuts, reveals, or title cards without manual editing.
The two available mic positions cover intimate to present. Per-mic pan/tune and a variable offset between mics let you widen carefully; keep the center intact for dialogue and use the offset for a subtle halo rather than chorus. Three FX racks (Mic A, Mic B, Master) encourage a smart split: keep one mic relatively unprocessed for definition, and push the other/master for color (saturation, convolve, modulation) when you need the part to feel more designed than “played.”
RUNA: ELDER SCORING STRINGS – AUDIO DEMOS
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Default. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
CONCLUSION
Runa is a character instrument done right: a modern engine built around a singular source that doesn’t sound like your other string libraries. You can sketch themes, shade subtext, or charge a frame with unease without building a stack of tracks or wrestling the mix. The library invites playing first and polishing second.
Crucially, it adapts to different jobs. It can carry a cue with a simple line, breathe life into an underscore with subtle motion, or add a brittle accent when orchestral strings just feel too familiar. The learning curve is short, the sound is distinctive, and the palette stays usable across drama, thriller, folklore-tinged stories, true-crime podcasts, and hybrid trailers. If your scoring template needs one voice that sounds personal and unique, Runa earns that slot.
At $199, Runa lands squarely in boutique sample library territory. It’s not a replacement for full orchestral strings: it’s a targeted voice that speeds up writing and gives you a color you’re unlikely to fake with other tools. If you rely on these moods, buy with confidence. Otherwise, watch for a sale and grab it then.
Runa: Elder Scoring Strings is available for $199 through the Wavelet Audio online shop.
RUNA: ELDER SCORING STRINGS VIDEO WALKTHROUGH
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More InformationRUNA: ELDER SCORING STRINGS SNAPSHOTS OVERVIEW
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