Rast Sound has introduced Designer Drums with Kontakt.
Designer Drums is made to mimic the natural color and timbre changes of a live percussionist. It features a dual-layer interface and 40+ kits on each side, where you can morph, cross-mix the kits to create new timbres.
Here’s what they have to say about it:
We always wanted a more versatile and realistic sounding drum tool. One that could be used for any style, one that would result in much better dynamic behaviour when compared to typical velocity-volume systems and one with which creating unique timbres by combining (and cross mixing) different styles of kits is a breeze.
So we decided to create it!
Along the road we conceptualised how to mimic the change in colour and timbre of hits with different velocity inputs without being limited to capturing zillions of sound snapshots and layers for each kit.
Finally we have developed the technology and after many iterations, it works! With designer drums the velocity input from a skilled player or a meticulously written MIDI part creates much more than only volume changes, creating more realistic and time-varying drum parts with multiple layered real time processing.
Throughout the development process we have been growing a list of future features but for now Designer Drums is ready to play! That is to say, your investment is not only for current engine but also an investment in the next chapter of Designer Drums (including free release updates).
Pricing and Availability
Designer Drums is available to pre-order now for €49.00 (intro price, normally €79.)
The example files seem to be dynamically smooth. However, it’s difficult to tell how this is different/better than velocity layered samples.
One thing that some companies get wrong IMHO is that they sample at some number of levels, and that’s how many dynamic levels you get. The important thing is to sample at all those levels, then normalize ALL the samples, and use velocity-to-amplitude scaling to restore the dynamics. Now you have 127 levels of dynamics, and smooth transitions between levels. Some developers do it this way and it works great. Some do not.
Can you suggest me some of the ones that do this? Even better if i don`t need Kontakt in order to use them
Being a drummer, programmer, producer and sound designer for several companies, my ears are always open to new and exciting tones… I am very eager to explore this!!!