Results for compression

When I first visited the Driven Machine Drums website I thought I had found another one of those silly marketing schemes. You know those sites that promise loads of “fresh” content for cheap, meaning to say they’ll send you a disc with stuff that is old and readily available to download from the internet, free of cost…

Just reading the first few paragraphs on the website immediately triggered my scam alert.

Have you purchased hundreds; even thousands of drum sounds… only finding a handful of gems among the clutter? Are you often irritated when sifting through countless sounds, devastating your creative flow? Do you fight with samples to make them tight, slamming, and club ready… only later to be disappointed in the results? Have you fantasized about the multi-million dollar deal or winning the lottery so you can stack your studio with all the esoteric highend gear? Does your music command you have the latest kit, to gain the advantage and stand apart from the masses?

If you answered “YES!” to any of these questions, then you are in the right place and the right time.

The website even mentions a 30-day no questions asked refund, and then there’s the odd “only 997 copies will ever be available” thing.

The whole thing looked pretty dodgy to me, but my gut feeling was wrong.

The guy behind ToneBuilder and Driven Machine Drums is Nathaniel Shreve, an electronic musician who is passionate about his work. He wanted to make sure to share some interesting things about how the library came to be, and why he feels Driven Machine Drums is different from other drum sample libraries.

Now whether or not you enjoy Nathaniel’s style of writing, the bottom line is: this product is legit and well worth checking out.

What do you get?

Driven Machine Drums includes samples from a variety of synthesis sources:

• Elektron Machine Drum
• Symbolic Sound Kyma Capybara
• Eventide H8000FW
• Korg ER-1
• E-mu SP-1200
• Oberheim DMX
• Yamaha DX200
• Roland TR909, TR808, TR707, TR606
• Jomox MBase 11
• Vermona DRM-1 MKIII

While in itself that’s a nice list of gear, the special thing about Driven Machine Drums is the way each of the drum sounds was processed with analog coloration hardware. Tubes, tape emulation, transformers and envelope shapers were used to add a distinct “drive” to the samples.

Analog processing gear used to process the sounds includes the Thermionic Culture Vulture, Anamod ATS-1, Empirical Labs Distressor, Mutronics Mutator, and more.

Nathaniel writes:

See, what makes the MPC3000s and SP1200s so special was the quality of DRIVE added on the input. That drive adds natural compression, limiting, and HARMONIC DISTORTION, making the drums appear louder, warmer, and punchier.

Have you ever heard an acoustic guitar recording vs. a driven guitar recording? Play them at the exact same level and the DRIVEN guitar will appear to be louder.

This is the exact thing that was happening with my drums. They became louder, sharper, and driving without resorting to obscene amounts of limiting.

The Driven Machines Drums samples are categorized in various folders (claps, kicks, snares, etc.) and include a total of 1,684 samples:

• 362 Kicks
• 244 Snares
• 108 Claps
• 218 Cymbals and Hats
• 135 Toms
• 190 Hand Percussion Hits
• 158 Sticks, Rims, Metals, and Bells
• 272 Electronic Noises including Bass Boosters

Each folder has a number of subfolders with a descriptive title (e.g. DMD Ana Soft BNS, DMD Hats Fltrd 909) to help you find the type of sound you need.

The samples are available in 24bit WAV and AIFF formats. MPC users will be happy to hear the library also includes 16bit dithered WAV and there are 26 kits for FXpansion GURU.

A Deluxe version also includes Kontakt and EXS24 patches.

Check some of the sounds from the Driven Machine Drums library below.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

So what do I think?

ToneBuilder is taking drum machine sampling to the next level. The sounds of Driven Machine Drums were designed and edited individually using a combination of analog processing gear. This way Nathaniel managed to get an amazing warm and punchy sound, full of that analog character many of us are looking for.

I didn’t find the Kontakt patches very useful as they simply map a (sub)folder of sounds across the keyboard. Handy for auditioning sounds but I think mapping the samples to drum kits would have been more valuable.

Driven Machine Drums is probably just another collection of electronic drum hits to those who think every 808 snare sounds like that one sample they already downloaded from the internet a few years ago. However, if you are serious about your drum hits Driven Machine Drums is certainly worth checking out, especially since there will only be a limited amount of copies sold.

In short, Driven Machine Drums is a great collection of electronic drum hits. High quality sounds with plenty of character to separate it from the competition.

ToneBuilder has a generous 100+ sample pack available to download on the Driven Machine Drums website, and you can get an additional pack of 34 free sounds here.

More information: Driven Machine Drums

Samplecraze has announced the release of Square Wave Drums, a collection of 200 kick samples, 200 snare samples and 150 clap samples.

In view of all the over-compressed drum samples available in the marketplace we at Samplecraze decided to process drum samples beyond the ceiling whilst maintaining their sonic integrity. Something that our competitors have not been able to achieve.

Whilst over-compressing drum samples has been a technique used for a long time, most have not been able to avoid the usual problems associated with over-compression: noise, distortion, sonic anomalies and artefcats and so on are by-products of badly overcompressed drum samples and the techniques required to drive through the ceiling and go beyond the clip (digital ceiling) have more to do with experience and understanding gain structuring and dynamic management.

At Samplecraze we have always believed, and taught, that maintaining the dynamic range is of utmost importance when processing any audio data. However, in this instance, we decided to experiment and see how far we could go beyond the ceiling without experiencing sonic anomalies and the result is Square Wave Drums.

Square Wave Drums is available to purchase as a download, priced at $39.99 USD. A demo pack of 30 samples can be downloaded from the product page.

More information: Samplecraze / Square Wave Drums

Cytomic has released released public beta version 1.0.13 of The Glue, an analog modelled bus compressor plug-in for Windows and Mac.

Changes since The Glue v1.0.11

• Fixed Random crashes on exit.
• Added back all io configs (4-2, 2-2, 2-1, 1-1) to support hosts that don’t support external sidechaining. This will mean on some hosts that you see multiple copies of The Glue, one will be with and one without external sidechaining.
• 80 Factory Bank 1 presets.
• Mac Rtas version.
• Au now supports mono and stereo operation and typed units for automation.
• Any single Mac copy can be renamed to .vst .component or .dpm and it will work as a vst au or rtas respectively so you only need to download it once.
• Updated post envelope follower low pass filter algorithm more closely match the analog response.

The Glue public beta is available for download as a 14-day trial. It can be registered for $99 USD.

Purchasing the Beta entitles you to a full license of The Glue, and you have full rights to all 1.x updates, including a Manual and Presets once they are ready.

The RTAS version is only for Mac at the moment. People buying The Glue now will receive the Win RTAS version for free once it is ready.

Visit the public beta page for details.

Blue Cat Audio has released quite a number of updates recently, including Mac VST and Audio Unit support for both their commercial and freeware plug-ins.

The latest plug-in to receive a major update is Dynamics, a flexible dynamics processor.

Version 3 introduces new features like mid/side processing, new stereo linking options, additional presets, and lots more.

Dynamics 3.0 key features

• Full featured dynamics processor: compressor, gate, limiter, expander, waveshaper.
• Total control over processor and signal: continuous peak/RMS and Opto/VCA modes selection, dry/wet control for parallel compression, input and side chain filters.
• Stereo or mid-side processing with multiple channels linking options.
• Post brickwall limiter or waveshaper.
• Optimal monitoring: real time display dynamics response and input/output envelopes, zooming capability and main compression information can be recorded as automation curves.
• Up to 4x oversampling for the best sounding quality.
• Unique and easy side chain compression, ducking, gating, etc.
• Multiple skins included for optimal user experience.
• Plugin window transparency management.
• No latency.

One plug-in, many uses

If you want to get picky you could argue Dynamics actually isn’t actually one plug-in – it includes a stereo and a mono version – but what I am getting at here is the fact that Dynamics is more than just a simple compressor/limiter effect.

Let’s take a look at the main user interface.

Blue Cat Audio Dynamics 3.0, lots of controls! (click image for full screenshot)

The image above is the default full interface. Blue Cat’s skinning engine also supports the use of custom skins, so you can change both the look & feel, i.e. to only have the controls you need. This way it can look like a limiter, gate, modeler/waveshaper, etc.

Browsing the presets you will find that Dynamics 3.0 is useful for many different applications. Below is an audio snippet featuring some of the presets on the same material (the first 8 measures is the original “dry” sample).

This is just a small selection of presets showcasing what Dynamics is capable of. Blue Cat calls it “the most flexible all-in-one dynamics processor”, which I think is a bold statement, but it sure is a versatile plug-in.

Dynamics 3.0 is available for Windows and Mac (VST/DX/AU) for 95.20 EUR / $127.20 USD.

So what do I think?

Dynamics 3.0 has a lot to offer. Advanced (yet easy to use) side-chain options, innovative real-time MIDI control, detailed monitoring of what’s going on… Sometimes more really is more.

I love the flexibility of this plug-in. While it is lots of fun dialing in some experimental settings, Dynamics also performs really well doing some of the more bread & butter type compression styles.

Although being quite dark, the interface is easy to get around, with controls clearly labeled and grouped in sections (outlined with a blue border). The option to set the opacity of the plug-in is a nice touch. Just make sure to detach the plug-in window or the opacity of your whole application might change as well.

In the end it is the sound that counts though, and I think Dynamics does a great job here. I already have a number of compression/limiter effects, but as with many other effects (and instruments I guess) there is always room for more.

Dynamics 3.0 is perfectly suitable for beginners, as well as advanced users who can’t stop tweaking.

Visit Blue Cat Audio for more information, and make sure to check out the demo for yourself and see how you like it.

de la Mancha has announced a Spring 09 Special Offer.

This time-limited special offer bundle saves 50% on the cost of buying each plugin individually. The offer is valid until 5th May 2009

You are encouraged to try the demo versions before purchase, which you can download from the individual product page.

Spring 09 Special Offer includes

• bathtub, 2 flexible and configurable stereo compressors.
• dirtbox 3, effect plug-in designed to compress, distort and modulate your audio.
• unstable, pitch modulation effect.

All three plug-ins are available as VST effect plug-ins for Windows PC, for a special bundle price of $34 USD.

More information: de la Mancha

Cytomic has released released a public beta of version 1.0.7 of The Glue, an analog modelled bus compressor plug-in for Windows and Mac.

Cytomic was formed in December 2007 by Andrew Simper as a company dedicated to producing DSP plugins using analog modelling based on quality algorithms, with a focus on ease of use and reasonable pricing. Andrew has been Head DSP Developer for FXpansion for the past 4 years, where he coded the effects for Guru and BFD2, and created the D-CAM: Synth Squad (to be released Q2 2009). Cytomic software is currently in use by top musicians and has already featured on number one singles on Beatport.

The Glue features

• Accurate analog model of famous British mix bus compressor of the 80′s
• Ultra-fast attack time of up to 0.01 mS
• Range knob to naturally control the maximum compression applied
• Peak Clip to optionally hard limit transients
• DSP coded using C++ and assembler, Interface coded using the Juce framework (C++)

The public beta is available for Windows and Mac (VST/AU). It times out after 14 days and it has no load, no paste, and no parameter automation. The public beta version can be registered for $99 USD.

By buying the beta you will receive all future updates and product support for all 1.X version of The Glue, and you are a fully registered user with all the same rights as someone buying later will recieve, but you get to use the plugin earlier and in a slightly less stable state

Visit the public beta page for details.