![Wave Alchemy - Drum Machines 01 [Sample Pack]](http://hangout.altsounds.com/geek/gars/images/3/9/8/5/823altsoundsdjuuf.jpg)
Drum Machines 01 bundles together three of Wave Alchemy’s popular micro packs
The drum sample, one of the most poignant objects when it comes to putting together loop based music.
Drum Machines 01 gives you three drum packs in one - obviously saving you a few bob. The samples are taken from drums machines such as; Vermona DRM MK11, Jomox AIRBase99, Jomox MBase 11 and Jomox XBase999. That sounds all very fancy indeed, but are these drum machines any good? Do they have the bite to match the bark? There are 1400 drum hits in the Drum Machines Bundle, so more than enough to sink an electronic producers teeth into. Some of the hits have been wined and dined with high-end EQ and Empirical Labs Distressor - so these samples don't need fine tuning (unless you're creatively manipulating them).
The audio demo provided in the pack provides you with an idea of the different audio possibilities that can be achieved with WA Drum Machines. It's all sounds crisp and clean, with a very techno sound.
On Test
Due to this being a samples kit (not loops) it feels only right to hook these puppies up into an on screen sampler plug-in. For simplicity purposes, trial and testing - I'm using the trusty old Logic dog; The ESX24 Sampler. Alternatively you can obviously just drag and drop the samples into you Sequencing software. This gives you chance to have a flick through all of the drum samples available in the pack.
The beauty about the whole pack is the pure vast amount of audio clips that there are available. Each sample is pumped out and compressed to studio quality - there is just so much to choose from. You can even produce a whole track just from using one part of the kit.
To make things a little easier, and to give you an idea of the sounds you can create just using the raw files, I will be creating a drum pattern for each pack.
The 'mbase 11' kick drums offer 245 different kick samples, all ready to be smacked into your track. A few of the bass drones really kick your speakers into overdrive when flicking through. A few of the kicks sound a little too muddy for my preference, and I would rarely use them for a track. The snares on the Airbase pack seem a little airy (maybe due to the title), they are too light and would sit too far back within a full mix if your trying to create a heavy sound. The tom's are nothing to be excited about, they are not to be used as tom's, but for creative purposes. If you listen through the 31 tom samples, they all sound like bass blips. With only four crashes available in this pack, it's a wonder why they bothered sticking them in. They sound dull and empty.
What's included in the sample pack?
Deep Drums
The kicks are enhanced with extras on the release of the kick samples. They have a heavy tone, a more grimy feel. You could describe them as "big ogre bass kicks." If your looking to use an acoustic traditional snare sound then steer clear from this pack. Each sample is so electronic, even R2D2 would use these. It's difficult to find one that could be used repeatedly without becoming annoying. Some good gems are included though if you soldier on through all 90 snares (and yes I did go through every single one). Again with this, the crash samples sound absolutely terrible, just really lifeless. Oddly enough I managed to find one audio sample that had been bounced to 32bit, (due to logic being a little bitch sometimes) it wouldn't allow me to play it, thus, finding the black sheep amongst all the others. 'wadd_xbase999_hat_010.wav' is the culprit.
What's included in the sample pack?
Electrik Drums
Kicking into the more electronic dance side of things is the Electrik kicks, they have a dancey vibe to them. A few of the samples just sound like synth stabs, so you can't really call them "kicks" - yet they still pack a punch. Out of the whole WA Drum Machines pack, this Electrik Drums package is the most exciting. With a copious amount of claps and sound effects to have a play around with, they are tight as hell. A lovely tight clap is always a bonus right! There are only twenty sound effects to choose from, and a few are pretty much the same. Yet you can still have a little fiddle and maybe even a chuckle using them within your tracks. The range of drum samples within this Electrik package is bigger than the previous, the toms sound a little more "o natural" but still have their electronic substance. By far the best package of the three. I guess you can't complain, as you do get all three in one!
What's included in the sample pack?
The Bottom Line:
An unbelievable sample pack for your money, every producer making electronic, dub, trance should invest in Wave Alchemy Drum Machines. The range is all there, the quality is there and all the sounds stick to their Drum machine routes. When you think about the amount of variation you have within a couple of CD's full of samples, rather than a huge analogue sampler to have to carry around it starts to blow your mind. Anyone looking for a more authentic acoustic pack should steer clear of this one, although it's worth buying just for the bloody price!
Wave Alchemy have done themselves proud with this one, the samples are high quality - don't get me wrong there are a few duds, but there is so much to choose from. You would have thought that converting the anologue sounds from the samplers would make a huge difference in quality, but the guys over at the lab have worked this and made it their own. Well done, and thankyou!
Price: £22.OO
BUY HERE
Drum Machines 01 gives you three drum packs in one - obviously saving you a few bob. The samples are taken from drums machines such as; Vermona DRM MK11, Jomox AIRBase99, Jomox MBase 11 and Jomox XBase999. That sounds all very fancy indeed, but are these drum machines any good? Do they have the bite to match the bark? There are 1400 drum hits in the Drum Machines Bundle, so more than enough to sink an electronic producers teeth into. Some of the hits have been wined and dined with high-end EQ and Empirical Labs Distressor - so these samples don't need fine tuning (unless you're creatively manipulating them).
The audio demo provided in the pack provides you with an idea of the different audio possibilities that can be achieved with WA Drum Machines. It's all sounds crisp and clean, with a very techno sound.
On Test
Due to this being a samples kit (not loops) it feels only right to hook these puppies up into an on screen sampler plug-in. For simplicity purposes, trial and testing - I'm using the trusty old Logic dog; The ESX24 Sampler. Alternatively you can obviously just drag and drop the samples into you Sequencing software. This gives you chance to have a flick through all of the drum samples available in the pack.
The beauty about the whole pack is the pure vast amount of audio clips that there are available. Each sample is pumped out and compressed to studio quality - there is just so much to choose from. You can even produce a whole track just from using one part of the kit.
To make things a little easier, and to give you an idea of the sounds you can create just using the raw files, I will be creating a drum pattern for each pack.
Airbase Drums
The 'mbase 11' kick drums offer 245 different kick samples, all ready to be smacked into your track. A few of the bass drones really kick your speakers into overdrive when flicking through. A few of the kicks sound a little too muddy for my preference, and I would rarely use them for a track. The snares on the Airbase pack seem a little airy (maybe due to the title), they are too light and would sit too far back within a full mix if your trying to create a heavy sound. The tom's are nothing to be excited about, they are not to be used as tom's, but for creative purposes. If you listen through the 31 tom samples, they all sound like bass blips. With only four crashes available in this pack, it's a wonder why they bothered sticking them in. They sound dull and empty.
What's included in the sample pack?
- 482 24-bit 100% royalty free AIRBase99 and MBase 11 samples
- 128 AIRBase99 kick drums
- 245 MBase11 kick drums
- 41 clap & snare drum samples
- 52 hi-hats and toms
- 16 percussion & crash cymbal samples
Deep Drums
The kicks are enhanced with extras on the release of the kick samples. They have a heavy tone, a more grimy feel. You could describe them as "big ogre bass kicks." If your looking to use an acoustic traditional snare sound then steer clear from this pack. Each sample is so electronic, even R2D2 would use these. It's difficult to find one that could be used repeatedly without becoming annoying. Some good gems are included though if you soldier on through all 90 snares (and yes I did go through every single one). Again with this, the crash samples sound absolutely terrible, just really lifeless. Oddly enough I managed to find one audio sample that had been bounced to 32bit, (due to logic being a little bitch sometimes) it wouldn't allow me to play it, thus, finding the black sheep amongst all the others. 'wadd_xbase999_hat_010.wav' is the culprit.
What's included in the sample pack?
- 466 24-bit 100% royalty free Jomox XBASE 999 drum samples
- 215 kick drums
- 115 clap & snare drum samples
- 40 hi-hats
- 57 toms
- 39 percussion & crash cymbal samples
Electrik Drums
Kicking into the more electronic dance side of things is the Electrik kicks, they have a dancey vibe to them. A few of the samples just sound like synth stabs, so you can't really call them "kicks" - yet they still pack a punch. Out of the whole WA Drum Machines pack, this Electrik Drums package is the most exciting. With a copious amount of claps and sound effects to have a play around with, they are tight as hell. A lovely tight clap is always a bonus right! There are only twenty sound effects to choose from, and a few are pretty much the same. Yet you can still have a little fiddle and maybe even a chuckle using them within your tracks. The range of drum samples within this Electrik package is bigger than the previous, the toms sound a little more "o natural" but still have their electronic substance. By far the best package of the three. I guess you can't complain, as you do get all three in one!
What's included in the sample pack?
- Over 450 24-bit 100% royalty free Vermona drum samples
- 150 kick drums & subs
- 45 snare drum samples
- 65 hi-hats & toms
- 122 percussion samples
- 51 luxury claps
- 20 sound effects
The Bottom Line:
An unbelievable sample pack for your money, every producer making electronic, dub, trance should invest in Wave Alchemy Drum Machines. The range is all there, the quality is there and all the sounds stick to their Drum machine routes. When you think about the amount of variation you have within a couple of CD's full of samples, rather than a huge analogue sampler to have to carry around it starts to blow your mind. Anyone looking for a more authentic acoustic pack should steer clear of this one, although it's worth buying just for the bloody price!
Wave Alchemy have done themselves proud with this one, the samples are high quality - don't get me wrong there are a few duds, but there is so much to choose from. You would have thought that converting the anologue sounds from the samplers would make a huge difference in quality, but the guys over at the lab have worked this and made it their own. Well done, and thankyou!
Price: £22.OO
BUY HERE
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