My Thoughts on Steven Slate Drums

[donsolo]

I got my copy of Steven Slate drums a couple days ago and here are my thoughts:

As a set of high quality samples for drum replacement (I use them in Kontakt 2 and trigger them with DP's plugin, Trigger but Drumagog is a better process) these are the win. There are 3 separate files for each sample... Z1 Z2 and Z3

Z1 sounds similar to what a drum would sound like with the close mic and the overheads combined in my opinion while the Z2 is completely Ambient Mics. Z3 is the best if you're looking to replace just the close mic as it it primarily the close mic.

In the Version I was shipped (described as a beta) contains 3 zones for each sample (12 Different Kicks, 14 Snares, and 2 sets of 3 toms, tuned maj triad and min triad)

Each Sample is high quality, appears to start on zero and be very well sampled.

The Samples are all 44.1/24bit

They tell me that the Cymbal set is coming which I especially look forward to.

Here's the epspecially strong parts:

The samples are optimized for length so that each time you load this in a sampler, you're not adding silence.

The Samples are divided into the 3 different Zones so you've got more control over Room vs Punch, this is the big problem with most libraries I've encountered. This is huge to me.

Each Set of Samples (snare 1, 2 etc) have it's own flavor and one will be the sound you're looking for, there's no lack of tonal differences here.

The price is just about perfect (advertised as 199 for a limited time, a small fee for a great upgrade)

The Toms are meaty, I find the hardest part for me is to get a good tom sound but now I feel like I could replace them easily if I need to and be thrilled with the results.

The Pitfalls:

There's no mapping, they've got a Drumagog map set up so users of that will be happy. Kontakt 2 and NNXT will soon be on their way. They are finishing up cymbal samples. This is going to be corrected very soon. It's current incarnation is most effective for drum replacement rather that original midi triggering. It is extremely good for this purpose.

There are no cymbals yet. This means that currently, this is for replacing iffy kick/snare and tom Sounds, not a complete sample set for the GM kits (though that is on the way) I'm very much looking forward to the cymbals and the mapping that will accompany them.

The kicks are a little too...twappy...a little EQ on that will reduce it but it really helps cut through small speakers. On a deeper listen, within all 12 kicks, one is def going to sound the best within your mix. I may have been jumping the gun on that.

This is NOT a beginner's tool right now. If you are not familiar with Sampler Mapping/Sampling or Drum Replacement, you're going to have a hard time integrating this into your current workflow. If you're experienced with sampling and drum replacement, I haven't heard better quality samples.

Overall, I give these a 4.75/5 for High Quality samples despite current limited usablity because that is very much on it's way. Overall, I'd recommend the Purchase if you're on the prowl for a new set of samples. I've already replaced my Kontakt Kicks and snares.

[Bang]

Thanks a lot for the review. We'll take 4.75 out of 5 any day! As for the kicks, there are a ton of kicks, from top end smacky to round and felty. Here are some direct links to some new audio demos, remember now that the samples are exactly as you would get them, no additional processing:

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate16.mp3

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate17.mp3

www.stevenslatedrums.com/demo/stevenslate18.mp3

The initial release is intended for drum replacement with plugins such as Drumagog, Sound Replacer, and Aptrigga... although there are some guys doing mapping as well. We are in the process, as donsolo said, of doing tons of cymbal sets so that it WILL soon be mapped out in various sampler formats so the drums can be programmed easily. But again, the purpose of the inital release is for hit replacement, hence the lack of cymbals for now. There is currently a gearslutz group buy which you can read about at
www.stevenslatedrums.com/groupbuy.html

and the main website: www.stevenslatedrums.com

Thanks guys! Happy New Years!