New Virtual Drums - This Might Get Very Interesting

[kwaehner]

Looking forward to meeting you Saturday! Can't wait to hear the audio clips.

[Mixosaurus]

Quick reminder: Happy New NAMMuary - one week to go... check MIXOSAURUS.com.

All the best,
Uwe

[Mixosaurus]

To whom it may concern:

There's a KIT A group buy with a maximum discount of 40% (!) ending on March 1st. Current discount: 21%. For details, visit the webstore on MIXOSAURUS.com.

Kind regards,
Uwe

[Mixosaurus]

Good news: We (actually you) have cracked the 30% mark for the current group buy! On to the 40% mark - three days to go. Check the STORE pages on MIXOSAURUS.com.

[Mixosaurus]

Final day: The Group Buy will end tonight (CET); you've managed to raise the discount to a serious 39% - one more signup and the maximum of 40% is reached. Thanks everybody for participating!

Uwe

[Mixosaurus]

Dear MIXOSAURUS users & friends,

It took a while but finally we're online with preview audio clips of the forthcoming KIT B. To compensate you for the wait (well... sort of :-) we decided to go online with a really big collection of audio: More than 700MB of KIT B preview WAV files can be downloaded - and that's ZIP archives already.

More on MIXOSAURUS.com.

Kindest regards,
Uwe

[Football]

Originally Posted by Mixosaurus

Dear MIXOSAURUS users & friends,

It took a while but finally we're online with preview audio clips of the forthcoming KIT B. To compensate you for the wait (well... sort of :-) we decided to go online with a really big collection of audio: More than 700MB of KIT B preview WAV files can be downloaded - and that's ZIP archives already.

More on MIXOSAURUS.com.

Kindest regards,
Uwe

Any group buy planned on Kit B?

[kwaehner]

Uwe -
Initial clips sounds great! Sounds like you've got another winner, NICE job.

Thanks for keeping us apprised.

[pw2005]

That kit B is amazing. what is the cost and do you buy it with a hard drive?
Peter

[Mixosaurus]

Hi Peter,

thanks for the kind words!

Yes, KIT B will come on a drive just like KIT A does (it will likely end up being even bigger in size than KIT A due to the larger=longer cymbals). Right now we're in the editing stage which means that the release isn't really around the corner I'm afraid.

kind regards,
Uwe

[pw2005]

Could this kit be played live with laptop with 2 gig ram and 2 gig dual core PC? Are the large files for the playability or does it affect the sound quality as well?

Peter

[Mixosaurus]

To the European Ladies and Gentlemen:

it's Summertime - EURO SUMMERSAURUS - 22% OFF!

From July 22 - August 2, the MIXO EU Webstore rewards those who stayed at home with a nice 22% discount on all KIT A products.
No more envying friends and colleagues on vacation... instead, save on KIT A, lean back - and send musical holiday greetings.

Kind regards,
Uwe

[wildpark]

hello uwe

sounds good the kid b might more my flavor,
if you start a group buy for gearsluts you can add me.

thx patrick

Originally Posted by Mixosaurus

To the European Ladies and Gentlemen:

it's Summertime - EURO SUMMERSAURUS - 22% OFF!

From July 22 - August 2, the MIXO EU Webstore rewards those who stayed at home with a nice 22% discount on all KIT A products.
No more envying friends and colleagues on vacation... instead, save on KIT A, lean back - and send musical holiday greetings.

Kind regards,
Uwe

[Mixosaurus]

-- KONTAKT PLAYER 3 Update --

Good news: Native Instruments' 3.5 version of KONTAKT is available, bringing significant improvements for all MIXOSAURUS users as well (who can update to the new v3 Player for free):

Here's an email from Adam Countryman, MIXOUSER from Stanwood, USA that we received today. Nothing added, nothing omitted :

"Just giving you a heads up that the Kontakt Player 3 (.5) is already available to update on NI's website. I did so tonight and played with it for about 10 minutes. I used it on an 8 core Mac Pro with 8gb ram. Used inside Pro Tools 8, I was able to load over 3.5gb of samples! The new KMS is really amazing. Pro Tools only showed using about 1.25gb of ram (bare minimum) even though I was using the player as a plug in. Just thought you'd like to pass the word along. I did not use service center, only the website. Can't wait for Kit B now that I can load a full kit with 7 samples each instrument!!!!!"



-- Euro-SUMMERSAURUS: 3 Days to go --

(see previous posting for details)


Cheers,
Uwe

[Mixosaurus]

FYI -

check out MIX Magazine's September issue - there's a review of KIT A done by Michael Cooper, and it appears he likes it:

Sub-titled "Standout Virtual Kit Sounds Like The Real Thing", the review labels KIT A's sound "Absolutely stunning" and "Uncannily realistic", and it closes "Prepare to be totally blown away."

Well, nothing much to add to that

To read the review, get the latest MIX issue or visit Mix Magazine | Pro Audio, Live Sound, Music Recording and Live Post for Audio Pros (the full-length review is available online).

Best regards,
Uwe

[Ari-M.]

listened, with all the intent that this would be the end all sampled drum kit....I remember hearing about this a few years back.....and now that I see it's out and I can hear it....well I am not ready to trade in my sticks....this is a monumental step forward as far as sampled drums are concerned....but it still lacks articulations and variation in the sounds....I mean no snare drum sounds that dead on....same with the cymbals....there should really be an adaptive algo. that sense multiple strokes and triggers some variation from being a dead center hit.....or the same area on the ride or hat each time....I know when I play my snare and cymbals....I try to play all across them....depends on dynamics in the song.....and any good cymbal should have a complexity in tone, so that different areas have more or less or different overtones....same with the snare....I like to venture out of the center, for dynamics....either way, good job....this is a big step forward in programmed drums....I will def. be buying it at some point....as I still like to demo out my tracks with programmed drums, b4 I go in to rehearsal....and this is a good place to start....goodbye battery 3.....goodbye BFD....

[Football]

Originally Posted by Mixosaurus

FYI -

check out MIX Magazine's September issue - there's a review of KIT A done by Michael Cooper, and it appears he likes it:

Sub-titled "Standout Virtual Kit Sounds Like The Real Thing", the review labels KIT A's sound "Absolutely stunning" and "Uncannily realistic", and it closes "Prepare to be totally blown away."

Well, nothing much to add to that

To read the review, get the latest MIX issue or visit Mix Magazine | Pro Audio, Live Sound, Music Recording and Live Post for Audio Pros (the full-length review is available online).

Best regards,
Uwe

Hi Uwe, I have a few questions. Do you have a release date for Kit B and also pricing? What is the multiband compression you used for the demos? All the demos I hear on your site are played from some type of EDrum kit right (as opposed to keyboard programmed)? Just want to make sure these are good to go and optomized right out of the box with VDrums. I see it has tons of tweaking options for each kit piece, does this come with many presets to use as a starting point?

Thank you

[Mixosaurus]

Hi Ari-M, Football,

Thanks for writing! (everybody else - sorry for another lengthy post )

Ari-M, you're right, the variations issue is utterly important, obviously. It's the most important thing in all virtual instruments, not just drums. That's why MIXOSAURUS gives you the option to use up to 7 variations of each and every sample of the kit. And unlike in most other products, "up to" in this case doesn't mean that some or most of the articulations provide that many alternatives: KIT A is this large because there are 7 alternatives for each and every articulation, each and every verlocity layer - simply put, I sampled the entire thing 7 times, every part of it. It's up to the user to decide for which kit pieces he/she actually needs that many, but IF they need them, they're there - for any of the KIT A articulations. Moreover, it wasn't some sample robot that played the hits - I did. I even rotated the cymbals between hits now and then to achieve what you - and I - want. So there's a healthy amount of variation in it.

For some people the built-in alternation of samples is irritating ("Does that mean it will sound different each time I hit play?!") whereas others ask for even stronger deviations... a virtual instrument needs to find a good balance of "control/predictability" and "variation", and I believe that we're quite at the right spot.


Football,

there's no pricing/release date yet I'm afraid. The editing takes an incredible amount of time. Looking at it now, it probably was a mistake to release the audio snippets that early... oh well too much enthusiasm .

Regarding the compression, it varies. The majority though has PSP's Vintage Warmer, on some we used Powercore or UAD-1 plugins. On the Drum Solo Piece by Piet DeRidder he only used very subtle limiting and EQ (he wrote "that's more or less how it sounds out-of-the-box"). Did you notice that you can download the raw multitrack audio WAVs for some of the demos from our website (at the bottom of each demo's page)?

No, the demos aren't all played on edrums. In fact, most of them aren't; Being a drummer, I write most of the demos with the mouse.
I've recorded two pieces with edrums myself (TD-3 and TD-12, check posts #51 and #67 in this thread), and there's an interesting thread in our support forum (TD 6KX compatibility.. - DRUMMING & PROGRAMMING - MIXOSAURUS Support Forum) where I ran another guy's MIDI through MIXO unedited.

Regarding the presets: There are 5 acoustic kit presets included and two "Electro" versions (there's a "Preset Kits" demo on the website), and all of these are available in "translated" edrum versions as well... so there's plenty to play around with and to check out. Certainly a good display and example of the possibilities.

Thanks again,
Cheers

Uwe

[Ari-M.]

Originally Posted by Mixosaurus

Hi Ari-M, Football,

Thanks for writing! (everybody else - sorry for another lengthy post )

Ari-M, you're right, the variations issue is utterly important, obviously. It's the most important thing in all virtual instruments, not just drums. That's why MIXOSAURUS gives you the option to use up to 7 variations of each and every sample of the kit. And unlike in most other products, "up to" in this case doesn't mean that some or most of the articulations provide that many alternatives: KIT A is this large because there are 7 alternatives for each and every articulation, each and every verlocity layer - simply put, I sampled the entire thing 7 times, every part of it. It's up to the user to decide for which kit pieces he/she actually needs that many, but IF they need them, they're there - for any of the KIT A articulations. Moreover, it wasn't some sample robot that played the hits - I did. I even rotated the cymbals between hits now and then to achieve what you - and I - want. So there's a healthy amount of variation in it.

For some people the built-in alternation of samples is irritating ("Does that mean it will sound different each time I hit play?!") whereas others ask for even stronger deviations... a virtual instrument needs to find a good balance of "control/predictability" and "variation", and I believe that we're quite at the right spot.



Uwe

Wow Uwe, thank you for responding....I really like a kit to be lively....I don't tape heads and I don't try to play through my drums....it is not my goal to break them or my sticks ....so this is something we share in common....so when your articulations are triggered....are some of the snare hits off center? also how are flams and press rolls handled? for example....can I have a press roll that is in fact two partials of a double stroke....or three or a true buzz stroke? and how much control is there over all of this? I am really very keen to hear some more....I listened to the demos online, and didn't quite hear these articulations and variations I am talking about....please tell me more....I have been hearing about this sample set for quite sometime now (I remember the first press leak of it some years ago) and am thrilled to see that you have it off the ground and are doing well with it....congratulations on having THE MOST REALISTIC drum sample library in existence......I look forward to hearing the improvements to come...(namely more off center articulations and new algos. to control them)....I def don't want my drums to sound exactly the same on each hit....EVER....there are plenty of electronic drum sound for that already!!!!

Ari M

[Mixosaurus]

Originally Posted by Ari-M.

so when your articulations are triggered....are some of the snare hits off center? also how are flams and press rolls handled? for example....can I have a press roll that is in fact two partials of a double stroke....or three or a true buzz stroke? and how much control is there over all of this?

Hi Ari-M,

To clarify the "Alternating Samples" concept: If you load a “7 Alternating Samples” patch and play a sequence of 8 notes, all the same articulation and all at the same MIDI velocity, then only the 8th note will be playing a sound you’ve heard before. And since all these samples were played by hand (=me) you already have some good sonic variation there. On top of that there are the different articulations (for each of which you have the aforementioned 7 alternating samples available): the Snare Drum has "Center", "Halfway Out" and "Close to the Rim" hits, both as Tip and Rimshot hits, plus "Sidestick" and "Rim only" hits (=total of 8 articulations).

Regarding hit sequences like flams, ruffs etc.: MIXOSAURUS uses all single hits, there are no pre-played sequences. You can actually play or program all those typical drum phrases - and they will sound good. Everything you hear in the demos is played/programmed using ALL SINGLE MIDI NOTES (check out the cymbal swells and the Snare Drum work in the Jazzy or Piet's demo, and definitely watch the Articulations II video). It gives you total freedom and control over your drum performance. Yes, it takes more effort to write three or four notes for a ruff than just pressing the "ruff" key, OTOH you have far more control as you can control WHERE on the drum and how long the ruff/drag is played. A one-handed press roll with the stick starting at the center and moving out to the rim... or a flam with the second hit quieter than the first? Why not.

cheers
Uwe

[Ari-M.]

Originally Posted by Mixosaurus

Hi Ari-M,

To clarify the "Alternating Samples" concept: If you load a “7 Alternating Samples” patch and play a sequence of 8 notes, all the same articulation and all at the same MIDI velocity, then only the 8th note will be playing a sound you’ve heard before. And since all these samples were played by hand (=me) you already have some good sonic variation there. On top of that there are the different articulations (for each of which you have the aforementioned 7 alternating samples available): the Snare Drum has "Center", "Halfway Out" and "Close to the Rim" hits, both as Tip and Rimshot hits, plus "Sidestick" and "Rim only" hits (=total of 8 articulations).

Regarding hit sequences like flams, ruffs etc.: MIXOSAURUS uses all single hits, there are no pre-played sequences. You can actually play or program all those typical drum phrases - and they will sound good. Everything you hear in the demos is played/programmed using ALL SINGLE MIDI NOTES (check out the cymbal swells and the Snare Drum work in the Jazzy or Piet's demo, and definitely watch the Articulations II video). It gives you total freedom and control over your drum performance. Yes, it takes more effort to write three or four notes for a ruff than just pressing the "ruff" key, OTOH you have far more control as you can control WHERE on the drum and how long the ruff/drag is played. A one-handed press roll with the stick starting at the center and moving out to the rim... or a flam with the second hit quieter than the first? Why not.

cheers
Uwe

so do you feel there is still some room to move forward in the sample concept.....or is it time to move on to physical modeling for the next "ultimate" drum library? I know it will be impossible to ever fully encompass the acoustic drum set....but where do you think you will take your products next?

I was considering doing some work myself in this field (I have done my own personal sample libraries for over 10 years now). I just got to a point where I couldn't get the variation in samples I wanted. Do you feel it would be possible to program an algo. (random number generator) to further randomize the tonalities of a sample? For example, when you play something like a ruff or flam tap...the drums internal pressure "loads up" and the tonality between your first and last not are dramatically different...do you think it is possible or even worthwhile to simulate these changes using a physical modeling approach? Or is there still another level to get to with sampling?

thanks for answering these questions....I am sold on your library either way....like I said...I like to demo my drum parts before I actually record real drums....this library will help with some of the nuances that I like to build into my drum orchestrations (it's not enough for me to play back beat LOL)

[lematrix]

I use the Mixosaurus now more than 1 year and the new Version ist awsome.
I can load a 2 GB Kit or bigger with no problem, great.

Tonight I´m nominated for 3 Austrian "Amadeus" Awards, all Acts made with the Mixo.
I just finished a new big german Production with the Mixo, and it really saved my life. The drums are so punchy and big, and you can mix them easily in the "background", when you know what i mean. It´s always there, and feels "right".

Thanks Uwe ;-)

[Mixosaurus]

Hello guys,

there's good news for those who like to check out things first hand:

A downloadable KIT A demo was added to our website: On MIXOSAURUS KIT A Demo Page you can request a download link to the 2.6 GB zipped demo archive which contains fully usable instrument patches of KIT A's Light Ride Cymbal and the 10" Tom.
All articulations of these two instruments and all mic tracks are available in the demo, with the only limitations being that it uses only 2 alternating samples (the full product offers 7) - and that the rest of the kit isn't there ;-).

(FYI: For hosting/licensing reasons, the archive does not contain Native Instruments' KONTAKT PLAYER software, however you'll find a link to NI's pages so you will have no trouble getting it from them directly - it's a free download)

Comments and/or suggestions all very welcome!

kindest regards,
Uwe

Oh, and BTW thanks a lot Mathias!

[Mixosaurus]

Hello everybody,

Lots of News this time:

End of Introductory Prices: The time has come - March 15th will finally mark the end of KIT A's Introductory Price Period. Until that day you can grab the World's Best Virtual Drumset for its current price and make your move to Software Drum Gratification a Steal:
Compared to the full prices that will be in effect on March 15th, the current prices mean a discount of roughly 38% - and they won't come back.
Visit MIXOSAURUS | Expert Virtual Drums for DAW Music Production | Berlin, Germany to read the details. If you ever wanted to bring your virtual drum tracks to life, NOW is the time to Hop On Board!


New Dealers in the Netherlands - and a LIVE Presentation! We're happy to announce that Helios and Maarten's Sound & Vision have hopped on board as MIXO Resellers. On March 5th, Helios will host a LIVE Presentation of KIT A at Bullet Sound Studios. I'll be demonstrating KIT A together with one of the Netherlands' top drummers, Ton Dijkman, who will be playing KIT A live via a Yamaha TDXtreme e-drumset. If you live in the Netherlands, be sure to attend!
(rumour alert: I've heard that there will be some kind of giveaway... yet to be confirmed though )


Facebook Fan Page: User Barry Kettery has set up a MIXO Fan Page on Facebook - your opportunity to confess!
Barry has also shot a video tutorial and will be adding more soon.


More video stuff: We've received requests to put the tutorial videos from MIXOSAURUS.com on YouTube (some people seem to have problems viewing *.mov files), so we did. Check out our videos on the MIXOCHANNEL.


Cheers,
Uwe

[Animus]

Damn! Kit B sounds incredible! Cant wait for this. Let us know when! \

Both these kits make OWD and Superior look like childs' toys.

[Mixosaurus]

Just to remind those of you living in and around the Netherlands:

Join me and Ton Dijkman on the 5th of March in Hilversum's Bullet Sound Studio - we'll be demonstrating the realtime-use of KIT A with e-drums and answer all your drum programming questions. Admission is free and you can also win a "Full Box" KIT A unit! MIXOUSERS are invited to stop by as well: All owners of KIT A will receive a free MIXOSHIRT!

To register for admission (free!) and/or to join the giveaway competition (free!), go to Company openingspagina

See you next week,
Uwe

[Mixosaurus]

Hello everybody,

two new videos showing KIT A being played live via e-drums:

YouTube - MIXOSAURUS PLAYED WITH E-DRUM TD-20 PARTE 1

YouTube - MIXOCHANNEL's Channel

The second one was shot during last week's presentation at the Netherlands' HELIOS PRO AUDIO in Haarlem. One of the visitors was Robert-Jan Van Schoonacker, a drummer and drum teacher from Hillegom, and he sat down at the V-Drum kit (with drum & cymbal pads by Hart) to put KIT A to the test.

Note that this was the first time ever he played KIT A - this is how it reacts to a drummer's playing from the start, with no prior "getting used to the dynamic response"!

The sound is the live room sound captured by the camera's built-in mic.

Cheers,
Uwe

PS - Only 4 days left before KIT A finally shakes off its introduction price tag! More on MIXOSAURUS.com

[Mixosaurus]

Dear Slutz,

it's my pleasure today to introduce you to our latest - and very special - MIXOFAN:

Check this out!

warm regards,
Uwe

[Mixosaurus]

To whom it may concern:

It's OFFTOBER 2010 - 9 days to go 'til 10/10/10. Details on MIXOSAURUS.com

Cheers,
Uwe

[Mixosaurus]

Dear Gearslutz,

please excuse - I don't want to spam around, but here's news that some might not want to miss:

In accordance with our American distributor MV Pro Audio, we've updated our webstore:

All customers from the USA and Canada can now take advantage of OFFTOBER 2010 30% Discount and order directly through the STORE section of MIXOSAURUS.com. Needles to say, orders and customers taking the path from aborad will receive full 100% support & service, and our 2-year warranty applies to all those units/orders as well.

Cheers,
Uwe