Rekkerd Review Of Drum Machines 01 by Wave Alchemy
Didn’t I just say in another review that there are plenty of drum machine sample libraries already? So what does Wave Alchemy’s Drum Machines 01 have to offer that you haven’t seen before?
Looking at the drum machines they sampled you might think the answer is “not that much”. The library includes samples from three previously released sample packs featuring the following machines: Vermona DRM mkII, Jomox AiRBase99, Jomox MBase 11 and Jomox XBase 999.
There is a good chance you already have some samples of a few of those machines, but that doesn’t mean Drum Machines 01 doesn’t bring anything new. Since the samples were taken from analog drum machines you will still get some “fresh” content every time someone comes around with a new pack of the same old drum machines.
Wave Alchemy used some outboard gear for this sample library:
All samples have been beautifully recorded through an API 512c preamp with a small selection of the sounds being sonically enhanced through the use of an Empirical Labs Distressor and highend SSL equalizers.
The kit list in the manual mentions the use of the API 512c preamp, Empirical Labs Distressor EL8, SSL E Series EQ and Compressor, and SPL Transient Designer.
Drum Machines 01 features
- 1,400 24-bit 100% royalty free analogue drum hits
- 466 XBase 999 drum samples
- 453 Vermona DRM mkII drum samples
- 237 AiRBase99 drum samples
- 245 MBase 11 kick drums
So what do I think?
Wave Alchemy clearly takes sampling seriously. They did a smashing job sampling these drum machines to a high quality standard. The variety of drum sounds available is good, but note that over half of the 1,400 sounds are kick drums sounds. The hits are generally really tight and punchy sounding and even though I already have a boatload of electronic drum samples, I still found a lot of new sounds in this library.
In short, a high quality pack of electronic drum sounds. If you don’t have any sounds from these drum machines yet, be sure to check out Drum Machines 01. Wave Alchemy has a free collection of samples from this library available to download (you need to register an account, which is also free).
