Music Tech Magazine Review - Drum Machines 01
Although most modern DAW's and software samplers come packaged with your standard 808 and 909 electronic drum hits, there are many other lesser-known analogue drum machines that can offer equally powerful kick drums and snappy snares.
Drum Machines 01 is the latest sample pack from Wave Alchemy, and is actually three micro series packs bundled together into one high value package. Available as a download, the sample pack comes in at just under 200mb and features 1400 meticulously sampled drum hits from the Vermona DRM MK11, Jomox AIRBase99, Jomox MBase 11 and Jomox XBase 999 drum machines. All of the drum hits have been recorded at 24-bit resolution through an API 512c preamp with some samples enhanced using an Empirical Labs Distressor & high-end SSL EQs.
As you would expect from electronic drums, there is some serious weight to each drum hit and you could guarantee extreme speaker movement were you to take these sounds to the dance floor.
Of all the machines, the AIRBase99 is probably the best all-rounder, with some nice sounding claps, snare drums and hats. The MBase 11 features the weightiest kick drums, with deep analogue warmth and a large variety of pitch-bent dives.
If you are after more variety, the Xbase 999 collection features both short and tight drum hits that would be great for minimal house / techno styles, plus some gritty sustained kick drums and pitched tom samples.
Finally, the Vermona DRM MK11 has a much more synth-like sound to it, complete with noisy snare drums and hats, computer-game effects sounds and both softer and warmer kick drums. Where the other kits excel at more aggressive house and techno sounds, this machine could provide some suberbly obscure sounds for electronica producers.
Overall this is an excellent value sample pack for anyone wanting to expand their electronic drum library and features plenty of variety for both harder dance floor and more minimal production styles!
Verdict - A massive collection of powerful drum hits that will extend your drum library.
Rating 8/10
