Formats: DATA/YAMAHA/WAV+AIFF
The somewhat misleadingly titled Drumkit From Hell is in fact a sample CD-ROM dedicated to providing traditional acoustic rock and jazz drum kits to the highest quality and supporting the following formats: Multi-format (WAV, LM4, Battery, EXS24, Giga, DR008 and HALion), Yamaha, and WAV/AIFF.
Based on samples taken from Ludwig and Sonor kits, Drumkit From Hell offers both the individual elements of a drum kit plus ready-made jazz and rock kits with the individual elements mapped in such a way that cutting and pasting subsets of sounds to create a new kit doesn't cause any overlap complications. Using cut and paste, it's easy to customise a 'tom and cymbals' kit by choosing your own kick and snare, but what I found most impressive about this kit was its attention to detail. For example, some of the hits have up to 10 velocity-switched samples and all the toms are mapped twice so that you can play double-handed fills. Of course there's no GM mapping as there are far too many sound variations to fit the GM map, but the mapping regime is consistent across kits. Instead of the usual open and closed hi-hats, there are around half a dozen different types of hit, and having generous velocity switching on the ride and crash cymbals as well adds enormously to the authenticity of the sound.
The sound of the drums is left gratifyingly natural with a degree of ring and ambience following each hit. This makes it easy to treat the sampler output as a set of conventionally recorded drum tracks for the application of gates or EQ, though to be honest, the kits sound absolutely superb as they are. Particularly impressive is the big, meaty tom sound which should satisfy anyone into programming rock music. Another useful feature, though not unique, is the inclusion of ambience-only samples so that you can play both the dry and ambient kits together and then balance them to control the anount of room sound.
Ultimately, this is best-sounding drum kit sample CD-ROM I've tried to date, and I recommend it highly for anyone who needs superbly recorded rock/pop and jazz drum kit sounds that can be easily customised via the included selection of kick and snare sounds. It has to be five stars.
Multi-format $139; Yamaha A3000/A4000/A5000 $99; WAV+AIFF $75.
Toontrack Music +46 (0)90 772114.
www.toontrack.com