Steven Slate Drums

88
| FEBRUARY 2019 WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM
GEAR REVIEW
S
teven Slate’s drum sounds have
been fuelling recorded drum
sounds since 2004. Either used
to bolster drum recordings in
need of fattening up, or providing the
drum sound in its entirety, Slate’s punchy,
beefy-sounding kit samples have played a
huge part in the democratisation of
big-studio drum sounds. While we may or
may not disagree with the use of sample
replacement – blending pristine sounds
with that of our pride and joy – the most
useful application of Slate’s samples for us
drummers is with our electronic kits. Now
into version 5, SSD comes with a hefty
library of mix-ready sounds that can be
played via MIDI from our kits, giving us
plenty of expansion from the onboard
sounds in our modules.
Build
SSD5 runs as a plug-in within your host
software (Cubase, Logic Pro Tools etc), and
comes with samples of over 250
instruments arranged into XXX kit presets.
However, not all of these are new for
version 5. Inside we also get presets from
SSD4, as well as Slate’s signature kits
based on some of the greatest drum
sounds committed to tape (Metallica,
Nirvana, Led Zeppelin). For this version,
there’s a lot of work going on with the
sample playback engine and user interface
which has been redesigned from the
ground up in order to enhance the realism
of the sounds. The application’s interface
is split into a number of different screens
offering control over kit/drum selection,
mapping to the MIDI notes from your
kit and mixing. There’s also a lot of
fl exibility for individual sound properties
such as pitch, close/room mic position
blending, dynamic response and an ADSR
envelope for each kit part, while the
mixer section offers comprehensive
control over mic levels and routing
back to your DAW for further processing
with EQ, compression etc.
£149 With a new engine and updated sounds,
SSD5 brings us quality sounds and ease of use
WORDS: STUART WILIAMS
"THERE’S A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY FOR
SOUND PROPERTIES SUCH AS PITCH,
CLOSE/ROOM MIC POSITION BLENDING,
DYNAMIC RESPONSE AND AN ADSR
ENVELOPE FOR EACH KIT PART"
Also try…
Nirvana, Led Zeppelin). For this version,
sample playback engine and user interface
ground up in order to enhance the realism
of the sounds. The application’s interface
is split into a number of different screens
2
TOONTRACK
SUPERIOR
DRUMMER 3
We say: “It costs more,
but also does more, with
onboard effects and
processing, a massive
library of sounds and
the ability to convert
your live drum
performance to MIDI.
The complete drum
sample workstation.”
1
TOONTRACK EZ
DRUMMER
We say: “The more
affordable entry point
to Toontrack’s world
of samples offers an
easy user interface,
plus plenty of
expansion packs."
STEVEN SLATE
DRUMS SSD5
Hands On
We started our review by downloading the
samples from the company’s site. The
library is split into eight parts, plus the
plug-in itself. It’s worth noting that all of
Slate’s products require an iLok dongle,
or iLok account to authorise. While it did
take a while for us to download and get
set up, it was painless, and we’d suggest
setting your computer going while you’re
doing something else. In all it was about
two hours from our fi rst download starting
to us hitting a pad.
While there are certainly a number of
changes in the interface, the fi rst
impression is defi nitely one of familiarity if
you’ve used Steven Slate Drums before.
We were pleased to see though, that the
presets mapped perfectly to our Roland
kit’s default MIDI notes straightaway,
where in previous versions there was an
element of rearranging the mapping.
SAMPLE PLAYBACK
Slate has tweaked under the hood to
improve the playability of its
samples, and it’s paid off. These
sound more natural than ever
RHY290.gear_slate.indd 88 12/20/18 2:14 PM