Drumdrops

Mapex Heavy Rock Kit

The NI Kontakt Pack Manual

1
 The information in this document is subject to
change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Drumdrops. The software
described by this document is subject to a License
Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No
part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or
otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose,
without prior written permission by Drumdrops.

“Native Instruments”, “NI” and associated logos are

(registered) trademarks of Native Instruments GmbH.

Mac, Mac OS, GarageBand, Logic, iTunes and iPod are

registered trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the
U.S. and other countries.

Windows, Windows Vista and DirectSound are

registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries.

All other trade marks are the property of their

respective owners and use of them does not imply
any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

Contact Us

Drumdrops
36 Leroy Street
London
SE1 4SP
United Kingdom

www.drumdrops.com

2
Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. About Drumdrops Mapex Heavy Rock Kit

2.1 The Drum Kit

2.2 The People
2.3 The Recording Studio - Garden Studios
2.4 The Recording Equipment
2.5 The Mixing Studio - The Engine Room
2.6 The Mixing Equipment

3. Quickstart

3.1 Installing the Pack

3.2 Loading the Pack

3.3 Basic Navigation

3.4 Editing The Drums

3.4.1 Controlling the Drums and Articulations
3.4.2 Creating a Mix
3.4.3 Adding and Removing Drums

4. Using The Interface

4.1 The Kit Page

4.1.1 Tuning
4.1.2 Velocity Curves
4.1.3 Changing The Snare

4.2 The Mixer Page
4.2.1 The Channel Strip
4.2.2 Mixer Presets
4.2.3 The Mix Buss
4.2.4 The Mix Buss Effects
4.2.4.1 Mix Buss Compressor
4.2.4.2 Tape Saturator
4.2.5 Outputs

4.3 Channel Effects
4.3.1 Equaliser
4.3.2 Transient Master
4.3.3 Convolution Reverbs

4.4 Settings
4.4.1 Randomize Settings
4.4.2 MIDI Mapping
3 4.4.3 Articulations

 4.5 MIDI Groove Player
4.5.1 Selecting a Groove
4.5.2 Playing a Groove
4.5.3 Groove Slicer
4.5.4 Exporting a MIDI Groove

4.6 Sequencer
4.6.1 Using the Sequencer
4.6.2 Sequencer Modes
4.6.3 Groove Delay

4.7 Kit Selection

5. Credits

4
 Introduction

Drumdrops is the one-stop shop live drum sampling company, begun

in the year 2000 by head honcho engineer Mike Pelanconi. Over
more
than 10 years it has built up a catalogue of some of the most respected
live drum tracks in the business. Drumdrops became known as
the company to buy the highest quality multi-track drums, firstly
specializing in Reggae but now covering most genres including Ska,
Disco, Funk, Hip Hop, Rock, Blues and Pop.

Each of the drum tracks can be bought in three different formats. Drum
multi-tracks for those who want control over the individual drum’s
sound, drum stems for completed mixes of the drums, and drum loops.

What makes Drumdrops’ catalogue stand out from the crowd is the
detail that goes into recording it. We have used some of the finest
studios around the world including Olympic Studios, Tuff Gong and
Hollywood Sound Recorders, which have great recording rooms. We find
studios that have a great collection of vintage gear using old consoles
such as Neves and APIs. The microphone collections are top-of-the-
range and we record all of the drum tracks to 2” tape adding another
level of depth to the sound. All of the kits we use are tuned to perfection
and we always find the right kits for the job; Gretsch, Ludwig, Hayman,
Rogers and Slingerland amongst others. Finally, the professionals
we use are amongst the very best; incredible drummers and great
recording engineers. All of this combined creates the formidable
Drumdrops sound.

In 2011 Drumdrops teamed up with Miloco Studios to work together to

push the catalogue to the next level. First up was the new Drumdrops
website, which was built to sell the catalogue directly to Drumdrops’
fans. The website allows all the catalogue to be previewed on a track-
by-track basis and allows clients to purchase by track or by the full
album. We then began recording new catalogue using a lot of Miloco’s
studios, which offered new recording rooms and new equipment. This
has helped make our catalogue even more varied but at the same time
sound great.

In 2013 Drumdrops began a brand new phase releasing the best

sounding live drums as sample packs. We decided that we had to
do
this right and that our samples had to stand up against the best
catalogues out there. So, we built a Drumdrops Kontakt Interface to give
maximum control to the user. With the guidance of Channel Robot’s
incredible programming skills, we worked on producing an Interface
that would do justice to the drum sounds we record.

The Drumdrops Kontakt Interface gives full fader control over each
5 drum, offers reverbs and effects, has a randomization feature for added
realism and allows the user to adjust the velocity curves on each drum.
 Most importantly it has an incredible amount of samples (around 7000
on the first one).

However, Drumdrops is of course a drum sample company, so we have

not limited our kits solely to Kontakt. We also offer the Multi-Velocity
Pack which has 16 velocities per articulation and a simple Single Hits
Pack with just three velocities per kit. These two packs can be loaded
into any sample software.

This kit that Drumdrops has sampled is a Mapex Saturn Heavy Rock
Kit. It is owned
by UK drummer Jason Bowld and is the kit he plays
with many of the rock groups he records and tours with (Bullet For My
Valentine, Killing Joke, Pop Will Eat Itself). It was recorded at the now
closed Garden Studios through a vintage Neve 8026 console and mixed
in Miloco’s The Engine Room Studios by Martyn ‘Ginge’ Ford. The kit
sounds huge; three hard hitting Mapex snares, plenty of Paiste crash
cymbals and an explosive sounding live room. You can hear some
great drum tracks recorded on this kit on the album Heavy Rock Drops
which is available to purchase as multi-tracks, stems or loops on the
Drumdrops site.

Kontakt compatibility
The Drumdrops Mapex Heavy Rock Kit Kontakt Pack is a Native
Instruments Kontakt 5 instrument. Currently it can only be used with
the full version of the latest release of Kontakt 5. The Kontakt free
player will only work for 15 minutes at a time.

6
 About Drumdrops Mapex Heavy Rock Kit

2.1 The Drum Kit

Mapex have been making drum kits for over 18 years. This kit is a
Mapex Saturn kit which is one of their Pro Lines. The distinct tone of the
shells comes from the mix of Maple and Walnut. The kit is constructed
of six plies of wood for a shell thickness of 5.1 millimetres. The thinner
hybrid shells provide a lower, warmer and darker tone than similar
all-maple shells. Mapex also have a non-fussy approach to applying
hardware to the shell. Too much metalwork on a drum can result in a
dead tone. A lot of rock drummers love these kits.

Jason’s kit is his number one recording kit. He started using the Mapex
kit about five years ago and used it on every record since. The toms
were fitted with Evans G2 clear heads which makes them sound well
balanced with attack and resonance and almost naturally EQ’d. The
Kick drum was fitted with an Evans emad skin with virtually zero
dampening. The sound of this kick is best summed up with two words –
Punch & Sub.

Mapex also excel in the snare department too. Jason mainly uses a
Black Panther Machete which has a savage attack but also comes with
weight and fatness to match. However we also recorded two other
Mapex snares. A hammered, Phosphor Bronze snare which has the
attack, but with more warmth that helps provide an openness that
can complement tracks beautifully and a Black Panther Stainless Steel
snare.

Jason thinks that Paiste cymbals complement the Mapex perfectly. The
signature range of cymbals have an EQ’d sound with no midrange honk
or clanginess that can dominate other cymbal’s sound. The sound-edge
hi-hats are extremely crisp and the ride ping on the Custom Twenty
series metal ride is sweet and not muddied by too many overtones.
7
 The kit comprises a Mapex Saturn 22” Kick drum. Three snares – a
Mapex Black Panther hammered phosphor Bronze 14” x 6.5”, a Mapex
Black Panther 14”x 5” and a Mapex Machete 14” x 6.5”. There are two
Mapex rack toms – a 10” x 8” and 12” x 9” and a 16” x 16” floor tom. The
hi-hats are Paiste sound edge 14” hats. The cymbals consist of a Paiste
Dry Heavy 21” Ride, a Paiste Twenty Metal 18” Crash, a Paiste Metal
China 18” Crash, a Paiste Twenty Custom 19” Crash and a Paiste Twenty
Custom 20” Crash. All in all this is an epic sounding rock kit.

2.2 The People

The process of recording the kit and building the interface was an
immense undertaking. Firstly, the kit was sampled with every drum
articulation being recorded, with up to 16 velocity levels. This takes
two days for every kit we record. Once this part of the process had
been done we began the epic task of sifting through the thousands
of samples, choosing the best ones, trimming them down to size and
grouping them. This process takes about 4-6 weeks.

The Drummer – Jason Bowld

www.jasonbowld.com

Known for his powerful drumming with Metal supergroup Axewound

and industrial legends Pitchshifter, Jason has toured the world from
club level to Stadium level - and continues to do so with various artists.

In December 2010, Jason was asked to stand in - with literally days

to spare for Bullet for my Valentine’s U.K. headline Arena tour - with
no rehearsals! It was this opportunity - duly taken - that spawned
the Metal supergroup Axewound with Bullet singer Matt Tuck,
Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats), Joe Copcutt (Rise to Remain) and Mike
Kingswood (Glamour of the kill).

Jason has toured and recorded with the likes of Killing Joke, Bill Bailey
(‘In Metal’ album) and Pop Will Eat Itself to name a few, and he also
8
records drums remotely for commercial ventures such as video games
 (Grid 2, Forumla 1 2012) and T.V. commercials.

In other genres of music, Jason has gigged and recorded with EMF
guitarist Ian Dench and singer Amanda Ghost which in turn has earned
him respect from U2 and Depeche Mode producers Dave McCracken
and Steve Fitzmaurice. Personal requests from Sony BMG to record for
up and coming bands has reinforced Jason’s efficiency in the studio,
where he has been known to record drum parts for albums within three
days. This positive work ethic is further echoed by other international
producers that Jason has worked with such as Machine, Ulrich Wilde, Al
Clay, Andy Sneap, Romesh Dodangoda and Sterling Winfield.

On the drum clinic front, Jason has great experience playing and
teaching at most of the main drum festivals from Drumfest and
Drummer Live to Frankfurt Musikmesse and UDE. His passion for
education is further backed up by his tuition column in Rhythm
magazine and contributions for the latest Rockschool syllabus of which
he has written and performed tracks for.

At present, Jason is writing with Axewound for a new album and

continues to stand-in for Killing Joke and session drum for Pop Will
Eat Itself. He is also recording drums for a classical/ Metal album with
producer Andy Sneap and continues to write music for sync.

The Engineer – Martyn ‘Ginge’ Ford

www.facebook.com/engineers/nottinpillstudios

Through the 80’s Martyn ‘Ginge’ Ford played in many bands as a

drummer in and around South Wales, later moving to London to pursue
his dream of getting a record deal with his band, Blood Brothers. His
dream was achieved by signing a record deal with Jive Records in 1986,
recording the album in the acclaimed Battery studios in London. This is
where his interest in recording / engineering / Production started.

In the early 90’s Ginge returned to Newport in south wales, and was
instrumental in putting a band together named DUB WAR fronted by
9
Benji Webb.
 Dub War quickly became successful and signed a record deal with
Nottingham based metal record label Earache. The next five years was
were taken up recording and touring the world over. At the end of the
90’s the band split.

In 2000 Ginge joined forces with Benji once again to form the band
Skindred. Setting up a make shift recording studio in the rehearsal
room beneath a boxing gym in Newport, where he set about recording
the demos for Skindred’s first album on RCA. The album Babylon
was recorded with producer Howard Benson in Bay 7 Studios in the
Hollywood valley. This was the first time Ginge encountered Pro Tools
vowing to leave the band to set up Nott-In-Pill studios.

The first band to record at the new Nott-In-Pill studios was a band
called Bullet For My Valentine then called Jeff Killed John. Ginge was so
impressed with the band he tried very hard to get people in the music
industry interested in the band, the rest is history.

Ginge went on to record, produce and mix many rock and metal bands
including Bullet For My Valentine, Slipknot, As I Lay Dying, Trivium,
Dirge From Within and Funeral For A Friend .

The Kontakt Developer – Channel Robot

channelrobot.com

Channel Robot was founded in 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. They

specialise in developing unique and powerful virtual instruments for
Kontakt using Native Instruments’ KSP scripting language and high
quality sample sets. Channel Robot build their own instruments, license
their technology and provide design and development services to the
audio industry.

10
 The Kontakt User Interface Designers – Ether Creative
www.ethercreative.co.uk

Ether Creative are a design-led digital agency based in Maidstone in

south-east England. This small but perfectly-formed team design and
build mobile sites and apps, PHP based software systems and of course
websites. They blend up a mix of bleeding-edge design and development
techniques, thorough research and planning, plus a real dedication to
their craft.

2.3 The Recording Studio - Garden Studios

The Garden Studios closed at the end of 2012 and we were lucky enough
to capture the sound of the live room before it was turned into a Pret A
Manger.

The studio, based in Shoreditch London had been running as a

commercial facility since 1978 when it was setup by John Foxx from
Ultravox. For the last 20 years it has been owned by musician Matt
Johnson from The The and in its final 5 years was run in partnership
with producer / mix engineer Craig Silvey and Miloco Studios.

What made this studio so interesting was that the live room defied all
acoustic logic. It had a low ceiling live room with plaster walls and a
wooden floor yet when you set up a drum kit in there it just sounded
huge. This live room has been used to record hit after hit over the years.
Including albums by The The, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Arctic
11
Monkeys, Florence & The Machine and The Horrors.
 2.4 The Recording Equipment

The Garden was centered around a vintage Neve 8026 console; one of
the greatest tracking consoles ever made. Like all our single hit kits we
recorded straight to Pro Tools HD (the tape noise levels would be too
much for single hits especially the quiet ones). With the vintage neve
and classic microphones we were soon able to fatten the sound of this
kit. All the microphones were recorded through either Neve 1084 or
Neve 1076 mic pre’s which were built into the console. Ginge used an
external GML 8200 EQ on the kick microphones.

Kick Out – AKG D112

With its distinctive egg shape, the AKG D112 has become one of the
most popular kick drum microphones ever made. A descendent of the
earlier D12 dynamic microphone, AKG set about engineering a tougher
and more modern sounding kick drum mic with a specially engineered
diaphragm to create a solid and powerful response below 100 Hz and
a narrow band presence rise at 4 kHz to help the kick punch through
dense mixes with little or no added EQ. It’s a large diaphragm cardioid
dynamic with a built-in pop shield and can handle up to 160 dB SPL
with no audible distortion.

“I used the D112 on the kick; this mic is great for hard rock as it has (160 dB
SPL) Good for hard-hitting drummers. The low resonance of the D112, which
is below 100 Hz, is perfect for the weight I was after; the presence boost on
the D112 is great for bringing out the click pad to punch through the densest
mix.” - Martyn ‘Ginge’ Ford

Kick Sub – Yamaha NS10 Cone

The Yamaha NS10 speaker cone was used to capture the extra low
frequencies of the drum. A dynamic microphone and a speaker are
essentially the same thing. They take acoustical energy and convert it
into electrical energy or vice versa.

Snare Top – Shure SM57

The legendary SM57 is an industry-standard cardioid dynamic
microphone and is probably one of the most versatile microphones in
a studios sonic arsenal. These microphones are commonly used for
recording vocals, guitars and snare drums.

“The SM57 has a bright and clean sound, which I like, as long as the snare is
tuned right the SM57 will not let you down.” - MF

12 Snare Bottom – SM57

 Hi Hat – Neumann KM84
The Neumann KM84 microphone is a small capsule cardioid condenser
and was the first mic made with 48 V phantom power technology.
The
Neumann KM84 has become a real favourite for classical music
recording because of its smooth faithful reproduction but it’s also
known as a favourite mic for drum overheads and hi-hats.

“The Neumann KM84 is great on any instrument you need lots of zing and
air.” - MF

Rack Toms – Sennheiser MD421

The Sennheiser 421 is a large diaphragm dynamic microphone that
came out originally in the early 60’s and quickly became known as a
really good sounding robust mic that could handle high sound pressure
levels. It has established itself as a microphone that is great for toms
and bass instruments

“The Sennheiser 421 is fantastic on toms, bright and punchy and lots of body”
- MF

Floor Tom – Electrovoice RE20

The Electrovoice RE20 is a cardioid moving-coil dynamic microphone
with LF rolloff and EV’s patented “variable d” design which minimizes
proximity effect. It’s a real “all around” workhorse microphone and
instruments benefit from its smooth sound and flat frequency response.

Ride – Brüel & Kjaer 4011

DPA’s 4011 mic - known prior to 1998 as the Brüel & Kjær (B&K) 4011
mic, features a 1 dB roll-off in the midrange frequencies along with a
1 dB rise between 10 kHz and 15 kHz. The result is a crisp, though not
overly bright sound. Its response off axis is fantasic.

“The B&K were awesome on the room giving me the bang and body I needed.”
- MF

China Splash – Brüel & Kjaer 4011

Overheads – Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphones

The 4038 is a classic Studio Ribbon Microphone designed by
the
BBC and originally manufactured by STC. Coles, the outsourced
manufacturer, bought the rights to the STC microphone line in 1974. It
is one of the world’s best-known ribbon microphones.

13
“These microphones are just the job for drum overheads, Punchy warm
 balanced and dark but they EQ up lovely.” - MF

Room Microphones – AKG C12

The AKG C12 is a legendary microphone having started manufacture
in 1953. It is a large diaphragm tube condenser microphone. It is one
of the most sought after microphones ever built. The mythical status
of the C12 is entirely based on the design and manufacture of its hand
tensioned, edge terminated Ck12 capsule which is undoubtedly the
most intricate and beautifully engineered mic capsule ever produced.

“What can you say but sublime.” - MF

2.5 The Mixing Studio - The Engine Room

www.miloco.co.uk/engineroom

The Engine Room studio in London is a high end SSL based mixing
room. Built in 1984 and known as the former Orinoco Studios it has
produced some high end recordings such as Oasis ‘Morning Glory’
album, Slipknots ‘All Hope Is Gone’ and many other great albums. The
room is based around an SSL G+ that used to reside at Olympic Studios.
The monitoring is what makes the room though. The room is looked
after by world renowned acoustician Nick Whitaker and the large
Customised Munro M4’s sound incredible. The studio uses Pro Tools
HDX as its DAW.

2.6 The Mixing Equipment

Kick Eq - SSL G Series + GML 8200

Kick Dynamics - Urei 1176 Compressor

Sub Kick Eq - SSL G Series

Sub Kick Dynamics – SSL G Series
14
Snare Top Eq – SSL G Series + GML 8200
 Snare Top Dynamics - DBX 160 Compressor

Snare Bottom Eq - SSL G Series + Tube-Tech PE 1C

Snare Bottom Dynamics - DBX 162 Compressor

Toms Eq - SSL G Series + Calrec PQ1161

Hi-Hats Eq – SSL G Series

Hi-Hats Dynamics - Summit Audio TLA 100A

Ride Eq – SSL G Series

Ride Eq Dynamics – EAR 660 Compressor
Overheads Eq – SSL G Series
Overheads Dynamics - DBX 160X Compressors (x2)

Room Eq – SSL G Series

Room Dynamics - Chandler EMI TG12413 Zener Limiter

Dungeon Mic Eq - Summit Audio EQP 200B

Dungeon Mic Dynamics - EL-8 Distressor

15
Quickstart

3.1 Installing the Pack

Mac: Double-click on the downloaded .rar file to unpack. Go into the

unpacked folder and double-click on the .pkg file. The installer will
open.

Go through the options until you reach “Installation Type”. Here you can
change where to install the files onto your hard-drive, by clicking on
“Change Install Location...” otherwise they will be installed directly onto
your system drive as a default.

Once you’ve selected where you want to install the files, hit “Install”.

PC: Double-click on the downloaded .exe file. Select a folder that you
want to extract the file to, and hit “Extract”. The files will be installed in
that location.

3.2 Loading the Pack

Once the files have been installed onto your hard-drive, simply click on
either of the .nki files or drag them into the main Kontakt window, to
load the interface. Alternatively you could find the .nki files using the
files tab of the Kontakt browser, and double-click or drag them from
there.

3.3 Basic Navigation

The interface itself has five pages where you can change certain
parameters to suit the way you want to work. You can switch between
these pages by clicking on the tabs at the bottom left-hand side of the
interface. The five pages are as follows:

The mixer page: This is the main page of the interface which is laid out
to look just like a traditional mixing console. This includes faders for
changing the levels, pan pots, fx sends, eqs, mutes, solos and more. You
can also change any of the effect settings from this page.

The groove player: This page contains MIDI grooves for your instrument
that you can audition through and export into your session. It also has
16 a groove slicer function that chops up the MIDI files into thirty-two
sections and plays them back in a different order to the original. It
 can also spread the thirty-two sections out over your MIDI keyboard,
allowing you to play the groove yourself.

Sequencer: The page contains a thirty-two step sequencer that allows

to quickly create grooves within the instrument that you can make
endlessly shift and change by changing some easy parameters. The
sequencer also has a groove delay function to give your sequences extra
feel.

The settings page: This page includes MIDI map presets for better
integration with other drum software, and a MIDI learn function
which enables you to create your own MIDI maps. There is also a
randomization section which can add different parameters to the sound
of your kit to give even more of a human feel.

The kit page: This page allows you to unload certain drums if you are
not using them to free up memory. It also houses our velocity curve
section and allows the tuning of individual drums.

3.4 Editing the Drums

3.4.1 Controlling the Drums and Articulations

Each drum has an associated MIDI note that when pressed, will play
the drum. Articulation refers to the type of hit. A snare being hit in the
centre and a snare being hit at the edge are two articulations of the
same drum. Some drums have several articulations. Every articulation
that we have recorded will have its own MIDI note.

3.4.2 Creating a Mix

To create a mix of the kit you will need to click on the mixer tab at the
bottom left-hand corner of the interface. From there you can control
the drum sounds using the various tools available to you, just like on a
real mixing console. You can change levels, pan positions, mutes, solos,
add EQ, sculpt the sounds using the Transient Master available to you
on each channel or add reverb effects. Go to section 4.2 in this manual
for more details of the mixer page.

17
 3.4.3 Adding and Removing Drums

It is possible to remove certain drums that you are not using from the
interface which will save you memory. To do this you must first:

• Go to the kit page of the interface using the tabs at the bottom of
the interface screen
• Select which drum you want to remove from the pull-down menu
on the right-hand side of the kit page
• Click the UNLOAD button
• Click RELOAD to reload the drum

You will notice that the memory size drops in the memory window at
the top of the interface when the drum is unloaded. Also the selected
drum image greys out in the kit picture so that you know which drums
are loaded or unloaded. You can unload and reload as many drums as
you like.

Note: If you save the instrument with a drum unloaded, that drum will
stay unloaded even if you close down and reload the instrument. Also
loading presets will not override an unloaded drum.

18
Using the Interface

4.1 The Kit Page

4.1.1 Tuning

It’s easy to tune individual drums using the interface.

• Select the kit page.
• Select which kit piece you would like to detune from the pull-down
menu on the right or by clicking the drum itself in the window.
19 • Use the tuning pot to tune your kit piece up or down. Tuning is
 allowed up to a maximum or minimum of 500 cents in 10 cent
steps.

4.1.2 Velocity Curves

The velocity curves allow the user to change the velocity curve of any
individual kit piece. You can also apply your selected curve to the kit as
a whole. This is an incredibly useful feature if you want to make the kit,
or any individual drum, appear as if it is playing softer or louder. There
are three preset curves to choose from or you can draw your own curve
using the custom preset.

• Select the kit page

• Select which kit piece you would like to apply the velocity curve to.
• Click on your chosen velocity curve preset
• If you would like to apply a velocity to the whole kit, then highlight
the “apply to all instruments” button before selecting your chosen
velocity curve

20
 The custom preset:

You may find that you’re not quite getting the desired affect that you’re
after just by using the preset curves. In that case you can use the
custom curve option.

• Click on the custom curve preset

• Draw your desired curve by holding down the mouse button and
scrolling across the pop out graph.
• You can save your curve by clicking the Save button.
• You can reload your saved curve by clicking the Load button.
• You can close the custom graph by clicking the Close button.

When you save a curve it creates a saved file, which can then be used
by the interface in other sessions. If you are working within the same
session, then you do not need to save the curve as it will be saved as
part of the session.

Please note that the velocity curves are no longer saved as part of the
mixer presets. It is now possible to save your velocity curve settings
separately to the mixer presets. Use the Save button in the Velocity map
section to save your velocity curves settings and use the Load button to
21
reload any saved velocity maps.
 4.1.3 Changing The Snare
In the Select Drum section, you will also find another pull down menu
for changing the snare. There are three snares to choose from in this
kit. Choose Bronze Snare to choose the Mapex Black Panther Phosphor
Bronze snare, choose Panther Snare to choose the Mapex Black Panther
Snare and choose Machete Snare to choose the Mapex Machete Snare.

22
 4.2 The Mixer Page

23
 4.2.1. The Channel Strip

The channel strip on our mixer is set

out to look like any other console
strip. Each strip contains a fader,
a mute and solo button, a phase
switch button, a pan and two aux
send controls. There is also an output

selector for routing each channel via
Kontakt’s multiple outs (see section
4.2.5). Each channel has a dedicated
EQ and a Transient Master effect.
There is also a master fader, which
has a buss compressor and tape
saturator dedicated to it, and two
reverb return controls above the
master fader.

• The fader is used to control the levels of that particular channel.

• The mute button is used to mute that particular channel.
• The solo button is used to solo that particular channel.
• The phase button is used to switch the phase polarity of that
particular channel.
• The pan control is used to pan the channel’s signal between the left
and right speakers.
• The send controls are used to send the channel’s signal to one of
two reverbs.

The sends are post-fader meaning that if you raise or lower the volume
of a channel, you affect the level of the send as well. This means that
if you solo a channel and you are routing that channel to a send, only
that channels signal will be heard on the reverb return. There is no way
currently of moving the sends pre-fader.

If you solo a channel and then try to mute it, the mute will override the
solo. This will also cut off the signal being sent from any reverb sends.

Our mixer now incorporates sixteen channels and there are two tabs in
the top left-hand corner of the mixer page that you can use to switch
between channels 1-8 and channels 9-16 of the mixer.

24
 4.2.2 Mixer Presets
The interface comes pre-loaded with some presets for you to try that
can be accessed by the LOAD PRESET button on the mixer page.

Adrian Breakspear - The Bonham Next Door

Ben Thackeray - Roomy Rock
Ben Thackeray - Roomy Rock 2
Billy Halliday - Bright and Roomy
Billy Halliday - Dark Snare EMT Plate
Billy Halliday - Garden Live Room to Tape
Billy Halliday - Two Tom Groove
Joe Hirst - Gardening Leave
Matt Foster - Plug In Baby
Matt Foster - South of Devon
Paul Winstanley - Led Rock
Paul Winstanley - Tech Metal

You can save your own mixer setting by pressing the SAVE PRESET
button on the mixer page. The save feature will include everything on
the mixer including all the fx settings, randomization settings, and
tuning. The velocity curves and MIDI maps are now saved separately
to the mixer presets. The other functions that won’t be saved will be
any drums that are unloaded at the time of saving or any MIDI CC
Assignments that have been set up.

4.2.3 The Mix Buss

Just like any other mixing console, the mixer page includes a master
fader. The fader is used for controlling the overall level of your drum
mix and there is also a dedicated buss compressor and tape saturator
effect.

4.2.4 The Mix Buss Effects

4.2.4.1 Mix Buss Compressor

The mix buss compressor is a recreation of a well known studio

25
outboard compressor. You can access the mix buss compressor by
 clicking on the master tab at the bottom of the master fader. The mix
buss compressor will appear in the space of the bottom of the interface
by default.

• Threshold – This control is used to change the level at which

compression begins to affect the inputted signal.
• Ratio – This control is used to increase the ratio at which
compression happens relative to the input signal and the output
signal. In other words the higher the ratio, the more the signal will
be reduced as it passes the threshold point.
• Attack – This control is used to set the attack time, in milliseconds
that compression starts to have an effect on the incoming signal.
• Release – This control is used to change the release time, in
milliseconds, that compression continues to affect the incoming
signal.
• Make Up – This control is used to increase, or make up, any gain
that has been lost on the output stage, by the signal passing through
the compressor.
• Mix – This control is used to set how much of the compressed signal
is heard compared to the original. 0% is just the “dry” original signal
and 100% is the “wet” compressed signal.

4.2.4.2 Tape Saturator

The tape saturator is an effect that can add warmth and size to your
drums in the same way that analogue tape does. You can access the
tape saturator by clicking on the master fader tab and then clicking on
the TAPE SAT button in the bottom right-hand corner of the interface.

• Gain – This control is used to adjust the input signal to the tape
saturator.
• Warmth – This control adds a warming tone to the signal emulating
the warmth created by analogue tape.
• HF Rolloff – You can use this control to decrease the amount of high
26 frequencies present in the signal.
• Output – This control adjusts the output level.
 4.2.5 Outputs
The output selector pull-down is located at the bottom of the channel
strip. You can use this to route your drums to multiple outputs. Please
note that you will have to set up the outputs in Kontakt before you will
be able to route them. The output menus will only be displayed if you
have already configured Kontakt to have additional outputs. If you add
outputs using Kontakt’s outputs control, you will need to press the (!)
button in the Kontakt window which will reset Kontakt and the outputs
will appear in the menu.

4.3 Channel Effects

As mentioned before each channel strip comes loaded with a dedicated
EQ, a Transient Master effect and two reverbs sends that run to two
separate reverbs.

4.3.1 Equaliser

Each channel on the mixer page has an EQ dedicated to it. You can
access the EQ by clicking on the channel tab below the fader on each
channel. The EQ, which is modeled on a studio console EQ, will then be
shown in the space below the mixer as the default effect. The EQ is a
4-band parametric EQ meaning that you can affect four frequencies of
your signal at the same time.
The EQ is turned on by clicking the round switch in the EQ button itself.
The switch will light up red when the eq is on.

• LF/LMF/HMF/HF – These controls are used to select the frequency

that you wish to effect.
• LF Gain/LMF Gain/HMF Gain/HF Gain – These controls are used to
cut or boost the frequency selected by the Freq controls.
• LMF Q/HMF Q – These controls choose how wide an area you can
affect around the selected frequency.

There are also a couple of switches that swap between a shelf EQ and a
bell EQ for the HF and LF. When the switch is highlighted then the bell is
27 selected.
 There is also an output pot for controlling the output level of the EQ.

4.3.2 Transient Master

The Transient Master can be used to really sculpt your drums sounds
by adding compression to the front or tail of your selected kit piece. You
can access it by clicking on the TM button at the bottom of the mixer
page which is next to the EQ button. There are four controls which are
as follows:

• Input – This is used to control the input level of the signal to the
Transient Master
• Attack – This control is used to increase or decrease the level of
attack of your sounds
• Sustain – This control is used to increase or decrease the level of
release of your sounds. This can have a dramatic effect on how the
size of your drums sound
• Output – This is used to control the output level of the signal
leaving the Transient Master

4.3.3 Convolution Reverbs

There are two convolution reverbs for you to use included with the
interface. These are accessed by clicking on the SEND1 or SEND2
buttons at the bottom of the mixer page. The send levels to the reverbs
can be found on the channels themselves at the top of the channels
strips. They are labeled as Send1 and Send2. There are also two reverb
28 returns so that you can control the output level of each reverb, which
are situated above the master fader. They are labeled as Return1 and
 Return2.

You can turn on the reverbs separately by clicking on the round switch
inside the SEND1 or SEND2 buttons. The reverbs are turned on globally
for every channel at this point.

There are two pull-down menus to the left hand side of the reverb
page where you can select which reverb you would like to use. The first
selects which type of reverb that you like to use and the second allows
you to select different presets for that reverb. There are also seven
controls to help you sculpt your reverb sounds that are as follows:

• Pre Delay – This control is used to add a delay to the reverb sounds
which is adjustable in milliseconds

Then there are two sets of controls, one set which affects the early
reflections of the reverb (coloured green) and a second set of controls
which effect the late reflections of the reverb (coloured blue).

Early Reflections
• IR Size – This control effects the length of the early reflections of the
reverb
• Low Pass – This is a low pass filter that only effects the early
reflections of the reverb
• High Pass – This is a high pass filter that only effects the early
reflections of the reverb

Late Reflections
• IR Size – This control effects the length of the late reflections of the
reverb
• Low Pass – This is a low pass filter that only effects the late
reflections of the reverb
• High Pass – This is a high pass filter that only effects the late
reflections of the reverb

The impulse response reverbs included in this release are:

AKG BX-20 Spring Reverb
 EMT 240 Plate Reverb
 EMT 262 Mono Plate Reverb
 Fairchild 659A Spring Reverb
 Orban 106C Spring Reverb
 Grampian 636 Spring Reverb
 Fisher Space Expander Spring Reverb
29 Lexicon 480
 AMS RMX-16
Eventide H-3000
Lexicon PCM-70

We have also included impulse responses for four of Miloco’s best

tracking rooms. They are:
The Garden Live Room
Sofa Sound Live Room
The Pool Live Room
The Ironworks Live Room

4.4 Settings
4.4.1 Randomize Settings

At the top of the Settings page you will find four controls that add sonic
variations to the sound of the kit on playback. The randomizing effect
will be different for every single hit of every drum. If applied carefully
this will give the played kit a more human feel whilst increasing the
variation of tone in the sounds. The higher the value of the control,
the more randomization effect will be applied. There are four controls
which are as follows:

• Tuning – This control applies a subtle overall tuning effect to the kit.
Each drum will played back at a slightly higher or lower pitch.
• Velocity – This control increases the chance of a sample being
played back at a louder or quieter velocity.
• Timing – This control applies a varying amount of small delay to
each drum hit.
• EQ – This control adds a varying amount of EQ to each hit – the
frequency of the EQ applied is different for each kit piece.

4.4.2 MIDI Mapping

30 At the bottom of the settings page is the MIDI mapping section. There
are two buttons to the right of the interface labeled LOAD MAP and
 SAVE MAP. Click on SAVE MAP to save any MIDI map changes that you
make.

If you click on LOAD MAP and direct your pop-up browser to the
Data Folder supplied with the interface, you will find a folder entitled
MidiMappings. Inside this folder are various MIDI maps for some of the
more popular drumming software. Double click on one to load the map.
This feature is incredibly useful for a couple of different reasons.

• You may want to play the sounds using an Electronic kit. In that
case the V-Drums map will place all of the drums articulations on
the same notes that a V-Drum kit uses.
• You may already have some MIDI patterns that already work with
say, BFD. Just double click on the BFD map and the articulations will
move to the same MIDI notes used by BFD.

The maps included in this release are:

 Addictive Drums
BFD
 DrumIt Five
 General MIDI
iMap
Slate SSD4
 Superior Drummer
 Roland V-Drums
Yamaha DTX-900

Note: The Roland and Yamaha maps contain MIDI controller data for
the hi-hats and in the case of the Rolands, for the snares to work. This
may mean that you experience some unusual behavior with regards
to the hi-hats if you choose to use these maps with any MIDI files
that have not been recorded with an E-Kit. At the moment we’re only
supporting Roland models TD-12, TD-20 and TD-30 but you’ll probably
find that either of our E-Drum maps will work with most E-Drums on
the market. You can use our Learn function (see section 4.4.3) should
you need to move any articulations.

31
 MIDI Map Tables

Drum Articulation Default Addictive BFD DrumIt GM Map

Map Map Map Five Map
Kick Drum Felt Beater C1/36 C1/36 C1/36 C1/36 C1/36
Felt Beater (Damped) B0/35 C0/24 B0/35 B0/35 B0/35
Snare Drum Centre D1/38 D1/38 D1/38 F1/41 D1/38
Edge E1/40 E1/40 E1/40 D1/38 A#4/82
Rimshot D#1/39 C#1/37 D#1/39 F#1/42 E1/40
Sidestick C#1/37 F#1/42 C#1/37 C#1/37 C#1/37
Flam F0/29 F1/41 F1/41 D#1/39 E0/28
Hi Hat Centre Fully Closed F#1/42 C#2/49 F#1/42 A1/45 F#1/42
Centre Closed G#3/68 D#2/51 A0/33 D0/26 G#3/68
Centre Open Quarter A#3/70 E2/52 F#0/30 E0/28 B3/71
Centre Open Half B3/71 F#2/54 E2/52 F0/29 C4/72
Centre Open Three Quarters C4/72 G2/55 D2/50 F#0/30 C#4/73
Centre Open Full A#1/46 A2/57 A#1/46 G#0/32 A#1/46
Edge Fully Closed D#4/75 D2/50 C2/48 C2/48 C#5/85
Edge Closed F#4/78 F2/53 E4/76 C#2/49 D#5/87
Edge Quarter G#4/80 A#2/58 F4/77 F5/89 F#5/90
Edge Open Half A#4/82 D#3/63 F#4/78 G5/91 G#5/92
Edge Open Three Quarters C#5/85 E3/64 G4/79 A#5/94 A#5/94
Edge Open Full D#5/87 G#2/56 G#4/80 C6/96 C#6/97
Pedal Shut G#1/44 C2/48 G#1/44 B1/47 G#1/44
Pedal Open A3/69 B2/59 A4/81 D#0/27 D#6/99
Floor Tom Centre G1/43 F3/65 G1/43 A2/57 G1/43
Lo Rack Centre A1/45 G3/67 A1/45 F2/53 A1/45
Tom
Hi Rack Centre B1/47 A3/69 B1/47 D2/50 B1/47
Tom
Ride Centre D#2/51 C3/60 D#2/51 C4/72 D#2/51
Edge F2/53 C#3/61 F2/53 B3/71 F2/53
Bell E2/52 D3/62 E3/64 C#4/73 B2/59
Crash 19” Centre F#2/54 A#1/46 G2/55 F4/77 A2/57
Edge G2/55 F4/77 F#3/66 F#4/78 E3/64
Crash 20” Centre C2/48 G4/79 C#2/49 F3/65 C#2/49
Edge C#2/49 A4/81 D#3/63 F#3/66 G4/79
Crash 18” Centre C0/24 B4/83 D3/62 D#4/75 E-1/16
Edge C#0/25 C5/84 G3/67 E4/76 G2/55
Crash Centre D0/26 F5/89 C#3/61 G#3/68 C#3/61
China Edge D#0/27 F#5/90 F3/65 A3/69 E3/64

32
 Drum Articulation iMap Slate Superior V-Drum Yamaha
Map Map Map Map
Kick Drum Felt Beater C2/48 C1/36 C1/36 C1/36 C1/36
Felt Beater Damped A1/45 B0/35 B0/35 B0/35 B0/35
Snare Drum Centre D2/50 D1/38 D1/38 D1/38 D1/38
Edge E2/52 D#1/39 D#1/39 C#4/73 C#4/73
Rimshot D#2/51 E1/40 E1/40 E1/40 E1/40
Sidestick C#2/49 C#1/37 C#1/37 C#1/37 C#1/37
Flam F#1/42 C0/24 A3/69 F#0/30 C0/24
Hi Hat Centre Fully Closed F#2/54 F#1/42 F#1/42 F#1/42 F#1/42
Centre Closed G#2/56 C#3/61 G#-1/20 D3/62 D3/62
Centre Open Quarter D0/26 D3/62 A-1/21 F#3/66 F#3/66
Centre Open Half C0/24 D#3/63 C0/24 G3/67 G3/67
Centre Open Three Quarters D#1/39 E3/64 C#0/25 A#1/46 G#3/68
Centre Open Full A#2/58 A#1/46 A#1/46 A3/69 A#1/46
Edge Fully Closed F#-1/18 A#-1/22 C#3/61 C#5/85 G4/79
Edge Closed G-1/19 F3/65 D3/62 E5/88 F5/89
Edge Quarter C#6/97 F#3/66 D#3/63 F5/89 G5/91
Edge Open Half D#6/99 G3/67 E3/64 F#5/90 G#5/92
Edge Open Three Quarters F6/101 G#3/68 F3/65 G5/91 A5/93
Edge Open Full F#6/102 A3/69 C3/60 G#5/92 F#4/78
Pedal Shut F2/53 G#1/44 G#1/44 G#1/44 G#1/44
Pedal Open F1/41 A#3/70 B-1/23 F3/65 B4/83
Floor Tom Centre B0/35 F1/41 F1/41 G1/43 G1/43
Lo Rack Centre G0/31 G1/43 G1/43 A1/45 B1/47
Tom
Hi Rack Centre E0/28 A1/45 A1/45 B1/47 C2/48
Tom
Ride Centre D3/62 D#2/51 D#2/51 D#2/51 D#2/51
Edge D#3/63 F2/53 F2/53 F2/53 F2/53
Bell E4/76 B2/59 B2/59 B2/59 E2/52
Crash 19” Centre G4/79 F#2/54 C5/84 C#2/49 C#2/49
Edge G#4/80 G2/5 A2/57 G2/55 B2/59
Crash 20” Centre C3/60 C#2/49 C#2/49 E2/52 F-1/17
Edge C#3/61 E2/52 F#2/54 A2/57 A2/57
Crash 18” Centre F#4/78 F0/29 G0/31 G#2/56 G#2/56
Edge C#5/85 F#0/30 G2/55 A#2/58 D2/50
Crash Centre A4/81 G#2/56 F#0/30 F#2/54 F#2/54
China Edge A#4/82 A2/57 E2/52 E3/64 G2/55

4.4.3 Articulations
We work hard to ensure that the MIDI maps we provide are as useful
as possible but obviously as every drum kit and piece of software uses
different mappings and articulations they are really just a good starting
point. You may find that you have to change certain articulations to be
triggered by different notes. This is where our learn function come in.

The learn function is incredibly easy to use. On the left-hand side of

the MIDI section you will see a pull-down menu containing all of the
articulations for this kit. Each articulation has its own MIDI note. That
note is displayed in the box to the right of the pull-down menu. You can
33 change what note any given articulation is on by one of two ways:
 • You can click on the box displaying the note and an up and down
arrow will appear. Use the arrow(s) to change what note the
articulation is being moved to. Or alternatively you can click and
hold on the box and move the mouse up and down.
• Click the LEARN button next to the box displaying the note
information. Then press the note on your MIDI keyboard (or hit
the desired drum on you V-Kit) that you want that particular
articulation to move to.

If you have another drum that is already mapped to the note that you
are trying to move to, the result will be unpredictable but only one of
the articulations will sound until you move one of the articulations to
another free note. If you have the Keyb button highlighted at the top of
the Kontakt rack, you will see a keyboard at the bottom of the rack with
green and black keys. The green keys are the ones currently being used
by the interface.

34
 4.5 MIDI Groove Player

Clicking on the Groove Player tab at the bottom of the interface brings
up the Groove Player page. This page contains 4-bar MIDI loops that you
can audition in a number of ways and then export into your project. It
also contains a Groove Slicer function for easy MIDI pattern chopping
and re-arranging. You must use the default MIDI map loaded in order
for the Groove player to work.

4.5.1 Selecting a MIDI Groove

Click on the genre folder on the left hand side of the MIDI Grooves
window. A set of sub-folders will then be displayed showing different
time signatures. Click on your desired time signature and a range of
folders for Groove in different tempos appears. Click on your desired
35 tempo to see the range of Grooves for that tempo in that time signature.
Double clicking on the groove file will select it and the name of the
 selected groove will appear in the Selected Groove box.

4.5.2 Playing a Groove

Once you have selected your desired groove file press the play button at
the bottom left-hand side of the player window. There are three modes
that the player can be set to that allow the files to be played back in
different ways depending on what mode is chosen.

• Standalone/Offline – This is an offline mode for playing back the

MIDI Grooves. This mode should be selected if you are using Kontakt
in standalone mode or if you are using it inside your DAW and you
want to audition the MIDI Groove loops independently of the play
and stop functions of your DAW.
• DAW Sync – START – Select this mode if using Kontakt as a plug-
in within your DAW. When you have this mode selected then the
Groove Player will sync to the tempo* and playback of your session
making it easy to audition the Grooves against any previously
recorded material. Stopping the session will allow the Groove to
continue playing so that you can select new grooves if you’re still
auditioning.
• DAW Sync - START/STOP – This mode is exactly the same as DAW
sync Start except that stopping your session will also stop the
Groove from playing back.

* If you’re using the Groove player within your DAW, the Groove Player
will automatically follow the tempo that your session is set to. If you’re
using Kontakt as a standalone then the tempo will follow whatever the
tempo is set to in Kontakt’s master section.

Once a Groove is playing back you can change Grooves on the fly by
double clicking on a new Groove – the existing Groove will play in its
entirety before swapping to the newly selected Groove. In this way you
can easily audition a multitude of Grooves within your project to find
the one that works best for you.

4.5.3 Groove Slicer

The Groove Slicer is an added function to the Groove player that allows
you to quickly manipulate the MIDI Grooves contained within the
Groove Player.

To use the Groove Slicer you must first turn it on using the button in the
Groove Slicer section. The Groove Slicer chops up each MIDI Groove into
32 sections. These sections can then be played back in different orders
depending on what mode you have selected in the Groove Slicer.
36
 There are three modes that you can choose to play back your Grooves.

• Pattern Sequence – Use this mode to Load and playback the MIDI
Slice Patterns from the MIDI Slice patterns folder.
• Key Sequence – The 32 slices are now also triggered from your MIDI
keyboard so that when the loop is played back, it can be restarted
from any point by pressing a key. Playing note C2 triggers the first
slice and then the rest of the slices follow consecutive keys up the
keyboard. *
• Key Trigger – In this mode the 32 slices are mapped to different
keys on your keyboard, again starting at note C2, allowing you to
play back the Groove using your keyboard rather than the playback
button. **

* The keys that have an affect are highlighted yellow and highlighted in
the keyboard section of Kontakt.

** Note that any articulations that are assigned to these notes will
not trigger until either the Groove Slicer is turned off or the mode is
changed back to Pattern Sequence mode again.

There are a number of MIDI Slice Patterns that you can load using the
Load button in the Groove Slicer section of the interface. Once you’ve
pressed the Load button just choose a Slice pattern from the MIDI Slice
Patterns folder that comes supplied within the Data folder of your kit.
Play back the Groove Slicer to hear the Groove in its new form.

4.5.4 Exporting a MIDI Groove

To export a MIDI file from the Groove Player, drag the file in the Selected
Groove box into your DAW session. Only the files from the loop browser
can be exported – any changes that have been made using the Groove
Slicer will not be exported.

37
 4.6 Sequencer

4.6.1 Using the Sequencer

Selecting the Sequencer tab at the bottom of the interface will bring up
the Sequencer page. The Sequencer is a thirty-two step sequencer that
has eight channels that allow any of the articulations of the kit to be
selected and played. This section allows you to quickly build intricate
and interesting drum grooves independently of your DAW. Grooves can
be saved and reloaded using the Load and Save Pattern features. The
saved patterns can also be loaded into any other Drumdrops kit that
has been fitted with the sequencer. There is also a tempo function that
allows you to double or halve the speed of the Sequencer.

The Sequencer works using the same three modes as the MIDI Groove
38 Player – Standalone, DAW/START and DAW START/STOP modes. For
more information on these modes please read section 4.5.2 of this
 manual.
The Sequencer has eight channels. Any articulation of the kit can be
assigned to any channel. To assign an articulation just click on the
articulation sub-menu in each track and select your desired drum
articulation from the list.

4.6.2 Sequencer Modes

The steps in each channel have two icons that change the behavior of
the steps in the Sequencer.

Note mode - Selecting the note icon in the channel allows you draw a
value into each of the steps of the Sequencer to create a pattern. Each
step that has a value drawn into it will trigger the articulation for that
channel. The lower the value is in the step, the quieter the note will be
triggered allowing a quick and easy way of adding dynamics to your
patterns.

Percent Mode - Selecting the % icon on the channel will change the
behaviour of the steps and the channel will turn red. You will notice
that any triggers that you have already added will still be showing in the
steps but all the values will be up fully. This is because the percentage
mode affects the likelihood of that trigger playing back i. e. any steps
set to 100% will always play back whereas any steps set to 0% will never
play back. Used correctly this is an easy way of getting your grooves to
subtly change each time that the Sequencer cycles round.

Each track also includes a move function that can be set independently
for each track. The move function can again be used to subtly, or not
so subtly, change the pattern for each channel of the Sequencer. The
move functions work by shifting the whole pattern of each track by an
amount of steps set on the move slider control. For example if you have
a pattern programmed into one of the channels and set the move slider
to 1 for that channel, the pattern that you have created will shift either
to the left or to the right randomly by an amount of one step every time
the Sequencer cycles around. Used in combination with the Percentage
mode you can see how the Sequences that you create can endlessly
change without you having to do anything.

To the right of each channel you will notice three small controls that
again add functionality to each of the channels. Clicking on the small
plus icon will load a preset pattern into the channel for you. Clicking on
the right facing arrow will copy the pattern from that channel. Clicking
on the left facing arrow of another channel will paste the copied pattern
into it.
39
 4.6.3 Groove Delay
Finally at the bottom of the Sequencer is the Groove delay function.
Drawing a value into one of the steps in the Groove delay function will
delay all of the steps above it for each channel. Increasing the value will
increase the amount of delay that occurs.

4.7 Kit Selection

There are two instrument nki files included with the Mapex Heavy Rock
Kit.

• Mapex Heavy Rock Kit Full

• Mapex Heavy Rock Kit Lite

The full version contains all the samples and all the variations of the
different articulations. This makes it the best sounding version of the kit
with the most variation, although it uses quite a lot of processor power
and RAM.

The lite version uses the same samples as the full kit, with the same
amount of velocity steps, but it doesn’t contain the round robin
samples. This version uses much less processor power and RAM, and it
loads much quicker than the full version. This makes the lite version
perfect for laptop users.

You can load either of these versions by dragging the nki files into the
Kontakt window or by selecting and double-clicking on the nki files
from the File menu within Kontakt itself. This is the only way currently,
to load the instrument. This product cannot be recognized as a Kontakt
library as this is reserved for Native Instruments products only.

40
Credits

Drumdrops would like to thank….

Lindon Parker @ Channel Robot for the extremely hard work he has put
in to building the Drumdrops Kontakt 5 Interface
www.channelrobot.com

Alex Collins and the team at Ether Creative for their excellent Kontakt
User Interface Design
www.ethercreative.co.uk

Jason Bowld for getting the very best out of the Mapex Kit
www.jasonbowld.com

Martyn Ford for his expertise in recording and mixing the drums
www.facebook.com/nottinpillstudios

Ben Thackeray for painstakingly compiling the samples and leading the
bug testing
www.miloco.co.uk/engineers/benthackeray.php

Mapex for making the Drum Kit

www.mapexdrums.com

Native Instruments for making the software

www.native-instruments.com

And lastly our Software Testers:

Adrian Breakspear
Matt Foster
Joe Hirst
Martin Cayless
Adam Falkner
Jonathan Atkinson
Mikael Adle
Andy Gray
Matthias Kahlmann

41
 Purveyors of the finest live drum multi-tracks, stems,
drum loops, drum samples and single hit kits.

www.drumdrops.com

42