Drum Workshop (DW) has launched the DW Soundworks VST and sample library powering its new DWE kit as a separate product.
Soundworks is a comprehensive collection of drum sounds which cater to a wide array of musical styles and genres, initially using drums from DW, Gretsch and Slingerland.
The core library features drum kit samples from the DW Collector’s Series line including DW Pure Maple, DW Maple Mahogany and limited-edition kits no longer in production including the DW 50th Anniversary and DW Pure Almond kits. Additionally, DW Soundworks includes a Gretsch USA Custom kit, and the personal 1958 Slingerland kit of DW founder Don Lombardi.
The drums were sampled with 18 dynamic layers per sample and recorded at the DW factory with best-in-class microphones, high-quality microphone preamplifiers plus a variety of compressors and equalizers. Future expansion packs will offer users even more drum kit choices.
Soundworks has evolved out of the Perfect Drums VST product from Naughty Seal Audio.
Founder and CEO Alex Haze explains via Facebook that the original Perfect Drums software was released in February 2017.
“Since its launch, Perfect Drums quickly became a go-to drum library for many professional top producers … and music production enthusiasts from all over the world. After the initial product was launched, several important updates and a vast sound library expansion were released.
“Starting in 2019, we developed a proof-of-concept prototype that began taking the shape of a potential PD2. But we realised that to make it BIGGER and BETTER, we needed more resources. As we continued working on PD2, with much of it just ourselves, we started looking for more help. But there was something on the horizon,” he explains.
Haze says in 2020, DW Drums reached out with a proposal to team up to continue to work on the new software version but with a twist – hardware integration. “Once the terms were settled, we happily continued our work in full force while enjoying access to the best drums, artists, and drum industry team in the world.”
Haze says Perfect Drums’ legacy library “will be fully ported and available in the new format which includes the legacy presets”.
DW Soundworks is priced at $199 for the full version which includes the new core expansion packs.
All the existing PD customers get a 50%-off upgrade deal.