Spectre Digital launches new library

E-drummers have another VST option thanks to Spectre Digital, which recently launched Icon Drums Classic Rock. Designed to run on Kontakt Player, the pack was sampled from a Pearl Music City Custom Reference Pure kit (26” kick, 10” and 16” toms; Ludwig Supraphonic and Black Beauty snares; and a range of cymbals). Spectre says the kit was recorded in a world-class studio with legendary equipment, including “industry-standard microphones and mic-pres you would expect of a serious drum recording”. They were recorded using the ‘Glyn Johns overhead microphone technique’ as heard on tracks from The Kinks and The Who, to Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. Every piece of Icon Drums Classic Rock is tweakable with variable EQ, compression, a transient […]

Update lifts mimicPRO even higher

There’s something to be said for delivering more than you promise – especially in the e-drum market characterised by hype. So, hats off to Pearl (actually to Steven Slate Drums) for the latest update to the mimicPRO module. The long-awaited update includes a range of compatibility improvements and performance enhancements. These include new trigger presets for a range of third-party triggers, including Lemon and ATV, which make it easier to dial in a growing array of pads and cymbals. The big advance for many drummers is the inclusion of positional sensing – previously only available on Roland modules and, more recently, the GEWA drum brains. Interestingly, the positional sensing works with multi-sensor drum pads like the ATV 13” snare – […]

Pearl adds e-cajon

Pearl has recognised what Roland saw a few years back – the growth of the cajon as a “go-to percussion instrument in many acoustic settings”. The company has launched a new electric cajon, dubbed the Willie Seymour Sparks. The instrument boasts a body constructed with 11 mm thick Shorea plywood and features a ¼” jack on the back. The front faceplate is made with 3 mm thick meranti with a piezo trigger. Meranti is a wood known for its relative hardness and straight grain, making it ideal for cajons. The cajon features a patented, built-in rear bass port that magnifies the massive low-end of the cajon, and two sets of fixed snare wires provide a crisp snare response. The faceplate […]