5 Great Drum Machine Plugins
So you just purchased Pro Tools and want to start creating music. The only problem you have is drum samples. So after countless hours of research, you’re still undecided on which drum machine software is right for you. This should point you in the right direction.
First of all, you should know one thing about drums. There isn’t one software out there that you can buy that will have all the drum samples you will ever need. Building a drum sample library takes established musicians and producers years. By the time you purchase your first sample library, you will realize that you want more. For some of us, it’s almost an addiction.
So that being said, there are a few software plug-ins out there that are fantastic jump off points. Although none of them will ever fully satisfy your drum sample needs, they are essential to starting out. Let’s dive right into it:
1. Reason
Reason is by far one of my favorite plug-ins I have in my studio. Although some may speak highly against it for it’s ability to completely simplify and computerize a groove, I think that it’s an essential tool to have in order to quickly put together a drum pattern, and use your own samples.
The beauty of Reason is your ability to import your own drum sample libraries that you may have purchased or recorded. At the same time, it also allows you to play loops, and make changes to existing samples. Although it may seem daunting for a first time user to learn what goes where, and how to make it work – taking the short amount of time to learn the basics will definitely be worth your while.
2. EZDrummer
EZDrummer is quite possibly the most simple software mentioned on this list. It has a very easy to use interface which allows you to navigate without having to figure out too much.
That being said, when simplicity, comes lack of abilities. Although EZDrummer has some great samples and and many expansions, if you’re looking for more complex abilities like pitch changing drums, midi learn, and etc… you may want to look further. But if you’re looking for the basics, EZDrummer is the way to go.
3. Addictive Drums
One of my favorite things about Addictive Drums are the samples. The high quality samples sound more like a recorded kit, than other software that’s out there. You will find smooth tails on the cymbals, snares that snap and don’t sound out of tune. If you’re looking for a drum kit that has the sound of a well mic’ed up kit, Addictive is a great tool.
Although Addictive Drums doesn’t have a huge selection of drums, you have a huge customization power at your disposal. The complete ability to control compression, dynamics, noise, pitch, pitch bend, envelope of sound gives you the ability to craft many new and unique sounds from your existing kits. Let’s face it, that’s what drum samples are all about anyway.
4. Superior Drummer 2.0
Superior Drummer 2.0 seems to be another fan favorite. It has a fantastic library of great samples, (Over 20GB) as well as one of the coolest interfaces I’ve ever seen. Superior Drummer allows you to fully customize your sounds using presets like envelope, pitch, and let’s you adjust volume on single articulations. With so many great FX, your possibilities become endless.
I’ve heard some fantastic songs where the drums were produced with Superior, and it might just be one of the most realistic sounding drum samples I’ve ever heard.
5. Strike
Strike is a virtual drum machine that was designed by Avid. Strike has a huge library of samples (30GB) – and also allows you to import your own samples (.wav or .aiff) to explore various other possibilities. You can adjust intensity, complexity, timing, groove, dynamics and much more.
Strike is another one of those samplers that are great to use when you’re just starting off and you want some decent sounding drums at a low cost.
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