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.

Propellerhead Reason 6 StandardComplete music-making and recording studio DAW.

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.

Toontrack EZdrummer Multi Layer Drum Sampler StandardDrum sampling that’s as easy as a 1, and a 2, and a 3!

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.

XLN Audio Addictive Drums Software Download Standard3 professionally recorded kits, Insert & Send effects, 100+ presets, and over 3000 MIDI files.

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.

Toontrack Superior Drummer 2.0 Download StandardA quicker way to get this professional sample engine for drums.

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.

Digidesign Strike RTAS Virtual Drummer StandardProduce professional drum tracks with your Pro Tools system.

The SM58 has pretty much been the standard microphone for all musicians, vocalists, and producers. No other microphone is as dependable and durable on stage. I remember reading a while back about Shure’s famous “Drop test” – and how they dropped the SM58 from 10 feet over 10 times and it still performed the way it was built to. This is quite important when you’re at a show, because the last thing you need to worry about during a performance is the durability of your mic.

The Shure SM58 has a slightly tuned mid range in order to accentuate vocals. This comes in handy when you quickly need to plug your mic in and start performing and you don’t have time to throw together an EQ on your vocals. This also helps bring cut your vocals through a mix.

The SM58 comes with a spherical filter that prevents too many wind and breath sounds cutting through the mic, removing any other unwanted ambient noises from your performance.

Quite possibly one of it’s most important features is the internal shock mount that minimizes all types of handling noise. Imagine not having to worry about floor vibrations when your mic is on a stand, or having to deal with excessive pops when pulling your mic out of it’s clip. The SM58 prevents all of this.

The Shure SM58 has a uniform cardioid pickup pattern that will reduce most background noises. Another reason as to why this is usually the go to mic for live performances.

Features

Personally, this is not my first choice for recoding vocals on a final project. But it is an exceptional microphone for live performances. I’ve had quite a bit of success recording vocals, but there are other (more expensive) mics that perform much better.

That being said, the SM58 is without a question one of the most important mics for you to have in your studio.

Shure SM58 Mic Standard One of the world’s most popular vocal mics.

The M-Audio ProFire 610 is a 6-in / 10-out audio interface with 2 Octane preamps with low noise and plenty of headroom. It supports up to 24-bit / 192kHz of high quality digital audio, and is compatible with most of the popular audio software available. (Pro Tools, Cubase, Sonar, Logic, Live, Garageband)

One of the coolest features the ProFire 610 has is a flexible on board DSP mixer which allows you to create multiple cue mixes on the fly. You can use the software control panel to create up to 5 unique stereo mixes from any of the hardware inputs and software returns simultaneously.

With the ProFire 610 Audio Interface you have many unique options for monitoring. The master volume knob is fully user assignable, while also providing two headphone outputs that can monitor independently.

If you don’t want to set this up with a computer, you can even use the ProFire as a standalone preamplifier. Just route your microphones, instruments, and speakers, and just start playing. You can also connect digital devices via S/PDIF and convert directly to analog. So if you want to use the ProFire 610 as a preamplifier, or a AD/DA converter, the choice is yours!

The Profire 610 has two XLR combo jacks in the front, where you can plug two microphones or instruments, each having their own gain knobs as well as clip monitors.

On the back, there are two more line inputs, as well as a S/PDIF in and out, MIDI in/out, and two Firewire ports.

Overall, this product is worth it’s hype for the price. Guitar Center is currently carrying this for around $360. Check it out:
M-Audio ProFire 610 Firewire Recording Interface Standard

The Solaris mic features a 1.1 inch evaporated gold diaphragm and yields no more than +/-1dB of deviation across the entire 20Hz-20kHz frequency range. This makes it perfect for matched pair stereo miking.

Full Features

• All Brass Capsule
• Cardioid, Omni, and figure 8 polar patterns
• Ultra-sensitive 3-micron diaphragm
• -10dB attenuation pad
• Low frequency roll off switch (6dB per octave @ 125Hz)
• 20Hz-20kHz frequency response
• +/-1dB tolerance across entire frequency range
• Class A FET electronics w/ output transformer

In my opinion, this microphone is very well built. It’s frame is quite sturdy, which makes it a wonderful work-horse microphone. Most have found great success recording vocals, and dialog. I’ve seen this used for several string instruments as well, such as an acoustic guitar or violin.

Based off of which type of preamplifier you’re using, the signal can come out slightly warm or sometimes thin. If you have a decent preamplifier, you should enjoy this mic.

Guitar Center Special Price: $318.49

Guitar Center has this for a more reasonable price than most – You can check out more reviews and savings on their website by following this link:

M-Audio Solaris Large-Diaphragm Multi-Pattern Condenser Microphone Standard

Key Features

• High Quality Microphone Preamps – Focusrite is known for their fantastic mic pres.

• High Digital Performance – 24-bit depth and 96KHz sample rate.

• Simple and Portable – USB 2.0 makes connectivity not an issue, and the light weight frame makes it easy to use it on the go.

• Scarlett Plugin Suite Included – A great set of plugins come with the 2i2. The Scarlett Plugin Suite has compressors, EQ, Gate, and Reverb and is compatible with most major DAWs.

• Direct Monitor Function – The Direct Monitor function allows you to flip a switch and listen to your signal directly through your headphones or speakers, without having to be routed through your computer first. This will help you avoid latency while recording.

Front Panel

• 2 line, mic, or instrument combo inputs. XLR and 1/4″ TRS jack combo.

• 2 gain knobs

• 2 gain halo signal indicators

• 2 line / instrument switches

• Direct monitor switch

• USB connection LED indicator

• 48V Phantom power switch

• Large monitor level dial

• Headphone output – 1/4″ TRS jack

• Headphone level knob

Rear Panel:

• 2 balanced monitor outputs – 1/4″ TRS Jack

• USB 2.0 Port

• Kensington Lock slot

Included Software:

• Ableton Live Lite 8

• Focusrite Scarlett plug-in suite

System Requirements:

• OS X 10.6.5 Snow Leopard (32 and 64 bit) and above, including OS X 10.7 Lion
• Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit), or Windows XP Service Pack (32 bit only)
• Windows Vista is not officially supported

Retail Price: $189.99

In conclusion, for it’s low price, this is a great audio interface to start with. If you’re just setting up your first home studio and looking to save some money – this could be great. Just keep in mind that you will need to purchase your DAW separately, unless you only plan on using Abelton. Having two mic / line inputs for this low price, as well as having monitor outputs and headphones is a fantastic deal.

Guitar Center Special Price: $149.95

Guitar Center has deals on this every now and then – You can check out more reviews and savings on their website by following this link:  Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Audio Interface Standard

What can you expect in the near future?

We are working on providing you tons of new content, including product reviews, tutorials, and special deals from music stores all over the world. If someone is having a huge sale or a discount, we want to make sure that you know about it. On top of that, we have quite a few new fun stuff coming real soon. We’re working on putting together a few contests to win gift cards from various music stores, as well as providing features on some fantastic bands and artists.

Stay tuned, because AudioNeeds.com is getting ready to bring some great new things to the table!

Here are the Key Features:

• Unleash your creativity with up to 5x more power per card than Pro Tools|HD Accel
• Mix bigger, better mixes faster with 256 tracks (up to 768) and double the I/O per card, plus 4x more ADC
• Get higher resolution sound and more headroom with the floating-point architecture
• Compose, record, edit, and mix with the award-winning Pro Tools HD software toolset
• Capture and reproduce audio with pristine clarity using Pro Tools HD Series interfaces
• Increase your power and track counts by simply adding additional cards
• Supports the AAX plug-in format for better workflow and sound parity with native systems (watch the video)

Pro Tools HDX is still listed as “Shipping Soon” on Avid’s website, but many believe that it will be available next month before Christmas. We are waiting patiently.

The problem that had become overbearing was the fact that new versions of Pro Tools were being released more frequently, with each version having tons of new features – and although most of us jumped on the opportunity to buy these new versions, the average computer systems weren’t able to handle them.

Avid has worked diligently to fix that problem. One of the main features would be the Enhanced Disk Handler which allows to get better responses from slower hard drives. They’ve also given the opportunity to record in low-latency mode when using third party audio interfaces.

Clip Gain: One of the most requested features has finally arrived. Here is a video explaining what it is:

Pro Tools 10 Full Feature List:

• Speed up editing and mixing with Clip Gain, and easily adjust and match gain levels, pre-mixer
• Use multiple audio formats in a session—including interleave—without file duplication
• Record and master higher resolution sound with more headroom in 32-bit floating-point format
• Get great responsiveness on slower hard drives with the enhanced disk handler
• Record in low-latency mode, with direct monitoring when using third-party audio interfaces
• Get the sound of System 5 console EQ and dynamics with the Avid Channel Strip plug-in
• Get access to over 500 additional Pro Tools commands when using EUCON controllers (watch the video)
• Work more easily with AudioSuite-rendered clips with reverse processing, handles, and more (watch the video)
• Create extra long-format projects for sequential versioning with the extended 24-hour timeline
• Open fade-heavy sessions faster and get better responsiveness with real-time fades
• Export mixes directly to SoundCloud to share and promote your music to the world

The Jupiter-80 is a live performance synthesizer that derives from it’s predecessor, the Roland Jupiter. It offers a “new world” of sound design possibilities with it’s multilayered SuperNATURAL textures that can be controlled from it’s full-color touch screen.

Roland Jupiter-80 Features:

• Powerful integrated SuperNATURAL synthesis engines designed for legendary vintage synth sounds to realistic organic acoustic sounds and more
• Single Tone is equivalent to the performance of powerful single synthesizer—stack four of these to create a mind-blowing “Live Set”
• Tone Blender tweaks multiple parameters of tones in realtime for complex, emotive sonic movement during performance
• Fast, friendly operation with intuitive front panel and color touchscreen optimized for live performance
• 76-note semi-weighted synth keyboard, and 256 polyphonic voices (varies according to sound-generator load)
• USB-memory Song Player/Recorder for backing tracks or quick idea capture
• Easy integration with computers via built-in USB-MIDI/Audio interface

Roland released a video showing off some of the features, check it out here:

The Kronos is an all-new Music Workstation from Korg that is much more than a new instrument. Korg has truly created a milestone in music technology with their innovative new technology. Kronos combines multiple sound engines working together and new interactive performance features that accurately compliment the way musicians play. Perhaps the most important feature of Kronos: it comes with an immense and breathtaking sound bank that can leave any listener speechless.

Let’s get down to some of the details about Kronos:

• Kronos has 9 sound engines. Each of them offer a unique technology to create sound.
• 16-part Combis allow each of the 9 sound engines to work together harmoniously. Dynamic Voice Allocation is used to keep the polyphony high.
• Kronos is available with 61, 73, or 88 keys. The larger 73 and 88 key models feature Korg’s RH3 Graded Hammer Action, while the 61 key model has the same synth action from the Korg M3 (61 key).
• Kronos has a very comprehensive interface that is based around a new 8” TFT TouchView™ display.
• Kronos gives you high polyphony and massive, ultra-long, un-looped samples with it’s Virtual Memory Technology (VMT), aided by a fast SSD (Solid State Disk) – offering you increased performance that easily stands out from other hardware instruments.
• Smooth Sound Transition: Possibly one of the coolest features of the Kronos, (and one of the most requested) allows held or sustained notes to keep sounding when changing sounds or modes.
• Set List Mode: Organize the Programs, Combis, and Songs you need to perform in your set in a single, easy-to-select screen – including performance notes!
• Kronos allows you to use up to 16 premium-quality effects at once.
  - 12 Insert effects
  - 2 Master effects
  - 2 Total Effects
• The on-board sequencer offers 16 MIDI tracks and 16 audio tracks. The audio tracks are 24-bit, 48kHz recording quality.
• Open Sampling System – another cool feature that allows you to instantly sample and resample from any mode: Program, Combination or Sequencer. This gives the added ease of use that many users have requested.
• Sophisticated KARMA® technology generates infinitely variable performance-driven phrases, musical effects, and backing tracks to catalyze your creativity
• Expanded Drum Track for play-along grooves and inspiration
• Signature sounds created with guidance from world class musicians

The KRONOS offers a great single instrument designed for live musicians, studio computer-based production environments, and musicians, sound designers looking for the ultimate synthesizer.