A unique merger of art, craftsmanship, and sound, the Sounds Like Art Series of custom snare drums has been expanded to include 14″ and 13″ diameters with variable depths from 5″ up to 8″.

In addition to the new sizes, vertical grain alignment is now available on Maple, Mahogany, Bubinga, Ebony, Walnut, and Rosewood models. The result is even more tonal and visual options for clients when designing a custom snare of this caliber. MSRP starts at $3,470 for 13″ and 14″ Sounds Like Art Series snares. Street price for standard models starts at $1,735, with custom models starting at $2500.

For more information, visit their web site at www.phattiedrums.com.

Posted in Drums & Percussion, Snare Drums

Hip Hop City is a slammin’ collection of 50 construction kits covering a variety of funky Old and Nu School Hip Hop styles. Inspired by the music of such artists asThe Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Trick Daddy, Missy Elliot, Lil John, Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim, Junkie XL, Busta Rhymes, Roc Raida, J-Kwan, and many others. Hip Hop City features tons of programmed drums, hundreds of turntable loops, bass, funk guitar, keyboards, synth leads, horns and percussion and more.

Contents:

• 2.9 GB on disc (1.39 GB of 24bit WAV files)
• 1,140 WAV loops and hits on disc
• 50 Construction Kits with BPM’s ranging from 70-140 in various keys

A Hip Hop City demo is available here.

Format: AIFF/Apple Loops/REX/WAV

Retail: $69.95

For more information, visit their web site at www.bigfishaudio.com.

Posted in Drums & Percussion, Samples

Native Instruments is excited to announce BATTERY 3, a significant revision of its popular drum and percussion sampler. The addition of time-stretching and advanced loop capabilities, innovative “play parameters”, a powerful master effects section and an integrated wave editor all serve to strengthen the role of BATTERY as the premier creative drum and percussion sampler, with an enormous library of more than 100 high-quality drum kits providing a wealth of studio-quality material for all styles and genres.

BATTERY 3 is based on a powerful new sampling engine that offers high-quality time stretching and a new “Beat Mode” for improved loop-handling capabilities, enabling musicians to get the most out of any sample library. BATTERY 3 can also turn programmed beats into truly dynamic performances through new “articulations” that allow for authentic real-time flams, drags and rolls, while the “humanize” function can now add a subtle natural feel.

The customizable cell matrix in BATTERY 3 has been extended to hold up to 128 sounds per kit, while color coding of cells now provides a better overview. A new wave editor offers direct surgical access to any individual sample in BATTERY on-the-fly, opening up an additional powerful level of in-depth customization and creative sound shaping.

While the existing cell-specific effect section has been further improved in BATTERY 3, the new version also adds a comprehensive master multi-effect section that is especially useful both for sound design and for live use. Equipped with high-quality filter, dynamic and delay algorithms, the master effect section also incorporates a high-end convolution reverb that can even accept individual drum kit cells as impulse sources via easy drag-and-drop assignment, opening up a new resource of creative sound shaping and experimentation.

BATTERY 3 ships with a huge and highly versatile sound library that includes more than 100 unique and ready-to-use drum kits, spanning a huge musical spectrum from jazz and rock to hip-hop and techno, and including a wide range of exotic ethno-percussion and special effects assortments. The library is based on over 23.000 individual samples, with both kits and samples becoming more accessible through a significantly enhanced sound browser in BATTERY 3. Creating and customizing drum kits has also become much more convenient due to a new “cell library” that holds more than 2.500 individual drum cells, all pre-categorized according to their musical role and application.

BATTERY 3 will be available in October 2006 for a suggested retail price of $ 219 / 199 Euro from authorized dealers and in the NI Online Shop. An update for owners of will be available for $ 119 / 99 Euro.

BATTERY 3 is also a part of the KOMPLETE 4 product bundle, which will in turn be available as a free update for all owners of KOMPLETE CARE 2006.

For more information, visit their web site at www.native-instruments.com.

Posted in Audio, Drums & Percussion, Samples, Technology

ModernBeats.com has just released volume 2 of its ‘Urban Anthemz’ instrument loops series for all major MAC and PC music software.

Urban Anthemz 2 contains 400 loops of urban melodies, riffs, and hooks where styles range widely from ganksta hip hop loops all the way to unheard of modern hip hop melodies & hooks.

Urban Anthemz 2 works seamlessly with all other ModernBeats loop series where each series utilizes same group & tempo layouts. This allows users to build full productions within minutes by mix-matching & layering loops from each series together. The library is organized into 4 popular hip-hop industry tempos: 87bpm, 92bpm, 97bpm, and 102bpm. Each of the tempo groups contain 25 original loop themes including 4 variation loops within each theme: “Hook1″, “Hook2″, “Verse1″, and “Verse2″. That’s 400 loops across the Loopset with a total of 100 original hip hop melodies, riffs, & hooks per tempo.

A myriad of instruments & effects were used to design the loops such as ethnic woodwinds, orchestral woodwinds, full brass sections & stabs, trumpets, saxophones, ethnic strings, sitars, dizus, erhus, guchins, yangchins, pipas, tremolo strings, violins, cellos, pizzicato & exotic plucking, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, flamenco guitar, wah-wah guitar, banjo, harps & harp glissandos, classic pianos, baby toy pianos, xylophones, marimbas, metallic bells, tines, synth pads, analog synths, sound effects, ambiences, atmospheres, plus more!

The ‘Urban Anthemz Vol. 2′ library is offered on CD-ROM or as a download. Prices start at just $59.95.

Universal Format Compatibility:
Sample Accurate Acidized WAV, Stereo

For more information, visit their web site at www.modernbeats.com.

Posted in Drums & Percussion, Instruments, Loops, Samples

Rayzoon proudly announces the release of Jamstix 1.7, another massive update for their ground-breaking virtual drummer.

The focus of this update is an improved audio engine that reduces CPU usage and the addition of the brand-new ‘Keyboard Jam’ mode. Aside from this, there are dozens of additions and enhancements, new rhythms, new automation parameters as well as several bug fixes.

All Jamstix owners can download the update free of charge here.

Update Details:

• Lowered CPU usage through optimized audio processing and improved voice reduction
• Implemented new jam mode “Keyboard Jam”
• Added 20 new rhythms as follows:
  • 7 world rhythms, including cha cha, calypso, merengue and soca
  • 6 rock rhythms
  • 4 R&B rhythms
  • 2 jazz rhythms
  • 1 reggae rhythm
• Automatic fills are now also available in ‘Manual Jam’
• PDF manual is now fully searchable
• Console gain meters are now stereo instead of mono sum
• Added ‘Time Sig Changes’ option to OUTPUT tab. Host synch-up is accelerated if unchecked, fixing possible loop alignment issues
• Improved ‘Shaping’ function in various ways, including suppression of clicking at high levels
• Added ‘Dampening’ slider to the ‘Ambience’ control panel to simulate smaller rooms
• Added options ‘Create 2-Bar Pattern’ and ‘Create 4-Bar Pattern’ to arranger rhythm name right-click menu, which allow the quick creation of multi-bar patterns
• Bars that have snare or tom accents are now shown with a black center line in the arranger
• Added ‘2x 16th’ as an option for the hihat quarter column
• When editing hihat quarter and eighths columns, the velocity is now only reset to default if it is currently zero
• Improved fill start time suppression options
• Added option ‘Simplify by suppressing 16th notes’ to the fill options
• Improved reggae rhythms and added ’shuffle’ keyword to them
• Improved hihat choking sound when choked by low velocity closed hat event
• Added ‘Drive/Laid-Back Timing’ automation parameter which allows setting a constant earliness (drive) or lateness (laid-back) of the drums
• BFD mappings now have anti-machine gun mode enabled
• Increased limb transition time for snare ghost notes to account for stick drag time
• Improved hihat import logic for 8ths and added missing logic for 16ths
• Mapping tab output lock state is now recalled via ini profile
• Selecting ‘Normal’ character no longer switches off shuffling
• Clicking ‘Free Jam’ no longer clears the current arrangement
• When using fill filter start time limits with fills that issue rhythm silencing before the start time limit, the rhythm is no longer silenced until the fill is allowed to start
• Added new automation parameters to dynamically control fill options during a performance
  • Fill – Start Limiter
  • Fill – Rhythm Silencer
  • Fill – Toms On Snare
  • Fill – No 16ths
• Added warning message if sounds are missing
• Output grouping now also applies to percussion sounds
• Added voice limiter to restrict maximum voice load to around 60 (90 on min reduction level)
• Improved + column hihat velocity logic and fixed suppressed semi hats in that column under certain cirucmstances
• Added ini option ‘SpeedFilterBPM’ to set a BPM above which certain 16th notes and all 32nd notes in fills and accents will be suppressed to avoid unnaturally fast performances
• The velocity threshold for switching from snare head to sidestick can now be adjusted in the general ini settings (Velocity_Autoside, 0..1). Default is 0.5 (used to be 0.7 so adjust if you need the old style)
• The velocity thresholds for the reduction logic can now be adjusted in the general ini settings:
  • Velocity_Reduction1 0..1 Default=0.4
  • Velocity_Reduction2 0..1 Default=0.3
  • Velocity_Reduction3 0..1 Default=0.2
  • Velocity_Reduction4 0..1 Default=0.1
• Added notice above arranger in free and keyword jam indicating that Jamstix is controlling the arrangement in those modes
• Fixed increasing CPU usage over time in Podium and forte
• Fixed problem with Jamstix ‘freezing’ after loading first internal sample in some hosts under certain circumstances
• Fixed a problem that could lead to an infinite loop when using empty default mappings or missing stock sounds under certain circumstances
• Fixed delayed playing of accents suppressed by a silent rhythm or post-fill pause
• Fixed GUI freeze in n-Track when closing several listboxes without selection
• Fixed MIDI export tempo offset by 1BPM when the host sends tempo information in .9999 format

For more information, visit their web site at www.rayzoon.com.

Posted in Computer, Drums & Percussion, Recording, Software, Technology

Yamaha Drums introduces the affordable, all-maple shell Tour Custom Drum Set. The new Tour Custom is perfect for players who want a quality kit at a great price, or for educational institutions seeking a solid drum set without stretching their budgets.

The kit’s 60-degree bearing edge, air-sealed diagonal seam shells help enhance the drum set’s clarity. The 7-ply bass drum’s enhanced low end and the 6-ply toms and snare drum focus help make this kit sound incredible.

“This drum set hits a price point that Yamaha has not been in before with a 100 percent maple shell, however, we enter this price point with a highly-competitive, quality-made kit that sounds totally different than any other Yamaha drum set,” said David Jewell, marketing manager, Yamaha Drums. “Reintroducing 60-degree bearing edges gives these drums a truly unique sound.”

The set comes in three shell-pack configurations. Two optional hardware packs and individual components are also available. Lacquer-finish color options include Black Onyx, Brown Sunburst, Sakura White and Ocean Blue.

The new five-piece Tour Custom kit will ship in November 2006 and carries an MSRP of $2,149 with 700 series hardware, $1,599 without hardware.

For more information, visit their web site at www.yamaha.com.

Posted in Drums & Percussion

Buzz Kill

The Vater Buzz Kill is an easy-to-use dampening system designed to control unwanted over ring and tone from drums and cymbals. Each Buzz Kill disc can be easily cut to any size to achieve the desired amount of dampening whether you’re using it live or in the studio. Buzz Kill is super-tacky, so it can be used on both batter and resonant drumheads. Buzz Kill is reusable and can be easily cleaned with water when dirty.

Experiment with a variety of placement and sizes for an endless amount of dampening around your drumkit. Each package contains 6 Buzz Kill discs.
Controls over ring and tone
For use on drums and cymbals
Perfect for Live and Studio applications
Reusable
List Price $9.95

Safe N’ Sound Ear Plugs

Vater’s Safe N’ Sound Ear Plugs provide hearing protection for all musicians. Each pair includes two filter styles, each providing its own level of decibel reduction. Also includes pouch for safe storing when not in use. Safe N’ Sound Ear Plugs can be washed with a mild soap routinely to maintain cleanliness.

Safe N’ Sound Ear Plugs are blister packed and available to dealers in a counter top display box containing 12 pairs or by the individual pair.

List Price $29.95/pair
$359.40/12 pair in display box

For more information, visit their web site at www.vater.com.

Posted in Accessories, Drums & Percussion

RockenWraps.com has announced the launch of its online superstore.

The new www.RockenWraps.com superstore targets a broad audience of musical instrument consumers interested in changing the physical appearance of their instruments through the use of RockenWraps drum wraps.

RockenWraps are manufactured utilizing professional grade high resolution digital graphics that are printed utilizing a professional 6-color process with vibrant and sharp designs. The Wraps are then finished in a high-gloss, UV protected scratch resistant laminate plastic. Each wrap is then custom-cut creating a product that fits the specific instrument perfectly and will last for years.

“By utilizing RockenWraps exclusive process and with our ever expanding line of graphic artists from around the world, you can literally change your drums to have a whole new look, and with hundreds of designs and support for every type, shape, and size of drum or drum head,” said Scott Rockenfield, founder of RockenWraps, Inc.

RockenWraps are made to fit as smoothly as a second “skin” around your drum shells and have been tested and confirmed by our customers to actually enhance the sound of each drum. In addition, RockenWraps also act as an amazing protective covering for drums and can easily be removed.

Customers can purchase their specific Drum Wraps to personalize their musical instruments through www.RockenWraps.com, the company’s own musical instrument related portal and at hundreds of retail outlets including Sam Ash, Guitar Center, and a number of independent drum dealers worldwide.

In addition, RockenWraps.com announces their new business development department which is actively looking for distributors, partners, private label channel partners, as well as design content providers.

For more information, visit their web site at www.rockenwraps.com.

Posted in Accessories, Drums & Percussion

Gretsch Drums displayed two recent additions to their snare drum line-up at the Summer NAMM show. The G-4160SA is a 5×14 solid-aluminum shell featuring 3mm shell walls and 5mm shell edges, distinguished by a satin finish.

Also shown was the G-4160SS solid steel, the heaviest Gretsch snare drum ever assembled. The steel snare drum also shares the same shell dimensions, including shell thickness along with a highly polished black exterior.

Each drum is fitted with 8 center lugs, die-cast hoops on top and bottom, classic Gretsch knurl design and integrated drum key holder in the shell. Each of these new all-metal snares speaks with sharp clarity and attack. The G-4160SA offers slightly warmer tones than the G-4160SS, which produces a clean and defined higher pitch.

G-4140SS – Solid Steel Snare: $1,035.00
G-4160SA – Solid Aluminum Snare: $1,275.00

For more information, visit their web site at www.gretsch.com.

Posted in Drums & Percussion

Big Fish Audio has released Heat Seekers hip-hop construction kits.

Heat Seekers features a pile of construction kits aimed squarely at those seeking to make hits. With blazin’ beats, thick bass lines, nasty synth, tight horns, strings and more, these kits are pushin it to another level.

You’ll get more than 1900 loops in 50 construction kits ranging from 70 – 140 bpm. That’s over 4 gigs of content in WAV, REX, and Apple Loops to blow up your tracks.

Contents:

4.2GB on a single DVD-ROM (1.85GB of 24-bit WAV content)
1,989 Loops and hits. (720 WAV files, 720 Apple Loops, 479 REX2 files)
Construction Kits – 50 construction kits from 70 to 140BPM in various keys

Format: AIFF/Apple Loops/REX/WAV
Retail: $99.95

Download the Heat Seekers demo.

For more information, visit their web site at www.bigfishaudio.com.

Posted in Audio, Drums & Percussion, Recording