Virtual Drummer Solid 2
Cyrille Mixtapes
In terms of the first of these three elements, Solid, Phat and Heavy each have their own collection of five sample-based drum kits. Within a specific kit, you also get the option to swap between multiple snares, kicks, etc, allowing you to customise your drum selection. The second major element of each package is a sizeable collection of style-based pattern presets. Each of these presets contains a series of 23 related drum patterns, providing intros, patterns for verse or chorus sections, fills, breakdowns, endings, a few specials (extra groove variations) and a 'stop'.
Opening the Micro Timing panel allows you to switch between normal, half-speed and double-speed tempo, adjust the push/pull feel, apply some swing and adjust the tightness (or otherwise) of the playing. This is all pretty standard stuff for a virtual drummer instrument but does, of course, both increase your performance options and allow you to dial in just how 'human' you want your virtual drummer to sound.
In terms of user adjustments, once a kit is loaded, at a macro level, you also get six Mix Presets, each of which has its own sonic character. For example, in Solid, these are Smooth, Edge, Retro, Big, Power and Crush. Around the central logo, you also get the Amount and Slam controls. The former allows you to blend in just how much the Mix Preset settings alter the sound of the underlying kit, while Slam applies some overall compression. Things can get pretty squashed at extreme settings (if you like that kind of thing) but it's very usable at lower values.
The update to v2 provides some very useful further mix options, and I'll come back to these in a moment, but the overall control set remains compact and well focused. If you just want to get a solid drum part together with a minimum of fuss, the workflow of Solid, Phat and Heavy will have some obvious appeal.
The Master section provides a master output level control, a drop-down Mix Preset menu (offering a small selection of different reverb styles), and a Reverb level knob. The Maximize knob provides another dollop of dynamics control, while the Saturate control does exactly what you would expect and actually sounds rather good.
The third new feature is provided by the Individual button. You can activate this for each channel (including the overhead/room channels) and, providing you also activate the appropriate extra outputs within your DAW host, you can then route individual drums to either the master stereo out or to their own stereo output. These individual channels bypass the Master section, but it does allow you to apply the full arsenal of your DAW's processing options to your drum mix should you so wish.
Fourth, and also very welcome given my comment above about the importance of the pattern collection in any virtual drummer, all three titles now support MIDI pattern drag and drop to your DAW. You can, therefore, drag any of the patterns available in Solid, Phat or Heavy to a MIDI track and edit them as with any other MIDI clip. You can then replay that MIDI either with any suitable sample-based drum instrument, including any of the other UJAM drummers.
There are no prizes for guessing that Heavy has a distinctly 'rawk' flavour to both its sounds and pattern styles. I'm perhaps less convinced of it as a source for that super-tight, modern metal or progressive rock sound straight out the box, although you can get in the ballpark by making use of the new mixing/sound-tweaking features described above. In terms of style patterns, Heavy covers various types of rock including classic, blues, indie, grunge, stoner and garage.
However, that still leaves a potentially large audience of music producers who just want some solid drum sounds and performances in their projects with a minimum of fuss and a modest outlay. In that context, UJAM's Solid, Phat and Heavy are excellent contenders. The workflow is super-simple and, for non-drummers in particular, each of these products will let you create polished drum parts in less time than it takes to mic a snare. Songwriters will appreciate that simplicity and media composers facing deadlines will appreciate the speed. In that latter context, I'd happily use all three of these instruments in my own commercial work. My only other question is whether UJAM have a percussion-based title in development using the same engine? That would be a very useful addition to the series.
For my money, Solid is perhaps the best, and most versatile, of the bunch but, as UJAM offer a free 30-day trial of any of the titles via their website, you can easily try before you buy and see what might suit you best.
UJAM are perhaps targeting some specific types of music producer with Solid, Phat and Heavy. They may not be for everyone, but UJAM have hit their 'keep it simple' design approach to drum track production right on the head.
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A virtual gold-standard drummer that follows your direction5 meticulously recorded kits30 styles, 720 patterns (intro, verse, chorus, ending)Full control over tempo, timbre and variationsCustom FX algorithms
Each Virtual Drummer comes with five extensively sampled drum kits, ready-made smart-mix presets, and a wide range of styles and performances that can be tweaked to perfectly match your desired feel and groove. Within the series, each individual Virtual Drummer embodies a unique custom playing style sound and personality.
SOLID is your all-around reliable session pro suitable for most popular styles, HEAVY delivers hard and straight rock beats while PHAT gives you urban and funky grooves.All Virtual Drummer plug-ins are available as a direct download in VST, AU, and AAX formats and work in any compatible DAW, including Logic, Garageband, Cubase, Ableton Live and Pro Tools. Try a free 30-day demo of a Virtual Drummer plug-in today and enjoy creating drum tracks faster, easier and better than ever before!
4XCAMERA is available for free on the App Store or Google Play, with included support for two video performances at once. iOS users can upgrade to full functionality via a small in-app purchase, while Android users can download the full version on Google Play for a small fee. GO:MIXER PRO/PRO-X owners can access full functionality with no upgrade fee.
From within 4XCAMERA, you can access songs from the music library on your device and use them as guides for creating vocal and instrumental performances. Simply select a song and discretely monitor the sound on headphones as you perform along and capture your initial video. Only your performance audio is recorded in the video, providing a solid foundation for capturing additional performances for your split-screen project.
With Version 1.1 of 4XCAMERA, you now have on-demand access to real drum backing for your performances. From within the app, you can download one-minute video clips that feature drummers playing grooves in a variety of styles. Then jam and sing along with your virtual session drummer while capturing your parts. After shooting, finish off the video by applying a split-screen pattern and making adjustments as desired.
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