HandHeldSound MAD - RocknFunk KONTAKT

March 27, 2019 0

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HandHeldSound MAD – RocknFunk KONTAKT

MAD – RocknFunk is the first full installment of our MAD Drum Kit Series. It features an integrated hi-end environment for producing Uber realistic drum grooves with maximum nuance and impact! The idea behind RocknFunk was to sample several iconic kits in such a way to retain a very focused and direct tonal quality at all dynamic levels. With an extended articulation options, a versatile mixer, dedicated groove engine, and immediate playability, you can quickly program convincing drum beats with lots of musical and sonic detail.

RocknFunk packs a lot under the hood with customized elaborate scripts and features that enhance both realistic playback and ease of use. Some features, such as the extensive microphone bleed and Snare Grace notes Legatos, have never before seen in a drum library!

THE INSTRUMENTS
Each of the three included kits is unique and offers a great deal of timbre contrast. We recorded each kit in a different space to further extend versatility of sound. Each recording space has inspired us with different recording techniques, microphone selection, and playing styles.

We then developed custom scripts and a user interface that is deep, yet straightforward and easy to use. The outcome is collection of drum kits that offers a detailed and organic sound that will enhance any music style.

MAD_Red – Custom Funk Kit
This kit includes smaller than usual Toms and Kick drum giving the kit a very punchy and resonant sound. It works best with Funk and Indie Rock music styles.
– 16X24 Kick Drum
– Golden Crown Snare
– Zildjian Hi-Hat
– 7X10 and 8X12 Rack Toms
– 12X14 Floor Tom
– 2X Zildjian Crashes, Paiste Ride Cymbal.MAD_White – 6 piece beast
Dark and heavier tone. Recorded in an isolation booth for a tight and vibey sound.
– 22X24 Kick Drum
– 5.5X14 Snare
– Paiste Hats
– Rack Toms 10X10, 14X12
– Floor Toms 16X14, 22×16
– Zildjian Crash
– Zildjian Ride

MAD_Blue
Exotic maple 5-piece.
Featuring an open and detailed sound with lots of separation.
Recorded in a Scoring Room and includes various sets of room mic configurations.
– 8″ x 10″ Rack Tom
– 10×12 Rack Tom
– 12×14 Floor Tom
– 20×22 Kick Drum
– 5×14 matching Snare
– 10″ Avedis Zildjian Extra Thin Splash
– 14″ Avedis Zildjian New Beat HiHats
– 16″ Avedis Zildjian Medium Thin Crash
– 18″ Avedis Zildjian Medium Thin Crash
– 21″ Avedis Zildjian Sweet Ride
– Unknown Jankie Cymbal

FEATURES & TECH
The recording sessions featured an elaborate set of high-end microphones, boutique mic preamps, custom made cables, and perfectly maintained instruments.

Our biggest desire was to reproduce a true dynamic response curve from each element of the drum kit – especially on the low to mid velocities.

The non-linear dynamic curves, emphasized by combining tube and solid state preamplifiers and microphones, give the sound ‘creamy’ overtones with a bit of saturation towards the top of the dynamic range.

There’s a lot to discover under the hood. We have recorded a wide selection of articulations and organized them into an ergonomic mapping layout for easy programming.

Apart from having plenty of velocity layers and round robin samples, we recorded unique Left and Right hand hits and multiple drum zone articulations so that every nuance and grace note can sound authentic.

And finally, we developed custom scripts to maximize playability – handling variable velocity, choke groups, grace notes, and Hi-Hat modulation.

Playing the Hi-Hat is a lot more involved than just using open and close strokes. We introduce a truly unprecedented approach to programming Hi-Hat parts with an elaborate Hi-Hat engine.

First, we recorded hits on multiple areas of the Hi-Hat from the Tip to the edge so you get an optimal variety of strokes. We then recorded 6 degrees of close-to-open states.

With the Hi-Hat engine you can morph between each state using the mod wheel and control the close-to-open ratio as you play. The engine takes care of the level, attenuation, and residual sustain when moving between ‘Closed’ and ‘Open’ articulations. It also determines the appropriate voice stacking based on velocity and the modulation speed.

You can also modulate the Hi-Hat attack, which comes in handy when programming fast note patterns, adding another level of realism.

To top it off, the Hi-Hat engine will add automatic Foot Pedal stomps when moving between Open and Closed articulations.

There are plenty of ways to shape and control the tone right out of the box. Apart from traditional mixing tools, there are comprehensive microphone blending and bleed control for flexible sonic design and signal flow that’s otherwise impossible to achieve with a traditional mixing console.

You can introduce (or eliminate) sound leakage to various channels with complete control over volume up to unity gain. Simply select the source channel from the available options and introduce residual microphone leakage from other channels.

Typical uses of microphone leakage are to add Snare rattle to the Kick Drum or Toms channels, but MAD’s architecture has more flexibility – like raising the level of only the Hi-Hat from within the Overheads Stereo channel, for instance…

MAD introduces an elegant way to play Snare Grace notes and simulate realistic voice stacking.

A Snare drum can produce so many different sounds that can take up a lot of real estate within the mapping layout. And then there are also grace notes that can take even more precious MIDI notes…
Instead of bloating the mapping with notes mapped to individual grace samples, you can easily trigger a variety of Snare graces by playing Legato – just hold a Snare key while playing another to trigger it.

Another cool ergonomic enhancement is with Cymbal chokes. You can dynamically perform Cymbal chokes from a single key.

The Groove engine is where you can quickly audition rhythmic ideas and use them in your DAW as building blocks or as is. RocknFunk comes with over 700 Rock and Funk Core grooves. Each Core Groove has 5 alternate patterns and 5 fill-ins.

Alts and Fills go from subtle to extreme while retaining the context of their respective core grooves. The grooves are un-quantized to maintain the original drummer’s feel and can be dragged to your DAW as standard MIDI files.