I love synthesis and synthesisers and while they aren't going to fool anyone in the realism stakes, drum sounds synthesised with analogue subtractive synthesisers have a character which adds texture to a track, whether electronic or not. Combining this with classic Roland synthesisers, together with some very desirable analogue outboard and real tape and vinyl and I want to hear more!

SYS-100 Drums delivers 1,584 analogue drum samples; each crafted and layered from the ground up using an iconic, all-time classic semi-modular synth that marked the very start of Japan’s Vintage Synth Era.

Forward-thinking sound design

The goal with SYS-100 Drums was to design and create a completely new collection of drum sounds that spark creativity and punch hard and sound full of character...

Each drum sound in the collection has been built from scratch by compositing up to 14 unique, individually synthesised layers. Each created in series, one at a time, beautifully designed to mesh perfectly into specific frequency bands within every drum sound.

A Love For Character

For extra character and tonal variation, each individual sound has been processed individually on a sound-by-sound basis using an impressive collection of high-end outboard gear and processing chains.

This library is designed to be as flexible as possible: as well as the extensive processed section, the unprocessed source samples are also included as they were originally recorded and composited – free from additional processing, giving you a more malleable sound. A third section includes all samples bounced through ¼ inch analogue tape, and a fourth section includes all samples recorded to 12-inch Vinyl, recorded via a classic Neumann VMS 70 vinyl mastering lathe.

Additionally, all drum sounds are presented in groups dividable by 12, to ensure ease of use with keyboard controllers. Drum sections fit neatly across exact octaves, making it simple to use kits or create your own. Samples are organised in a simple and logical folder structure - each named descriptively and edited by hand.

What Is Included In The Sample Pack?

• 1,584 24-bit, 100% royalty-free drum hits arranged into 5 main sections:

Processed Drum Section

• 396 processed drum and percussive hits in true stereo (with the exception of mono kicks). Every drum enhanced individually on a sound-by-sound basis using our extensive collection of high-end hardware processors and sound shaping tools
• 60 individually designed kick drums - Full spectrum kicks with a constant fundamental pitch, a first in any analogue sample library, allowing kicks to be better tuned to your mix. A selection of super short kicks, delivering maximum punch while leaving space in the mix for other elements
• 84 snare drums & claps - Including dynamically layered sounds covering a wide range of styles
• 48 cymbals & open hats – Created using unique hybrid synthesis techniques from analogue layers.
• 48 abstract percussion & hand drum sounds - Tribal-like hits, synthetic bongos, congas and more
• 60 hats & shakers – Wide shakers, stacked closed hats and everything in between
• 48 blocks, cows & noise – Esoteric blocks, bells, small percussion, powerful analogue noise hits from the synth’s pink and white noise generators.
• 24 toms – Full-bodied analogue toms covering deep, synthetic, punchy and organic
• 24 atmospheres – A collection of analogue drones, sweeps, abstract textures, lush sound beds and more

Unprocessed Drum Section

• 396 24-bit unprocessed drum and percussive hits
• Identical folder structure to the processed drum section, the unprocessed section includes all of the raw unprocessed source samples as they were originally recorded and composited, without enhancement

Tape Drum Section

• 396 24-bit ‘tape processed’ drum and percussive hits
• Identical folder structure to the processed drum section, the tape processed folder includes all samples bounced through a ¼ inch Studer A80 MK1 Analogue Tape machine for added character, tone, warmth and punch!

Vinyl Drum Section

• 396 24-bit ‘Vinyl processed’ drum and percussive hits
• Identical in folder structure to the processed drum section, the vinyl processed folder includes all samples bounced to 12-inch Vinyl, recorded via a classic Neumann VMS 70 vinyl mastering lathe

Gear Used For Processing

A selection of classic hardware has been used in the production of these samples. Some highlights include:

• Thermionic Culture Vulture Mastering Edition
• Ampex ATR-102 Analogue Tape Machine
• Studer A80 Analogue Tape Machine
• Vintage Neumann VMS 70 vinyl mastering lathe
• Manley Massive Passive
• Universal Audio 1176
• ADR Compex 
• Neve 1073 EQ
• API 550b
• API 512C
• API 2500
• Pultec EQ
• SSL E Series EQs & Compressors
• Empirical Labs Distressor
• Empirical Labs Fatso

Drum Kits

The drum kits folder contains a number of ready-to-play drum kits, conveniently mapped to the following software sampler formats:

• Battery 3 – 38 kits
• Halion – 38 kits
• Kontakt – 38 kits
• NN-XT – 38 kits
• SFZ – 38 kits
• Logic EXS-24 - 38 kits

To find out more about these samples and hear audio examples, visit the Wave Alchemy website.