# IK Multimedia Introduces MODO DRUM - Modeled Drums



## Reid Rosefelt (Jun 20, 2019)

Introductory Pre-Order Price is $299.99, after which it will go to $399.99

199.99 crossgrade price if you have registered an IK product over $99.99.

IK provides a $50 coupon to any owners of Modo Bass (currently $119.99) 


More info HERE​



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## amorphosynthesis (Jun 20, 2019)

exciting...
but from what I see and hear,I guess the cymbals are not modeled,I think they are sampled!


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## chocobitz825 (Jun 20, 2019)

Apparently it’s €199 for modo bass cross grade and there might also be a €50 off promo code for some folks bringing it down to €149


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## ChazC (Jun 20, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> Apparently it’s €199 for modo bass cross grade and there might also be a €50 off promo code for some folks bringing it down to €149


Yep, that’s how to showed up in my cart. Can’t use JamPoints with the extra €50 off though but that only amounts to €9 more.


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## chocobitz825 (Jun 20, 2019)

ChazC said:


> Yep, that’s how to showed up in my cart. Can’t use JamPoints with the extra €50 off though but that only amounts to €9 more.


 
€250 off at introductory pretty much makes it a must buy. Sneaky of them to make such a deal.


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## ChazC (Jun 20, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> €250 off at introductory pretty much makes it a must buy. Sneaky of them to make such a deal.



Well, BFD is very long in the tooth now (as well as having probably the worst GUI of any VSTi I’ve ever used), Slate SSD5 was hardly ground breaking and Toontrack are too busy putting their MIDI packs on sale instead of offering any kind of deal on SD3. Add into that anyone who has MODO Bass knows how well IK have nailed their modelling & I’d say it’s an excellent marketing move rather than sneaky!


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## chocobitz825 (Jun 20, 2019)

ChazC said:


> Well, BFD is very long in the tooth now (as well as having probably the worst GUI of any VSTi I’ve ever used), Slate SSD5 was hardly ground breaking and Toontrack are too busy putting their MIDI packs on sale instead of offering any kind of deal on SD3. Add into that anyone who has MODO Bass knows how well IK have nailed their modelling & I’d say it’s an excellent marketing move rather than sneaky!



Totally agree. They eliminated the need to buy multiple kits, since you can make your own. Modo bass has been so great because I can make the bass I need for the song.


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## DSmolken (Jun 20, 2019)

amorphosynthesis said:


> exciting...
> but from what I see and hear,I guess the cymbals are not modeled,I think they are sampled!


Not all that surprising - cymbals are notoriously tough to model and even the Roland TR-909 had sampled cymbals. They're also annoying to sample, because of how long they ring. I hate cymbals!

How's the hi-hat openness handled, though? I'm real curious about that, if it's just regular partly-open samples or of there's anything more interesting going on.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jun 20, 2019)

Do you think the €/$50 promo code is for owning Modo Bass? 
If that can be verified, it might make sense to get Modo Bass, as the crossgrade is only $118.


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## chocobitz825 (Jun 20, 2019)

TigerTheFrog said:


> Do you think the €/$50 promo code is for owning Modo Bass?
> If that can be verified, it might make sense to get Modo Bass, as the crossgrade is only $118.


_As a special thank you to current owners of IK’s MODO BASSsoftware, those users will also receive an automatic coupon for $/€50 off the Crossgrade version. Just be sure you are logged in on our site and add the item to your cart.
_
Given that modo bass is on sale now, it seems like you could get modo bass and drums for the less than the pre-order price of modo drums alone.


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## Blakus (Jun 20, 2019)

Those exposed audio demos really aren’t doing it for me. I’m a huge fan of MODO bass, but unlike bass, where all we need is the direct output from the instrument, good drum recordings rely so much on the sound of the room as well. I guess I’m getting SM vibes, where no doubt the control and performance will be to die for, but getting it to sound as good as a top class recording may be more difficult. Achieving a workable sound likely won’t be an issue though, judging by the demos.

Physical modeling is the future though, and I’m excited to see companies making some pretty sweet advancements!


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## SirkusPi (Jun 20, 2019)

Given that the preorder price is good until "August 2019," I'm assuming that the actual release won't be until some (unspecified) time that month. Or am I missing somewhere that provides more concrete release information?


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jun 20, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> _As a special thank you to current owners of IK’s MODO BASSsoftware, those users will also receive an automatic coupon for $/€50 off the Crossgrade version. Just be sure you are logged in on our site and add the item to your cart.
> _
> Given that modo bass is on sale now, it seems like you could get modo bass and drums for the less than the pre-order price of modo drums alone.


A little more than that. A crossgrade to Modo Drum is $199.
A crossgrade to Modo Bass ($118) and Modo Drum ($150 with coupon) is $268.


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## chocobitz825 (Jun 20, 2019)

TigerTheFrog said:


> A little more than that. A crossgrade to Modo Drum is $199.
> A crossgrade to Modo Bass ($118) and Modo Drum ($150 with coupon) is $268.



ah didn't realize modo bass isn't on sale. It just default a crossgrade price for me, even though I already had it.


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## Lode_Runner (Jun 20, 2019)

I just noticed MODO Drums says it needs 20GB disk space, so seems like it must have some sample content as I can't imagine a program alone would take up that much real estate.

And further reading says it's a 'combination of modal synthesis and ... sampling'. So seems to be a hybrid of sampling and modelling, unlike MODO Bass which says 'real-time modal synthesis ... — no samples used to create sound'.
(Regarding the ellipsis - I just removed some marketing hyperbole like advanced, technology and groundbreaking).


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## Manuel Stumpf (Jun 20, 2019)

Lode_Runner said:


> I just noticed MODO Drums says it needs 20GB disk space, so seems like it must have some sample content as I can't imagine a program alone would take up that much real estate.
> 
> And further reading says it's a 'combination of modal synthesis and ... sampling'. So seems to be a hybrid of sampling and modelling, unlike MODO Bass which says 'real-time modal synthesis ... — no samples used to create sound'.
> (Regarding the ellipsis - I just removed some marketing hyperbole like advanced, technology and groundbreaking).


The site says: "cymbal sample engine"
Also the cymbals have less parameters to tweak (according to the homepage you can tune them up/down). My guess would be the cymbals are sampled.
Edit: Ok. No evidence the cymbals have less parameters to tweak, but no menu for the cymbals was shown yet (except I overlooked it).


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## rudi (Jun 20, 2019)

It'd be nice to have a walkthrough of the drums being modified and actually hear the changes, as that is the big feature of MODO Drums. The overview only shows graphics of all those possibilities but not actual sound.

The few drums only audio demos sound very compressed (with the exception of the jazz one). It makes it is hard to hear the dynamic range - which would the be other flagship feature for modelled drums.


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## Quasar (Jun 20, 2019)

At this point I need another virtual drum kit about as badly as I need a case of dysentery. But this still gets my attention because I have the IKM MODO Bass and it's an absolutely _fantastic_ VI.

So I'm definitely going to take a look, especially if there is a crossgrade discount. On the other hand, do I really want to be able to adjust the exact height and diameter of a snare drum? I very much doubt it...


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## chocobitz825 (Jun 20, 2019)

Quasar said:


> At this point I need another virtual drum kit about as badly as I need a case of dysentery. But this still gets my attention because I have the IKM MODO Bass and it's an absolutely _fantastic_ VI.
> 
> So I'm definitely going to take a look, especially if there is a crossgrade discount. On the other hand, do I really want to be able to adjust the exact height and diameter of a snare drum? I very much doubt it...



Why wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t it be like selecting a certain type of snare? Maybe you found the right tone but want it a bit deeper...?

It’s the same as modo bass and the pickup distance. Sometimes just a little adjust makes it sit perfectly.


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## Mark Schmieder (Jun 20, 2019)

Having gone through the audio demos now, I've decided not to buy into the early bird pricing. All of the demos sound extremely artificial and harsh to my ears; similar in some ways to SSD, but without the nice warmth of an Oberheim DMX. But I'll probably buy into it eventually, as I tend to support modeling technologies on a matter of principle (I'm a mathematician).

It may just need more audio demos also, as MODO Bass didn't sound good to me until I bought it and made my own settings. As I get older, my tastes are moving backwards, to before my time. I can barely stand anything now unless it has deep passion, wide dynamics, etc. I also rarely listen to recorded music; I mostly attend live acoustic music concerts.


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## DSmolken (Jun 21, 2019)

So, what's the max snare diameter? And how big can you make the kick?


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## Dewdman42 (Jun 21, 2019)

Strangely this was insta buy for me. I absolutely love MODO bass. I have a lot of sampled drums already and I also need this about as much as a hole in my head but I am intrigued about the modeling and who knows it just might surprise us all. It might be possible to tweak the modeling into crazy sounds too that could be useful even if not accurate representations of real kits. These days there are no rules that say a drums have to sound authentic reproduction of a real kit. But the nuance and dynamics that might be possible with this encourages me to try it


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## Mark Schmieder (Jun 21, 2019)

Interesting points about nuances and dynamic possibly being programmable to go beyond even natural drums, as the demos (to my ears) have neither of those attributes. If I hear something more convincing before my flight, maybe I'll use JamPoints to bring this down to an enticing entry level price, before the early bird discount expires.


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## Dewdman42 (Jun 21, 2019)

Supposedly jam points can’t be combined with the $50 discount they are already giving to crossgraders, sucks because I have some JamPoints about to expire but oh well


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## Dewdman42 (Jun 21, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Interesting points about nuances and dynamic possibly being programmable to go beyond even natural drums, as the demos (to my ears) have neither of those attributes.



By that reason, then, its a new and unique sound! For you it sounds fake, but not fake enough. We shall see is all I can say. I'm pretty sure I will find a use for it, even if its just to layer with other stuff or whatever...or to stretch the modeling parameters to the limit and see what I come up with, or maybe it will sound perfectly good in a mix, and the modeling itself will provide less machine gun effect and more dynamic nuance...we will just have to see. Unfortunately in order to get the preorder price, I guess you gotta buy without really knowing... That's what IK did with modo bass too.


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## Mark Schmieder (Jun 21, 2019)

This may be our first chance to effectively model brush playing; we'll see.


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## DSmolken (Jun 21, 2019)

Are there any brushes here? The video shows a lot of stick choices, but not a brush in sight. Which is OK, it's reasonable to leave brushes for a later update IMO, just like it's OK to leave out things like cowbells. Though it will be fun to get cowbells later, and make a giant 20" cowbell.

Brush stirs and flutters are actually really easy to deal with in some ways. Noisy stuff, so looping and phase aren't real issues. But they work nothing like drum hits, and making models of them playable in real life in a way that will work at any tempo is a whole separate challenge.


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## jtnyc (Jun 21, 2019)

I wanted to like this, but those demos do not sound very good at all. Most every kit has the same klanky, plasticy processed sound. Velocity reaction seem weird. The ghost notes in the classic funk solo demo don't sound natural. It's like a switch is being hit when it goes from back beat to ghost. It just sounds fake. Maybe it's bad programming, but I would think they did the best they could. Owning Superior 3 and all of the NI kits I'm pretty well stocked. I thought this might bring something different to the table, and it does in the sense that it's modeled so the control and tweakability is huge, but it has to sound at least as good as what I already have in order for me to invest and from what they have presented, it doesn't... to me.


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## Mark Schmieder (Jun 21, 2019)

Listening to the solo demos now, I think I have a better sense of what might be possible by tweaking the parameters. Interestingly, the kicks are my least favourite part of this. The snares are a mixed bag, but have enough range that I suspect they are capable of a lot more than we're hearing in early demos. Cymbals sound good on the whole, but they're sampled.

When I hear the hi-hat exposed, it doesn't sound natural to me, in terms of open/close. The ride sounds fine, along with the other cymbals.

What I'm missing from the kick sound, is any sense of depth of the bass drum itself. It sounds very 2D. Maybe there needs to be a tiny amount of delay added, between the front and rear heads, as we rarely get perfect phase alignment when recording (unless using high precision tools), and certainly we hear the kick sound coming from multiple sources in a real room. I haven't checked yet to see if MODO Drums supports this.

Overall, I seem to like the deliberately fake kits the best, as they remind me a bit of trash kits made of found objects, anvils, metals, etc., which can be quite dynamic and have a wide frequency response.


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## Mark Schmieder (Jun 21, 2019)

I am leaning towards buying this, and using $60 Jam Points (which will expire anyway) vs. the $50 MODO Bass cross-grade offer, but I'll have to wait until Monday anyway as PayPal is down for the next few days for website maintenance, and I don't know my balances. Then I'm flying the next day. Bad timing. But I think the promo lasts past 30 June (I hope).


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## Polkasound (Jun 21, 2019)

I'll probably end up buying this library at some point because of how flexible it is, but I'd need to hear more demos first. The demos provided sound like all the drums were recorded by an engineer who insists _all_ drums have to sound a certain way... as if all grittiness must be EQ'd out so that every drum borders on being _too_ pure. When you drop a watermelon off a tall building, it doesn't splatter out in a perfectly symmetrical circle; pieces radiate outward in a chaotic way. That's what the sound of these drums seems to be lacking -- that "chaotic splat" for lack of a better analogy. But I will reserve judgement until I am able to hear more demos.


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## Diablo IV (Jun 22, 2019)

I am confused, all demo songs sound distorted everything...


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## kavinsky (Jun 22, 2019)

Modo bass is based on samples aswell - its very obvious.
They just have an “infinite” attack variation so it feels like the RRs are different, but if you listen closely there’s actually very few of them

But yes fake rooms mean that I’m mot interested in this product at all.
There’s nothing worse than a synthetic room sound if you want your drums to sound authentic.
A real space is a good half of any decent drum sound
The demos sound strange to me aswell.


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## karelpsota (Jun 22, 2019)

Does anyone here know how the modeling works? Is it based on a synth, that maybe goes through different IRs?

That technology fascinates me


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jun 22, 2019)

karelpsota said:


> Does anyone here know how the modeling works? Is it based on a synth, that maybe goes through different IRs?
> 
> That technology fascinates me



Here’s a fairly good explanation: https://www.applied-acoustics.com/techtalk/physicalmodeling/


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## LHall (Jun 22, 2019)

kavinsky said:


> Modo bass is based on samples aswell - its very obvious.
> They just have an “infinite” attack variation so it feels like the RRs are different, but if you listen closely there’s actually very few of them.



This is from the MODO Bass webpage: 

The first physically modeled electric bass virtual instrument
Groundbreaking real-time modal synthesis technology — no samples used to create sound


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## stixman (Jun 22, 2019)

The demos have not grabbed me so far...wallet is happy


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## Dewdman42 (Jun 22, 2019)

Polkasound said:


> I'll probably end up buying this library at some point because of how flexible it is, but I'd need to hear more demos first. The demos provided sound like all the drums were recorded by an engineer who insists _all_ drums have to sound a certain way... as if all grittiness must be EQ'd out so that every drum borders on being _too_ pure. When you drop a watermelon off a tall building, it doesn't splatter out in a perfectly symmetrical circle; pieces radiate outward in a chaotic way. That's what the sound of these drums seems to be lacking -- that "chaotic splat" for lack of a better analogy. But I will reserve judgement until I am able to hear more demos.



I bought it already because my pre-order cross grade price is too good to pass up compared to the full price, and I'm intrigued by it and I'm sure I will find a use.

That being said.. regarding the demos.. I think there are some aspects to the sound I really really like. I can hear so much nuance about how the stick is hitting the snare at different parts of the drum head, like most physically modeled instruments, I hear playing nuance that I feel is usually lacking in sampled drums. I do hear a plasticity to the sound though that does not sound as real as sampled to my ears, especially in the solo'd audio demos. The kicks, for example, have too much tonal pitch to them for my tastes. Not enough watermelon splatter(I like that analogy). But these are just demos from IK, produced by someone who had their own idea of how they wanted them to sound. Who knows what will be possible in our own hands.

Nonetheless I think they will still find use for me. Might layer them with samples, or layer them with synthesized drum sounds to get more feel, etc. There will be usefulness and I'm excited to play with it. And maybe someday there will be version 2 with more realism.

I imagine there will be countless debates about the tone, kind of like Pianoteq vs the world on here.


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## stixman (Jun 22, 2019)

I love Modo Bass...decent intro price.


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## Dewdman42 (Jun 22, 2019)

same here. Modeling drums is substantially harder then most other instruments. That's why nobody has really done it until now. I'm kind of impressed that it even sounds as good as it does to be honest. But I am quite sure there are going to be critics about ModoDrum's sounds that will never tire of complaining about it. I view it as another useful percussion device, I have been so impressed by ModoBass, I have to have this too. But... Truth is modeling drums is very hard due to the complex watermelon-splattering nature of percussion sounds. I'm happy to see someone attempting it though..and in the future hopefully we'll see more. Then we won't add half of an SSD to hold all our drum sample libraries.


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## kavinsky (Jun 23, 2019)

LHall said:


> This is from the MODO Bass webpage:
> 
> The first physically modeled electric bass virtual instrument
> Groundbreaking real-time modal synthesis technology — no samples used to create sound


Dont fall for the marketing bullshit
There are samples and its very noticeable


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## Eckoes (Jun 23, 2019)

kavinsky said:


> Dont fall for the marketing bullshit
> There are samples and its very noticeable


With MODO Bass? Are you sure?


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## RightOnTime (Jun 23, 2019)

I love the idea of physically modelled drums - great to see it finally happening. But according to an IK comment on their video, the hats will only have:



> Tight Tip
> Close Tip
> Half Open Tip
> Open Tip
> ...



Jeez, that's a hard pass from me then! Nothing's more important for realism than well-sampled hats, and 3-4 positions is pants.

To be honest the videos were a terrible first impression in general, lots of amazing visuals but I'd like to actually hear the drums properly; those plastic-sounding backing tracks left me cold. So far my impression is of sub-Ezdrummer quality at SD3 prices...

It didn't seem like you could truly design your own kits either, it looked like everything is based around tweaking one of their existing preset models. There's a ton of potential in their tech but that hihat articulation list is worryingly lightweight for something with an RRP of around _£420_ (!!!).


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## Polkasound (Jun 23, 2019)

omiroad said:


> So... since real drum performances are replaced by samples in professional mixes, why exactly do we need more than samples for our music?



For some types of music, you don't. Samples get the job done just fine. But a limited number of drum samples could never recreate the seemingly infinite textures, colors, and dynamics of, say, a Buddy Rich solo. The more exposed and featured a virtual instrument is, the more comprehensive the library needs to be. This is where modeling comes in.



RightOnTime said:


> Jeez, that's a hard pass from me then! Nothing's more important for realism than well-sampled hats, and 3-4 positions is pants.



This would make MODO DRUM a hard pass for me, too, unfortunately. If there is any one part of a drum set where modeling could have the potential to beat out all sample libraries, it's the hats. There are not enough samples in the world that can precisely recreate the infinite sounds created by hi-hats in a performance. I was hoping IK Multimedia would have tackled this issue with modeling, but it seems the technology or know-how just isn't there yet.


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## jtnyc (Jun 23, 2019)

omiroad said:


> So... since real drum performances are replaced by samples in professional mixes, why exactly do we need more than samples for our music?



I use samples to layer with real drums all the time, not replace them, but even if I did completely replace them it would still retain the feel of a live drum performance. Yes many midi loops are created by a drummer recording midi notes, but it's just not the same thing as having a drummer learn and play a song live. Nothing beats that. With midi loops your searching for something that kinda fits, then editing it to maybe fit better, or writing your bass line and other parts to fit with the existing beats. I hear a lot of awkward drums in music these days. It kind of fits, but something is wrong. Many people that aren't drummers end up making bad choices that an actual drummer would never make.

I guess it depends on what kind of music your making. Most of today's popular music is sampled and quantized, and it sounds like it. No feel, no soul. Most real rock, indie, alt bands (real bands) are still cutting live drums on their recordings because well, real is real and fake is fake and they are authentic.

I'm a pretty good drum programmer (no midi loops). I sometimes sketch out parts with SD3 and think wow that sounds so good, so real (and it does sound good). Then I send it to a drummer who plays for me a lot and have him learn the basic parts, fix what doesn't make sense from an actual drum performance perspective, and add his own ideas in. When I get it back and I A-B it to my original programmed drums which I thought sounded so good and so real, I always laugh because there is just no comparison. In the end it can never complete with the real thing.

If you're writing for libraries or other types of media then you really have no choice as you can't hire a drummer for every track. I use plenty of programmed drums for library music or jingles, but if I'm working on a proper record, I always use a real drummer.


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## DSmolken (Jun 23, 2019)

RightOnTime said:


> I love the idea of physically modelled drums - great to see it finally happening. But according to an IK comment on their video, the hats will only have:
> 
> 
> 
> Jeez, that's a hard pass from me then! Nothing's more important for realism than well-sampled hats, and 3-4 positions is pants.


That really depends on the genre. In general, I'm getting the idea that these drums might be good for metal, where there will be a lot of high-velocity kick and snare hits that need to sound non-identical.

But yeah, having spent hours recording hi-hat samples, I've been thinking about a better way to make a virtual hi-hat work at multiple degrees of openness, and also work properly - if you open up a part-open hat, while it's ringing, it'll stop clashing, for example. I can think of ways to do this, but they'd also be a pain and time-consuming to record. But this is one area where a hybrid approach of a model built from samples could be a real breakthrough. Just to drop an idea, I don't care if somebody wants to steal this one because I don't think it's practical - sample attack transients, open ringing, and hundreds of isolated edge clashes. Then reconstitute a hi-hat sound from those, with edge clashes getting triggered more often when the hat is more closed, and when it's got more energy currently stored up. Every clash drains some of that energy. The model's simple in theory, recording the clashes is also doable, but you'd probably need hundreds, so...

Anyway, that's getting off-topic. I think the MODO drums might help a lot of metal producers, who don't need part-open hi-hats (many real-world metal drummers are so busy with double kick pedals they just have two physical hi-hats - one permanently closed and one permanently open) but who do need a whole lot of hard kick and snare hits which won't machine gun - so sounding convincing at high velocities with randomization that's basically able to give you a whole ton of RRs will solve a problem they have. Also for a lot of pop where everything's highly processed and not all that realistic anyway, though having the ability to also do more percussion elements would help there. If there's another instrument that could use a hybrid modeled approach, it's ye olde shaker.


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## Mark Schmieder (Jun 23, 2019)

A lot of insight in your post, and I think it's likely that you've captured the primary target and motivation behind this tool. I guess we'll all see once it's released and gets into the hands of a more diverse set of people than did the audio demos.

Yes, hi-hat is the hardest to sound convincing of any part of the kit. When I do drum programming, I've now gotten away from doing my own hi-hats for the most part, and try to borrow ones with many articulations that are played by pros like Bill Bruford and the like. It's better than doing nothing special, and sometimes I just kind of bury the hats and focus more on the rides, but it depends on the song and/or genre as to whether that'll work.

I hadn't thought about how this modeling approach could address the machine gun effect of high-velocity metal playing, but I think that's a spot-on analysis.


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## re-peat (Jun 24, 2019)

Thus far, I’ve come across only two drum libraries which, in my opinion, have hi-hats that can really be worked with: Mixosaurus and Handheld MAD. Both include huge quantities of hi-hat samples, which, until the day that modelling gets it right, is still an absolute necessity. Neither of them is capable of those insane Buddy Rich hi-hat solos (of which *https://youtu.be/ZQ8A2EBXRiY?t=272 (this)* is a good example), but short of that, they both have hats with which very, very much is possible.

Here’s a short example of the *http://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/Drums/Re_MXS-HiHats.mp3 (MXS hi-hats)*. (Of all sampled hi-hats, these are, to my mind, the very best).

Apart from the actual hi-hat sound (which, sadly, most drum libraries get all wrong, to my ears), the thing I find missing most in all sampled hi-hats (except the two already mentioned) is a convincing transition from closed to open. If, for example, a drummer approaches the chorus of a song, he or she will often begin loosening the (foot-pressure on the pedal of the) hi-hat just a bit, increasingly so as the chorus comes nearer, until the hat is almost completely open, but not quite. It’s that whole range between closed and open (which is a very expressive range of the hi-hat that involves quite a lot of timbral changes and which is something that isn’t just useful for those pre-chorus moments) that’s regrettably absent, or certainly under-represented, in all too many libraries.

And another thing is pitch change depending on how hard you press the pedal. I don’t know of any library that includes samples of this phenomenon (partly because, judging by their sound, most sampled hi-hats have been submitted to a much too drastic hi-pass filtering process). A good illustration of what I mean (and what happens with a real hi-hat) can be heard in the opening bars of Donovan’s *http://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/Drums/MelloYellowHiHat.mp3 (“Mellow Yellow”)*: the tighter the two hi-hat cymbals are pressed together (with the pedal), the higher the pitch of the hat. You might say, “good god, what a ridiculously unimportant detail”, but I don’t think it is. An essential part of what the hi-hat is all about, I find.

And finally: what virtual drums are also incapable of reproducing is the ‘self-oscillation’ of ride cymbals. ‘Self-oscillation’ is, technically speaking, perhaps the wrong word, but if you play a good ride for any length of time with a certain consistency, there emerges somethin extra in the sound — a sort of thin, metallic-ringing nebula — which a single or a few ride hits just don’t produce. Again, it’s one of those subtle things, but it’s a big part of the reason why sampled rides never sound like real ones.

_


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## DSmolken (Jun 24, 2019)

Another newer contender in the brute-force sampled drums area: https://tkd-sound.booth.pm/items/1208913

A small kit with just two toms and two cymbals, but takes up 30 GB in the extreme version. Many snare and hi-hat articulations with 127 velocity layers. If you want that without modeling, this is where things end up. They're also working on a Ludwig kit now, and have also dug into doing a little modeling on top of the samples, such as modulating the attack time when doing cymbal rolls to make them smoother.

And on the modeled side, the old Synth Secrets covered a lot of the theory of how drums work and how they might be synthesized, starting with this installment: https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/synthesizing-percussion

That stuff didn't get into things like realistically responding to velocity, or the effects of having uneven tension around the lugs (which would make things very complicated mathematically, but maybe not too tough to analyze a few hits on badly tuned drums and make a simple algo that roughly emulates the differences between them and well-tuned drums), but it's still a good breakdown of what we're trying to do there, as well as the compromises and simplifications that classic analog drum synths made.


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## LHall (Jun 24, 2019)

kavinsky said:


> Dont fall for the marketing bullshit
> There are samples and its very noticeable


Wow - so you say they are repeatedly lying in all of their marketing material? And of course implying that I'm too stupid to realize it. Companies of this size have attorneys who go over everything they post in marketing materials. I seriously doubt they they would allow outright lies. Too many litigious buyers out there.


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## Mark Schmieder (Jun 24, 2019)

I have HandHeld MAD, and have never used it. It was part of a bundle deal. It never occurred to me to investigate it, as I don't like using Kontakt for drums (too cumbersome in terms of mappings and getting an overview of what you have). So thanks for the heads-up that I should give this one a look for the hi-hats!


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## Mark Schmieder (Jun 24, 2019)

I'll have to check some user manuals when I get back from a wedding in a few weeks (I leave tomorrow so am super-busy with last-minute details), but I'm pretty sure the ride cymbal build-up is dealt with in a few products, as I recall being impressed. Unfortunately I don't even have an inkling which ones, at the moment, but maybe it'll come to me later today. If not the case, then I look forward to this being targeted in modeling work or hybrid modeling/sampling.

EDIT: Possibly it was Straight Ahead Samples! that did something "special" here.


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## Geoff Grace (Jun 24, 2019)

DSmolken said:


> it's OK to leave out things like cowbells.


_Heresy, I say. HERESY_!!!







Best,

Geoff


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## Geoff Grace (Jun 24, 2019)

TigerTheFrog said:


> ​


​Okay, I'll admit that the drum sound isn't particularly compelling; but man, the progressive rocker in me really likes that track! 

Best,

Geoff


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## re-peat (Jun 25, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> I should give this one a look for the hi-hats!



Not just for the hi-hats, Mark. MAD consists of 3 excellent drumkits. Well, one very good one, the Red, and two outstanding ones, the Blue and the White. I agree they're not quite as intuitive to set up and work with as, say, a Toontrack kit, but with a little bit of preparatory work and an ear for what makes drums sound convincing, I believe they're capable of drum-simulation far superior to anything that can be done with TT. If, that is, you're going for a suggestion of a well-recorded, unhyped, natural sound.
Here's the *MAD White* and this is the *MAD Blue*. 

_


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## Mark Schmieder (Jun 25, 2019)

I just shut down my audio system a few minutes ago, so will check these out upon my return from my godson's wedding in a couple of weeks. I am definitely open to putting time into HandHeld MAD based on your feedback; Flying Hand Percussion has the best Congas by far (and I wish they had also done Bongos instead of Bongo Cajon). That developer is below the radar but truly understands how to make samples react in a natural way.


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## IKMultimedia (Jul 1, 2019)

New video up showing audio examples for those of you looking for a closer look.





omiroad said:


> So... since real drum performances are replaced by samples in professional mixes, why exactly do we need more than samples for our music?



Physical modeling allows you to have a huge variation in the sounds you are creating without a hefty sample library. This adds to the realism in a new way as opposed to just adding more samples.


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## kessel (Jul 3, 2019)

ChazC said:


> Well, BFD is very long in the tooth now (as well as having probably the worst GUI of any VSTi I’ve ever used)



What's wrong with BFD3's UI? I mean, it's not perfect of course but I prefer it to most of the Drums VSTs out there, most of them look like toys, including this new MODO Drum.

I have nothing against 3D modern visuals but if devs want to do it that way then please don't make them look so childish, I personally don't feel comfortable using VSTs that make me feel like I'm using garage band.


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## chocobitz825 (Jul 3, 2019)

kessel said:


> What's wrong with BFD3's UI? I mean, it's not perfect of course but I prefer it to most of the Drums VSTs out there, most of them look like toys, including this new MODO Drum.
> 
> I have nothing against 3D modern visuals but if devs want to do it that way then please don't make them look so childish, I personally don't feel comfortable using VSTs that make me feel like I'm using garage band.



#Priorities


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## kessel (Jul 3, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> #Priorities



that doesn't say much to me, can you develop your message further?


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## chocobitz825 (Jul 3, 2019)

kessel said:


> that doesn't say much to me, can you develop your message further?


I agree entirely that IK Multimedia's branding comes off as looking cheap, but I think that the actual quality of the product should be of higher priority. I'd strongly disagree with your take on BFD3. Its GUI is terrible, to the point of being a distraction from it fulfilling its purpose. Ugly interface, too many menus. It's capable but poorly designed.


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## kessel (Jul 3, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> I agree entirely that IK Multimedia's branding comes off as looking cheap, but I think that the actual quality of the product should be of higher priority. I'd strongly disagree with your take on BFD3. Its GUI is terrible, to the point of being a distraction from it fulfilling its purpose. Ugly interface, too many menus. It's capable but poorly designed.



Ok, that's something I can understand. Yeah, of course the functionality should be the most important factor, that's why I chose BFD3 over the rest actually, it was for me the most complete of the drums VSTis out there and the one I felt most comfortable working with, at least at the time I got it.

I know the UI could be a little bit more helping sometimes, but I honestly prefer that UI to the ones I'm seeing on Toontrack, Addictive Drums... or now on MODO Drums as well. I personally can't stand that toyish element, even when I actually like the idea of representing the drums visually on some sort of 3D model, but if it just looked more like we are adults and not kids using these plugins would be great.

I can't remember now any drum VST looking really nice to be honest


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## ChazC (Jul 3, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> I agree entirely that IK Multimedia's branding comes off as looking cheap, but I think that the actual quality of the product should be of higher priority. I'd strongly disagree with your take on BFD3. Its GUI is terrible, to the point of being a distraction from it fulfilling its purpose. Ugly interface, too many menus. It's capable but poorly designed.



@kessel This.

I can understand FXP wanting to do something different than all the other drum GUI’s out there with BFD3 but they completely dropped the ball. There’s a reason all the other drum GUI’s look like they do. Imagine a guitar or bass VSTi that looks like a line drawing or a blueprint rather than an actual guitar fretboard - why should drums be any different? Add in to that burying even some of the fundamental editing functions in menu’s/different pages.

The thing is just plain ugly and very uninspiring. I cringe every time I have to open it. It’s very rare that I even edit it these days, I just stick to three or four of my own presets.

It’s a shame because BFD3 is a great sounding VSTi.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to MODOdrum but I wish FXP had come up with BFD4 a long time ago.


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## kessel (Jul 3, 2019)

ChazC said:


> @kessel This.
> 
> I can understand FXP wanting to do something different than all the other drum GUI’s out there with BFD3 but they completely dropped the ball. There’s a reason all the other drum GUI’s look like they do. Imagine a guitar or bass VSTi that looks like a line drawing or a blueprint rather than an actual guitar fretboard - why should drums be any different? Add in to that burying even some of the fundamental editing functions in menu’s/different pages.
> 
> ...



Well, for me it's the opposite, I actually prefer to work with BFD3 UI than with UIs like Toontrack's EZDrums or Superior Drums, garage band, addictive drums and so on... so I guess it's a matter of tastes. I don't use guitar plugins but I'm not a big fan of such plugins either.

I have some good koto and shamisen libraries where you don't see a virtual koto or shamisen at all and play articulations by just seeing a keyboard, and I like them over the koto you get on garage band to be honest.

I don't know, maybe it's because I can play real drums and guitar that I don't feel comfortable using those VSTi's and can't take them seriously, but I think it's more of a problem with their design, they tend to look kind of childish and that bothers me the most.

What I can agree with is BFD3 hiding options behind menues that aren't really intuitive and making users loose time by searching for basic things, but other than that I personally still prefer a simple flat UI that looks like its made for grown ups than those childish drum renderings other VSTi's have.

The best for me would be somewhere in the middle, meaning, a realistic UI that looks as much as possible as the real thing and not like some kind of cartoon drums.


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## DSmolken (Jul 3, 2019)

I like using closeups of drum wrap or heads for backgrounds.


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## Dewdman42 (Jul 3, 2019)

If IK expands Modo Drums to include orchestral percussion instruments and completely ficticious percussive instruments using the modeling technology it will be instant upgrade for me.


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## Mark Schmieder (Jul 14, 2019)

I couldn't find a way to turn off the $50 coupon and then enter Jam Points, but had a $25 payPal coupon that was going to expire on 17 July so went ahead and pre-ordered MODO DRUMS for $124 today.

I figure it'll be a great learning tool in drum sound design, whether it gets used on final production tracks or not, and I definitely like the "extreme" kits, so may find some material where that provides some extra energy without sounding like old-school TR-808 type stuff.


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## Diablo IV (Jul 14, 2019)

re-peat said:


> Thus far, I’ve come across only two drum libraries which, in my opinion, have hi-hats that can really be worked with: Mixosaurus and Handheld MAD. Both include huge quantities of hi-hat samples, which, until the day that modelling gets it right, is still an absolute necessity. Neither of them is capable of those insane Buddy Rich hi-hat solos (of which *https://youtu.be/ZQ8A2EBXRiY?t=272 (this)* is a good example), but short of that, they both have hats with which very, very much is possible.
> 
> Here’s a short example of the *http://users.telenet.be/deridderpiet.be/Drums/Re_MXS-HiHats.mp3 (MXS hi-hats)*. (Of all sampled hi-hats, these are, to my mind, the very best).
> 
> ...


Example not found :(


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## Daniel James (Jul 30, 2019)

Picked up the MODO Bass to see if the tech was there and was blown away, instantly pre-ordered this.

For me its perfect because I can get into the nitty gritty of them drum tone, then sound design the fuck out of it. Love all the mic bleeding and infinite RR.

Can't wait

-DJ


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## RiverOak (Jul 31, 2019)

ChazC said:


> I can understand FXP wanting to do something different than all the other drum GUI’s out there with BFD3 but they completely dropped the ball. There’s a reason all the other drum GUI’s look like they do. Imagine a guitar or bass VSTi that looks like a line drawing or a blueprint rather than an actual guitar fretboard - why should drums be any different? Add in to that burying even some of the fundamental editing functions in menu’s/different pages.



I agree that the BFD3 UI is poorly designed. I don't agree that it's a complete disaster however, but there's certainly a lot of room for improvement. Had I been able to use my BFD expansions in SD3 I would have done so, but since that's not an option I'll keep using BFD3.
I really hope that there is a BFD4 in the making though. But with ROLI in charge you never know.
The expansions they have made since they started producing them in-house has been exceptional really. I would be a shame if ROLI was to drop it all.


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## Mark Schmieder (Aug 2, 2019)

Well, you probably know they did a new Jazz pack just recently (and it's on 50% sale with the rest, even though brand-new, which is a first). I was initially impressed until I listened to the naked versions. So I have no regrets over leaving BFD for SD (even though some libraries got orphaned for complex reasons), as I seem to be a bigger fan overall of how SD kits are miked. But at times it's splitting hairs; no one else comes close to the big two, and I don't expect MODO DRUMS to do so, but it will fit a different need anyway, for more interesting and novel synthetic drum sounds.


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## keepitsimple (Aug 2, 2019)

After i bought Get Good Drums Modern & Massive, i stopped using anything else. They work for anything really. They have a snare in there that sounds exactly like the snare Dave Weckl used to play in the 90's (lately he changed, he brightened it up a bit). 

What i love about GGD besides the great sound is that they have the rim shot mapped to velocity which i personally love when finger drumming on the keyboard.


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## kessel (Aug 2, 2019)

RiverOak said:


> I agree that the BFD3 UI is poorly designed. I don't agree that it's a complete disaster however, but there's certainly a lot of room for improvement. Had I been able to use my BFD expansions in SD3 I would have done so, but since that's not an option I'll keep using BFD3.
> I really hope that there is a BFD4 in the making though. But with ROLI in charge you never know.
> The expansions they have made since they started producing them in-house has been exceptional really. I would be a shame if ROLI was to drop it all.



They just released a new expansion called Jazz Noir so I guess they're not going to drop BFD.

I also hope they make BFD4 some day in a more or less near future, but I hope they don't change the GUI to look like most drum VSTi's now do. At least I hope that they don't use some rendered drums that end up looking like you're playing a toy drum. I honestly prefer the current 2D linear design to that.

Otherwise the GUI needs some improvements to make it more intuitive and easy to understand/handle, I agree on that point.


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## RiverOak (Aug 4, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> But at times it's splitting hairs; no one else comes close to the big two



Yeah, they are both excellent products. To me, SD2 wins as a core package, it's more polished and fits better into most productions, better UI, better internal effects. But that's also what I like about BFD3, it doesn't sound like everything else, but it's still excellent quality. And the Horsepower, VRT, Metal & Wooden Snare expansions really hit home for me.
I wish they had sampled the new jazz kit with mallets. That would have been really sweet. I liked it in one of the demos but not in the other so it might be down to usage. I find that often their demos don't do the kits justice.

Not sure about MODO to be honest. To me it's too close to real drums to be "synthetic" and too far off from real drums to be "authentic". It's the uncanny valley effect.


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## kessel (Aug 5, 2019)

By SD do you mean Superior Drummer?


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## kessel (Aug 5, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> Well, you probably know they did a new Jazz pack just recently (and it's on 50% sale with the rest, even though brand-new, which is a first). I was initially impressed until I listened to the naked versions...



Well, I guess you listened to them through their website, meaning through Soundcloud, which isn't exactly the best way to listen to any audio demos in terms of quality


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## tosza (Aug 7, 2019)

It's out!


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## pipedr (Aug 7, 2019)

I really like MODO Bass, so very interested to know what people think about MODO Drums.


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## chocobitz825 (Aug 7, 2019)

pipedr said:


> I really like MODO Bass, so very interested to know what people think about MODO Drums.



got a track I'm gonna try it on now! cant wait!

btw...why is it i found out about the release here first rather than ikmultimedia where I pre-ordered it? I hate how mailing lists always deliver so slow...


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## chocobitz825 (Aug 7, 2019)

pipedr said:


> I really like MODO Bass, so very interested to know what people think about MODO Drums.



It's hard to say what people will think of the quality. Its a lot like modo bass in the best of ways. listening to my track and changing parameters of the drums and seeing how that impacts the sound is deeply satisfying and allows me to avoid EQing it seems. How real it can all sound, in the end, depends on how well you control all the different things you can change here. I think it's SUPER powerful, but it won't be for everyone. I don't love the presets, and I wish it had the ability to change the drum map. So far I like it a lot.


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## Dewdman42 (Aug 7, 2019)

buzz killed. Modo drums requires AVX


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## chocobitz825 (Aug 7, 2019)

Some good and bad stuff in here. Whats definitely cool is being able to fine-tune the playing style. selecting where on the snare the right-hand normal hits and where the left-hand hits. The type of beater on the kick, or the types of sticks you use. It's way deeper than I assumed it would be and I think it has a lot of potentials. The rooms are not great IMO. I'm just turning them off and using my own. Right out the bat, it has so much more energy than Superior Drummer. This MODO series is no joke. If they do a guitar series, they will have all my money.


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## jtnyc (Aug 7, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> Right out the bat, it has so much more energy than Superior Drummer.



Maybe so. I didn't really like what I heard in the IK demos, but I haven't tried it out for myself so maybe I'm missing something. Here's a clip of me playing SD3 from my midi keyboard. No quantize, no major editing, just deleted some bad notes and moved the different grooves closer together. I think there is a ton of realism and energy from these drums. I have a FabFilter Pro C on the drum bus and a Pro L2 on my master


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## chocobitz825 (Aug 7, 2019)

jtnyc said:


> Maybe so. I didn't really like what I heard in the IK demos, but I haven't tried it out for myself so maybe I'm missing something. Here's a clip of me playing SD3 from my midi keyboard. No quantize, no major editing, just deleted some bad notes and moved the different grooves closer together. I think there is a ton of realism and energy from these drums.



no doubt. superior drummer is strong. It more often than not gets the job done. MODO's benefit is that you can be a bit more precise with what's happening. Not for everybody, but its a nice alternative.


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## Mark Schmieder (Aug 7, 2019)

As I've mentioned in other threads, I sometimes find modeling based products useful for setting the bar, in cases where the timbre or other aspects just don't cut it (especially for ultra-realism). Then I use those settings to try to match a sample library as closely as possible. Much easier than having no reference at all when tweaking a sample library's parameters. Education is worth an investment.


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## Mark Schmieder (Aug 8, 2019)

Just finished downloading and installing it. Far too tired to really play with it yet, but the jazz preset sounds cavernous, so when I am awake the first thing I will try is some editing parameters that will tame that.

Interface is similar to MODO BASS, and huge. Wasn't expecting it to be ready today, but downloaded it now anyway because I don't like slowing down the start of my day with procedural stuff.


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## IKMultimedia (Aug 8, 2019)

Thanks for the input here, glad some are already able to enjoy MODO DRUM. Note that we have added more audio demos to our site at https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/mododrum/index.php?p=audio

There are also some more basic and most times "natural" sounding simple demos by this user on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Minatnoy

This video is also a good watch, covers some of the more advanced/customization aspects of MODO DRUM too:


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## Polkasound (Aug 8, 2019)

Since IK Multimedia tech support was unable to answer my question directly, I'll try asking it here. Can this library produce a rim shot? (That where the tip of the stick comes down and strikes the head while the side of the stick simultaneously catches the rim, producing a nice sharp "crack!")


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## IKMultimedia (Aug 8, 2019)

Polkasound said:


> Since IK Multimedia tech support was unable to answer my question directly, I'll try asking it here. Can this library produce a rim shot? (That where the tip of the stick comes down and strikes the head while the side of the stick simultaneously catches the rim, producing a nice sharp "crack!")


Absolutely MODO DRUM has rimshot. Please let me know your ticket number so I can make sure a "teaching moment" ensues. Thanks!


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## IKMultimedia (Aug 8, 2019)

To elaborate, we do have rimshot as well as side stick in MODO DRUM. If you have MODO DRUM, check out Chapter 10 in the manual and take a look at the MIDI Mappings section. You'll see in the diagram that Snare Rimshot L is E1 and Snare Rimshot R is E3, while Side Stick is C#1.


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## mixtur (Aug 8, 2019)

Any demo available?


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## chocobitz825 (Aug 10, 2019)




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## DSmolken (Aug 10, 2019)

We know the cymbals are sampled (though they do swells well). What about the tambourine, cowbell and claps? Does this contain the very model of a modern MIDI cowbell?


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## gamma-ut (Aug 10, 2019)

DSmolken said:


> We know the cymbals are sampled (though they do swells well). What about the tambourine, cowbell and claps? Does this contain the very model of a modern MIDI cowbell?



As far as I can tell there is precisely one sampled cowbell across all the kits. You, therefore, cannot have more cowbell. It's the same for tambourine and claps by the looks of it.


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## Mark Schmieder (Aug 10, 2019)

What does "Requires AVX" mean? I only know it has something to do with video cards. Are there only specific video cards that are supported? Which ones? How do we know? What doesn't work if we don't have AVX? Will it not load?

Sorry for so many questions, but I'm in the middle of a house move, and fairly disorganized in terms of access to information etc. I downloaded and tried it as soon as it became available, and didn't notice any problems, but also didn't have a chance to use it heavily yet, and won't for another month.

I do not recall any serious limitations being posted, and probably assumed that it would run on anything that can run MODO BASS.

My only concern so far is that it doesn't appear that you can re-map the drums, and that it only supports General MIDI, which is pretty limiting when it comes to snares and hi-hats in particular. Unless one is just doing TR808/TR909 type stuff.


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## rudi (Aug 11, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


>



Thanks for a great review and walkthrough!


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## chocobitz825 (Aug 11, 2019)

rudi said:


> Thanks for a great review and walkthrough!



Not my review, but I figured sharing it might help some people. 
It is unfortaunte that its limited to general midi for the time being, but here's the drum map. Its actually pretty good with some interesting CC options as well. I have to say its quickly becoming my favorite drum library.


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## rudi (Aug 11, 2019)

Thanks for the clarification - it is a very helpful and detailed review!


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## rrichard63 (Aug 11, 2019)

Mark Schmieder said:


> What does "Requires AVX" mean?


I would also like to learn about AVX.


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## Dewdman42 (Aug 11, 2019)

AVX is a feature built into newer cpus. This product can not run on all Macs and PCs currently in use because not all have AVX. Newer ones do. My macpro from 2012 does not and cannot use this product. AVX technology was introduced around 2009 I think. Google it to learn more.

The mododrums installer will not install the product if it detects you do not have AVX in your cpu.

Modobass does not require AVX. Mododrums does.


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## Mark Schmieder (Aug 11, 2019)

Thanks for clarifying the requirements timeframe and also the behaviour when not met. That should help a lot of people.


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## pipedr (Aug 11, 2019)

I didn’t see a brush kit. Anyone know if it has a brush kit for jazz?


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## cruxmusic (Aug 11, 2019)

Just grabbed it. You _can_ use Jam Points WITH the upgrade price. Got mine for 140.99$ I cannot get the Hi-Hat rim to work (closed or open)! Tried every custom CC# value to no avail. I am using a Roland TD-11. Any suggestions?

Tried using values 26 and 21 but that is not a direct control of the "note" just the aperture control.


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## Ryan_IK (Aug 12, 2019)

cruxmusic said:


> Just grabbed it. You _can_ use Jam Points WITH the upgrade price. Got mine for 140.99$ I cannot get the Hi-Hat rim to work (closed or open)! Tried every custom CC# value to no avail. I am using a Roland TD-11. Any suggestions?
> 
> Tried using values 26 and 21 but that is not a direct control of the "note" just the aperture control.


Check your Settings -> Control section for the MIDI CC control of your Hi-hat aperture. There is also a short description on how this works in this section. The user manual goes over each note assignment in MODO DRUM. See the screen shot here:


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## cruxmusic (Aug 13, 2019)

Ryan_IK said:


> Check your Settings -> Control section for the MIDI CC control of your Hi-hat aperture. There is also a short description on how this works in this section. The user manual goes over each note assignment in MODO DRUM. See the screen shot here:


That worked. Thank you. I should be able to change mappings in Superior and NI Abbey Road drums to match.


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## Virtuoso (Aug 15, 2019)

I just got this tonight - I'm not hugely impressed so far. Finding it tough to get a good snare sound and the dynamic range seems off - even the lowest velocities seem too strong on the snares. In the attached example comparing it to EZ Drummer, ghost notes and rolls just don't sound right on MODO.

I found quite a few bugs in the first hour or so - it started making random almost chordal sounds by itself while playback was stopped (nothing else loaded) and I noticed odd sounds creeping into the overheads from the hi-hats during playback. The mixer OH/Room routing buttons don't seem to work properly (e.g. turn off the power button on the snare OH send during playback and then solo the OH channel - the snare is still there, I have to power it back on and then off again to make it work).

It's nice to see a scalable UI, but you can't stretch the window right to show all mixer channels. Everything scales in proportion, so no matter how large you make it, you can still only see 8 channels at a time.

It would be very useful to have note remapping, ideally with presets for common MIDI libraries like Toontrack.

I would also like more control over the cross stick sound - at the moment it's defined by whichever snare model you pick, but if you don't like it you have no ability to tweak it.

The Groove browser is ok, but there's no tempo column to sort the results. The individual grooves are named so you can search for a specific tempo by typing '112' in the search bar, but it would be useful to be able to search by tempo range - maybe by typing 116-130.

There are no brushes for jazz unfortunately. MODO Bass also has no upright or fretless. so maybe Jazz isn't on IK's roadmap?


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## chocobitz825 (Aug 15, 2019)

Virtuoso said:


> I just got this tonight - I'm not hugely impressed so far. Finding it tough to get a good snare sound and the dynamic range seems off - even the lowest velocities seem too strong on the snares. In the attached example comparing it to EZ Drummer, ghost notes and rolls just don't sound right on MODO.
> 
> I found quite a few bugs in the first hour or so - it started making random almost chordal sounds by itself while playback was stopped (nothing else loaded) and I noticed odd sounds creeping into the overheads from the hi-hats during playback. The mixer OH/Room routing buttons don't seem to work properly (e.g. turn off the power button on the snare OH send during playback and then solo the OH channel - the snare is still there, I have to power it back on and then off again to make it work).
> 
> ...



what DAW are you using? that's strange. I've experienced none of those problems, and I've put them on my 5th track already. I suppose everyone has their tastes, but it's disappointing to hear you haven't been able to build the kind of snare you want. That's been my favorite part so far. I've been able to shape and tune them perfectly and if anything, I've had issues where the snare was too soft and I had to bring up the velocities because I use some grooves from different libraries. 

As for Superior Drummer, the only fix for me was just to go and make a Drum Map of Modo Drums in Superior Drummer and now I just load that up when necessary. I also now just open up SD and do midi out to MODO drums for the grooves.

Oh well, these libraries never work for 100% of the users. Sad to hear its not meeting your expectations.


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## Virtuoso (Aug 15, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> what DAW are you using?


I'm using Logic.

I shouldn't have bought it really - I don't need it and the audio demos didn't impress me at all. In a moment of weakness, I was lead astray by the very enthusiastic video review posted earlier! 

I'm sure it will improve, but right now I'll probably set it aside and carry on with SD3 and EZ2. I think I can get much better results much faster with either of those.


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## Ryan_IK (Aug 15, 2019)

Virtuoso said:


> I just got this tonight - I'm not hugely impressed so far. Finding it tough to get a good snare sound and the dynamic range seems off - even the lowest velocities seem too strong on the snares. In the attached example comparing it to EZ Drummer, ghost notes and rolls just don't sound right on MODO.
> 
> I found quite a few bugs in the first hour or so - it started making random almost chordal sounds by itself while playback was stopped (nothing else loaded) and I noticed odd sounds creeping into the overheads from the hi-hats during playback. The mixer OH/Room routing buttons don't seem to work properly (e.g. turn off the power button on the snare OH send during playback and then solo the OH channel - the snare is still there, I have to power it back on and then off again to make it work).
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear of any troubles getting started.

Please post your suggestions to the Official Wish list for MODO DRUM.

For your issues, these have not been reported by other users. Have you contacted our support team? If not, please reach out by opening a ticket here. Once open, you can PM me your Ticket# so I can flag your case.

For your search issues, try searching "_116" or just add the "_" before your desired tempo. This should get you working, the team is looking into search optimizations in the meantime. 

We definitely appreciate Jazz sounds, and we have seen a bunch of interests for brushes. This interest has been passed to the team. Stay tuned to the newsletter to be the first to hear of future developments. 






IK Multimedia. Musicians First


IK Multimedia. Musicians First




www.ikmultimedia.com








Virtuoso said:


> I'm using Logic.
> 
> I shouldn't have bought it really - I don't need it and the audio demos didn't impress me at all. In a moment of weakness, I was lead astray by the very enthusiastic video review posted earlier!
> 
> I'm sure it will improve, but right now I'll probably set it aside and carry on with SD3 and EZ2. I think I can get much better results much faster with either of those.



If you are having troubles getting any particular sounds, the support team may be able to help. We've been seeing a lot of users mention how easy their transition from Superior Drummer 3 and BFD was, so maybe with some suggestions we can help make your workflow a bit more efficient in this aspect.


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## pipedr (Aug 15, 2019)

Virtuoso said:


> I just got this tonight - I'm not hugely impressed so far. Finding it tough to get a good snare sound and the dynamic range seems off - even the lowest velocities seem too strong on the snares. In the attached example comparing it to EZ Drummer, ghost notes and rolls just don't sound right on MODO.
> 
> I found quite a few bugs in the first hour or so - it started making random almost chordal sounds by itself while playback was stopped (nothing else loaded) and I noticed odd sounds creeping into the overheads from the hi-hats during playback. The mixer OH/Room routing buttons don't seem to work properly (e.g. turn off the power button on the snare OH send during playback and then solo the OH channel - the snare is still there, I have to power it back on and then off again to make it work).
> 
> ...


Thanks for posting. I like these side by side comparisons. Was EZDrummer the first example with the deeper snare? Was the loop taken from EZDrummer or Modo?


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## Diablo IV (Aug 15, 2019)

Virtuoso said:


> I'm using Logic.
> 
> I shouldn't have bought it really - I don't need it and the audio demos didn't impress me at all. In a moment of weakness, I was lead astray by the very enthusiastic video review posted earlier!
> 
> I'm sure it will improve, but right now I'll probably set it aside and carry on with SD3 and EZ2. I think I can get much better results much faster with either of those.



Judging by the new videos surfacing Youtube, kick drum alone (specially using both) sounds stellar to me.

Hi hats and playability of those (specially since you can control the openness of the hats) is marvelous.
Plus having the ability to add left and right hand to it,stick tip or edge is such a great feature too.

Timbre wise I loved it all (judging by the demos) except the snare. Judging by demos (videos),
it has machine gun effect and not a good timbre (even using L&R hands). That's a bummer.

Cymbals sounds so silky.

Not that I am defending the product, I am speaking out right now just judging by the recent surfacing
Youtube videos.

I wish IK Multimedia released Modo Drum as parts, so I could buy everything but the snare, 

Although what be better is if they released a snare pack or something, making sure it sounded amazing.

EDIT: The snare here sounds great, but I doubt repeating 16th notes get rid of machine gun effect. At least it does have a very good timbre (min 2):


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## chocobitz825 (Aug 15, 2019)

Diablo3 said:


> Judging by the new videos surfacing Youtube, kick drum alone (specially using both) sounds stellar to me.
> 
> Hi hats and playability of those (specially since you can control the openness of the hats) is marvelous.
> Plus having the ability to add left and right hand to it,stick tip or edge is such a great feature too.
> ...




Other ears are far more particular than mine so I imagine my opinion can be taken with a grain of salt, but I’ve found the snares avoid the machine gun sound by positioning the right hand just off from center and then fine tuning or humanizing the velocity of the snare hits. No doubt there are a million other ways to address the problem but I’ve found out if the box I’ve enjoyed modo far more than superior drummer.


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## Eckoes (Aug 15, 2019)

Mallets! We need mallets!

Thank you.


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## Diablo IV (Aug 15, 2019)

chocobitz825 said:


> Other ears are far more particular than mine so I imagine my opinion can be taken with a grain of salt, but I’ve found the snares avoid the machine gun sound by positioning the right hand just off from center and then fine tuning or humanizing the velocity of the snare hits. No doubt there are a million other ways to address the problem but I’ve found out if the box I’ve enjoyed modo far more than superior drummer.



Nice, I never got what people saw in SD3  (What I got is SSDrums 5 and all NI drum kits now).


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## PerryD (Aug 28, 2019)

I love Modo Bass. I bought Modo Drum today, largely based on the excellent videos by "Dancetech" on Youtube. Really liking the sound of my first test. Excuse the cheesy stick count-off I added.


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