# Heavyocity Master Sessions



## woodsdenis (Aug 12, 2014)

Didn't see this in commercial section, Thoughts ? I have all their libs and am a fan, is it more of the same or something different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLfVhSR2VaQ


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## PJMorgan (Aug 12, 2014)

I'm curious too, I have Damage, Evolve & Mutations 2. I'm wondering if there'd be much of an overlap with these & Master Sessions.


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## gbar (Aug 12, 2014)

Yea. Wow, I didn't even know about this (am I not on their mailing list?).

So 149 until August 26th for the full collection, and it's not huge (1.9GB)? Hmmm. I have yet to ever actually use any of their loops in anything I have even tried to write (My brain has trouble with the idea of loops for some reason). I have used Damage single shots pretty regularly, though, and I hope to actually use AEON instruments/hits in something sooner or later 


Thanks for posting this. Gives me something to think about for a week or two anyway. To buy or not to buy?


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## woodsdenis (Aug 12, 2014)

Maybe Alex or Heavyocity could clear this one up as its not to obvious from the video, it seems that all samples are ensemble hits, which has a certain sound and is of course useful if you are going for that. It does say on the website there are "single kit presets", are this single one player hits ? if so it would expand this libraries usefulness greatly, if not it is really for a specific multi player sound.


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## windshore (Aug 12, 2014)

I LOVE Heavyocity's libs! but...

I listened to virtually all the demos and my ears burned-out pretty quickly on the sameness of tone. It's great that you can morph but it just feels like every hit is constant slamming.

It would certainly be great to have it mixed with smaller instruments or smaller ensembles a bit like Action Hits.

Not dogging this product.. If you don't have this kind of sound covered it'll be great I'm sure.


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## geronimo (Aug 12, 2014)

I just bought it and having DAMAGE & Evolve and I hesitated . :? 
So I listened to the demos and compared it with my "arsenal" by loading the DAMAGE & Evolve Instruments.
Then I took that and decided novelty and do not regret it: I think this is the great similarity of Kontakt script with the Damage that draws the two libraries but that's it all !
Damage from straight towards FX and sound effects while they are more focused Master Sessions classical percussion .

When buying, we propose to give the Serial Number of your Heavocity products recorded and this causes a 30 $ rédution for the Master Sessions price. With the introductory price, it's not very expensive and you don't take a big risk . :wink:


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## gsilbers (Aug 12, 2014)

seems this is cherry picking sounds and making a new lower cost instrument. price is very nice but seems accord to the amount of content. like $130. 
not sure if its worth getting if i have all the other ones. or is it new loop? or are one hits a mix of several one hitterS? 
the site is coy at saying this is old content rebranded or not.


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## chillbot (Aug 12, 2014)

New loops. I just bought the loops, not the hits. So far very useful. If you like Damage you would like this, if not probably not.


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## Daniel James (Aug 12, 2014)

I bought it. So far the sounds are very punchy and Heavyocity sounding. There is a very similar vibe to DAMAGE in terms of tone. 

In the Kit mode you essentially get 1 ensemble patch which has 7 different drums on it. (so 14 keys on your keyboard, 2 for each drum) The enseble patch has a couple of variation patches (ie a hi gain version and a stretched version which uses the same samples)

Then you have patches with individual versions of the drums from the ensemble (ie low drums on its own patch, snares with an on and off version on their own patches) There are also some cooler sounding tom versions, one with roto toms.

Then finally you get those sounds with different FX chains pre set up on them.

I personally love the sound, and its going to layer in great if you love really strong perc sections.

I have the loops too but havn't played enough with it to give a full opinion yet.

All in all its worth the money if you like that Heavyocity sound. Very strong and punchy!

-DJ


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## RiffWraith (Aug 12, 2014)

Do I sense a 4-hr. marathon DJ video in the works? :D


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## Zhao Shen (Aug 12, 2014)

Upon listening to some of the demos and walkthroughs, I'm not too impressed. Very nice punch to it, but the entire library seems to lack versatility. A shame, I really love Damage and was hoping for Heavyocity to release a top-notch organic percussion library.

This is probably all a matter of personal taste though. Whatever the case, looking forward to more Heavyocity Master Sessions!


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## Waywyn (Aug 12, 2014)

My 2 cents:

I don't tend to see libs as:
I got lib A from company B, therefore I may not need lib B from them?
To me it is about fresh material/unique sound, then yes!

Another fact is, Heavyocity never disappointed me in terms of quality and I am not saying this because I did a demo for them.


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## Allegro (Aug 12, 2014)

The sound is super recognizable. Not much to change here I think (saying this after listening to several demos on their website).
Now a word about the quality and color of the sound itself: great!


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## Dan Mott (Aug 12, 2014)

Sounds exactly like damage.


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## gsilbers (Aug 12, 2014)

yes. just like a light damage to add to the next complete bundle. ni marketing ploy. 
still good price and good product if you dont have damage or the others.


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## tmm (Aug 12, 2014)

I put it in my cart, then got an offer for a discount on DM-307, too, which I hadn't even considered yet. After a long time of listening to demos from both, I think I actually would use DM-307 a lot, and this, not so much… and not b/c it doesn't sound awesome, but b/c I feel I could approximate the same sound with more control with libs I already have. The same is not true of DM-307.


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## wesbender (Aug 12, 2014)

Dan Mott @ Tue Aug 12 said:


> Sounds exactly like damage.



yep...


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## constaneum (Aug 13, 2014)

windshore @ Tue Aug 12 said:


> I listened to virtually all the demos and my ears burned-out pretty quickly on the sameness of tone. It's great that you can morph but it just feels like every hit is constant slamming.



I have to agree with that too when i was listening to the demos. I own Damage, loves it and still using it. This new product is a good product but just not so great sounding. Nothing spectacular and it sounds quite similar to some of Damage's percussions which makes me feel "oh ok, I have most of the sounds in Damage". 

Honestly speaking, when i look at the sampled contents, especially Taiko, it got me excited at first but the excitement dies off when i'm hearing nothing on a detailed sampled Taiko. After hearing the demos, i was beginning to wonder whether this product is more towards "developers' picks or choice of instruments" from Heavyocity products kind of thing. 

Anyway, if you don't have such sound in your list, it's a good grab though. Just not applicable to my case as i've already owned Damage. o-[][]-o


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## Stephen Rees (Aug 13, 2014)

Its not hard to imagine why they called themselves Heavyocity is it? 

More on the lookout for 'Delicateocity', 'Subtleocity' and 'Beautyocity' myself….


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## blougui (Aug 13, 2014)

Waywyn @ Wed Aug 13 said:


> My 2 cents:
> 
> I don't tend to see libs as:
> I got lib A from company B, therefore I may not need lib B from them?
> ...


I totally agree. If you.re a hobbyist then it could be different. But a pro working a lot and on deadline is in search of new sounds, new loops to refresh his compositions.

The demos of MS have a very deep bottom end'
Dm307 is more electro oriented and boasts more variety AND the "grid", an awsome tool.
Btw, great demo Alex, reminds me a tad of Front242.

-Erik


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## Waywyn (Aug 13, 2014)

blougui @ Wed Aug 13 said:


> Btw, great demo Alex, reminds me a tad of Front242.
> 
> -Erik




Thank you!



ADD: To everyone else saying that these drums sound exactly like Damage. You clearly know what you are talking about! *shakeshead*


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## playz123 (Aug 13, 2014)

Kudos to Alex as well; great demo. And I like some of the other demos too, but alas not all.


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## snowleopard (Aug 13, 2014)

Sounds kind of like Damage Lite to me too, which is sort of the direction they have been going. Though I do understand it's all new sounds, and the price is good. 

I'm still hoping to hear Heavyocity go back to making a library more similar to Evolve.


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## oxo (Aug 13, 2014)

snowleopard @ Wed Aug 13 said:


> ...I'm still hoping to hear Heavyocity go back to making a library more similar to Evolve.




yes, evolve2 would be nice!


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## PJMorgan (Aug 13, 2014)

If you have Damage you'll pretty much know how to use the Kits Library but this walk through video from Toby Ryan:



Delves a wee bit more in depth into the Loops Library as well From about 6:40 in. I know a lot of you (myself included) don't like to use straight up loops in their music but with the Mangling/sequencing features in the Loops library you can really make these loops your own. I might end up just getting the loops Library.


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## woodsdenis (Aug 13, 2014)

First Heavyocity lib that is NOT NI encoded, whatever that means. Cheaper ?


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## playz123 (Aug 13, 2014)

woodsdenis @ Wed Aug 13 said:


> First Heavyocity lib that is NOT NI encoded, whatever that means.



Less expensive? Easier access to the samples??


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## Saxer (Aug 14, 2014)

playz123 @ 14.8.2014 said:


> woodsdenis @ Wed Aug 13 said:
> 
> 
> > First Heavyocity lib that is NOT NI encoded, whatever that means.
> ...


it mainly means you need a full version of kontakt.


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## woodsdenis (Aug 14, 2014)

Daniel James @ Tue Aug 12 said:


> I bought it. So far the sounds are very punchy and Heavyocity sounding. There is a very similar vibe to DAMAGE in terms of tone.
> 
> In the Kit mode you essentially get 1 ensemble patch which has 7 different drums on it. (so 14 keys on your keyboard, 2 for each drum) The enseble patch has a couple of variation patches (ie a hi gain version and a stretched version which uses the same samples)
> 
> ...



DJ because this is not NI encoded are the samples available in this ala Project Alpha. 

Especially for the loops and fx hits I find this feature a godsend in libraries, so much quicker to drag in the sample.


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## Daniel James (Aug 14, 2014)

woodsdenis @ Thu Aug 14 said:


> Daniel James @ Tue Aug 12 said:
> 
> 
> > I bought it. So far the sounds are very punchy and Heavyocity sounding. There is a very similar vibe to DAMAGE in terms of tone.
> ...



They are NCW. I think there is a way to convert them to WAV.....but I don't know what that is haha I have only ever aimed for wav They make life so much easier for people to use as is 

-DJ


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## Robg (Aug 14, 2014)

You can use Kontakt to convert NCW to Wav files, pretty much the same way as the reverse, using "file Save as" in Kontakt - just make sure the "Compress samples" box is unchecked/deactivated. There is a more complete description here: http://www.strezov-sampling.com/article ... 20WAV.html


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## Daniel James (Aug 14, 2014)

Thanks for that Robg. The more you know 

-DJ


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## Dan Mott (Aug 14, 2014)

Waywyn @ Thu Aug 14 said:


> blougui @ Wed Aug 13 said:
> 
> 
> > Btw, great demo Alex, reminds me a tad of Front242.
> ...




So.... Do you disagree that it sounds like Damage?


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## Waywyn (Aug 15, 2014)

Dan Mott @ Fri Aug 15 said:


> Waywyn @ Thu Aug 14 said:
> 
> 
> > blougui @ Wed Aug 13 said:
> ...




Imagine one person on this forum would state that 8Dio Adagio sounds like Agitato, that Spitfire Mural sounds like Sable or VSL Appassionata sounds like their classic orchestral Strings. This person would probably nailed upside down to a cross and burned alive! How could one on earth say something blaspheme as this! 

.. but then Damage sounds like those new Ensemble Drums?!

I am just seriously asking myself if people are that "orchestral instruments fine tuned" here but not being able to tell the difference between two totally different sounding drums libs?


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## Dan Mott (Aug 15, 2014)

Waywyn @ Fri Aug 15 said:


> Dan Mott @ Fri Aug 15 said:
> 
> 
> > Waywyn @ Thu Aug 14 said:
> ...





Well. I go listen to the Damage demos. Then I come back and listen to these master sessions and they have that same sound signature sound. You can shake your head at me, but I swear man... :D. They sound so similar that this could easily be a direct expansion or even I less RAM intensive version of Damage. These can obviously be useful, but it's just odd in my case that this product is not much different to Damage imo.


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## Guido Negraszus (Aug 15, 2014)

Just purchased this and NO, it does not sound like Damage.  Better!

What I would like to know, if someone knows:
What are the "Kits" actual instruments and what is the layout on the keyboard? For example: I load the "EnsDrumMenu (all)" and then I see 2 layouts (about 1 octave range) on the keyboard (blue and yellow keys). What do they stand/represent for? Can't find anything in the manual unless I'm blind.


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## wesbender (Aug 15, 2014)

Waywyn @ Wed Aug 13 said:


> ADD: To everyone else saying that these drums sound exactly like Damage. You clearly know what you are talking about! *shakeshead*



So, why is your opinion more correct than mine?


The bottom line for me is that, as a (happy) Damage owner, I can already accomplish just about everything that these demos are showing, but with more flexibility.

And just to be clear, I'm only stating that this library sounds awfully similar to Damage, not that it's a bad product...it does seem like a nice, more affordable option for those without Damage, or I suppose if you can't get enough of that 'Damage' sound and want more content along those lines.

(only talking about the multi-samples by the way...I don't use loops, so I have no opinion on that aspect of the libraries).


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## RiffWraith (Aug 15, 2014)

Picked this up the first day it was out, and just went going through it today.

These drums def do not sound exactly like Damage; but they def sound similar. If you are like me, that means you can never have enough drums. In which case, I def recommend this.

Cheers.


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## wqaxsz (Aug 15, 2014)

wesbender @ Sat Aug 16 said:


> Waywyn @ Wed Aug 13 said:
> 
> 
> > ADD: To everyone else saying that these drums sound exactly like Damage. You clearly know what you are talking about! *shakeshead*
> ...



hi,

i can assure you that, opinion wise, it is or he is "never", but good luck.

Regards


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## paulmatthew (Aug 15, 2014)

Guido Negraszus @ Fri Aug 15 said:


> Just purchased this and NO, it does not sound like Damage.  Better!
> 
> What I would like to know, if someone knows:
> What are the "Kits" actual instruments and what is the layout on the keyboard? For example: I load the "EnsDrumMenu (all)" and then I see 2 layouts (about 1 octave range) on the keyboard (blue and yellow keys). What do they stand/represent for? Can't find anything in the manual unless I'm blind.



Guido , I watched the tutorial videos and it looks like there is a patch or 2 which you may be referring to , where the ensembles are panned left and right ( split on the keyboard) similar to the celli patch in Albion Iceni.


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## Daniel James (Aug 16, 2014)

Did anyone else get the feeling they are artificially bassy...like the subs were achieved with either synthesis or harmonic plugins. It feels unnaturally bassy and overloads the master chain quite ofter for me (I work with compression on). Its fine if they are but I feel a weird reaction to the 'mix' of the drums.

-DJ


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## pkm (Aug 16, 2014)

Yeah, I hear that too. Sounds like a MaxxBass/Aphex Big Bottom/VOG kind of effect. A good octave below the fundamental of the drums. Sounds good on its own, but you'll have to do some filtering if you want to separate the crack from the deep bottom end.


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## Daniel James (Aug 16, 2014)

pkm @ Sat Aug 16 said:


> Yeah, I hear that too. Sounds like a MaxxBass/Aphex Big Bottom/VOG kind of effect. A good octave below the fundamental of the drums. Sounds good on its own, but you'll have to do some filtering if you want to separate the crack from the deep bottom end.



Yeah thats what I was hearing. Gives the drums a weird artificial type sound. I tend to cut most drum sub anyway and use a synth sub in tune. I was just wondering if my ears were going crazy haha.

-DJ


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## Waywyn (Aug 16, 2014)

wesbender @ Sat Aug 16 said:


> Waywyn @ Wed Aug 13 said:
> 
> 
> > ADD: To everyone else saying that these drums sound exactly like Damage. You clearly know what you are talking about! *shakeshead*
> ...



Well, of course they sound similar to Damage. Cinematic Strings 2 dry staccatos sound similar to Cinestrings dry staccatos too right? I mean, they are both strings, playing staccato ... in a way, no?

I am sorry but there is a big difference between sounding exactly like (as stated before) or similar (as you did now). I am not nitpicking here and of course in Damage you find big sounding drums, especially in the Armageddon ensemble etc. ... if you compare them, yes, the deeper drums sound similar, because they are big drums. However, the sound itself is totally different!


PS: and yes, as a pro I could rearrange my demo with about every drumlib out there and would make it totally unique sounding, ... but it wouldn't sound as it does NOW!
... and if you would redo all those demos above with Damage, then yes, but they would sound totally different!


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## AC986 (Aug 16, 2014)

Waywyn @ Sat Aug 16 said:


> Well, of course they sound similar to Damage.



Alex if I have Damage, do I need to buy this?


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## Guido Negraszus (Aug 16, 2014)

Thanks Paul. Forgot about the videos. I may have a look at them again. Still strange they don't clearly state in the manual what all the layouts and patches are.


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## Waywyn (Aug 16, 2014)

adriancook @ Sat Aug 16 said:


> Waywyn @ Sat Aug 16 said:
> 
> 
> > Well, of course they sound similar to Damage.
> ...



Adrian, I can not answer this question for you as my philosophy about samples, sounds and plugins seems to totally differ from the most people but maybe I do with this longer post 

I see samples as colors and plugins (or in case of Heavyocity's great processing GUI inside Kontakt) as color changers. You could say, I own Damage so I am all set for heavy drum ensembles. You could have said, I own Stormdrum 1 so I am all set for heavy drum ensembles too since many many years and I never needed anything else. So add Stormdrum 2, add all the Epic series from Tonehammer/8Dio and all the other nice percussion libs which have been released over time, ... they all contain heavy sounding drums, but they all sound completely different. They color the tracks in various ways.

So do the Ensemble Drums from that Master Session release and I find them unique in so many ways. They sound very modern, they do not very oldschool epic/slammish, but more drumset/sounddesign-ish with a natural punchy touch.

I am not sure how I should describe it else ... and if I need exactly THIS, I would always pick those Heavyocity Ensemble Drums.


So in the end, at least to me, it is not about:

I own Damage - therefore I am set for heavy drums + I own _____ (put in any other library category here) = therefore I am set for everything and NEVER have to buy samples again!

To me it is about: I like exactly THIS color and I want it in my palette to be able to "paint" with it!


I am not a salesman or anything, I just try to be correct as much as possible, but when I hear Ensemble Drums I hear exactly those huge, very modern, toms-like, punchy and huge drums which do not sound slammy, hallway-ish or too natural percussion like. I am not necessarily talking about Damage here. I know Damage is very flexible and can sound dry and punchy too ... but it doesn't sound like Ensemble Drums!

Obviously, not talking about my demo now, but a very important factor to me ALWAYS is, how good are those drums for layering with others?
I think everybody experienced this, after you have finished the orchestra or, let's say, the tonal part of the track, the used drums kind of drown or suddenly lack punch (or the other way round) - no matter which library. Sometimes a specific library does not fit the track. However, even though it lacks punch, the used sound is great, but you necessarily won't turn it louder. So what do you do? You can EQ or process the shit out of it or you may layer it with another library. Suddenly you get punch from one lib and the cool tone (overtone, ring, reverb tail or whatever) from another lib.

So, this is what I am always after, to be as flexible and custom as possible!


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## gbar (Aug 16, 2014)

Waywyn @ Sat Aug 16 said:


> adriancook @ Sat Aug 16 said:
> 
> 
> > Waywyn @ Sat Aug 16 said:
> ...



I could be wrong, but I think what he's trying to ask is, "Does this cover new ground not covered by Damage?".

A simple yes or no answer could cover that question, anyway


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## AC986 (Aug 16, 2014)

I learnt many years ago the reason you ask a German a question, is because you don't want a simple yes or no. :D :wink: 

Thanks very much Alex!


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## J.f.brown 3 (Aug 16, 2014)

Hey I'm liking the library. Small yet epic, it goes straight to the point. and at a modest price. Im using it now for a new piece, and it works great and very fun.


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## Guy Rowland (Aug 16, 2014)

Daniel James @ Sat Aug 16 said:


> Did anyone else get the feeling they are artificially bassy...like the subs were achieved with either synthesis or harmonic plugins. It feels unnaturally bassy and overloads the master chain quite ofter for me (I work with compression on). Its fine if they are but I feel a weird reaction to the 'mix' of the drums.
> 
> -DJ



Just killing time listening to the Heavocity youtube demo for the first time - cor yeah, you can definitely hear it right here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLfVhSR2VaQ#t=164 - and it sounds kinda odd. That would screw up a mix no problem. I find you have to be really careful with that sub 60hz stuff, too much from too many sources and it all just goes to a speaker-destroying yet totally ineffective mush.

FWIW from what I've heard, it sounds very similar to Damage but not identical. I think I'm pretty well covered already tbh.


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## wesbender (Aug 16, 2014)

Waywyn @ Sat Aug 16 said:


> I am sorry but there is a big difference between sounding exactly like (as stated before) or similar (as you did now).
> 
> I am not nitpicking here and of course in Damage you find big sounding drums, especially in the Armageddon ensemble etc. ... if you compare them, yes, the deeper drums sound similar, because they are big drums. However, the sound itself is totally different!



You're absolutely right, "exactly" was a fair bit of hyperbole that I probably shouldn't have agreed with in the first place.



> Well, of course they sound similar to Damage. Cinematic Strings 2 dry staccatos sound similar to Cinestrings dry staccatos too right? I mean, they are both strings, playing staccato ... in a way, no?



I don't think this comparison really works. Percussion libraries have a huge amount of wiggle room in regards to their overall sound and tonal quality, much more-so than a string library would. You really only have a small handful of instruments and recording techniques to choose from with strings....not so with (non-orchestral) percussion.

Damage was a very unique sounding library in that regard, there's really nothing else out there that sounds similar to it.....until now.




> ... and if you would redo all those demos above with Damage, then yes, but they would sound totally different!



That's the thing, I believe that I could. No, it wouldn't of course sound identical due to the obvious nature of this library being new, slightly different recordings, but it would be similar enough for me to not see it as a worthy purchase.

Again, nothing against the library itself, its worth will be determined by everyone's own needs...but as an owner of Damage, I personally don't see much value in it.


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## Waywyn (Aug 17, 2014)

"I don't think this comparison really works. Percussion libraries have a huge amount of wiggle room in regards to their overall sound and tonal quality, much more-so than a string library would. You really only have a small handful of instruments and recording techniques to choose from with strings....not so with (non-orchestral) percussion. 

Damage was a very unique sounding library in that regard, there's really nothing else out there that sounds similar to it.....until now."

Okay, got you. All I was trying to say is, that there is still enough difference to me to not call it similar. But then again you hear similarities in the production process of each company.



"That's the thing, I believe that I could. No, it wouldn't of course sound identical due to the obvious nature of this library being new, slightly different recordings, but it would be similar enough for me to not see it as a worthy purchase."

I see your point here, too ... but in general, where would this lead to? (Just more of a thought experiment)
You could say this about every orchestral lib, every percussions, synths and plugins out there. Basically you would only have to have one of each kind and be set. Somehow you could get everything done with those your selected libs but then again? Wouldn't you narrow your palette? Maybe up to the point of sounding (only in terms of sound) generic, maybe boring or even colorless after a while?


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## Sid Francis (Aug 17, 2014)

Dan: you are not alone


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## Vovique (Aug 25, 2014)

I've bought it and absolutely love it. MS got enormous punch, and is digitally clean sounding - this is what I need in 99% of my productions. I use Damage as well, but MS is somehow punchier, be it a deathrow compression, sub booms or whatever. It's the action flick percussion of the day)


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## pmountford (Aug 25, 2014)

I was on the fence on this release as I thought there's just too much of the same ground but now I've got it and started playing with the loops I think it's certainly as good as any of the other Heavocity libraries and if you like their sound then it's a polished and welcome addition. (Although I've only started working - and having some fun - with the loops so far)


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## Stephen Rees (Sep 25, 2014)

Stephen Rees @ Wed Aug 13 said:


> Its not hard to imagine why they called themselves Heavyocity is it?
> 
> More on the lookout for 'Delicateocity', 'Subtleocity' and 'Beautyocity' myself….



*munch*

*munch* *munch*…..

That's the sound of me both eating my flippant ill-chosen words and tasting some humble pie.

I have a job that requires just this kind of thing, so I picked these up. The drums sound very impressive. The user interface is easily understood (you could get a long way without reading the manual) and positively encourages experimentation and knob twisting. Speaking of the manual, it is appreciated having such a clearly written, comprehensive and easily understood written manual.

Only been through the kits so far and not the loops but I could never produce drum sounds like this on my own so I'm very pleased to have the expertise of the folks at Heavyocity to help me out.

I come from a mainly orchestral music background and am hardly well versed in the sound of 'modern' drums, but I like these and will use them.

There, that's my humble pie finished, so back to work


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## dgburns (Sep 25, 2014)

Stephen Rees @ Thu Sep 25 said:


> Stephen Rees @ Wed Aug 13 said:
> 
> 
> > Its not hard to imagine why they called themselves Heavyocity is it?
> ...



I'll wade in-needed some new drums,have Damage already,great lib.i got a bit tired of pounding the keyboard playing drums,so decided to buy a few actual drums for a new project.it became really fun,I mean REALLY fun recording these drums and going for a big epic sound.After a bit of tuning and experimenting,I discovered you can get an insane amount of low end from a lowly frame drum by tuning it down,playing it softly and placing the mic in really close.No low end plugins used,and the sound and playing are like nothing I've heard available,or that I have anyway.
Real fun,and doesn't need a really big room to accomplish.Maybe you guys should try that approach sometime.All in all, spent about 300 bucks on some drums i didn't have already,and was able to try many different playing styles.In the end,playing softly with fingers mic'ed real close gave me this huge natural drum tone I've not yet heard anywhere(except maybe hz perc from spitfire,minus the room wash however).
and as a final note,no one has this exact tone/colour sound because I created it from scratch,and it didn't take long looking for articulations,or bending the idea in my head to the available artics in any given lib.Very liberating.As a scratch,I had a bunch of stuff from a few libs as temp,but in the end,i threw them all out cause they all had this fake sheen in them somehow and when a bunch of the other instruments came into the mix,they felt a bit fake compared to the played stuff.
I also discovered that playing with soft mallets of differing sizes made a huge change in tone and sound that was real useful.
sorry if i'm derailing the thread,but if you don't hear what you want/need from any given lib,there is always the option of throwing up a mic and making it yourself.So very gratifying personally,just like a three year old,I get to say-"I did this!"
sorry for the book.


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## Cruciform (Sep 25, 2014)

dgburns @ Thu Sep 25 said:


> Real fun,and doesn't need a really big room to accomplish.



The back of my fabric sofa has this huge sound when it's lightly slapped with the hand. Unlike anything I've heard in a drum. When I can get hold of a mic, I will be recording it like crazy.


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## dgburns (Sep 25, 2014)

Cruciform @ Thu Sep 25 said:


> dgburns @ Thu Sep 25 said:
> 
> 
> > Real fun,and doesn't need a really big room to accomplish.
> ...



o-[][]-o thou art a kindred spirit!


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## Stephen Rees (Sep 25, 2014)

@dgburns : Bravo! Sounds a very musical and satisfying way to work. Alas I suspect your approach needs both time and recording competence - neither of which I possess in abundance.........


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## dgburns (Sep 25, 2014)

Stephen Rees @ Thu Sep 25 said:


> @dgburns : Bravo! Sounds a very musical and satisfying way to work. Alas I suspect your approach needs both time and recording competence - neither of which I possess in abundance.........



Hey Stephen,funny thing is,anyone who takes a tour of the studios,always responds to the instruments in the room,never the stack of computers and the like in the control rooms....
Don't get me wrong,I do my part buying libs just like the rest of the gang,it's just that after the initial "wow", I find the libs can get stale fast.I also find I start to think differently when I start to menu dive looking for sounds,it's like I turn into a zombie.When I think about how I want the cue/tune to sound like in my head,I find it's actually faster to visualize what instrument to play,and playing it in is faster.Some things obviously just don't make any sense to try and tackle in a small room with limited funds/time.

.....and if all that sounds like rubbish,well then at least i got off my chair and raised my heart rate by doing something that remotely resembled exercise in some fashion...once again sorry to derail,I do love and use Heavyocity's stuff.I just don't want to sound like everyone else that uses them,but it can get tricky if we are all pounding away on the Armageddon ensemble patch......or the um....new one.


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## Stephen Rees (Sep 26, 2014)

I can totally relate to what you are saying dg


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## jononotbono (Oct 3, 2017)

Just bought the Master Sessions Suite and loving them so much. The Stage option for positioning each hit is fantastic. So glad to have these in the Collection!


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## mac (Oct 3, 2017)

@jononotbono you took the plunge then eh?! How would you compare MS to strikeforce?


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## jononotbono (Oct 3, 2017)

mac said:


> @jononotbono you took the plunge then eh?! How would you compare MS to strikeforce?



They are two very different libraries. Both are very welcome in my life. I love the FX section in Heavyocity and I love how Strikeforce is mapped out. Well, there's a lot of stuff I love about both and they just sound different. Who would have thought this month would be Drum Month. Hmmm, what next?


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## Quasar (Oct 3, 2017)

jononotbono said:


> Just bought the Master Sessions Suite and loving them so much. The Stage option for positioning each hit is fantastic. So glad to have these in the Collection!


I just have the Ensemble Drums and not the other three, and am sort of half sorry I missed the sale. Yes, the stage positioning feature is way cool and well-designed, one of my favorite things about the library. 

It is pretty heavily processed and non-organic, and whether this is a + or a - is of course entirely subjective. Right now I'm extremely interested in hearing/seeing the soon-to-be-released Impact Soundworks percussive offering.


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## jononotbono (Oct 3, 2017)

Quasar said:


> I just have the Ensemble Drums and not the other three, and am sort of half sorry I missed the sale. Yes, the stage positioning feature is way cool and well-designed, one of my favorite things about the library.
> 
> It is pretty heavily processed and non-organic, and whether this is a + or a - is of course entirely subjective. Right now I'm extremely interested in hearing/seeing the soon-to-be-released Impact Soundworks percussive offering.



Yeah I love the sheer scope of Sound Design that these libraries can offer and wouldn't want everything in the collection to be "Organic" so having a vast choice of Perc libraries is a good thing. I'm going to start creating my own Perc library (for personal use) soon and just keep adding to it over time for my first Library.


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## mac (Oct 3, 2017)

jononotbono said:


> They are two very different libraries. Both are very welcome in my life. I love the FX section in Heavyocity and I love how Strikeforce is mapped out. Well, there's a lot of stuff I love about both and they just sound different. Who would have thought this month would be Drum Month. Hmmm, what next?



Coolio. Yeah, the velocity layout is what draws me to strikeforce, but I guessed the sound would be too similar to MS to justify the purchase. If you had to sum up the sound difference in a single sentence, what would you say? C'mon Jono, dance for me!


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## jononotbono (Oct 4, 2017)

mac said:


> Coolio. Yeah, the velocity layout is what draws me to strikeforce, but I guessed the sound would be too similar to MS to justify the purchase. If you had to sum up the sound difference in a single sentence, what would you say? C'mon Jono, dance for me!



"Regardless of whether you opt for Laboratory Audio's Strikeforce or Heavyocity's Master Sessions Suite, be prepared to get in trouble with your neighbours and the Police". How helpful is that? haha


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## MarcusD (Oct 4, 2017)

jononotbono said:


> "Regardless of whether you opt for Laboratory Audio's Strikeforce or Heavyocity's Master Sessions Suite, be prepared to get in trouble with your neighbours and the Police". How helpful is that? haha



I love how you've gone from only buying one, to buying both! haha


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## jononotbono (Oct 4, 2017)

MarcusD said:


> I love how you've gone from only buying one, to buying both! haha



I'm now poor but poverty has never sounded so good


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## babylonwaves (Oct 4, 2017)

mac said:


> Yeah, the velocity layout is what draws me to strikeforce, but I guessed the sound would be too similar to MS to justify the purchase.


Master Sessions is dryer, you can get the articulations without pretty much any reverb if you like. You don't have to but you can (which is good). The room on Master Sessions instruments is usually brighter and has more ER. Strikeforce is always relatively wet and the decay time is long. I've layered both on a project yesterday and they combine beautifully. It's a really good combo.


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