ANALOG HYBRID DRUMS BY HEAVYOCITY

ANALOG HYBRID DRUMS BY HEAVYOCITY

KK-ACCESS REVIEW

In this new release, Heavyocity are back doing one of the things that first put them on the map, drums, not just any drums of course, but that distinctive blend of the organic and synthetic that in the right hands can fill a dance floor, excite movie audiences, and inspire composers to create thrilling, attention grabbing music, let’s explore Analog Hybrid Drums.

TECH SPECS

The library runs in Kontakt version 6.89 or higher, either the full or free Kontakt Player edition, and is compatible with all versions of Komplete Kontrol.

7.89GB of disk space is necessary for installation, in the compressed NCW format reduced from the original 16.2GB sample sources.

There are three master Kontakt NKI files, one for each of the main library sections.

These are further fuelled by the Kontakt NKSN snapshot presets which are our central source of the patches we use within Komplete Kontrol.

DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION

Download and initial installation is achieved using the Heavyocity Portal where you will register and download the library.

The same serial is then used within Native Access to authorise and locate your library on your system.

Komplete Kontrol will then re scan and add Analog Hybrid Drums to your factory browser when loaded, ready for use.

*NOTE: FULL NKS MAPPING TEMPLATE IS AVAILABLE AT THE END OF THE REVIEW AFTER THE MEDIA LINKS

ACCESSIBILITY

Analog Hybrid Drums DP03 again utilises the Damage 2 Kontakt engine, and in this respect will be the same as previous libraries in this series.

PERCUSSIVE POWER

Analog Hybrid Drums in some ways picks up from where DM-307 left off, that library still remains one of my firm favourite Heavyocity products, boasting as it does such a huge collection of hard hitting processed drum and percussion kits and sounds.

Analog Hybrid Drums still retains the same unique Heavyocity processing techniques, and refines the results into a freshly updated palette of sounds.

PERUSING PRESETS

The three master Kontakt NKI presets serve as gateways to the Ensemble Designer, Kit Designer & Loop Designer, each of which will have their associated snapshots available.

The Analog Hybrid Ensemble Designer features a total of 16 presets, and these have been constructed to offer Cymbals & FX, Hi-Hats, Kick Drums, Percussion, Reverses, Snares, Toms, Cinematic Trailer Kit, Cinematic Trailer Kit Hyped, Cinematic Synth Trailer Kit, Cinematic Trailer Kit Hyped, Cymbals & Reverses, and Hits & Transitions.

Despite not having access to the GUI sample browser through NKS, at least having these instruments provided as separate entities does afford us the possibility of being able to make use of the included sample pool, albeit as a workaround we would need to use several instances in order to gather the exact instrument combination, rather than being able to build our own ensemble from within a single instance as sighted users would.

The NKS template offers access to five microphones, Close, Room, Hall, Overhead, & Low Frequency, which apply globally to the entire ensemble.

Additionally, there are controls for Punish & Filter, Equalisation, Compressor, Saturation, Delay & Reverb, again on a global basis.

The Analog Kit Designer is much the same story, with 37 pre-constructed kits at our disposal covering a wide spectrum of the Analog Hybrid genre.

The kit instruments 16 sounds are assigned mostly to the standard GM midi layout starting at C1, however if you do intend to use them with an e-kit, then some re mapping may be necessary to come up with something entirely workable.

There are assigned NKS volume controls which allow for the individual mixing of the 16 sounds, and subsequent pages provide global controls for the master mix with Punish & Filter, Equalisation, Compressor, Saturation, Delay & Reverb.

Although not included within the NKS mapping template, if the Analog Hybrid kits are loaded into Kontakt outside of the Komplete Kontrol environment, then there are also 16 pan controls for each instrument.

at the time of writing Kontakt version 7.10 has just been released, which now provides improved access to the Kontakt user interface with screen readers on both Windows & MAC platforms.

This should now allow all users to take advantage of any additional parameters that are sometimes made available for automation within the Kontakt interface, it should just be a case of invoking your DAW parameter list in order to find them.

The Analog Hybrid Loop Designer gives you 43 tempo synced loops split equally between straight and triplet timings, each preset is then sub divided into breakout zones across the octaves of your keyboard.

There are 12 full instrument mix patterns included in each preset starting at note C1, then as the octaves advance, there are various breakout versions of the full mix, for example, solo kicks, solo snares, solo Hi-Hats etc, this enables you to isolate certain elements of the full mix within your track.

Heavyocity have also included the stutter effect keyswitches in the lower octave, so you can double, quadruple or go for the all out machine gun sound if and when your music style demands it.
Also included are some Utility loops, which feature Low, Mid & High pitch range percussion and synth blips, again in straight & triplet timings.

The NKS controls for the loop content covers the global fx, with Punish & Filter, Equalisation, Compressor, Saturation, Delay & Reverb.

THE ANALOG HYBRID SOUND

The drum & percussion instrument sounds within Analog Hybrid Drums have as ever been sublimely crafted with that hallmark Heavyocity standard, meaning they are essentially mix ready.

The kicks in particular are especially punchy, with great sub elements. The snares are varied, ranging from short tighter hits, to splashy white noise crashes. There is little or no evidence of the classic beatboxes which to be honest can be found pretty much anywhere.

The extra FX and Utility content such as the reverses are useful inclusions, and can provide additional ways for you to expand and vary your music.

Do checkout the various media links at the review footer to hear the walkthroughs.

CONCLUSION

Analog Hybrid Drums is a great opportunity to pick up those classic Heavyocity sounds that have consistently proven themselves to work so well for contemporary cinematic and media composition.

Heavyocity Analog Hybrid Drums is yet another heavyweight champion, The kicks will punch & hit you where it hurts, the snares will readily slap you in the face, and everything else just screams standout excellence, leaving most of the competition flat out on the canvas staring up at the ceiling!

DP03 Analog Hybrid Drums is available from the Heavyocity Website,
For a limited time, Heavyocity is offering Analog Hybrid Drums for $119 (reg. $149).

In addition, owners of Damage or Damage 2 will get an additional $20 off with registered serial. Offers end April 30, 2024.

Analog Hybrid Drums Product Page:
https://heavyocity.com/product/analog-hybrid-drums/

Analog Hybrid Drums Preset Play Through:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIaF0a-YXG8

Analog Hybrid Drums Product Overview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ECHYznBgQ8

Composing A Metal Mayhem Track With Analog Hybrid Drums:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pUdOqPse9g

Analog Hybrid Drums User Manual:
https://heavyocity.com/Downloads/AnalogHybridDrums_UserManual.pdf

KOMPLETE KONTROL PLUG-IN EDIT NKS PARAMETER MAPPING

Analog Hybrid Ensemble Designer

Page One – Mixer

Knob 1 – Close Microphone (levels in dB)
Knob 2 – Room Microphone
Knob 3 – Hall Microphone
Knob 4 – Overhead Microphone
Knob 5 – LFE Level
Knob 6 to 8 – Unallocated

Page Two – Punish & Filter

Knob 1 – Punish On/Off
Knob 2 – Amount
Knob 3 – Response
Knob 4 – Tone
Knob 5 – Filter On/Off
Knob 6 – Cut-Off
Knob 7 – Resonance
Knob 8 – Unallocated

Page Three – EQ

Knob 1 – EQ On/Off
Knob 2 – Low Gain
Knob 3 – Low Freq
Knob 4 – Mid Gain
Knob 5 – Mid Freq
Knob 6 – High Gain
Knob 7 – High Freq
Knob 8 – Amount

Page Four – compressor

Knob 1 – Compressor On/Off
Knob 2 – Threshold
Knob 3 – Ratio
Knob 4 – Attack
Knob 5 – Release
Knob 6 – Make up
Knob 7 – Mix
Knob 8 – Unallocated

Page Five – Saturator

Knob 1 – Saturator On/Off
Knob 2 – Drive
Knob 3 – Warmth
Knob 4 – Roll-Off
Knob 5 – Output
Knob 6 to 8 – Unallocated
Page Six – Delay
Knob 1 – Delay On/Off
Knob 2 – Time (Half up to 32nd Triplet)
Knob 3 – Feedback
Knob 4 – Tone
Knob 5 – Quality
Knob 6 – Level
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated
Page Seven – Reverb

Knob 1 – Reverb On/Off
Knob 2 – Pre-Delay
Knob 3 – Size
Knob 4 – Low
Knob 5 – High
Knob 6 – Mix
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated

Analog Hybrid Kit Designer

All pages are mapped as above, with the exception that Page 1 & 2 which are dedicated to mix level controls for the 16 available channels of sound (Panning per channel is available but only directly via the Kontakt NKI).

Analog Hybrid Loop Designer

All mappings are as per the Drum Ensemble Designer, with the exception of Page 1 which is assigned to Send Fx as follows:

Knob 1 – Send FX On/Off
Knob 2 – Level
Knob 3 & 4 – Unallocated
Knob 5 – Send Modulation On/Off
Knob 6 – Amount
Knob 7 – Smooth
Knob 8 – Unallocated

(c) Chris Ankin

KK-Access.com

21st April 2024

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About the Author

Based in Buckinghamshire, England, Chris Ankin has worked as a freelance review writer and contributor with articles published in Sound On Sound, Home & Studio Recording and ST Format Magazines.

He has also successfully worked extensively in and around the music, recording, film Soundtrack scoring, Game & media composition, the creative arts, Charitable trusts,publishing, music streaming and property investments since 1982 whilst continuously and deliberately managing to evade any mainstream recognition under his own name by the use of various pseudonyms.

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