Published 15/10/09
Advanced drum replacement plug-in
Drum replacement software is designed to analyse a recording of a drum kit and create a matching MIDI pattern. This process is relatively simple when the audio channels are clean and separate (exhibiting little spill), but drum replacement tends to be necessary when the source recordings have been made in less-than-ideal environments, and it’s when processing such recordings that automatic replacement can be unreliable. Slate Digital — the company behind the well-received Steven Slate Drums sample libraries — have created a plug-in called Trigger, which claims to have overcome the ghost-note and phase issues associated with loose triggering.
Trigger analyses the original performance and draws upon an extensive sample library to replace the original sounds. Human expression is maintained by the AMG humanisation engine, which adapts velocity and other parameters to match the drummer’s playing. The plug-in can be used in either Live mode, a low-latency performance tailored setting; or Accurate mode, a studio setting designed to replace drums with pin-point accuracy. There are two versions of the software available: the $129 EX Pack, which includes 10 kicks, ten snares and two sets of toms; and the $329 Platinum pack, which includes the whole Steven Slate Drums Deluxe collection. Paul caught up with Steven Slate at AES in New York, and received a rather impressive demonstration of the software.
