Karriem Riggins Drums is the latest release in Native Instruments’ Play Series, a range of virtual instruments which aim to offer high-quality sounds in an intuitive and affordable package. Developed in a collaboration with drummer and producer Karriem Riggins (Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Kanye West), the instrument houses a mixture of pre-defined kits, individual kits, and MIDI grooves curated by Karriem himself.
A Kit page within the instrument’s GUI provides a grid-style interface, with users able to choose between ready-made kits, or construct their own by selecting samples from the included collection of single hits. Pitch and Velocity parameters are available for each individual hit, along with Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release controls, and both high- and low-pass filters, whilst and FX page offers access to a range of Kontakt effects processors that can be used either on individual elements as inserts or sends, or applied globally.
Each of the included kits are accompanied by sixteen rhythmic patterns, which are arranged in a grid within the instrument’s Pattern page. These grooves can be set to play from within the instrument or triggered via MIDI, with plenty of variation on offer thanks to Tightness, Swing, and Velocity parameters. Those who wish to make their own changes to the patterns themselves can simply drag and drop the part onto a MIDI track in their DAW for further editing.
A Macro page then facilitates the configuration of custom controls (and control ranges) over the instrument’s parameters, with the resulting macro control becoming available within the instrument’s Main view. This allows users to have their most-used settings immediately available directly from the main interface, lessening the need to switch between tabs whilst creating their parts.
All of the sounds presented within Karriem Riggins Drums were recorded in the renowned Studio 3 at Sunset Sounds in Los Angeles by Riggins and engineer Kyle Hoffmann. A creative approach was taken to tracking, with the pair experimenting with unusual microphone placements, custom drum setups, and unconventional performance methods. The resulting samples have then been processed using a range of tape machines, modular effects, and spring reverbs, resulting in a collection of unique-sounding experimental sounds.
Compatibility
Karriem Riggins Drums runs in the latest version of Native Instruments’ free Kontakt Player, which is supported on PCs running Windows 10 or 11, and Macs running macOS 10.15 or above. It is available in VST3, AU, and AAX plug-in formats, and as a standalone application. 2.65GB of disk space is required.
Pricing & Availability
Karriem Riggins Drums is available now, priced at $49£44 including VAT / €49.
