Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 Stars
In Session Audio don’t really do ‘me too!’ products, so there is always something intriguing to uncover. Their latest release — Deep Pool — comes with a tag line of Modern Downtempo Drums. It’s a perfect description of what this Kontakt‑based instrument is about. Built from just over 4GB of sample content, Deep Pool blends detailed sampling of acoustic drums, electronic drums and some sound‑designed elements to create a suite of very stylish drum and percussion sounds.
The underlying sounds are presented to the user within a well thought‑out performance engine that provides some 20 suites of drum, percussion and additional one‑shot sounds each with a full complement of performance loops suitable for building full song‑style arrangements. These loops are mapped across the MIDI keyboard into multiple key ranges (these are neatly colour‑coded within Kontakt’s UI), providing flexible trigger options so you can trigger the full loops, or mix and match between the low‑, mid‑ or high‑frequency elements of each loop. A further colour‑coded keyboard range provides one‑shot samples for additional performance customisation.
The loop content was originally designed for the 60 to 84 bpm range but will, of course, follow your host’s tempo. Additional sound‑design options expand the possibilities much further. These operate at a number of levels. For example, within the upper half of the UI, you can customise properties such as volume, pan, EQ and tuning for the currently selected individual loop or one‑shot. The lower half of the UI offers three further panels with Global, Playable and Send processing options. The first of these includes adjusting the velocity‑based volume and filter response of the instrument, letting you coax a wide range of performance dynamics from the sounds. The Playable effects — which include Panner, Filter, Crush and Lo‑Fi, among other options — provide spot effects that you can trigger in real time via a further mapped MIDI key range. The Send options include delay and two different reverbs. These various sound‑design options combine beautifully and are easy to use, adding plenty of creative possibilities.
...it brings a touch of sonic class to whatever project you drop it into.
Songwriters or producers working in downtempo, chill or lo‑fi styles will undoubtedly enjoy what’s on offer here, but I could easily see media composers making full use of the creative sound‑design tools — including the EQ and filters — to generate an underlying rhythmic pulse in a drama and tension cue. Yes, Deep Pool may be something of a niche product, but it brings a touch of sonic class to whatever project you drop it into. Downtempo fans should be encouraged to dip a toe into Deep Pool; well worth auditioning.
$149
$149