Drumdrops 1965 Ludwig Super Classic Kit - Kontakt Version

Easy online purchase, download, and installation.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

Works perfectly within Kontakt.
I have been using it for 48-hours (straight).

OVERALL OPINION

INTRO
The 1965 Ludwig Super Classic Kit by DrumDrops is an excellent drum sample library and rhythm workstation that provides a detailed patch for Kontakt. The Pack contains up to sixteen velocities per articulation and 5 round robins that total over 8000 individual samples. The kit sounds great out-of-the-box and it is easily customizable and adjustable. Ludwig’s Super Classic model was a standard configuration for the industry and used by many top drummers, including the one and only Ringo, who served a song without dominating it! The ’65 kit had a simple, compact configuration; yet, it was powerful enough to drive some of the greatest bands in the history of pop, rock, jazz, soul, etc. I love having “Ringo in a box,” but even if I weren’t a Beatle-maniac I would buy this sample library for the pure sound of the kit. There is something very special about it! This library is everything I sonically hoped for — authentic, warm, tight, punchy, alive, and personal without any unwanted room ambience. I’m not sure what microphones, preamps, drummers, and engineers were used to create this sample library, but whatever and whoever they are — they did a sweet job. Until now, I had been constructing my pseudo Super Classic Kit by cannibalizing bits and pieces from various sample libraries to approximate the sound I was after. Sadly, coming close was not good enough. In addition to the authentic sound, DrumDrops has created an interface that serves as a rhythm workstation. It comes with a Groove Player, featuring 800 or so MIDI patterns created by real drummers and an eight channel, 32-step per channel Step Sequencer. There is also a Groove Slicer that I have yet to explore. The beat creation aspect of this pack allows me to finally ditch some of the other subpar sample libraries that I’ve been holding onto that have a groove player.

DRUM SPECS
▪ Kick Drum: Vintage 1965 Ludwig Super Classic (14" X 20")
▪ Snare #1: 1960s Rogers Dynasonic Wooden Snare (5.5" X 14)
▪ Snare #2: 1970s Ludwig 402 Snare (5" X 14")
▪ Rack Tom: Vintage 1965 Ludwig Super Classic (13" x 9")
▪ Floor Tom: Vintage 1965 Ludwig Super Classic (16" X 16")
▪ Ride: 1970s Zildjian K Medium Heavy 20" Ride
▪ Crash: 1970s Zildjian K Dark Medium Thin 18" Crash
▪ Hi Hat: 1970s Zildjian K 14" Hi Hats

FEATURES I LIKE MOST
• Simple, powerful interface.
• Easy to process according to taste.
• Randomization feature for tuning, velocities, EQ, etc.
• Sequencer and Groove player.
• Microphone blend – ability to vary the balance of the different microphones at their respective positions.
• Eight channel mixer (Mute, Solo, Phase Reverse, etc.) with excellent routing to DAW.
• Built in buss compressor and tape saturator.
• Useful mix presets.
• Responsive, innovative developer.

VALUE FOR THE PRICE
• Excellent quality vs. price ratio when compared to other vintage packs.

QUALITY OF THE SOUND
• Unmistakably the real thing. Sound is phenomenal, and with very little imagination I can feel and smell the mahogany.

QUESTIONS
• Can I add my own MIDI drum patterns to the Groove Player?
• What revisions and updates are projected for this library?

SUMMARY
Knowing what I know, I would buy this again without hesitation! Yet, this is a bittersweet day for me as a songwriter and producer. Sweet, because I finally have one complete, authentic, great sounding, industry standard 1965 Ludwig Super Classic Kit; Bitter, because I no longer have any excuses. My muse is looking me and asking, “Well, are you going to chew gum or bang out some beats?” Now that I have this drum sample library, it’s time to create some music! I highly recommend this kit to any eMusician, producer, sound designer, film or video sound-tracker, video gamer, DJ, etc., who digs the vintage, yet timeless mid-60s sound. Tommy Zai gives this fine Kontakt 5 Pack two hard-hitting rim shots help up high! Thank you, DrumDrops, for resurrecting and breathing life back into my ultimate dream kit.