This blog post is about Sensory Percussion version 1 and does not apply to the latest version 2 software included in the EVANS Hybrid Sensory Percussion bundle.
TL;DR, What's in the Pack:
- 23 Full Kits (17 original kits, 6 re-releases)
- 101 new or re-vamped melodic instruments that can be dragged and dropped into your working kits
If You're a Sensory Percussionist, click below to head to the downloads page to grab the new collection:
Sensory Percussion has revolutionized the drummer's role in many ways, and one major change is that we drummers can finally control melody and harmony with methods simply not possible before!
Over the years we (here at Sunhouse) have been lucky enough to record a wide range of acoustic instruments, and a good number of them have been tonal. Previously we've included these melodic sounds in kits and instruments scattered throughout the twenty sound packs we've released so far, but many of the Sensory techniques for building melodic kits have evolved since these sounds were originally released. So we've been looking for a reason to update and add them to new kits.
Now here we are releasing our Acoustic Melodies Collection!
Much like the Acoustic Drums Collection that we released last year, this pack compiles and updates previously re-leased kits, but we've also designed 17 all new kits using recordings of melodic instruments from throughout the packs.
The Recording Process
Since these kits are made from samples recorded from over the last five years or so, the recording techniques vary quite a bit from instrument to instrument.
As a general rule we like to record samples of acoustic instruments at C notes (if possible, but sometimes we repitch the original note to the nearest C before exporting). Often we record the notes at multiple velocites and various articulations. Therefore, it's a bit easier to build melodic kits using many tonal samples if all of the tonal samples have the same root note, but it's not a requirement since notes can be re-tuned once they are in the sampler. Thus we've broken that general rule many times.
A lot of the time we'll have our talented friends come into Sunhouse HQ with their instruments and we'll put a mic on them with very few instructions.
That was certainly true when Ellery Marshall came in with his Banjo for a Ganzfeld Effect recording session. He suggested the mic placement (AKG 214 twelfth fret, and SM-57 near the bridge). The samples were then processed with just a bit of reverb, compression, and EQ, but are largely unprocessed and we think they sound great!
In the case of the flute samples featured in Kyle Harris' composition in the video above: they were sourced from a flute we borrowed from Sound Designer, Steven Zemanian's, sister. Steven nearly passed out and got a terrible headache when attempitng to record it. A true flautist's lung power is amazing!
The Kits
Kalimba + Perc, Celeste + Damped, Plucked Violin + Acoustic Kit, Plucked Violin + Perc, Plucked Violin + Drum Machine, Horn + 80s Kit, Horn + Drums, Mute GTR + Castores, Banjo + Earthy, Banjo Harmonics + Perc, Banjo + Perc, Mallets + BeatBox
The brand new kits lead the collection and are labelled with their instrument and the base pack kit that they are combined with. Each contains at least one melodic instrument mapped to Drum 2 and/or Drum3. The melodic instruments contain a different arpegiated chordal sequence on the Center, Edge, and Rim zones of the drum: allowing you to play complex melodies by playing those zones.
The arpegiatted chord sequence in the linked track below is:
Center - EbMaj7 Edge - AbMaj7 Rim - Bb7
Acedia, tsegi flute harmony, spaceCreature, saz, chill slag, Real de Catorce
Some of these kits have been updated since their original release, and they all include melodic material from an acoustic instrument, like the ocarina sounds in Real de Catorce (performed by Eli Keszler in the video embedded below).
The individual instruments. Too many to list in a title!
These are included in the collection for you to drag and drop into your working set and include several mappings each of:
- acoustic guitars
- saxophone
- banjo
- accordion
- kalimba
- ocarina
- harmonium
- celesta
- violin
- piano
- trombone and other horns
- saz
- marimba
- xylophone
If You're a Sensory Percussionist, click below to head to the downloads page to grab the new collection:
