SYNCHRON Power Drums

Introduction

Welcome to the Vienna Symphonic Library's series of Synchron Instruments! Synchron Power Drums offers you three different drum sets by Sonor and Tama, played with sticks in normal and damped versions, as well as with hotrods. Moreover, there are normal and accented versions (the latter affect the release samples of rolls) of every Patch. The performances on each drum set were captured from 19 microphone positions.

The layout is the same for each of the three sets, so that you can switch easily between them if you want to try out a different sound.

Walkthrough Videos

Three drum sets - one venue

With the Tama Star (2017) placed between the Tama Superstar (1972) and the Sonor Acryl Champion Vintage (1975) kits on the sound stage, you have the option of using these drums sets all together or individually, both in their recorded positions or in a centered position. All three instruments represent the diverse sonic properties of different recording eras, so that they will furnish you with a wide variety of sounds.

Sonor Acryl Champion Vintage

The Sonor Acryl Champion Vintage (left) delivers that perfect 70s sound and has been played by legends such as Ringo Starr, Karen Carpenter and Nick Mason. Its acrylic shells have a louder, punchier sound than wooden drums, and a well-tuned acrylic snare drum can deliver a ton of sonic "crack" and projection.

  • Drums

    • 22''/16'' Kick drum
    • 12'' Tom
    • 13'' Tom
    • 16'' Tom
    • 14''/6.5'' Phonic Snare

  • Cymbals

    • 14'' Meinl Byzance Sand Hat
    • 18'' Meinl Extra dry thin crash (left)
    • 22'' Meinl Byzance vintage pure light Ride
    • 20'' Meinl Byzance Vintage Crash (right)

Tama Star

The Tama Star (middle) with its dynamic, bright, rich and open sound represents the modern approach to drumming and has been Tama's flagship line since 2013. Simon Phillips and Peter Erskine are famous players of this maple drum set.

  • Drums

    • 20''/14'' Kick drum
    • 10'' Tom
    • 12'' Tom
    • 16'' Tom
    • 14''/6.5'' Snare

  • Cymbals

    • 14'' Meinl Byzance Medium HH
    • 17'' Meinl MB 20 crash (left)
    • 21'' Meinl Byzance Transition Ride
    • 18'' Meinl Byzance Dual Crash (right)

Tama Superstar

The Tama Superstar (right) was very present in the 80s. It is made of birch shells, providing a deep, warm, dry and punchy sound - exactly what your typical disco/rock production needs. Interestingly, Billy Cobham and Elvin Jones were among the first adopters of this versatile instrument.

  • Drums

    • 22''/16'' Kick drum
    • 13'' Tom
    • 14'' Tom
    • 16'' Tom
    • 14''/5'' Ludwig Supraphonic Snare

  • Cymbals

    • 14'' Meinl Byzance extra dry med HH
    • 18'' Meinl Byzance Dual crash (left)
    • 20'' Meinl Byzance Vintage Pure Light
    • 18'' Meinl Byzance Extra dry thin crash (right)

MIDI Player

A MIDI player was implemented in our Synchron Player exclusively for the use with Synchron Power Drums. If you already own a MIDI loop collection that conforms to standard General MIDI mapping, you can simply drag and drop your existing loops. To open the loop player, click on the Play icon in the upper function bar of the Synchron player.

We have added a great selection of exclusive cinematic drum loops, which of course are specially designed to feature these three drum sets. Full loops and consistently edited:

  • 3 drum sets in one MIDI file (3 MIDI tracks)
  • Each drum set separately
  • Bass drum and snare for each drum set
  • Hi-hats for each drum set
  • Toms for each drum set
  • Cymbals for each drum set

About Presets

Everything is possible with these beautiful drum sets, and our Mixer Presets not only offer good starting points for you to explore these possibilities - they also come in different flavors in the shape of Effect Presets. You can find the Mixer Presets on the right side of the Mix Tab.

Basic Presets

Room Mix, Decca Tree, Surround to Stereo mix-down, and Surround (Full Library) feature Mixer Presets "in place" and "Centered" for each drum set. "In place" means that the drum set is placed in the virtual space exactly where it stood when it was recorded. "Centered" means that the drum set was artificially positioned in the center of the room. Please note that the UH microphone always has a compressor inserted in order to provide more colour and dirt.

Flavors (all except Surround)

These variants of the basic settings cover a wide area of possibilities ranging from pristine natural sound to battle format.

  • #01 Natural
    • The drum set is EQ'd, but does not have any additional FX, and no reverb.
  • #02 Parallel compression
    • Like #01, but some of the channels are inserted into a compressor via AUX1, and thus subjected to parallel compression. By moving the AUX1 fader upward you get stronger compression on your sound, and less when you move it downward. No reverb.
  • #03 Parallel compression reverb
    • Like #02, with additional reverb on AUX2. The ambient mics are somewhat reduced to make room for the reverb. You can increase the FX ratio via the AUX channels or the AUX masters.
  • #04 Flying Toms
    • This Preset is a bit more aggressive. Toms and snare are equipped with additional compression, and the hi-hat features a saturation insert.
  • #05 Ambience
    • As the name indicates, only the ambient mics are open here.
  • #06 Ambience parallel compression
    • Like #05, but some of the ambient mics get parallel compression via AUX1.
  • #07 (#09) Doomed
    • This powerful variation works with parallel distortion on AUX1. As with parallel compression, you get more distortion when you move the AUX1 fader upward, and less when you move it downward.

The "centered" Presets also offer two more variants:

  • #07 BAM
    • This Preset is EQ'd differently and features several compressors. The aim is to achieve a high-pressure sound. In addition, there is a parallel bus via AUX1, leading into a compressor via a band pass. This gives you a good 70s disco sound. Here, too, the FX ratio can be controlled with the AUX1 fader.
  • #08 WOW
    • This is basically the same as BAM, but moreover includes a sync'ed chorus/flanger on a parallel bus that creates special effects.

About Pitch

For designating pitch, the Vienna Symphonic Library uses International Pitch Notation (IPN), which was agreed upon internationally under the auspices of the Acoustical Society of America. In this system the international standard of A=440 Hz is called A4 and middle C is C4. All pitches are written as capital letters, their respective octave being indicated by a number next to it. The lowest C on the piano is C1 (the A below that is A0), etc.

The Synchron Player software allows you to set middle C to C3, C4, or C5 according to your preference. Selecting another setting than C4 will of course also change the play ranges and keyswitches accordingly.

Included Presets

Synchron Power Drums offers three basic Presets for each drum set, with normal and accented variants of the rolls' release samples.

Normal

  • Mapping
    • G1 Mute Ride
    • G#1/A1 Mute Crash 1/2
    • A#1 Bass drum open
    • B1/C2 Bass drum close
    • C#2 Snare sidestick
    • D2/E2 Snare single strokes
    • D#2 Snare flams
    • F2/G2 Tom 3 single strokes
    • F#2/G#2/A#2 Hi-hat closed, foot close, half open
    • A2/B2 Tom 2 single strokes
    • C3/D3 Tom 1 single strokes
    • C#3 Crash 1 top
    • D#3/F3 Ride top, bell
    • E3/F#3 Crash 1 edge, bell
    • G3-A3 Crash 2 edge, bell, top
    • A#3 Hi-hat open
    • B3 Ride edge
    • C4 Hi-hat rolls
    • C#4/D#4 Snare sidestick no snare, rolls
    • D4/E4 Snare rimshot
    • F4/G4 Tom 3 single flams, rolls
    • F#4/G#4/A#4 Hi-hat closed short, foot open, half open short
    • A4/B4 Tom 2 flams, rolls
    • C5/D5 Tom 1 flams, rolls
    • C#5 Crash 1 top mute
    • D#5/F5 Ride top mute, rolls
    • E5/F#5 Crash 1 edge mute, rolls
    • G3-A3 Crash 2 edge mute, rolls, top mute
    • A#5 Hi-hat half open to open
    • B5 Ride edge mute

Damped

  • Mapping
    • G1 Mute Ride
    • G#1/A1 Mute Crash 1/2
    • A#1 Bass drum open
    • B1/C2 Bass drum close
    • C#2 Snare sidestick
    • D2/E2 Snare single strokes
    • D#2 Snare flams
    • F2/G2 Tom 3 single strokes
    • F#2/G#2/A#2 Hi-hat closed, foot close, half open
    • A2/B2 Tom 2 single strokes
    • C3/D3 Tom 1 single strokes
    • C#3 Crash 1 top
    • D#3/F3 Ride top, bell
    • E3/F#3 Crash 1 edge, bell
    • G3-A3 Crash 2 edge, bell, top
    • A#3 Hi-hat open
    • B3 Ride edge
    • C4 Hi-hat rolls
    • C#4/D#4 Snare sidestick no snare, rolls
    • D4/E4 Snare single strokes no snare, single strokes var.
    • F4/G4 Tom 3 single flams, rolls
    • F#4/G#4/A#4 Hi-hat closed short, foot open, half open short
    • A4/B4 Tom 2 flams, rolls
    • C5/D5 Tom 1 flams, rolls
    • C#5 Crash 1 top mute
    • D#5/F5 Ride top mute, rolls
    • E5/F#5 Crash 1 edge mute, rolls
    • G3-A3 Crash 2 edge mute, rolls, top mute
    • A#5 Hi-hat half open to open
    • B5 Ride edge mute

Hotrods

  • Mapping
    • G1 Mute Ride
    • G#1/A1 Mute Crash 1/2
    • A#1 Bass drum open
    • B1/C2 Bass drum close
    • C#2 Snare sidestick
    • D2/E2 Snare single strokes
    • D#2 Snare flams
    • F2/G2 Tom 3 single strokes
    • F#2/G#2/A#2 Hi-hat closed, foot close, half open
    • A2/B2 Tom 2 single strokes
    • C3/D3 Tom 1 single strokes
    • C#3 Crash 1 top
    • D#3/F3 Ride top, bell
    • E3/F#3 Crash 1 top, bell
    • G3-A3 Crash 2 top, bell, top
    • A#3 Hi-hat open
    • B3 Ride top
    • C4 Hi-hat rolls
    • C#4/D#4 Snare sidestick no snare, rolls
    • D4/E4 Snare damped
    • F4/G4 Tom 3 single flams, rolls
    • F#4/G#4/A#4 Hi-hat closed short, foot open, half open short
    • A4/B4 Tom 2 flams, rolls
    • C5/D5 Tom 1 flams, rolls
    • C#5 Crash 1 top mute
    • D#5/F5 Ride top mute, rolls
    • E5/F#5 Crash 1 edge mute, rolls
    • G3-A3 Crash 2 edge mute, rolls, top mute
    • A#5 Hi-hat half open to open
    • B5 Ride edge mute