The Ultimate Guide to Abbey Road Modern Drums 13: Features, Benefits, and Tips
Abbey Road Modern Drums 13: A Review
If you are looking for a high-quality, versatile, and realistic drum software that can deliver powerful and contemporary drums for your music production, you might want to check out Abbey Road Modern Drums 13. This product is a part of the Komplete suite by Native Instruments, a leading company in the field of music technology. Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 is an enhanced version of the original Abbey Road Modern Drums, updated to integrate developments in Kontakt, the industry-standard sampler. It features two premium drum kits, recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, using period equipment and recording techniques. It also includes an advanced Mixer Section and a comprehensive Groove Library feature that allow you to create your own drum submixes and grooves with ease. In this article, we will review Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 and explore its main features and benefits.
Abbey Road Modern Drums 13
The Drum Kits
Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 offers you two top-of-the-line drum kits that deliver two very different contemporary drum sounds. You can choose from three snares per kit and a number of 'character' cymbals, such as the Sabian Chopper and Zildjian Spiral Trash. Each kit has been meticulously sampled with up to 27 velocity layers and 6 variations of drum hits at the same velocity for added realism. You can also adjust the level of snare bleed for each drum, as well as switch between stereo or mono overheads and room mics. Let's take a closer look at each kit.
The Sparkle Kit
The Sparkle Kit is a contemporary Pearl Reference kit with a tight, disciplined sound for modern pop, ballads, and all-purpose use. It consists of a 24" kick drum, a 13" x 5.5" DW Edge snare (or a 12" x 5" Pearl Sensitone Custom Alloy Steel snare or a 14" x 5" Pearl Sensitone Elite Brass snare), an 8" hi rack tom, a 10" mid rack tom, a 12" low rack tom, a 16" floor tom, Zildjian Mastersound hi-hats, Zildjian High Crash, Low Crash, Ride, Splash cymbals, and a Sabian China cymbal. The Sparkle Kit was recorded in Studio 3 at Abbey Road Studios using a combination of vintage and modern microphones, such as the Neumann U47, U67, KM84, AKG C12, C414, D12, D112, Shure SM57, and Sennheiser MD421. The Sparkle Kit has a crisp and clear sound that can cut through any mix with ease. You can use it for genres such as pop, rock, indie, funk, and more.
The White Kit
The White Kit is a vintage 1970s Gretsch kit with a warm, fat, and punchy sound for classic rock, blues, and soul. It consists of a 22" kick drum, a 14" x 6.5" Ludwig Black Beauty snare (or a 14" x 5.5" Ludwig Supraphonic snare or a 14" x 6.5" Gretsch Chrome over Brass snare), a 10" rack tom, a 12" rack tom, a 14" floor tom, a 16" floor tom, Zildjian New Beat hi-hats, Zildjian Medium Crash, Medium Thin Crash, Ride cymbals, and a Zildjian Spiral Trash cymbal. The White Kit was recorded in Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios using a selection of rare and vintage microphones, such as the AKG D19c, D20, D30, C12A, C451E, Neumann KM53, KM56, U47 FET, U87i, RCA DX77 Ribbon mic, and Coles 4038 Ribbon mic. The White Kit has a rich and warm sound that can add depth and character to any mix. You can use it for genres such as rock, blues, soul, R&B, country, and more.
The Mixer Section
Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 gives you full control over the sound of your drums with its powerful Mixer Section. You can create your own drum submixes with up to 18 channels per kit (including direct mics for each drum and cymbal), stereo or mono overheads and room mics (with adjustable width), and additional bleed mics for snare top and bottom. You can also apply studio effects to each channel or to the master output to enhance your drum sound. Let's see how you can use the Mixer Section to achieve the perfect drum submix.
How to create the perfect drum submix with the Mixer Section
The Mixer Section allows you to adjust the level, pan, mute, solo, phase invert, and output routing of each channel. You can also use the following effects to shape your drum sound:
Tape Saturation: This effect simulates the sound of recording drums to analog tape machines. It adds warmth, compression, and harmonic distortion to your drums. You can adjust the amount of tape saturation with the Drive knob and choose from three different tape types: Vintage (based on the Studer A80), Modern (based on the Ampex ATR-102), and Master (based on the Studer A820).
Convolution Reverb: This effect uses impulse responses from real acoustic spaces to create realistic reverb for your drums. You can choose from four different rooms: Studio 2 Chamber (a large echo chamber in Abbey Road Studios), Studio 3 Plate (a vintage EMT plate reverb in Abbey Road Studios), Studio 3 Room (the natural ambience of Studio 3 in Abbey Road Studios), and Generic Room (a generic room reverb for general use). You can adjust the amount of reverb with the Wet knob and the decay time with the Time knob.
EQ: This effect allows you to adjust the frequency balance of your drums with a four-band parametric equalizer. You can boost or cut up to 18 dB in each band and adjust the frequency and bandwidth with the knobs or by dragging the nodes on the graph. You can also switch between two different EQ modes: Modern (a transparent digital EQ) and Vintage (an analog-style EQ based on the Neve 1081).
Compressor: This effect allows you to control the dynamics of your drums with a classic VCA compressor. You can adjust the threshold, ratio, attack, release, and makeup gain with the knobs or by dragging the nodes on the graph. You can also switch between two different compressor modes: Modern (a clean and fast compressor) and Vintage (a warm and smooth compressor based on the SSL G-Series).
Transient Master: This effect allows you to shape the attack and sustain of your drums with a simple but effective transient shaper. You can adjust the amount of attack and sustain with the knobs or by dragging the nodes on the graph. You can also use the Smooth knob to reduce the artifacts caused by transient shaping. You can use this effect to add punch, clarity, and definition to your drums.
By using these effects, you can create your own drum submixes that suit your musical style and genre. You can also use the Solo and Mute buttons to isolate or mute individual channels, and the Phase Invert button to correct any phase issues between the microphones. You can also adjust the Master Volume and Pan of your drum submix with the knobs at the bottom of the Mixer Section.
How to use the Mixer and Effects presets for instant pro sound
If you don't want to spend too much time tweaking the Mixer Section, you can also use the Mixer and Effects presets that are included in Abbey Road Modern Drums 13. These presets are designed by professional engineers and producers who have worked at Abbey Road Studios, and they provide you with ready-made drum submixes that sound great right out of the box. You can choose from different presets for each kit, such as Clean, Dry, Wet, Vintage, Modern, Pop, Rock, Indie, Funk, Soul, and more. Each preset has a different combination of effects and settings that suit the style and genre of the preset. You can access the presets by clicking on the Preset button at the top of the Mixer Section and browsing through the list. You can also save your own presets by clicking on the Save button and naming your preset.
The Groove Library
Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 also comes with a comprehensive Groove Library feature that allows you to access and use hundreds of professionally played drum grooves for your music production. You can also create your own grooves with the Groove Library feature and edit them to your liking. Let's see how you can use the Groove Library feature to add life and realism to your drums.
How to access and use the Groove Library feature
The Groove Library feature is located at the bottom of the main interface of Abbey Road Modern Drums 13. You can open it by clicking on the Groove button. The Groove Library feature consists of three main parts: The Browser, The Player, and The Editor.
The Browser: This is where you can browse through the different categories and subcategories of drum grooves that are available in Abbey Road Modern Drums 13. You can choose from different genres, such as Pop, Rock, Indie, Funk, Soul, R&B, Country, Jazz, Blues, Reggae, Latin, World, and more. You can also choose from different styles within each genre, such as Straight, Shuffle, Swing, 6/8, 12/8, etc. You can also filter the grooves by tempo range or time signature. Each groove has a name that describes its feel and character.
The Player: This is where you can audition and play the selected groove. You can adjust the tempo of the groove with the Tempo knob or sync it to your DAW's tempo with the Sync button. You can also adjust the volume of the groove with the Volume knob or mute it with the Mute button. You can also drag-and-drop the groove into your DAW's timeline by clicking on the Drag button and holding down your mouse button.
The Editor: This is where you can edit and modify the selected groove or create your own groove from scratch. You can access the Editor by clicking on to quantize the start or the end of the notes, or both. You can also choose whether to quantize the whole groove or only the selected notes.
Copy, Cut, Paste, Delete: These functions allow you to copy, cut, paste, or delete notes in the groove. You can use the mouse to select the notes you want to edit, and then use the buttons to perform the desired action.
Undo, Redo: These functions allow you to undo or redo your last editing action. You can use the buttons or the keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y) to perform these functions.
By using these functions and tools, you can create your own grooves with the Groove Library feature and customize them to your liking. You can also save your own grooves by clicking on the Save button and naming your groove.
Conclusion
Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 is a powerful and versatile drum software that can provide you with realistic and contemporary drums for your music production. It features two premium drum kits, recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, using period equipment and recording techniques. It also includes an advanced Mixer Section and a comprehensive Groove Library feature that allow you to create your own drum submixes and grooves with ease. Whether you are a beginner or a professional, Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 can help you achieve the perfect drum sound for your project. You can try it out for free with the Komplete Start bundle, or buy it as a standalone product or as a part of the Komplete suite. If you are looking for a high-quality, versatile, and realistic drum software, Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 is definitely worth checking out!
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about Abbey Road Modern Drums 13:
Q: What are the system requirements for Abbey Road Modern Drums 13?
A: Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 requires Kontakt 6 or Kontakt 6 Player (free) to run. It also requires at least 4 GB of RAM and 7 GB of free disk space. It is compatible with Windows 10 (64-bit) and macOS 10.14 or higher.
Q: How can I install Abbey Road Modern Drums 13?
A: You can install Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 with Native Access, the software manager by Native Instruments. You can download Native Access from the Native Instruments website and follow the instructions to install Abbey Road Modern Drums 13.
Q: How can I activate Abbey Road Modern Drums 13?
A: You can activate Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 with Native Access, using your serial number that you received when you purchased the product. You can also activate it online or offline, depending on your preference.
Q: How can I update Abbey Road Modern Drums 13?
A: You can update Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 with Native Access, which will notify you when there is a new update available. You can also check for updates manually by clicking on the Update button in Native Access.
Q: How can I get support for Abbey Road Modern Drums 13?
A: You can get support for Abbey Road Modern Drums 13 from the Native Instruments website, where you can find manuals, tutorials, videos, forums, and contact information. You can also get support from the Abbey Road Studios website, where you can find more information about the studios and their history.
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