Tascam Releases Larry Seyer Acoustic Drums for GigaStudio 3
 December 10, 2004
The latest library to take full advantage of TASCAM's GigaStudio 3 software sampler, Larry Seyer Acoustic Drums incorporates several new technologies and techniques for added realism.
This new 24-bit sample library features drums collected and played by Pat Mastelotto, drummer for King Crimson, XTC, Mr. Mister and others. It features samples of 115 unique drum kits -- with 12 variations of each one -- for a total of 1,380 drum kits. Many of the best features of the library are made possible using new technology in GigaStudio 3, such as GigaPulse convolution modeling, instrument stacking, multi-placement room reverb, microphone modeling and iMIDI performance rules.
"I am very excited about this library," says Larry Seyer. "There are so many new features built in it you can't really list them all without causing some sort of brain overload! We began with great-sounding 24-bit stereo samples, played by drummer Pat Mastelotto of King Crimson, and then gave the user the ability to place those drum components into a room of their choice. Not only are the 'rooms' user-selectable, but the position of the kit within the room is selectable too! The user can also add vintage microphone modeling effects to the drum kits. This approach is not only unique, but offers the user much more in the way of flexibility in creating new and custom drum kits."
"We can do this because we use TASCAM's GigaPulse technology and some great sounding drum rooms that we recorded to be part of this library -- optimized for stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 surround placements. They sound like real drums played in real rooms. Load up a 5CH or 7CH version of any drum kit in this library, turn on your surround speakers, and prepare to be amazed!"
"A unique feature of the drum library is our use of positional 'zones'. The snares, toms, and hats are not only sampled using multiple velocities, but are sampled across up to 8 positions on the drumhead. These positional zones are mapped across a full octave on the keyboard for the snare for incredibly real sounding drum parts. In other words, as you play from left to right on the piano keyboard, you are triggering the samples that were taken from up to 8 different positions on the drum."
A total of 1,444 MIDI files have also been created to accompany this library. This allows songwriters to simply drag and drop a MIDI file into their sequencer to create a drum track using the Larry Seyer Acoustic Drums library. Unlike drum libraries based on slicing a drum loop into sections, these MIDI files don't smear transient attacks and lose audio quality when the tempo is changed.
Larry Seyer Acoustic Drums is now available for purchase from TASCAM GigaStudio dealers and on the TASCAM Online Store. An exclusive interview with Larry Seyer about the making of the library can be found on tascamgiga.com.
MSRP: $499.00. For more information, visit their web site at www.tascam.com. | 
