The Fast Track to Radio-ready Drums
Since 2005, Steven Slate's drum samples have been the secret sauce behind the massive drum tones of the industry's heaviest hitmakers. Now, with Steven Slate Drums 5, the largest and most streamlined SSD library yet, building larger-than-life drum tracks entirely inside the box couldn't be easier — even for the non-drummer. A completely redesigned user interface, an additional 50 precision-sampled Deluxe 2 drum instruments, and a new groove library featuring 1,000 drag-and-drop rhythms and fills make SSD5 the shortest route to radio-ready drums and backing tracks. Choose from several artist-modeled preset kits for instant inspiration, or piece together your dream kit from 84 kicks, 77 snares, and hundreds of toms, cymbals, and percussion sounds. In addition, a completely reworked mapping section, complete with velocity and dynamics curves for each drum, makes Steven Slate Drums 5 the ultimate engine for electronic drum kits.
Related Videos: SSD5 Virtual Drum Instrument Plug-in
What's New in SSD5
With more sounds, a better playback algorithm, and loads of user-requested upgrades over version four, Steven Slate Drums 5 is better than ever. Here's what you get:
- Streamlined interface — An intuitive facelift makes it quicker and easier to load drums and shape tones within SSD5, even from the first go. This prevents obstacles from standing in the way of you and great-sounding drum tracks.
- Advanced playback algorithm — Your favorite drum libraries from SSD4 and earlier sound better than ever in version 5, thanks to an advanced playback engine with higher resampling capabilities.
- Deluxe 2 drum library — You get 50 new instruments, including 10 new kicks and 10 new snares, in SSD5's included Deluxe 2 drum library. Deluxe 2 features some of Slate's most precisely sampled drums to date. No filler here — only the best hits from the best performances were chosen for Deluxe 2.
- Snare ring adjustment —SSD5 snares have baked-in adjustable flexibility in the way of an adjustable overring control. Shorten or lengthen snare ring to suit the tempo of your song, or to accentuate flams and rimshots.
- Quicker routing — You can easily map, back up, and restore your drum controllers within SSD5's completely reworked routing matrix.
- Master volume control — By popular demand, SSD5 now includes a master fade for easier level matching and gain staging without touching your faders.
- Fader grouping — Want to easily adjust the balance between you overheads and room mics? Snare and toms? It's easier than ever with SSD5's mixer section fader grouping.
- Live preview — Looking for a special sound? SSD5 lets you audition drum sounds just by clicking an instrument within the browser. A single knob balances close and ambient mics for even greater real-world applications.
- 32-channel instrument loader — SSD5's Drumkit/Pad Cells view lets you load 32 Slate instruments or 32 user one-shots simultaneously to generate the kick and snare tones of your dreams.
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Drum Sounds
Hundreds of production-quality drum and cymbals
Hundreds of the choicest kick drums, snares, cymbals, toms, and percussion sounds, all sampled in the finest studios using multiple velocities, await you in Steven Slate Drums 5. For jazz and blues to rock and metal, SSD5 truly is a comprehensive drum instrument for the well-rounded producer.
- 84 Kicks
- 77 Snares
- 58 Toms
- 11 Hi-Hats
- 6 Rides
- 14 Crashes
- 4 Splashes
- 3 Chinas
- 9 Various Percussion (Including 1 Cowbell)
- 4 SFX
Includes the SSD5 Deluxe 2 library
SSD5's Deluxe 2 sound library includes some of the most precise drum tones to grace the virtual drums market. Slate chose only the best samples from the best performances for this library. One feature we at Sweetwater were quick to note is the adjustable snare ring control, which tailors the length and character of every snare drum to suit your particular production tastes.
Packed with artist presets
If you have a particular drum sound in mind, SSD5's premixed artist kits, modeled after some iconic and sought-after recorded drum tones, are a great starting point. Sweeten to taste with onboard FX and mic blending, then save for later recall.
Highlights
Drag and drop your way to the charts
Build, trim, and augment songs easily using SSD5's integrated groove library. Here you can map out complete songs — verse, chorus, bridge, etc — and drag in parts and fills from the browser. There are multiple genres, tempos, and time signatures to choose from. Autoplay and dynamics features let you audition parts on the fly. Once your song is just the way you want it, you can export the entire track as MIDI for further manipulation.
Group faders for quicker mixing
Steven Slate Drums 5 lets you group faders — kick and snare, overheads, room mics, toms, and more — for broader mix strokes. This is especially useful when your drum sounds are more or less dialed in, but you want to raise the level of the ambient mics or reduce the level of the toms without going fader by fade for each move.
Combine 32 instruments or user one-shots
In a modern mix, a single snare track may be a blend of multiple drums and sound sources. That's why Steven Slate Drums 5 lets you load up to 32 instruments or user one-shots simultaneously. Now you can craft the beefiest, gnarliest, and most personalized drum tones all from within the same window.
Add new excitement to existing drums
Here's good news for past users — SSD5's advanced playback engine with higher resampling quality makes your favorite drum sounds from version 4 and earlier sound better than ever. Now you can beef up older tracks using Steven Slate Drums 5's additional samples, or enjoy the added clarity from its new audio engine.
Steven Slate Drums 5 Features:
- Streamlined interface is quicker and more intuitive to navigate
- Includes 84 kick drums, 77 snares, and hundreds of toms, cymbals, and percussion sounds
- Artist-modeled preset kits unlock instant inspiration
- SSD5 Deluxe 2 library features some of the most precisely sampled drums and cymbals yet
- Snare ring control (Deluxe 2 library only) lengthens or shortens overring
- Live browser preview with ambience control is great for auditioning drum sounds
- Groove library includes 1,000 beats and fills, neatly categorized by genre and time signature
- Master volume control makes for easier gain staging and level matching
- Advanced playback algorithm with higher resampling yields the best sounds, even from classic Slate libraries
- Drumkit/Pad Cells view lets you load up to 32 instruments or user one-shots simultaneously
- Reworked mapping section with instrument dynamics and velocity curves
