The object of my warm feelings goes by the slightly unusual name of Alaturka Drum. I noticed it in the KVR news section a couple of hours ago and thought, why not?
I hadn't heard of Volko Audio and I guess not many KVR:ers outside of Turkey have either. Not yet, anyway. I have a hunch it's going to change.
At http://www.volkoaudio.com I discovered a neat and functional website, offering a complete, unlimited 30 day, 288 MB evaluation of Alaturka Drum, either for PC or for Mac.
So, what is it?
A simple, rough analogy would be a Middle East, North African, Anatolian version of Groove Agent or DrumCore, comprising some 36 different and, I assume, authentic rhythms, recorded with five different drum sets.
Each rhythm (Ayoub-Zar, Baio, Chiftetelli, Churchuna, Dabkkah, Darig, Daza, Dishka, Fal- lahi, Fazani, Jirk, Karachi, Laz Havasi, Libi, Maghrebi, Maksum, Malfuf, Mambo Su- dani, Masmoudy Kebir, Nubian Reggae, Nubian Samba, Rai, Rhumba Khaligi, Rhumba Masri, Roman Havasi, Saidi, Samai Thakil, Sudasi, Sufi, Tom Tom, Uncle Fallahi, Wahda, Wahrani, Wals, Zafa and Zorofat) offers 24 variations and 24 associated fills.
Alaturka Drum is a monolithic VST or AU, tempo locked to your DAW, and you can drag'n'drop the current rhythm patch as a MIDI file to a track in your DAW. You can also use it as a source of drum samples.
The price for a 'discounted commercial license' is a paltry 39 USD. If you foresee that you will earn more than 24,000 USD/year using it, then you're asked to buy a full commercial license for 119 USD.
I bought the $39 license through PayPal in a smooth operation and after registering at www.volkoaudio, immediately received my license file in an e-mail. No dongles, no challenge/response. Very professional people, obviously.
Bottom line: an inspiring and flexible ethnic drummer in my MacBook Pro. Loads of fun!
Only item on my wish list: an option to trigger the 24 variations of each rhythm from my MIDI keyboard and, for instance using sustain pedal as modifier, the 24 fills as well.
If you have the slightest interest in quality ethnic drumming, you need to download the demo (which can then be licensed) of Alaturka Drum.
/Joachim
disclaimer: I have no affiliation whatsoever with VolkoAudio; just very happy with the product.
