Ocean Way Studios and Sonic Reality have announced that the highly anticipated Ocean Way Drums virtual instrument/plug-in is shipping at Winter NAMM 2008. Two versions are immediately available: Ocean Way Drums Gold Edition which is 24bit/48k and 40 Gigabytes in size on 6 Dual Layer DVDs and Ocean Way Drums Platinum HD which has both the Gold Edition discs as well as a high resolution 24bit/96k version that is 80 Gigabytes in size and preinstalled on a special ultra fast 10,000 RPM hard drive for optimal use.

Both editions feature 19 Drum Kits recorded in Ocean Way's famous Studio B where artists like Radiohead, Beck, Green Day, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and countless others record. It comes as both a 40 gigabyte sample library for Native Instruments Kontakt 3 as well as a Kontakt Player plug-in for Mac OS X and Windows with support for RTAS, VST, Audio Units and Stand Alone all in one package. It not only offers more control of the mix with up to 13 discrete mono or stereo microphone levels per drum but comes ready to go with 12 "mix presets" per kit made at Ocean Way by studio owner and Grammy-winning engineer Allen Sides and Steven Miller.

"It wasn't enough for us as producer/engineers to say 'here are the discrete mic channels and good luck!' when we know a lot of artists also appreciate instant gratification." Says Ocean Way's Allen Sides. "So we set out to take the drum sound of Ocean Way all the way to the end by providing the user with preset mixes from tight and dry to ambient and massive all just a few clicks away. All of this while still offering total control of the mix"

Ocean Way Drums' 19 Drum Kits have over 450 total Drum Kit Multi and Mix presets right out of the box with not only variations in the mix but also kits with the snares rattling (on) or off for a more pure sound. Custom kit multis can easily be made by swapping out over one hundred kit element "instrument patches" such as kicks, snares, toms, hats and cymbals all with discrete control of the mix per element.

"We wanted to make a drum kit plug-in that did for drums what the Vienna Symphony and Miroslav did for orchestral samples." Says Sonic Reality CEO Dave Kerzner "To do this we went to great lengths in production starting with one of the best studios in the world and bringing together top engineers, a great sounding room, the best audio gear around and the most expressive mapping layout, I-Map"

Ocean Way Drums comes mapped for both the keyboard and for drum pads. It uses a proprietary mapping technique developed by Sonic Reality's Dave Kerzner which has more performance variations and articulations than any other drum product to date. With left and right stick hits and a range of different positions captured from the drums and cymbals all within a smart layout across the keys that fits your hands, I-Map offers expressive possibilities for creating drum tracks. Whether it is fluid rolls from the left and right stick snare drum roll samples or that "missing element" in the groove provided by the use of a separate ghost note, 6 alternate hits per tom or 9 different hi hat variations from foot and closed to open, 4 keys for the kicks or 8 keys for the positions of the snare from center to edge all with up to 32 dynamics per hit, Ocean Way Drums offers incredible realism like nothing else. Users can also switch presets via efficient key switching.

In addition, Ocean Way Drums was also programmed for Roland's top of the line TD-20 V-Drums. It offers performance variations with a range of positions on the snares, toms and cymbals as well as alternating round robin hits and the ability to change presets using the + and – buttons of the TD-20.

Ocean Way Drums is aimed at industry professionals and musicians who are serious about their music. It brings any musician, songwriter, engineer or producer the unique and sought after sound of Ocean Way Studios in a box.

Ocean Way Drums Gold Edition has an MSRP of $995; Ocean Way Drums Platinum HD is $1,995.