BreakTweaker

Break Tweaker is definitely a new way of thinking about drum programming and sequencing, it sounds great and it promises to be very flexible and give me a lot of fun while programming my own loops. The first sensation is good, it is easy to understand where everything you need is placed, and starting to program a loop and some variations is definitely very intuitive. There is a lot to discover in there, I am sure... Yet, I miss an effect chain with at least a delay and a reverb. I also do not understand why all iZotopes products are so much CPU consuming... It is a wierd choice to give the priority to the graphics, instead of allowing a broader range of users to play and have fun with all the beautiful features of their softwares.

I just got the Expanded version offer (a very good offer indeed), but there are not so many presets as I expected (which may mean a good starting point to understand in depth the software). I'll start soon to program it using all possible features, yet, the actual presets sound all in a very defined way (the "beats" have a vast number of variations, but the "sounds" - once you get used to the synths-and-beats game - are not so very different from one another). I'd prefer to add a bass/synth on another plugin and concentrate on the drum programming only. At the moment I see there are no sound designers who designed preset packs for Break Tweaker (except for 4 small iZotope's expansions and 1 pluginguru big pack), altough it has been out for more than one year already, so this may mean something about it... but I may be wrong, of course. While running in a non-super-ultra powerful machine, (as said), this software seems to declare "I am not for you, baby!", which is a strange feeling indeed... I'll use it to produce loops I can easily load in other plugins, at the moment, and for very easy affordable "electronic only" rhythm variations tracks while in a hurry with a deadline. Great stuff with great promises, a beast indeed, yet still to become a "best of" plugin IMHO.

This plug-in is by a stretch worth maybe a 4, so I'll give it a three just to even things out. A drummachine without a groove control??! Yes You read it right. No groove control. This means that You can not get anything remotely funky out of this one. You might as well put samples on a grid in Your DAW. I mean buying a drum machine at this price You are looking for some assistance to make Your drumtracks swing. Keep looking, this is not it. This is a disaster of a drummachine. Have a look at xfer Nerve, SonicCharge Microtonic or even AudioDamage Tattoo for something that at least adds something. This is just a basic sampletrigger. Alright, the samples are good but so is every samplepack out there.

That's a drum tool i've dreamed since long time and iZotope breaks my expectations in most details. The flexibility in mixing / playing with very different and very unusual rythm scales is hmmm...

For me it could have a bit more flexibility - i.e. the availability to add further tracks or insert external effects (i.e. by busses) to the effect chain within (!) the synth/sample engine. But this would be just nice to haves.

While the strong CPU resource affinity in some DAW modes are not so hard anymore because of newer comouters - one problem is not available (vor very difficukt to simulate) micro time of notes, which are important for pro grade producer usage in most types of music and as a feature in most tools (i.e. on Arturia or in my DSI Tempest Hardware). If iZotope would add this as one further option (step and i.e. full track) this would help BT on a new level.

this two things iZotope gets one point minus from me - resulting in 9/10 points.