Epik Drums: Ken Scott Collection for Infinite Player

[zedd]

The product is about 100 gigabytes (so too large for download). It's very high end and there are a lot of people involved. I don't think this one will ever be a group buy or at least not for a few years and even then... not sure it will qualify. Some products have to stay the same price! But it is great value considering what an ordeal it was to create something as detailed and authentic as this.

Are we going to be able to purchase the Multitrack sets for each drummer separately? I just checked out the videos on Sonic Reality TV, and there are 2 drummers that I would love to have immediately. The others I could probably pass on for the time being since money is tight.

That said, we may have stereo versions of each drummer coming out later in the Drum Masters series.

Two questions in response to that:

(1) How much later? (realistically)
(2) Is Ken Scott doing the stereo mixes?

Thanks in advance,
Zedd

[Squids]

For multitrack it is pretty much the whole package at least as far as what's planned. The only individual titles will be each stereo "drummer pack" which is a new approach for the Drum Masters series. We're changing it to make things more simple. I realize that it is nice to cherry pick exactly what you want but then it makes a mess of a zillion different versions and people don't know what to get. So less choices can actually make it easier. Granted, not easier on the wallet always but... a product like this wasn't designed to be super cheap anyway. It costs a fortune to do something like this and several years to create. This was perhaps the MOST epic production we've ever done and I don't know if we'll be able to go quite this crazy again. It was REALLY over the top but Ken was a stickler on the authentic equipment, studio environments, instruments... I mean, we spent more money getting Cobham's kit to Boston from LA than it would have cost to just BUY one! Then flying him from Switzerland, finding 8 U67 mics to put on toms ($8,000 mics) I mean... it got pretty ridiculous but that's the whole point really. We do all the stuff that most people would never do - whether it is budget restrictive luxury or just the luck of getting people like Bozzio, Cobham, Morgenstein, Siebenberg and Woodmansey from all over the world to reunite with one of the world's best producer/engineers who they haven't worked with in 30 years... from a sampling and recording point of view that's kind of like organizing a "super group". Anyway, we go all out like that and naturally the product is not cheap. But at least someone did it and it'll be available to those that seek such character in sound which is hard to get like this. It really is worth it considering you essentially have these drummers and the producer/engineer's work available to make music with any time you want! I LOVE that!

Oh and yes the mixes are done by Ken.

[zedd]

Thanks for the additional info, Squidly. I appreciate that you have gone to such efforts to create this library with these incredible artists and all that vintage gear. It is very exciting.

I'll definitely be adding this product to my collection eventually, but I might just start with the stereo versions, especially knowing that they are mixed by Ken. They've gotta sound great, and the advantage of using those versions will be that I can spend less time trying to "control" the mix and more time just building music on top of a mix that has already been optimized.

Looking forward to these and the Ken Scott Ringo stuff as well.

[Squids]

That makes sense. The deluxe EpiK DrumS is a great one for the collection though as well. There are many things in it such as extra percussion and drum kits like a Ringo "Tea Towel" kit and a Nigel/Elton 70's single head kit... For a fan of Ken or vintage drum sounds in general the full EpiK DrumS is the way to go. It comes with a special version of the stereos that has the kick separated so you can apply reverb to the grooves without the kick (something Ken suggested). Great package.

[Blackbyrd]

I want to know an approximate number of velocity layers and round robin on all drum parts (kick, snare, hat, toms, etc)

[Squids]

I want to know an approximate number of velocity layers and round robin on all drum parts (kick, snare, hat, toms, etc)

It can vary from kit to kit. Total number of velocities per drum instrument is well over a hundred and that's divided amongst the various articulations and round robin groups. But with EpiK DrumS it is more than we've ever done before and the smallest kit (a Ringo kit with tea towels) is 5 gigabytes. The average is about 8 gigabytes per kit. The larger size of it is mainly to accommodate additional velocities and round robins. Quite detailed. But not "easy spec" to apply to the whole thing like "X amount of velocities for the snare". There's enough to get the tonal differences from quiet to loud and then there's round robins to get natural tonal variation per hit. The dynamic amplitude response is a full 128 and variable in the plug-in.

[zedd]

But with EpiK DrumS it is more than we've ever done before and the smallest kit (a Ringo kit with tea towels) is 5 gigabytes.

Wait a minute... what is this mention of a Ringo kit in with EpiK DrumS? Are these the same Ringo drums I've been excited about and inquiring over for the past year? Are they included in this product, or are you talking about additional material that will come afterwards? Now I'm confused.

If EpiK DrumS does have some Ringo style kits, I think it would be to your advantage to be touting that as a cool product feature.

Glad to hear about the large number of velocity layers and variations.

[Squids]

Yes, EpiK DrumS has a fantastic Ringo-style kit with tea towels as well as a single head Nigel Olsen/Elton John style kit. This doesn't have all of the Ringo-style kits we've done though but it's a versatile one done by Ken. It's an amazing collection.