Ultimate Studio Drums Group Buy VITAL INFO THREAD

[DarkStar]

Drum Masters 2 iMAP
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=1170

This is the Drum Masters 2 iMap layout. Now remember this is designed for keyboardists as you have 70 different keys to trigger various articulations and extra keys (extras are what we used to call "Alts" but now that the main key can round robin the other notes are designated more for a non-round robin addition hit - and optional). It WOULD be nice if an e-Drum kit had 70 note triggers coming in but not yet... when they do though it is nice to know you have all of these performance articulations to trigger... and even now you can run all of these in custom map and map any of them to your pads so this is the overall menu of available performance samples and each of these can have round robin and multiple velocity layers. Pretty deep.

I'm off to bed. I'll explain more about this tomorrow.



By the way, the keys at the top that have the diagonal lines are not a standard part of the imap but if we have those performance articulations for those cymbals that is where they'd go in a "special" additional instrument using the "Custom Map" mode. That also makes it flexible for you to move around although you can also SWITCH a kit in any mode to another mode as well which is pretty darn cool... I'll have to show you how that works. It even works with key switching.

Oh, one last thing. You have 6 "slots" for toms which each have 3 keys for center, edge and rim (and each of those can round robin). You can assign any tom to any one of those positions on the keyboard. You also have 5 cymbal slots which are like cymbal stands waiting for you to put on a splash from Ocean Way or a China from Nick D'Virgilio. It's SUPER easy to customize your own kits with the kit pieces and that is one of the MOST fun things about a product like this which has Drum Masters 2 Signature kits bundled with Ocean Way Drums DL mix kits.

... and have a look at the OWD tutorial videos, over here: http://www.oceanwaydrums.net/videos.php


Toms and Cymbals Slots
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=1305

I was among those who were confused by the toms in Infinite Player when it first came out, not understanding why there were extra "positions" even though there were no drums loading into those slots. A lot of that initial confusion was a result of there not being an Infinite Player manual. I would hope that over the past year you have actually created an Infinite Player manual so that new users will be better able to understand how to load kits and adjust settings for optimum use. Kontakt can be a little overwhelming for a first time user.

Well, there's Kontakt itself which does have a manual (and we copied it into the Infinite Player manual). That covers basic functionality of how Kontakt works... not that it is the best manual in the world but we didn't write that. One of these days we might re-write that part and improve it though.

But then there's how we customize it with our proprietary scripts and the features of our sound products. Our goal is to vastly improve that so that people can get the most out of it. We listen and learn from our users and factor that into the next generation of products such as these Drum Masters 2 range products.

Sometimes as we do things someone in the team names something and we all get used to it. The positional toms was one of those. I don't know who named them that but it wasn't me. Maybe one of our coders and it was written into the code and applied to every kit so it would have been a big deal to change (as it just WAS right now). I really should have had them change it earlier but it occurred to me while I was talking about it to people that just a simple word change like that can make such a huge difference.

So, for anyone reading and wondering what I'm talking about, what I am referring to is the possible locations for any of the toms or cymbals to be placed. It's mostly for the finger drumming iMAP mode but can also apply to the others as well. You see, each tom or cymbal isn't just one note of samples but a scheme of notes with different performance articulations from edge to rim. So, to make your own set of up to 6 toms is SUPER easy with these selectable "slots". You simply load the tom instrument into the multi. Then select on the GUI which slot you want it to be in (that chooses where it will be mapped) and you can pitch and pan it differently too! So you can even take a Ringo-style 2 tom set and turn it into a 6 tom set just with pitching them differently and panning them.

Or you can load up some Roto toms in slots 1-3 and 2 rack toms and a floor tom on slots 4-6... or you could make a set of 6 floor toms if you wanted. So many possibilities, especially the more kits and kit pieces you have. ...

Sound Library location
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=1395

Thanks for the update Squids.

I have a couple of quick questions...

(1) You've been talking about this Group Buy package in a way that makes it seem as if this drum library is an integrated set which is separate from other sets. I know it is a unique set because it includes these Ocean Way drums. But once it is installed, isn't all of the content in this group buy going to be completely interchangeable with and housed in the same place as our existing IP drum content? For those of us who already have IP and some IP drum kits, we're just adding 28 new kits to our collection, right? (i.e. this package is not going to show up in Kontakt as a separate library, if my assumption is correct).

(2) Can you please remind me when those of us who have Drum Masters Gold edition will be able to get the update to the new versions with the script modifications?

The new versions are all in the patches which contain the scripts. So the free update for DM1 Silver, Gold & Platinum users can only happen when those patches are done. Since there were some final tweaks that had to be done with the positions/slots thing and the closed hi hat thing the updates will be available after we've completed that. As to when, that is tough to say but I'd say some time within the next couple of weeks or so. After this group buy at least.

As for the first question, all of this resides in the same place as your other Infinite Player content. So all of the NKX's go into your SAMPLES folder and if you own Drum Masters 1 Gold then you'll have some of them (like the NDV Gretsch and Premier kits for example) and you won't have a bunch of the new kit and kit piece NKX's so you'd add those to your samples folder. Then in your Multis folder will be it's own thing called "Ultimate Studio Drums" and within that will be three folders - a Drum Masters Signature GB folder (that's the group buy edition), an Ocean Way Drums DL IP folder (that's the Infinite Player version for this group buy of DL kits) and then a Hybrid Kits folder which will have kits that mix and match kit pieces between all of the various kit pieces. You'll also have those kit pieces in their own folder in the INSTRUMENTS for individual NKI's you can load (just like you do now with Drum Masters).

Now, remember that's just where they load from. You can resave them back to any folder you want. This is just to keep it separate and organized. But it IS within the same Infinite Player library. All of the Infinite Player titles (FX Tron, Cinema Sessions, EpiK DrumS, Drum Masters 2, Konstruction etc.) all go in this same place. Now you know why we call it "infinite"!

Advantages of the MT Kits
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=1395

Squids, other than mic mixing, what advantage(for some)or difference(for others like me)are there in the MT kits? For my needs (individual overall level adjustments with separate outs for each instrument is all I would need. So I would guess if I wanted to "tweak" some instrument as the snare with paying with the different mic set-ups, I could do that with the MT...right? Any other differences?

The only difference IS the mic mixing and also the ability to process individual mic channels with effects. But that is a big deal for those that want to work with drum kits the way you would in a multi-track drum session where you can get your own mix of dry to ambient or do certain production things like compressing certain mics and not others... all sorts of things which would be a whole other topic (multitrack drum production).

For me personally, I happen to like both. I like the speed and efficiency of just using this combo stereo/multichannel without mic mixing. If I was playing an e-Drum kit I would probably prefer these. If I was producing an album and creating a drum track for it then I might prefer the multi-track discrete mic mixing ones but both would still be handy.

There's even certain mixing advantages to both in the sense that the stereo kit pieces are kind of like "busses" and you can apply effects to the whole instrument! If one was to take these drums and want to do something heavily processed such as a lofi effect or distortion then it's probably better to use the special stereo kits than a full multitrack kit... but you know, it all depends on the session, the style of music and each person's needs are different. For my own use I like to have both. For most people's needs I think the special stereo with individual outputs for each drum type are a good common ground. For people that are wanting to dig into some engineering/production and/or are already advanced from experience with products like BFD and others that offer mic mixing, it's nice to have Multitrack kits.

Hope that helps you and anyone else wondering about it. Also, I think that these special stereo kits are a good place to start (and you certainly get some great variety in this package). But the fact that you all are getting at least one and maybe more Multitrack kits as a bonus in this group buy then you'll have a chance to see the difference first hand... and that's an even better way to know if it's for you.

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=1440

Some clarifications to make sure any confusion is avoided...

DM1's ST (Stereo) kits were all routed to one stereo individual output. These kits in this group buy and the kits of DM2 Signature Series which we'll call "STm" kits (Stereo/multichannel) are routed to all 16 individual outputs for mixing that is more advanced than DM1. So it is less like the R8 that goes out one stereo output. DM2 kits still CAN go out one stereo output but you have the option of processing each drum separately inside the plug-in or your DAW now.

Regarding STm kits vs. MT kits they BOTH sound like they were recorded in Ocean Way (if it was recorded in Ocean Way) or whatever studio they were recorded in. That is not the difference. There is no "quality or realism" difference - or if there is it is not major. The main difference is the flexibility of sounds you can create with it. With Multitrack you still have the discrete microphones to blend to get different resulting mixes from bone dry to roomy ambience. You can also process each mic channel and all of that is a simulation of what would be done in a multitrack drum session for an album with live drums. The sound itself isn't more realistic but the things you can do - the process of production - is more like the real thing. Does that make more sense now? Think about it.

A LIVE drum session they'd have all of the mics up and record them to different tracks in ProTools. Then when you mix an album you'd blend the mics on the different channels of ProTools running each channel through whatever sort of EQ, Compression etc. to get the kind of sound that suits the track. So, having Multitrack Kits with the same individual mic channels (not to mention audio grooves which we also have - even more like the real thing since they are loops from actual multitrack drum sessions... doesn't get any more real than that!) gives you an accurate simulation of doing a live drum session. That is IDEAL for someone producing a song in their own studio and for variety you wouldn't get even if you had a deluxe studio with a live room.

But, yes the STm kits are useful for production as well more in the way people produce in DAWS these days with products like Battery or DrumCore etc. It's faster to work with, less intense on your computer power, easy to process and mangle into all sorts of new sounds that you might not get when using the Multitracks... and that is why I like to use both.

Realism in the Drum Kits
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=1455

Squids,

I realize that me and some others asked this before, but there hasn't been an answer on a critical question that me and some others need to know before joining the GB and I wanted to give it one more try.

Especially, when you're playing an electronic drum kit, the amount of layers and round robin samples makes a huge difference in realism. It's the reason why VSTs/sample libraries like Superior Drummer, Steven Slate or even ezDrummer (I could probably add BFD, AD and the full Ocean Way Drums, I just don't own them) drum kits sound so realistic and avoid the machine gun effect; simply put, that realism would not be possible without the layers and round robin samples. Consequently, this GB would be a "no-brainer" for me if I could really understand even one example of how many layers and round robin samples exist for a typical kit. It would also help the e-drummers considering this GB who are more experienced. Further, I think this info would help those less experienced edrummers avoid disappointment if these kits don't have enough velocity layers and round robin samples to compare with other products they are using.

Would it be possible for you to select one of the Ocean Way kits and one of the Drum Masters 2 kits as examples and share the amount of layers and round robin samples used? Heck, if even two kits that sound good have sufficient layers and round robin samples, I'm in.

Thanks,
eDrummist

Actually, I have answered this question particularly on the Vdrum forum where there are more e-drummists like yourself. I will try to give an even more thorough answer for you here.

There isn't just one simple answer. Not only is each kit different but each kit piece is different and each articulation is different and each ALT is different. The most important thing for e-Drummers is that with everything we did in this updated version of an existing product it was done with e-drummers in mind as much as finger drummers. So the bottom line is that THERE IS NO MACHINE GUN EFFECT. That was the main point of doing these powerful round robin scripts which are advanced in what they can do in many areas (also randomization options, trim per articulation and more).

I could take a kit and pick it apart and tell you roughly how many layers and alts it has per articulation of every kit piece just to get an idea I suppose but that doesn't mean that every other kit is going to have that same data. Plus that data includes velocities that are re-arranged in different order (similar to the way BFD does it) and all sorts of other things done to achieve what we want to achieve while working with samples that weren't originally done with this in mind. The ones that WERE done with a zillion layers vertically and horizontally (such as the Neil Peart Kit and EpiK DrumS) are many, many times larger not to mention many times more in cost. This, after all, is 25+ kits for $99.

In this product each kit is downloadable-sized (800-1.2gb each). Given that we don't use any data compression at all (I try to avoid that because the word "lossless" sounds good but something IS lost, whether you can hear it or not depends on both your ears or from sound to sound it can vary as well), the key here is that we made the most of what could be done with that kit size.

For example, the script itself which is the same script we're using for EpiK and Peart can handle up to 8 alternates per articulation. But to do a kit that had all 8 alts for every articulation would be MASSIVE... and anyway even if we did it would have to be a kit sampled with that intention... and there wouldn't be 25 of them for $99 either. So it's all relative. But the framework is there to do what we wanted to do which mainly was to vary it up for realism and avoid the machine gun effect which we have achieved with this.

So, the question is then how did we use that framework for these kits? The articulations that are important usually have at least 3-4 alts total in the round robin group of that articulation (EACH articulation can have its own Round Robin group in this script which is great!) and up to 7 or 8 in some cases. The priority articulations for alting would be the following:

Kick 1 & 2(I had a post about that in VDrums forum getting people's feedback and we have both single and double kick each with Alts).

Center Snare
Edge Snare
Rim Shot & Sidestick (to a lesser degree but it's usually there)
Main Tom (the Center/Edge for each tom)
Rim of the Tom (to a lesser degree but it's usually there)

Hi Hat Closed
Hi Hat Open
Other Hat Articulations - sometimes but not always.

Ride Center
Ride Bell

Crash, China or Splash Center - usually but not always
Crash, China or Splash Edge - usually but not always

Those are pretty much the only things that are triggered by an e-drum kit anyway. But keep in mind we have many MORE articulations spread across the keyboard in the iMap and many of those don't need to be round robining. For instance, the snare rolls in the iMap play better when played from the two keys. A hi hat choke is fine how it is etc.

But, here's what I have to say about it. It is comparable performance to other popular drum products you mentioned with a sound that is going to be unique and proprietary to us (in other words, no one else has the particular sounds recorded at Ocean Way or done in the same studios with the same drummers etc. as us). The quality and character of our sounds are also different so there are trade offs from kit to kit, product to product I'm sure and let's not forget that each person has their own subjective taste!

You speak about advanced e-Drummers who really want to know the specs and details to feel comfortable. I think if anyone isn't comfortable with what I wrote above then they should maybe not get this one. Perhaps they'd be happier with a title that was done with mega layers and alts in mind in the first place such as EpiK DrumS... granted it's $750 for 7 kits that each have so many samples they take over 2 minutes to load and it is not downloadable at all (the product is over 130 gigs and ships on a hard drive). But we do have that for the most advanced and particular about specs.

For us, in this bundle, to be able to combine sounds from different products that cost many times more, from artists and studios all over the world and make it all downloadable and just $99 of course there ARE going to be some compromises compared to other things done differently at other price points. But the kits here have at least enough alts and layers so they sound real and don't machine gun. Overall it's a bang for the buck deal with the variety of kits you get plus let's not forget the other bonuses and extras. If what you hear in the demos and the combination of features and content at $99 isn't a no-brainer then perhaps it's not for them.

DVD and HD options
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2220

...
We may make a custom DVD option for people who prefer that to downloading. It costs a little bit more plus shipping but might be a good option for those that don't want to download. Also a preinstalled on hard drive option some time next week. More on that later. A had a few glasses of wine and I feel fine.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[Jind]

I made this list over in the previous thread - hope it helps some when figuring out what they have left to download.

Seeing since I have not found a concise list of all the items to download with this Group Buy, I figured I'd make a list of what I think is included - please inform me if I'm missing anything or if I have things wrong. Hopefully this list will help others make sure they get it all downloaded.

Group Buy Checklist of Downloadable Items

Kontakt Free Player (vr. 3.5 or 4):

• Kontakt 3.5 included in Infinite Player In
  4.0 Download from Native Instruments

Choice of one of the following: (if you do not already own the Infinite Player Plug-In you must chose it)

• Infinite Player Plug-In + Kontakt Player 3.5
  STm Ludwig Jazz kit

From Ocean Way Drums:

• OWD Kit 1 Dry
  OWD Kit 2 Medium
  OWD Kit 4 Dry
  OWD Kit 4 Ambient
  OWD Kit 5 Medium
  OWD Kit 6 Ambient
  OWD Kit 8 Dry
  OWD Kit 9 Dry
  OWD Kit 10 Dry
  OWD Kit 10 Ambient
  OWD Kit 10 Medium (bonus) [#]
  OWD Kit 12 Dry
  OWD Kit 13 Medium

From the Drum Masters 2 Signature Drum Kit Series:

• Drum Masters 2 NDV ST Gretsch® Kit
  Drum Masters 2 NDV ST Premier® Kit (Dry)
  Drum Masters 2 NDV ST Premier® Kit (Ambient)
  Drum Masters 2 Collins Kit
  Drum Masters 2 Duke Kit
  Drum Masters 2 Doctor Nirvana Kit
  Drum Masters 2 NDV ST Blasticks Kit
  Drum Masters 2 JB Tama® Brush Kit
  Drum Masters 2 JB Session Sonor® Kit
  Drum Masters 2 JB Sensitone Kit
  Drum Masters 2 JB Danger Ogletree Kit
  Drum Masters 2 JB Supraphonic Kit
  Drum Masters 2 JB Brady Deep
  Drum Masters 2 Bonhm Ludwig® Kit
  Drum Masters 2 Stairway Levee Kit

Bonus Items:

Choice of TWO of the following:

• EZPlayer PRO
  SR's Drum Masters 2: NDV Premier Discrete Multitrack Kit
  SR's Drum Masters 2: NDV Gretsch Discrete Multitrack Kit
  SR's Drum Masters 2: NDV Mapex Blasticks Discrete Multitrack Kit
  SR's JB Sonor MT kit (confirmed)

Other Bonus Items:

• SquidiMidi
  50+ Hybrid Kit Patches
  150 Odd Grooves by oddgrooves.com [+]
  special upgrade pricing [+]
  Convolution Ambience for Drums
  Steve Gadd Signature Snare Bonus
  Deluxe Acoustic Piano for Infinite Player
  Drum Masters STm JB Tama kit
  Drum Masters STm Chicago Gretsch kit

-------------------
[#] [Edited in by DarkStar, info courtesy of lusername]
[+] [Edited in by DarkStar, info from Jind

[Squids]

The "Studio Profiles Infinite PLayer_info.nkx and nkc" will always be replaced every time there is a NEW library... such as EpiK DrumS for instance. That has new "Skins" (aka GUI aka Graphic User Interface backgrounds aka wallpapers...). These graphic files are "TGA" files which are like jpegs. But they're embedded within the NKX file just like samples are. So whenever - if ever - you try to load an Infinite Player patch and it searches specifically for a TGA file that means you don't have the LATEST "Studio Profiles Infinite Player_info.nkx" What we'll do to help with that since there are many different versions of libraries out now with various info.nkx's is this:

1. The new sounds you get will often come WITH the new info.nkx (that's short for Studio Profiles Infinite Player_info.nkx) and install automatically without you even having to think about it. That was SUPPOSED to be in the two OWD kits 1 and 2 so far. Someone forgot to put it in. Ehem. Anyway I've asked them to put it in tonight and it will also be in the other OWD kits. You don't even need to worry about this entire post if you're patient because this will update itself as you download and install more kits.

2. But... for the anxious, for the puzzled, for the GUI-less... we will always put the LATEST info.nkx into the SR support section. That way if you ever load a sound and it looks for a TGA you can just grab the latest one, replace what you've got and it'll find it.

The latest info.nkx has ALL of the cumulative graphics for all Infinite Player format libraries from Sonic Reality. However, at the moment the latest one is missing the Infinite Player library image. Just another little temporary hitch in trying to put together something like THIS so far and during the holidays. If you understand the handicaps we're dealing with you'd actually find that we're doing quite well considering the amount of people in this and what's involved.

Here at the moment is the latest one: http://www.sonicreality.com/squidscorne ... _Skins.zip

[DarkStar]

Kontakt Player 3.5 and Kontakt Player 4
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2310

Also Kontakt Player 3.5 Mac and PC is available from www.sonicreality.com in the support section for free. This is needed if you're on a Mac Power PC computer such as a G5 or non-Intel machine. Otherwise I suppose you might as well grab Kontakt Player 4 from NI to use. Either will work on most up to date machines.

... it is actually on the Downloads page and you should be registered at SR and logged in.

you can just download Kontakt Player 4 for free from www.native-instruments.com

...(in your eSoundz Downloads area)
Ultimate Drums Group Buy Specials:
Download the PC version of Kontakt Player 3.5 here.
Download the MAC version of Kontakt Player 3.5 here.

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2700

O.K. Call me dense but I've been to the support page of Sonic Reality as well as the support pages for esoundz and downloadablesoundz (all over town!) and I've not found where I can download Kontakt 3.5. I see Allen has already re enabled my Infinite Player-only download in my user area but now I need to download Kontakt on my own and I can't find it (I want 3.5).

Sorry to have you join a million places but you have to create a login for www.sonicreality.com and then you can access the files on this page: http://www.sonicreality.com/index.php/downloads/

PRODUCT DELIVERY - PHASE I
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2385

Okay. Not all instructions are together yet but if you're bold and daring you've got a couple things in your My Downloads area of esoundz. First you go to the Member's Area (have to be logged in) then to My eSoundz and then on the left My Downloads.

At the top in the middle you'll see: 2010-01-02: Ultimate Studio Drums Infinite Player Start Guide. That's the basics of getting started with Infinite Player if you're new to it.

So here's what we've got so far... it will start to get a little faster tonight and all should be up by the end of the day tomorrow for phase 1.

You will get a redeem code "product serial" in your member's area (assigned by a human being, not automatic ... DS). If you click on it it will take you right to here: http://www.downloadablesoundz.com/redeem.php where you enter the code (actually it will enter it for you automatically but if not then you enter it) and that will take you to the place where you can choose between Infinite Player or if you already have it you can choose the Ludwig Jazz Kit (just note that the Jazz kit will show up in your user area some time tomorrow).

IMPORTANT FOR NEW DOWNLOADABLESOUNDZ MEMBERS! DownloadableSoundz.com is Sonic Reality's place for "download card" type products that have redeem codes. We used that to be able to give you this multiple choice (mainly for rewarding past Infinite Player owners to not have to get it yet again but get a kit instead). So you will need to be a member of both eSoundz.com AND DownloadableSoundz.com however in the back end of your esoundz account you can LINK the two accounts so your same login/pwd will work on both.

Your Infinite Player serial (assigned by a human being, not automatic ... DS) (or Jazz Kit) will be available in your DownloadableSoundz.com download area. All of your other sounds like the OWD kits will be in your esoundz download area.

Alright so there's OWD Kit 1 and Kit 2 in all GBer's user area. Of course before you do anything you DO need to have Kontakt Player 3.5 or 4 installed. Then installed Infinite Player. An important tip. You DO unzip the Kontakt Player installer and Infinite Player installers when you download them but you DON'T UNZIP THE KIT'S ZIPS!!!!! Why? Because we have an easy "Infinite Player Library Installer" that you just drag and drop the zips onto and it puts everything nice and neat where they need to be.

-----
For convenience here is the READ ME:

Ultimate Studio Drums Infinite Player Quick Start guide:

1. Run the Kontakt 3.5 Player Installer and follow onscreen instructions

2. After Kontakt 3.5 Player is installed then run the Infinite Player Installer and follow on screen instructions.
When prompted for a location of the library Vista and 7 users must use
C:\users\your name\documents or an External Drive

3. Copy "Infinite Library Installer" onto your computer (this is for installing the sounds).

4. Run the Infinite Library Installer and drag the Kit ZIPS to the
Library Installer. Remember to leave the ZIPS as ZIPS (do not manually unzip them, the Library Instaler will do that for you and put all files and folders together properly. *Please note that if you are on a MAC using Safari go to Safari "prefs" and UNCHECK the "open safe files after downloading" box. This will keep the zips you download in their zip state.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR DOWNLOADED ZIPS: Make sure the size of the zip you have downloaded matches the size of the zip on the site in your download area. If you have not downloaded the full zip it may partially install but won't be full functional unless you confirm you have the complete zip downloaded. We recommend using a download manager which is a free application that helps with large sized downloads.

5. Open Kontakt Player 3.5. Once opened Click Add Library and navigate
to your Infinite Player folder. Read Kontakt Player 3.5 manual for how to load Multis and Instruments.

NOTE: Infinite Player also works with Kontakt Player 4 which is free from http://www.native-instruments.com (All Mac PPC users must use KP3.5, Mac Intel, Vista and Windows 7 users may prefer KP4)

6. For more information contact support (at) esoundz (dot) com

Infinite Player Serial Number
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2535

The serial number (redeem code) that you use to go to DownloadableSoundz is not the same serial code for the Infinite Player that gets registered with NI through Service Center.

But, after you have redeemed the code on DownloadableSoundz you should receive the Infinite Player serial (assigned by a human being, not automatic ... DS) in your DownloadableSoundz download area to activate it through Service Center.

Deluxe Piano
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2520

2. Some people got the old Infinite Player - it's actually the same Infinite Player but doesn't have the piano in it. The piano is yours so if that happened to you then contact Allen so he can get you the piano separately. The way to know is if the Infinite Player installer installed Kontakt Player 2 (which does not work with the NEW kits of the GB). If it did then it's fine, you'll need to use KP3.5 or KP4 which you can get separately and then talk to Allen to get the free piano.

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2640

I think for the piano, we're going to just put this: http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=2408 into everyone's esoundz download area and explain to those that are new to Infinite Player that they don't have to download the piano separately as it already is installed WITH the player. But in case someone needed access to it again later without having to reinstall Infinite Player it might be nice that it is in EVERYONE's user area, not just the people that opt for the Jazz kit. See? We think of you guys. That's a nice piano too. It's a larger version of the one we did for M-Audio that's in their hardware keyboard and Prosession Premium series. Even Yamaha raved about it in one of their magazines (Accent or whatever it's called). Not a bad freebie! That is to wet your appetite for more. Infinite Player isn't just for drums.

GUI and Patch Updates
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2520

You do not have to re-download the full OWD Kit 1 & 2 for the GUI and patch replacement. We'll provide a link to JUST the patches to replace which are small.
...
NOTE: To Drum Masters 1 users, you have that info file but you need the NEW one with a newer date to replace it so you have things like the new OWD GUI etc. So, basically DM1 user or new user you ALL need that file. ...

[some background info is here: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2640 in Squids' reply to dwcaldwell.]

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... start=2760

Regarding the missing library image mystery... SOLVED! The last info.nkx we got from NI was not complete hence the main library image and some of the old GUIs were not showing (thanks Bruce for your help, this should solve the thing we were talking about as well).

So... out with the old in with the new.

Do this everybody. Take OUT the following from your Infinite Player folder:

Info folder (That has one TGA in it, you don't need that any more as I had NI put that little icon into the latest info.nkx)

also take out the:

Studio ProFiles Infinite Player_info.nkx
AND
Studio ProFiles Infinite Player_info.nkc

Then go ahead and grab this:
http://www.sonicreality.com/squidscorne ... fo_nkx.zip

The size of it zipped is 35.9 megs. When downloaded and unzipped it should be about 186megs or more (the other was 160 megs after unzip so it was missing some data... apparently an NKX file can still partially work which is an extra PITA but that just means you have to be sure you downloaded the whole thing).

We're going to update the SR download page (sorry it is the download section and not support anymore... it used to be all in the support page) with the new skins and for anybody that HASN'T downloaded anything yet NO WORRIES! You don't have to do anything as the new replaced graphics info.nkx folder will just show up in the kit downloads today.

[johnno]

Link to Oddgrooves Offer

*snip*
I just finished converting ALL 7000 grooves to I-map, and will test them tomorrow. So the grooves should be ready to ship tomorrow evening (Stockholm time). Everyone who signed up at the upgrade page will be notified by e-mail.
*snip*

http://www.oddgrooves.com/GB_upgrade.html

Thank you for checking out our set of bonus grooves for the Ocean Way & Drum Masters Ultimate Studio Drum Bundle. We are thrilled to be part of this Group Buy!

In addition to giving away 150 high-quality drum grooves we have an upgrade offer for you, one that is not available elsewhere. As a Group Buy participant you are can now upgrade to the full set of OddGrooves products (over 7000 grooves in all) at a VERY generous price.
...
If purchased separately, these products would cost 164 US Dollars* but as an Esoundz Group Buy participant, they are yours for only 79 US Dollars*. That's more than 50% discount off the regular price!

* Plus VAT for EU citizens
...
It's only available until January 15, 2010.

[Squids]

eMail, sent 05 January

Dear Group Buy Members,

We want to thank you for purchasing the Ultimate Studio Drums Bundle and for your patience waiting for the digital delivery of all of the sounds. There are many components to this bundle and many people to deliver this to all over the world. If the traffic on the site is high then it will be slower to download than times when the traffic is low. Look at our color system in the member's area of your esoundz account to get an idea of the current traffic on the site and go to MY SOUNDZ and in the MY DOWNLOADS section to find the first phase of delivery ready for you which includes:

• Kontakt Player 3.5 or 4 is required but FREE. People who are new to this are sometimes confused by the two "players" but the actual software engine is Native Instruments Kontakt. The "Infinite Player" is just the gateway to make Kontakt or Kontakt Player customized to be able to play Sonic Reality's sounds inside it such as the kits of this group buy. "Infinite Player" shows up as a library within Kontakt 3.5 or higher. Kontakt Player 3.5* is available for Mac and PC from the download area of Sonic Reality's site: http://www.sonicreality.com/index.php/downloads/ or as a download link from your member's area on esoundz.

NOTE: YOU MUST HAVE KONTAKT OR KONTAKT PLAYER TO USE THESE SOUNDS. First install Kontakt Player and then Install Infinite Player and then the individual kits using the Infinite Installer. It is important that you read the Easy Start Guide included with the Infinite Player installer.

• Redeem Code Serial for choosing Infinite Player (or if you own Infinite Player already you can alternatively choose the Ludwig Jazz Kit).

You redeem this code on http://www.downloadablesoundz.com/redeem.php (just clicking on the code on esoundz will take you there but you must first merge your esoundz account with downloadablesoundz.com by clicking the link in the top of your member's area of esoundz so you can use the same login info). DownloadableSoundz.com is a resource for individual a la carte kits, grooves and more. It is where you will be able to select the bonus extras of the Ultimate Studio Drums Bundle and where you will need to select the REQUIRED Infinite Player.

• Infinite Player - Once you have selected the Infinite Player your downloadable Infinite Player Installer and serial number for registering it with Native Instruments (along with an important guide you must read and follow closely for proper installation) will show up in your DOWNLOADABLESOUNDZ.com user area. The serial number will be under the "Product Serials" tab on the left.

*If you are a Mac PPC user you will need to use 3.5. Mac Intel and Windows users can optionally use Kontakt Player 4 which is free from http://www.native-instruments.com. Note: You must register on these sites to access downloads of Kontakt Player.

• 150 Odd Grooves from Odd Grooves

150 Bonus Midi Grooves from "ODD GROOVES". You get both GM and Sonic Reality s IMAP format. A diverse taste of the more complex Rock, Prog, Fusion and more from top developers of midi grooves for drum samplers. PLUS Special upgrade offer from OddGrooves! As a Group Buy participant you have the chance to upgrade to the full set of OddGrooves products (over 7000 advanced MIDI grooves in all) and save over 50% compared to retail price! More info here: http://www.oddgrooves.com/GB_upgrade.html

• 13 Ocean Way Drums Kits are now ready for download! This includes special patches made in iMap, V-Drum™ and GM format with swappable kit pieces. Importat: Read the guide on installing sounds for the Infinite Player. Do NOT unzip the kit files. They must stay in ZIP form. You install by dragging and dropping the kit zips onto the Infinite Library Installer which installs all of the necessary graphics, patches and samples into your "Infinite Player" folder (which is installed when you have previously installed Kontakt Player and Infinite Player). Once you have installed the sounds you can read the Kontakt Player manual for basic operation information or visit the KVR-Audio thread for an interactive discussion with other experienced users: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 56#3924556

What's next?

We're going to monitor the delivery of "Phase 1" and make sure everything is going smooth world-wide.

"Phase 2 and 3" will include the rest of the content listed on the group buy page http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?Prod ... ode=USDNL3 and additional extras discussed in the group buy VITAL INFORMATION thread here: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 25&start=0 It will be delivered during the week and we will keep you informed when there is more available to download.

DVD and Hard Drive Options instead of Download

This week we will be providing special custom DVD options or pre-installation of the sounds on our brand new Infinite Hard Drive being released this month. This is an additional cost but may be something useful for those who have slow internet speeds or for those that don't want to wait for the downloads of so many gigabytes of data. For your convenience we will be making these options available at a reasonable price plus the cost of shipping. Stay tuned for more details on this and special upgrades for Sonic Reality Drum Masters 2, EpiK DrumS A Ken Scott Collection, Ocean Way® Drums, Odd Grooves and even our friends at Steven Slate Drums are making their products available on eSoundz with a special coupon just for those who purchased the Ultimate Studio Drums Bundle.

We hope you enjoy the opportunity to dig into high quality samples from studios all over the world and at a very affordable price.

If you have any questions please feel free to create a support ticket on esoundz.com or contact us support (at) esoundz (dot) com

[Squids]

Guidelines for your Queries

Alright so to try to manage this for everyone let's do this.

1. Please don't post "I haven't gotten my "X" yet. What should I do?"

The answer is the same: email support or directly to allen

allen (at) esoundz (dot) com

(We right it that way so spam bots that scan KVR don't send him even more spam)


2. If you're find an issue that you think others my have too or know the solution then I've created a thread in our COMPANY FORUM which is a better place than this fast moving marketing forum thread to try to help. I know that experienced users like DarkStar and Rev are able to help some of you and I am too in the midst of everything... but it is going to get LOST in here so post those here please: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 62#3925262

If people can re-route people to that thread for that it would help.

3. If you're having trouble getting things going please be patient and rest assured all people will be helped, assisted and supported as best we can. We're not a HUGE company with a fleet of people ready to take your call. But, we're a professional sound company that has been in this business for over 12 years. We will make sure you're all set and we have an AMAZING community of cool users of Sonic Reality products that love to help each other.

4. If we find that an issue someone has reported either directly to Allen (and you can CC me too if you want - dave (at) sonicreality (dot) com ) or if they think it is something that might be affecting others and posted it here: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 62#3925262 and it is something that affects everyone then I will update everyone both in this thread and the vital info thread.

Thanks for cooperating. I want to minimize confusion for everyone is all and I also want to go to bed before midnight tonight.

[Reverend Rhythm]

For those who are wondering about delivery of Phase 2 and 3:

Phase 2 will likely be Thursday and Phase 3 either Friday or Monday (or in between). So far it is looking good with the server and downloads. That's good. Ironing out a few kinks with the graphics and minor settings. We'll do a patch update for any of those little things that were found (so far just Kit 1, Kit 2, Kit 8 and Kit 13 had little things to change, not show stopper stuff just graphics and settings - most of which COULD be done by you guys but we'll do that stuff so it is more consistent and then give everyone an easy patch update).

One good thing about our custom library installer is that it does do easy patch updates.

[Squids]

Taos Drums, Timbales, Roto-toms and Drum Masters II

Hi Squids, I see that one of the bonus MT kits is the NDV Premiere. Can you please confirm that it does indeed come with the timbales and roto-toms as shown here:
http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=2404

if not, do any of the kits in this GB have them?

Also wondering if those funky TAOS drums are\will ever be available as a kit.. they appear to be a groove product only so far?
I did ask this once before many pages ago so I apologize if I missed your response..

Thanks

I dreamt that you had asked that and I hadn't answered... I guess it WAS real! Haha.

The TAOS kit IS being released! It sounds UNNNNNNNNNbelievable!!!!!!!! It is very different than your usual kit though. But WOW is it good. The bass drum is over 40 inches or something like that. Calf skin. Ridiculously huge. That will be in the new Drum Masters 2 Platinum and Platinum Kits Only (that replaces the Complete Kits Collection). It will also be available in a Deluxe Drummer Pack with just Jerry.

The NDV Premier kit in the GB does NOT have the timbales and rotos. But they ARE in the Drum Masters Signature Kits Vol. 1 They're also in the Deluxe Nick D'Virgilio Drummer Pack (replaces the Complete Nick D'Virgilio title we have now).

Pretty soon you'll start seeing the old Drum Masters 1 stuff go away (last chance to get some of that stuff and remember the DM2 upgrade patches for them ARE free) and the refreshed new (and different) Drum Masters 2 line replacing it. I'll give you some info on that. Here's what is replacing it. Imagine ALL of it is going away and there will only be:

Drum Masters 2 (main title) Multitrack Kits & Grooves

Drum Masters 2 Platinum - Now has all of the Artists and Style Multitrack Kits & Grooves to date

Drum Masters 2 Platinum "Kits Only" - same as above but without the audio grooves... for people who just want playable discrete multitrack kits galore.

Then there's the Signature Kit Series:

DM2 Signature Kits Vol. 1 - Focuses on "kits only" STm (Stereo Kit Pieces/Multichannel Mixing) of mainly artist kits (the kits that used to come with DM1 Silver)

DM2 Signature Kits Vol. 2 - A mix or artist and style kits with mostly previously unreleased STm "kits only" (apart from some in this group buy). It includes samples of signature kit brands that have artists like Stewart Copeland, Dennis Chambers, Dave Weckl... and it has Octobons!

Those are the only two about to be announced but following those will be Signature Percussion, Snares, Kick and Toms, Hats, Cymbals... huge collections of very rare instruments including Danny Gottlieb's rare cymbal collection with famous Jazz cymbals owned by Joe Morello (the ride used on Brubeck's Take 5), Don Lemond, Mel Lewis (including one vintage ride that makes you sneeze when you take it out but sounds amazing) and many more samples that have never been released before.

Then there's the Drummer Packs:

Bill Bruford (King Crimson, Yes)
Steve Gadd (Steely Dan, Paul Simon)
*Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel)
*Danny Gottlieb (Pat Metheny Group)
*John Blackwell (Prince, Patti Labelle)
*Ed Greene (Donald Fagen, Barry White)
*Nick D'Virgilio (TFF, Spock's Beard)

All of the above will have STm kits and grooves (if you want just the kits then get Signature Kits Vol. 1 which has them compiled). The grooves will be both for Infinite Player AND in Rex, Apple Loops & Wave format for you as well at no extra charge (the R.A.W. version will now come FREE with the pack... nice deal there).

The ones with * will also have a Deluxe Multitrack & STm versions (sort of like a "complete" of that drummer's material)

Then there's Producer Series titles like EpiK DrumS - A Ken Scott Collection (Beatles, Bowie, Floyd, Supertramp, Elton John...", Neil Peart Drums with Nick Raskulinecz (producer of Foo Fighters, Rush, Alice In Chains), Hugh Padgham Collection (Genesis, Phil Collins, The Police, Sting), Nick Davis The Farm Sessions (which not only has drums but samples of Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford's vintage keyboards and double neck guitars, basses, fx... can you tell I like Genesis? ) and then there's more stuff in the style of Ringo, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd and all the iconic drum sounds you could ever want really. Even some really unusual stuff like this: www.moleculesdrums.com We really mean it when we say we "Sample Everything".

ALL of the above will work with your SAME Infinite Player and Kontakt or Kontakt Player 3.5 or 4! At THAT point you can just buy them on line, on DVD or on the new Infinite hard drive coming out and you don't have to jump through any more hoops. Drag and drop install and you load them up and PLAY! Then the STm kit pieces all swap out with other STm kits, the MT kit pieces with discrete mic mixing all swap out with other MT kit pieces between everything. If someone had it all they could make ENDLESS hybrid kits putting together Copeland-like Octobans with HUGE Supertramp-style floor toms and a Bozzio snare with a Bonham-style kick and vintage Jazz ride cymbals. Is this going to be fun or what? I personally can't wait until it is all out. I don't want to say when because ummmm my predictions are notoriously off. Ehem (sorry) but it's getting very close. Some of this has been worked on since 2004 so... I think we're ready now!

Oh, individual kits and grooves may still be available for DM2 only on www.downloadablesoundz.com (no longer on esoundz after release). Not every kit and groove in the series but a nice selection for those that JUST want a cool kit or set of grooves.

[zedd]

Quick Mods to Kit Pieces

I'm including here my post from the other thread with regards to doing quick modifications of kit pieces:

-----------------------

In response to those who mentioned the kick drums being too boomy or the snare drums being too loose, you can easily change either of those things without switching kit pieces...

Just use the pull down menu on the GUI for the kit piece you want to modify and you will see a bunch of options including Envelope and FX. You can adjust decays and attacks, etc., with the envelope settings, and in the FX section you can apply EQ, compression and limiting.

With only a few quick seconds of tweeking I was able to take the boom of kicks, and make ambient snares sound like the most awesome close-miced tight snares. There is really a lot you can do with the kit pieces without leaving the front of the interface.

And if you have the full version of Kontakt, you can do further tweeks, like adjusting the volume of particular articulations of a kit piece, (e.g. raising and lowering their volumes, or tuning them separately).

[Squids]

About SR and Infinite Player

...the idea of Infinite Player, since it is based on Kontakt which has 24 bit disc streaming, Rex playback, round robin, scripting customization, key switching and the ability to be licensed to sound developers is to house ALL of the best Sonic Reality sample archives. What we do for SampleTank or in Reason is MORE than just sample archives - the patches and built-in DSP play a big part. But the SOURCE of that material as well as material we've done for various companies over the years like Roland, Alesis, Yamaha, NI, Propellerheads, Cakewalk, Mackie, Emagic, Steinberg, Camel Audio, M-Audio and all sorts of other Audios are sample archives that we own (including the original Miroslav Orchestral and Choir archives which still has unreleased material). So the BEST of all Sonic Reality sample archive sources will be made for Infinite Player and you can add it in. Squids Tron Collection for example is coming this Quarter for IP. A bunch of other things. Konstruction brings in the song construction loop titles from R.A.W. but makes them interactive and playable from the keyboard (and they will now come WITH R.A.W. as well for those that are interested in Loops).

The Infinite Player is the gateway to Sonic Reality sounds in Kontakt. The best sounds we've done up until now and the sounds we've never released because we needed to have these features I mentioned above to be able to do like say... a 10 velocity 11 foot Imperial Grand with 93 keys and recorded through the Dark Side of the Moon console with the assistance of Alan Parsons... full duration and with a special harp resonance technique that I came up with that is the most realistic I've heard. Stuff like THAT is coming as well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonicreali ... 264380129/

+

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonicreali ... 583794169/

=

[Reverend Rhythm]

Am I missing something?

I DL'ed Kontakt Player 4 from NI, and the custom skins from my soundz area, but I can't find either the redeem code nor the Infinite player in my DL area...

Please help,

Jon

I'm going to answer over on the Drum Masters & OWD Community Support Thread: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 0&start=30

[Chester Desmond]

About the 4 Multi-track Kits

I did a bit of digging today to help my brother out and figured I might as well share the results here. It is in regards to the MT kits which are available as bonus choices. We get to pick 2 of them (or 1 + Ezplayer Pro) I'd really recommend the JB Sonor audio demos if you want to get a better idea of the power of these MT kits. I have to say that I personally am leaning heavily towards the JB Sonor..it just sounds so powerful.


Starts with my brother's question:

Can you point me in the direction of a comparison/description of the multi track kits?


I've posted links to all 4 below and there are audio demos on those pages. You can compare the kit pieces and mics below too.

The basic deal is that the 4 MT kits we can choose from are the multi-track versions of 4 of the Stereo kits we are already getting in the Group Buy.

The stereo versions will have the same kit pieces as listed below and the ability to control the level and pan (and fx sends) of nearly every piece in the Kontakt Player mixer. You can control the volume of every piece in its individual instrument header, it's just that some are routed into the Kontakt Mixer as a group (like the toms) so you can only control their level as a group in the mixer. Less resource hungry and more immediate but with a little less control over the sound the the MT kits.

The Multitrack versions will have control over each mic that was used on each piece in the recording session(plus several room mics) as per the lists below. So you can turn up just the bottom snare mic, or use just the distant room mics, or blend those in for a more ambient sounding kit etc...sickening level of detail . To use the tom example above, now you can control the level of each tom via the 4 tom mics (in the case of the John Blackwell kit, or 5 in the NDV Premier etc) which each have their own channel in the Kontakt Mixer.

The best way to understand the concept is to listen to the audio demos on the John Blackwell Sonor Multitrack kit page. Squids narrates it so you get a good idea of the flexibility. Highly recommended. The sub kick sounds cool too. I checked with Squids and none of these bonus kit choices come with rototoms or timbales. Maybe if there is some breathing room between downloading the DM kits and choosing the MT bonus kit, I'll be able to play the stereo versions and figure out which one I would like to have more detailed control over.
Here's the info:


John Blackwell Sonor Multitrack kit : http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=2378

Sonor Kick Drum: 22" x 18"
Brady Snare: 14" x 5.5" (Maple)
Sonor 3 Rack Toms: 8" x 8" & 10" x 9" & 12" x 10"
Sonor 2 Floor Toms: 14" x 12" & 16" x 14"
Sabian 14" Hi Hats
Sabian Artisan Ride Cymbal 20"
Sabian 2 Crash Cymbals 19" 20"

This kit includes the following mic channels:

Kick Direct
Sub Kick
Snare Top Direct
Snare Bottom
Tom 1 Direct
Tom 2 Direct
Tom 3 Direct
Tom 4 Direct
Overheads
Room 1
Room 2
Back Room

Nick D Virgilio Premier Multitrack Kit: http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=2404

Premier Kick Drum: 22" x 18"
Mapex Snare: 14" x 6" (Brass)
Premier 3 Rack Toms: 8" x 8" & 10" x 9" & 12" x 10"
Premier 2 Floor Toms: 14" x 12" & 16" x 14"
Meinl 14" Hi Hats
Sabian Ride Cymbal 20"
Meinl Crash Cymbal 16"
Paiste Crash Cymbal 19"
Sabian HHX China 18"

This kit includes the following mic channels:

Kick Direct
Snare Top Direct
Snare Bottom
Tom 1 Direct
Tom 2 Direct
Tom 3 Direct
Tom 4 Direct
Tom 5 Direct
Overheads
Room 1
Room 2


Nick D Virgilio Gretsch Multitrack Kit: http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=2401

Gretsch Kick Drum: 20" x 14"
Dunnett Cast Iron Snare Drum: 14" x 4"
Gretsch 3 Rack Toms: 10" x 6.5"; 12" x 8"; 15" x 12"
Gretsch 2 Floor Toms: 16" x 16"; 18" x 16"
Sabian 14" Hi Hats
Sabian Ride Cymbal 20"
Sabian 2 Crash Cymbals 16" 18"
Sabian China Cymbal 18"


This kit includes the following mic channels:

Kick Direct
Snare Top Direct
Snare Bottom
Tom 1 Direct
Tom 2 Direct
Tom 3 Direct
Tom 4 Direct
Tom 5 Direct
Overheads
Room 1
Room 2
Back Room

Nick D Virgilio Mapex Blasticks Multitrack Kit http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=2402

Mapex Kick Drum: 22" x 18"
Mapex Fosfer Bronze Snare: 14" x 5.5"
Mapex (2) Rack Tom: (10" x 6.25") & 12" x 7.5"
Mapex (2) Floor Toms: (14" x 9.75") & 16" x 13.75"
Meinl Byzance 14" Heavy Hi Hats
Meinl Byzance Ping Ride Cymbal 20"
Meinl Byzance Crash Cymbals 17" medium, 18" medium-thin
Meinl Byzance Rakes China Cymbal 16"

This kit includes the following mic channels:

Kick Direct
Sub Kick
Snare Top Direct
Snare Bottom
Tom 1 Direct
Tom 2 Direct
Tom 3 Direct
Tom 4 Direct
Overheads
Room 1
Room 2
Back Room

[Squids]

Alright! A little update is in order.

Phase 2! All put together and pending a dinner break it will be placed into everyone's user area. DM2 kits! Bonus Gadd Snare, the extra JB Tama and Chicago Gretsch... will soon be yours to play with.

We ran into a minor hitch with Phase 3 though. In order to use the redeem code system to choose EZ Player and the MT Kits we're going to have to replace the redeem code you have now for picking the Infinite Player and/or Jazz kit. Now the good news is that about 90% or more of you have already used that code anyway so this won't affect you. But for the 10% left that haven't YOU MUST REDEEM YOUR CODE FOR INFINITE PLAYER OR JAZZ KIT BY MONDAY! If you don't then it will be reset for the phase 3 to redeem either EZ Player Pro or an MT kit - and to also pick out another MT kit as one of the bonuses.

This will also be sent out as an email tonight to everyone. But don't worry. Even if you missed the first redeem code part you can just contact support and Allen will do it manually for you. You won't MISS anything you paid for. But, it'd be less convenient if you don't redeem your code by Monday perhaps so I wanted to tell you as soon as I just found out we have to do it that way. By Monday I mean by just after Sunday at midnight EST.

So, this means the schedule will be Phase 2 delivery tonight and Phase 3 delivery on Monday. It will also give us enough time for any final patch fixes if anyone finds anything. So far no bugs have been found, just minor things with settings and cymbals not assigned to slots (something that takes two seconds for anyone to do). Tomorrow I am looking at a preliminary manual for the new features that we'll get everyone who wants to dig in deeper.

[Squids]

All of these are hybrid kits utilizing bits from the other DM kits

Drum Masters 2 Collins Kit X
Drum Masters 2 Duke Kit X
Drum Masters 2 Doctor Nirvana Kit X
Drum Masters 2 JB Sensitone™ Kit X
Drum Masters 2 JB Danger Ogletree Kit X
Drum Masters 2 JB Supraphonic™ Kit X
Drum Masters 2 JB Brady Deep X

The only thing sticking out as unknown is:

Drum Masters 2 Stairway Levee Kit

Should this have had a red X all along or is it a full kit?

That one needed a red X too. But there is something different about these hybrid kits. They're not part of the 50 PURE hybrid kits (pure meaning that there are no new samples in the 50 hybrid kits - they only pool from other kits). In THESE partial hybrid kits they may have a unique kick or snare, toms etc. but share other kit pieces. This was initially so we can get you some more flavors and kit pieces to pool from for making hybrid kits.

The only thing that isn't in a kit yet is the bonus Gadd snare. That will make its way into the 50 Hybrid Kits in a patch called something like "Gadd to Meet U Kit" or "Gadd This is Over" or "Sure Gadd U Got This Huh Kit".

Anyway, the kits above are now in your download area as one zip called 'DM2 Misc Kits". Download away! Phase 2 is complete.

Now onto phase 3. We may have found a way to do this tomorrow instead of Monday. I will let you know! 50 Hyrbid Kits, 25 convolution impulses and a partridge in a pear treeeeeeee. Also a redeem code to get you a free MT kit and either a FREE $50 value EZ Player Pro or your choice of ANOTHER MT Kit.

Can you BELIEVE this was all only $99? I hope we made some friends on this one. Even if it took us a while to deliver and we didn't say that upfront (we honestly didn't know it was going to be this hard) you have to admit this is some serious value!

Lastly, the information on DVD options will be available soon but might be delayed a week because of NAMM. We'll do our best. Same for Hard Drive options. Allen and half the crew will still be back in the office though while the rest of us are tap dancing on the NAMM show floor. A lot going on this month. But we're dedicated to making you a happy esoundz customer and Drum Masters 2 and OWD user!