Beatskillz Synthwave Drums...Opinion?

[wagtunes]

Intro offer of $49.

https://www.beatskillz.com/shop/synthwave-drums/

Thoughts?

[ENV1]

Funny, i just listened to the very short YT clip they linked to.

To be honest i found it rather bland, like so many other drum packs/plugins/whatever.

Seemed like a typical case of 'tons of processing required' if you wanted it to sound decent together with other stuff because as so often the frequency spectrum just isnt there.

YMMV of course, but personally i wouldnt bother because i have way better options to choose from, incidentally all free too.

[wagtunes]

Funny, i just listened to the very short YT clip they linked to.

To be honest i found it rather bland, like so many other drum packs/plugins/whatever.

Seemed like a typical case of 'tons of processing required' if you wanted it to sound decent together with other stuff because as so often the frequency spectrum just isnt there.

YMMV of course, but personally i wouldnt bother because i have way better options to choose from, incidentally all free too.

Well, I have their Retrohit and I like it and I use it too. Wish it had more sounds. This seems to cover that.

But I'll bite. What are these way better options? Can they be gotten for $49 or are we talking about shelling out $150 for a drum plugin?

Examples?

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Do you get access to raw .wav files that can be used in other instruments? I've never heard of Beatskillz before and don't like the idea of proprietary sample formats from developers I'm unfamiliar with. Whereas I know a Kontakt library or set of .wav files will work in 10 years.

I know...I know...it's only $50 but still.

EDIT
Just read that .wav one-shot files were included.

[ENV1]

Samples.

Well recorded samples.

Like i said, all free.

I have CR-78, KORG Rhythm 55, LinnDrum, DMX, TR-808, TR-909, and the kit from the SQ-80.

Never needed anything more for oldschool drum machines, so its usually one of these or a mix thereof.

[Vortifex]

..

[wagtunes]

I listened to their Soundcloud demos and wasn't very impressed. One of the snares is clearly a modified TR-909 snare. I would be interested to know where exactly they got their sound sources from. Did they sample these themselves from hardware units? They don't mention where the samples come from.

For some quality oldschool drum machine samples you'd be better off buying the All The Drums bundle from Samples From Mars: https://samplesfrommars.com/products/all-the-drums

Everything was sampled and processed from his own drum machines.

[yellowmix]

It doesn't matter if they sampled it themselves since there are plenty of free samples other people sampled themselves unless you specifically like what you hear and are willing to pay for it. Do you?

If you are unable to use the free samples and process it to sound that way (or the way you want), then it's something you might want to pay for. It's entirely an individual choice.

If you need helping finding those free samples this is the motherlode: https://samples.kb6.de/downloads.php

But there are plenty of free drum machine packs from SampleMagic, etc..

And I'm not saying this because I'm cheap, there are definitely drum packs that have something special. This isn't one of them.

[wagtunes]

It doesn't matter if they sampled it themselves since there are plenty of free samples other people sampled themselves unless you specifically like what you hear and are willing to pay for it. Do you?

If you are unable to use the free samples and process it to sound that way (or the way you want), then it's something you might want to pay for. It's entirely an individual choice.

If you need helping finding those free samples this is the motherlode: https://samples.kb6.de/downloads.php

But there are plenty of free drum machine packs from SampleMagic, etc..

And I'm not saying this because I'm cheap, there are definitely drum packs that have something special. This isn't one of them.

Okay, here's the thing. I went to the site you gave me. Yes, there are tons of free samples there that I can just download. Here are just a few of the multitude of problems with going this route.

1. You don't know what sounds are in each pack even if you are intimately familiar with the synth they came from.

2. Nothing is mapped. So you have to open up Kontakt or whatever sample player you use and map each sample to a key to set up a drum kit.

Know what? I'll stop there because there's no need to go farther.

The amount of time required to put together some decent drum kits has to be worth more than the $49 spent to have over 100 kits already put together for you.

That's where I can absolutely see the value of this unless you simply don't value your time at all and have tons of it to kill.

[wagtunes]

It doesn't matter if they sampled it themselves since there are plenty of free samples other people sampled themselves unless you specifically like what you hear and are willing to pay for it. Do you?

If you are unable to use the free samples and process it to sound that way (or the way you want), then it's something you might want to pay for. It's entirely an individual choice.

If you need helping finding those free samples this is the motherlode: https://samples.kb6.de/downloads.php

But there are plenty of free drum machine packs from SampleMagic, etc..

And I'm not saying this because I'm cheap, there are definitely drum packs that have something special. This isn't one of them.

One other thing. Most of those links are not free. They direct you to the bottom of the page where it appears you have to donate to access the samples.

[wagtunes]

It doesn't matter if they sampled it themselves since there are plenty of free samples other people sampled themselves unless you specifically like what you hear and are willing to pay for it. Do you?

If you are unable to use the free samples and process it to sound that way (or the way you want), then it's something you might want to pay for. It's entirely an individual choice.

If you need helping finding those free samples this is the motherlode: https://samples.kb6.de/downloads.php

But there are plenty of free drum machine packs from SampleMagic, etc..

And I'm not saying this because I'm cheap, there are definitely drum packs that have something special. This isn't one of them.

Furthermore, in checking out the FAQ page, if you donate, he manually sends you the ftp address in an email. However, if you don't get that email, for whatever reason, there is nothing he can do. His only suggestion...use another email address.

Hell of a way to do business.

I'd rather spend the $49 for something I know I'm going to get.

[yellowmix]

>I'd rather spend the $49 for something I know I'm going to get.

How do you know you'll get the email from BeatSkillz?

[wagtunes]

>I'd rather spend the $49 for something I know I'm going to get.

How do you know you'll get the email from BeatSkillz?

It's not an email. You pay and you're immediately redirected to a download link, just like purchasing any other VST from a "normal" vendor. Even my libraries are auto downloads.

[yellowmix]

What if it doesn't work?

[wagtunes]

What if it doesn't work?

Are you really just looking to be an ass? I've purchased over 100 VSTs and over 100 FX from reputable companies and have never had trouble with delivery from A SINGLE ONE OF THEM.

This guy is going to manually send me a download link after I pay? What if he doesn't? What if he just runs off with my money? I don't know this guy from Adam. With U-he, with NI, with Synapse Audio and on and on and on, you pay and get directed to a download link. And if for some reason it doesn't work these are reputable companies with solid support. I don't worry about them stiffing me.

Sorry, but there is absolutely no upside to purchasing from somebody who doesn't provide you with an automatic download upon payment.