IK Multimedia releases MODO DRUM

[benjamind]

Now we just need the guitars to finish the collection!

[jamcat]

Has anyone else noticed some of the new cymbals (2022, Custom, IKX) volumes are a bit wonky?
For example, the Custom hihat is REALLY loud. But then the 16" and 18" IKX crash cymbals are quieter than all the others.

Also, when you set the volume of the hihats and Ride with EDIT ELEMENTS, then change to a different hihat, the volume levels aren't retained, but they are for other cymbals, such as the crashes.

[chagzuki]

I see Audio Plugin Deals is doing Modo Drum SE 1.5 for $35. I know little about the product and haven't used IK software for a long time, but have been wanting more tweakable drum solutions. Am I right to guess that version 2 is coming soon and this deal is to tempt people in so that they then pay an upgrade fee to version 2?

[Tj Shredder]

They do regularly crazy deals. I got it for that price more than a year ago…

[chagzuki]

I decided to take up the offer, and it sounds great. But why do I have a 180 day limit on the libraries in the IK product manager? Is this system going to charge me $9.99 to reauthorise things already purchased, twice a year?

Edit: I assume it's just to re-download/reinstall, should the need arise, rather than needing to reauthorise?

[zzz00m]

Edit: I assume it's just to re-download/reinstall, should the need arise, rather than needing to reauthorise?

Correct. That's why IK encourages customers to backup their sound file downloads. The IK application installer downloads never expire, just the sound content.

Plus you can use any Jam Points available for up to 30% of the reactivation fee. And if you contact support with a reasonable need to download again, they might re-activate your downloads for free.

[briefcasemanx]

I just bought toal studio for the absurd price of $249. There's an upgrade of modo bass and modo drum (from 1.0 to 1.5) for 149. Im pretty sure I want a modo bass upgrade, but I've heard bad things about Modo Drum, and I'm wondering if the 1.5 version fixed any of these issues and if it's worth $75? I have tons of drum stuff already including Superior Drummer 3, so it's definitely not a necessity but I'll bite if the 1.5 update is super good.

Opinions before I test it out myself?

[zzz00m]

Opinions before I test it out myself?

I've got the full MODO Drum 1.5, but have held off on the update to MODO Drum CS 1.5.
No desire to buy the upgrade, and I don't want to screw up what is already installed and working.

I would spend my money on the MODO Bass upgrade instead!

[jinotsuh]

I just bought toal studio for the absurd price of $249. There's an upgrade of modo bass and modo drum (from 1.0 to 1.5) for 149. Im pretty sure I want a modo bass upgrade, but I've heard bad things about Modo Drum, and I'm wondering if the 1.5 version fixed any of these issues and if it's worth $75? I have tons of drum stuff already including Superior Drummer 3, so it's definitely not a necessity but I'll bite if the 1.5 update is super good.

Opinions before I test it out myself?

If you can swing it, personally I would go for both, I upgraded from full MODO Drum to 1.5 without any problems, everything is in place and works fine. MODO Bass is MODO Bass, an excellent instrument whether it be the original or v2. Again, personally I had no issues with it, and the extras included in MODO Bass 2 are more than welcome.

If I had to choose one, I'd go for MODO Bass 2, but I didn't have to choose, I got both, even though I rarely use MODO Drum as I have drums well and truly covered, I give it a run every now and then.

[zzz00m]

If I had to choose one, I'd go for MODO Bass 2, but I didn't have to choose, I got both, even though I rarely use MODO Drum as I have drums well and truly covered, I give it a run every now and then.

Exactly! I have several other drum VSTs, so MODO Drum is not really a go-to for me. However, the Bass is very cool!

[jamcat]

I found a bug in MODO DRUM's preset handling on both Mac and Windows.

If you have 2 presets with the same name, one in the Global folder, and one in a subfolder, the preset menu will show a check mark by the one in the Global folder when the one in the subfolder is selected. And clicking the arrow button will go to the next preset in the Global folder as well.

[briefcasemanx]

Opinions before I test it out myself?

I've got the full MODO Drum 1.5, but have held off on the update to MODO Drum CS 1.5.
No desire to buy the upgrade, and I don't want to screw up what is already installed and working.

I would spend my money on the MODO Bass upgrade instead!

Whoops, actually it's $199 to upgrade modo bass by itself, $149 to upgrade modo bass AND modo drum, or $79 to upgrade just modo drum. So more expensive to upgrade bass by itself somehow. Too bad, I'll likely just wait for a better deal on modo bass alone, or for version 2.5 or 3 or something unless the Modo Drum 1.5 upgrade is super appealing for some reason over 1.0.

............

Just tried out modo drum and kinda liked the snares and kinda hated the kicks? Tom's were meh, but could probably be made to sound fine using compression and EQ. It's fun to mess around with! But also I don't have a ton of free time lately, so faster is better right now. Is 1.5 just add new kits or does it improve sound quality of the 1.0 kits?

[zzz00m]

Just tried out modo drum and kinda liked the snares and kinda hated the kicks? Tom's were meh, but could probably be made to sound fine using compression and EQ. It's fun to mess around with! But also I don't have a ton of free time lately, so faster is better right now.

Fast for me is Toontrack EZdrummer 3.

MODO drum appears to be a deep rabbit hole of endless tweaking, so I rarely open it.

[jamcat]

You just need to create some baseline presets for MODO DRUM that sound the way you want. After that, there’s little to no tweaking, unless you want to customize your kit for a particular song.

Here are some MODO DRUM setup pointers I posted in another thread:

• Avoid the presets and turn off all built-in effects in MODO DRUM's mixer

• Make sure SNARE BUZZ is 0% on the Kick

• Solo the “Overheads” channel and work on the levels of each kit piece in the overheads until you get a natural sounding OH image. Then do the same for the “Room”

• When getting your levels in the Overheads and Room, make sure OH and ROOM are activated for each kit piece in MODO DRUM's mixer.

• Send each “mic” (close mics, overheads, room) out to its own channel in your DAW's mixer, and do all the panning and mixing there

• When panning your close mics, solo the mic along with the OH, and use the overhead stereo image to guide where you're panning. They should align and reinforce each other.

• Insert a time delay on the Room Mic's mixer channel in your DAW to put some distance between the room mic and drum kit, as it appears that IK did not include any. 1 millisecond = 1 foot. Dial in your delay accordingly. Voxengo Sound Delay works perfectly for this.

• Use CC TIP (D#0) and CC SHANK (C#0) for hi-hats, and control the pedal with MIDI CC

• Don’t use MODO DRUM’s grooves, they’re way too heavy handed. Get some good MIDI drum packs played by real drummers, and use them as a foundation to work from. MODO DRUM uses an augmented GM Drum mapping.

• Make sure your drum track could be played by a real drummer with only 2 arms. Think through each hit, and figure out which hand would be hitting the drum, and assign the hit to that hand. Put some variation into where the left and right hands are hitting the drums in MODO DRUM. You can even automate it.

• Real drummers don't hit everything at 127.

Some of the unique features about MODO DRUM include being able to use any kit piece with any drum kit, swapping clear or coated heads on any drum, changing the kick beater and drum sticks, dampening and tuning the heads, changing the dimensions of the drums, changing the size and tension of the snare wires, true left and right hand hits, and varying where the drum head is hit.

Tweaking any of these parameters is super quick, and it allows you to dial in the kit just the way you want it, instead of being stuck with what was sampled. And it doesn’t sound canned like sampled drums, either.

MODO DRUM 1.5 is a free update for everyone. The paid upgrade just unlocks the 3 new kits. The new Brit Custom, which is modeled on a Sonarlite kit, is one of the best kits in MODO DRUM, along with the Jazzy, Yamaha Studio, and Pearl Reference kits. Also big props to IK for including the Ludwig Supraphonic and Black Beauty snares In MODO DRUM.

[benjamind]

Yep. Always find it much better to use something that doesn't rely on samples.

Unfortunately MODO DRUM does use samples for the high hats. But it doesn't sound too bad. It's still very good.

On the other hand, some instruments need pure modelling and samples are not going to cut it anywhere at all.