Epic Ensembles: Tom Factory

The second in our series of Epic Ensembles, Tom Factory delivers high-octane drum ensembles and detailed solo drums- a product designed for composers scoring action-packed trailers, blockbusters, and more.

The tools provided in this library offer an elegant solution to adding a cinematic edge to your percussion writing.

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About The Instrument

We assembled 6 performers and over 35 drums including Roto Toms, Octobans, Concert Toms, and Kick Drums, spending 3 days capturing over 80 articulations, from solo drums to a range of hard-hitting ensemble configurations.

Tom Factory is designed to be an all-in-one cinematic tom library, featuring a diverse range of sounds, recorded in a stunning acoustic space, processed into 6 diverse mixes, and presented in an easy-to-use Kontakt interface.

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Recorded in an inspiring space

Originally a 19th-century church, The Nave Studios (Leeds, UK) provides the acoustic backdrop for Tom Factory. Surrounded by hard brick and wooden flooring, Studio One is designed for recording drums. The room provides a lively and dispersed acoustic, with a dense yet controlled reverb tail that isn't too wet or too dry.

In addition to spot and overhead mics placed close to each drum, we used 8 room mics to capture the acoustic space from different perspectives: in the middle of the room for a "conductor's perspective" and high up on a mezzanine at the back of the room to capture the beautiful reverb of the church.

These signals can be blended with ease using the 'perspective' slider, or controlled with greater precision using the separate microphone faders (Close, Mid and Far), letting you dial in the perfect amount of ambience, whether you want a dry 'studio' sound or a spacious sound which sits at the back of a mix.

Production-ready mixes, for instant results

The real magic of Tom Factory comes from its mixes. The goal of the library was for it to be immediately usable in a range of musical styles with minimal post-processing required. Tom Factory producer Will Bedford took the raw recordings and created 6 diverse production-ready mixes:

• Hyped - This mix is the perfect place to start. The drums have been shaped and polished to create a modern 'produced' sound which isn't over-processed and sounds great in a wide range of musical styles.
• Aggressive – With a carefully selected processing chain, the Aggressive mix turns up the heat and adds some extra dirt and girth. The heavy compression and saturation in this mix bring out the ambience in the room mics, and this can be manipulated further with the 'Punch' and 'Decay Trim' controls to yield a wide range of results.
• Snappy – In contrast to the Aggressive mix, the Snappy mix offers short and snappy hits with sharp transients and a less roomy sound. With an emphasis on dynamic range, the Snappy mix is super responsive under the fingers and feels great to play.
• Punchy (full mix) - Similar to the Snappy mix, the Punchy mix has short and tight hits, but it has been processed through an analogue mastering chain for extra weight, depth, and harmonic saturation.
• XXL (full mix) - Also processed through analogue equipment, the XXL mix takes the drums to another level with its deep and roomy sound, perfect for heavy trailer music. The drums in this mix have been processed to the extreme through tube compressors and EQ.
• Raw – This mix is the closest sound to the original recordings. With just some gentle processing to enhance and polish the source material, the Raw mix is perfect for those situations where an organic, un-hyped sound is required, or as a starting point for processing the drums further.