Toontrack Alt-Rock EZX

ALT OR NOTHING

Drums recorded by the man who helped shape the sound of alternative rock: Steve Albini.

Steve Albini’s imprint on the sound of rock is undeniable. Having worked on seminal albums by the Pixies, PJ Harvey and, perhaps most notably, Nirvana’s milestone record “In Utero,” his sonic DNA is in the fabric of productions that have helped create a new branch in rock history. This collection of drums captures the incomparable sonic fingerprint of not only Steve Albini but also the ambience of his very own studio, which he personally built and designed. Welcome to Electrical Audio in Chicago, IL, and a truly unique collection of drums.

The Alt-Rock EZX presents a crude, genuine and raw palette of drum sounds with an incredible range, perfect for the soft-loud-soft approach that is synonymous with the distinct dynamics of the classic alt-rock sound. Capturing Steve’s unique method of mic placement, attention to detail and drum tuning scrutiny, this EZX gives you two full kits and cymbal setups as well as several additional instruments and percussion pieces, all crafted to perfection.

Even though this EZX takes off in the tremors of the nineties alt-rock scene, it presents a tonal palette with enough color to aid you in painting whatever sonic landscape you wish.

FEATURE SPOTLIGHT

• Recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio
• Two (2) full kits and cymbal setups (Ludwig* Club Date & DW* Collector’s Series)
• Five (5) additional snares, two (2) kicks and five (5) cymbals
• Five (5) percussion instruments, including 26” and 29” Ludwig* timpani drums
• Comes with a selection of MIDI drum grooves inspired by alt-rock music

THE DRUMS

Steve Albini’s own words on the selection of drums recorded during the Alt-Rock EZX session.

LUDWIG* CLUB DATE.

This is a ’60s Ludwig* kit with thin shells, sized 20″, 12″ and 14”. The Club Date design uses a single central lug on each shell that accepts a tension rod from each head rather than two separate lugs, so the shells have less weight and fewer mechanical attachments. Though it was designed to lower the parts count and cost, this feature makes the drums slightly more resonant and lively than shells made with separate lugs. We kept it skinned with Remo Rennaissance heads, which have an elastic bounce with fewer high overtones than other single ply heads, while still having a strong fundamental pitch and clear sustain. The toms are tuned with the bottom head slightly higher in pitch than the top heads, which causes a slight rise in the pitch as the drums sustain. The additional drums added to fill out the compliment of toms are other Ludwig* toms from the same era, tuned similarly. The bass drum features a full front (resonant) head, which provides a singing sustain with extended decay. The snare drum is a WFL 3×13” piccolo with a calfskin batter head. This drum has a short, dry and percussive midrange-voiced sound that is most expressive at the lower end of the dynamic range

DW* COLLECTOR’S SERIES

This is a thoroughly contemporary kit made with modern materials and processes, so the tolerances and behavior of the drums are both predictable and consistent. The kit has large sizes (24″, 15″, 16″ and 18”) and Remo Emperor batter heads to control the irregular high-harmonic modes of the larger heads (and Remo Ambassador heads for the resonant side). These drums are characterized by a strong attack and fundamental tone with few overtones and a smooth fast decay. These drums are tuned with the resonant head slightly lower in pitch than the batter head, which causes a slight drop in pitch as the drum sound decays. The bass drum has a Superkick II head for strong attack with quick decay and the resonant head has a hole in it. The the decay is fast and suitable for quick patterns, despite its size. The DW* 5×14” snare drum is the same shell construction as the rest of the kit and has a Remo CS batter head and a Diplomat-weight snare bottom head with a 2″ strainer. It has a modest amount of shell tone and a quick decay.

EXTRA KICK AND TOMS

The extra kick and toms are ’70s Gretsch* but updated with cast hoops and minimally-invasive mounting hardware. They all have Remo Ambassador batter heads and Evans resonant heads. The shells are slightly thicker with a plain lacquer finish, so the natural pitches of the drums are slightly lower than the same sized drums on our other kits and resonances are not damped by an external wrap. These drums have the batter heads and resonant heads tuned to nearly the same pitch, so each drum has a long, consonant sustain and a definite pitch. The bass drum has Remo Ambassador heads and is lightly damped.