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Tapspace Virtual Drumline:2
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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1
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17802
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3/17/2005
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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$199.00
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10.0
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Description:
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AN ENTIRE PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.
NO STADIUM REQUIRED.
Not long ago, TAPSPACE changed the way percussion arrangers and band directors listen to their drumline creations with the groundbreaking Virtual Drumline™ sample library. With this eagerly anticipated follow-up, Virtual Drumline™2 blows all that away. Percussionists, composers, and educators alike will find a sonic onslaught of variety in Virtual Drumline™2, again featuring the world champion percussion section of the Santa Clara Vanguard.
YOU THOUGHT VIRTUAL DRUMLINE™1 WAS GOOD?
In addition to new, vastly improved recordings of the drumline battery instruments, Virtual Drumline™ 2 also provides a seemingly infinite array of concert and pit percussion sounds. Expanded mallet choices, multi-layered velocities, pitch control, automatic hand alternating (if chosen), and tons of other creative tools are available. Virtual Drumline™ 2 is simply the most comprehensive collection of sounds and features for marching and concert percussion. In fact, Virtual Drumline™ 2 is so big, we had to release it on a DVD!
All instruments are loaded within this intuitive interface. (click to enlarge)
NO SAMPLER REQUIRED!
The entire library comes bundled as a virtual instrument inside Native Instruments' KONTAKT™ PLAYER engine where all sounds are accessed. No need to purchase a separate, expensive sampler or soundcard. The player is compatible with Macintosh OSX (10.3) or Windows XP and can be run as a standalone program or integrated as a plug-in in host programs to run more than one instance of the player (supports VST, AU, RTAS, and DXi plug-in formats). When running multiple instances, you'll be limited only by your computer's RAM or CPU speed. All VDL2 instruments can also be used in KONTAKT™, Native Instruments’ flagship sampler program.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
-4.5 GB of free hard disk space
-DVD Drive
-RAM: 512 MB bare minimum, 1 GB or more recommended
-Windows XP (required by Kontakt Player), Pentium 4/Athlon 1 GHz minimum, 2 GHz or better is recommended.
-Macintosh OSX 10.3 or higher (required by Kontakt Player), G4 733 MHz minimum, 1.6GHz or higher recommended.
-MIDI keyboard and/or sequencing or notation software to control sounds
Note: The KONTAKT™ audio engine is extremely powerful, and will rely on your computer's CPU. Virtual Drumline™2 will work best on faster and more current CPU's. In addition to running this software, note the system requirements of your host program (if applicable) and/or notation or sequencer program.
VDL:2 Instruments:
Accessories:
Bell Tree
3 Brake Drums
Castanet Machine
Castanets All
Castanets RoseWood Hand
Claves Pearl Synthetic
Claves Rosewood
4 Cowbells
Finger Cymbals
Guiro
Maracas Rawhide
Metal Guiro
Rainsticks All
Rainsticks Cactus
Rainsticks Plastic
Ratchet
Shakers
Egg Shaker
Ganza
Shaker Metal Canister
Shaker Plastic
Shakers All
Slapsticks
Sleighbells All
Sleighbells Chrome
Sleighbells Dark Brass
Rock Tambourine
Tambourine Orchestral
Triangles
Triangle Able 6in.
Triangle Grover 6in
Triangle Grover 9in.
Water Triangle
Vibra Slaps
Woodblocks
Granite Blocks AutoRL
Jam Blocks
Temple Blocks AutoRL
Woodblocks All
Chimes:
Chimes Hammer (MW)
Chimes LoXtnsion
Chimes XyloCap
Chimes XyloTube
Chimes with Sustain Pedal Control
Chimes Hammer (PED)
Chimes LoXtnsion (PED)
Chimes XyloCap (PED)
Chimes XyloTube (PED)
Combination Instruments:
BD and Tam Tam
Finale 2005 Map
General MIDI Set
Latin Combo (AutoRL)
Rack Combo A (AutoRL)
Crotales:
Crotales Aluminum (MW)
Crotales Bright (MW)
Crotales MedPlast (MW)
Cymbals (hand):
CrCym 16in Symph
CrCym 18in Constnople
CrCym 18in Viennese
CrCym 20in Germanic
Cymbals (suspended):
China Cym 14in
China K 19in
Chinas All
Hi Hat (MW)
Hi Hat Manual
Oriental Trash 18in
Ride Cymbal
Sizzle Cymbal
Splash Cyms
SusCym 15 K Zildjian
SusCym 18 Constantnople
SusCym 20 Constantnople
Zil-Bels Hi Lo
DrumLine Basses:
BassLine AutoRL (MW KS)
BassLine Full (MW KS)
BassLine Lite (MW KS)
BassLine VDL1 (MW)
DrumLine Cymbals:
Cymbal Line 16in
Cymbal Line 18in
Cymbal Line 20in
Cymbal Line All (MW)
Cymbal Line VDL1
DrumLine Snares:
SnareLine AutoRL
SnareLine FULL (MW)
SnareLine Lite (MW)
SnareLine VDL1
Solo Kevlar (MW)
Solo Mylar (MW)
DrumLine Tenors:
Tenors AutoRL (MW KS)
Tenors Full (MW KS)
Tenors Lite (MW KS)
Tenors VDL1 (MW)
TenorSolo Full (MW KS)
Drums:
Concert Bass Drum
Concert Toms
Concert Toms Full (MW)
Concert Toms Mallets
Concert Toms Sticks
Impact Drums
Roto Toms
Snare Drums
Concert Snare
Field Drum
Firecracker Drum
Drumset:
Drumset AutoRL (KS)
Drumset Basic (KS)
General MIDI Set
Hi Hat (MW)
Hit Hat Manual
Effects:
Air Raid Siren
Bell Plates
Birds meinl
Cricket
Earth Plate
Energy Chimes
Flexatones
Frogs
Garden Weasel
Hand Claps
Marching Machine
Metronome
Ocean Drum
Propane Tank
Ribbon Crasher
Tang Tangs
Thundersheet
Trash Can
Vibra Tones
Glockenspiels:
Glock Brass
Glock Bright Plastic
Glock Med Plastic
Gongs:
Bowed Gongs
Chinese Gongs
Chinese Gong 12in
Circus Gong
Fuyin Gong
Jing Gong
Opera Gong 10in
Pasi Gong 12in
TamTam 30in European
TamTam 34in Zildjian
Wind Gong 22in
Wind Gong 30in
Marimbas:
Marimba RoseW Birch
Marimba RoseW Hard (MW)
Marimba RoseW Med (MW)
Marimba RoseW Soft (MW)
Marimba Syn Birch
Marimba Syn Hard (MW)
Marimba Syn Med (MW)
Marimba Syn Soft (MW)
Timpani:
Timpani FX
Timpani Glissandi
Timpani Hard Full (MW)
Timpani Med Full (MW)
Timpani Soft Full (MW)
Vibraphones:
Bowed Vibes
Vibe FX
Vibes Hard (MW)
Vibes Med (MW)
Vibes Rattan
Vibes Soft (MW)
Vibes with Sustain Pedal Control
Vibes Hard (PED)
Vibes Med (PED)
Vibes Soft (PED)
Vocals:
Drum Major
Vocals
Whistles and Bird Calls:
Acme Siren
Audibon Bird Call
Nightengale Whistle
Nightengale Audibon Combo
Police Whistle
Slide Whistle
Wind Chimes:
Patio Chimes
Treeworks Double Row
Treeworks Echo Chimes
Treeworks Single Row
Treeworks WChimes All
WChimes with Mallet
World Percussion:
Agogo Bells
Ankle Bells
Anklung
Bongos AutoRL
Bongos Manual
Cabasa High
Cabasa Low
Cabasas Hi and Low
Congas AutoRL
Congas Manual
Djembe 14in
Djembe Big
Shakerines
Shekere
Taiko Drum
Timbales AutoRL
Timbales Manual
Xylophones:
Xylo Bright Full (MW)
Xylo Bright Standard
Xylo Med Dark Full (MW)
Xylo Med Dark Standard
Xylo Rattan
Xylo Rubber Full (MW)
Xylo Rubber Sta
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Keywords:
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samplers, drumline, virtual
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Author
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Review Date: 3/17/2005
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $199.00
| Rating: 10
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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far easier to get up and running, abolutely amazing sounds
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Cons:
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resource hog
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When the folks at Tapspace asked if I’d be interested in being a beta tester for Virtual Drumline:2, I immediately jumped at the chance. Little did I know what an undertaking I was getting myself involved with. I’ve been involved with actual product testing, coordinating the mailing of the DVD’s to the testers, setting up the Sibelius templates and proof reading the help manual. I’ve even gotten the chance to sit in while Jim was doing sample editing.
I started using Virtual Drumline:1 about 2 years ago and at the time I was a complete newbie to sample libraries. Virtual Drumline:1 took a little getting used to, but only because I wasn’t familiar with the concept. Most if not all of the problems I had setting up Virtual Drumline:1 have been addressed and fixed for Virtual Drumline:2. For example, it doesn’t matter what kind of sound card your computer has anymore. Virtual Drumline:2 ships with it’s own Kontakt Player that will load in up to 8 channels at a time in stand alone mode. If you’re a Sibelius 3 user, you’re probably already familiar with Kontakt Player Silver or Gold. Kontakt Player for Virtual Drumline:2 is similar, except that it will run outside of Sibelius. It will work with Finale or Sibelius or any composition program that will accept midi output to a sampler. If you’re working with a sequencer such as Sonar, Cubase, or any host program that will support VSTi, Dxi, AU or RTAS plug-in formats, you can run the sequencer as a host program and use as many Kontakt Players as your system can handle. So if you want to run 4 battery instruments and once and 12 pit instruments at once, you can do that within a sequencer. Set up is very easy and if the Kontakt Player registration is like any other Native Instruments program registration, you’ll be registered and legit in no time flat.
Now, on to the sounds (after all, that’s what this is all about anyway right?)
BATTERY:
All of the battery sounds were re-recorded and some new sounds were put in. For example, they added Rods to snares, tenors and basses. Dreadlock and Rods rolls were also sampled on the drum heads and on the rims (in the case of bass drums). For snares solo Kevlar and solo Mylar drums were also recorded. There’s many more sounds that were recorded for snares as well. Depending on which snare library you load (there are 3 versions) you can also play from the edge to the center for further added realism. Also, with snares, tenors and basses you can choose between the full version which includes manual entering of stickings and all the sounds available, or the autoRL version which automatically alternates the stickings, or the lite version which doesn’t include all the sounds in the full version. The choice is up to you, depending on your needs and system resources.
For the tenors, they’ve added a 6th drum so now if your group uses squints, you’re good to go. Again, more sounds were added and some of the old favorites were improved upon. There are four different tenor instruments to load.
For the basses, they added a 6th drum to the line. With this, you have more options about sounds depending on how many drums your group uses. For example, when recording for my group, I use basses 1,2,3,4,6 and skip over 5 because I like the low end turning of their bottom bass. Just like the tenors and snares they added some new sounds such as individual rim clicks, individual mallets up, etc.
Field cymbals were also re-recorded using the same sounds as VDL:1. However, this time they recorded three different sized cymbals. You can choose from 16”, 18” or 20” Stadium series Zildjian’s. You can load them individually or together and switch between the three sizes.
PIT
WOW! That’s all I can say about the front ensemble library is WOW! I won’t try and break down all of the instruments just because there are that many included. For the marimba, they recorded both rosewood and synthetic marimbas. I think the bass end of both marimbas is probably my favorite part of the whole library. The sound is just so warm and as perfect as possible. For marimba and vibes, they recorded hard, medium and soft mallets plus using rattan shafts on the keys. For the glockenspiel they recorded brass mallets, hard plastic and medium plastic. Xylo’s were recorded with bright, medium and soft mallets as well. On many of the keyboard instruments they sampled rolls. Not just one note looping really fast, but an actual roll being played. So the lower the note the slower the roll. You can actually hear this in the playback.
Vibes were recorded with the motor on and the motor off and you can control how fast the fans are turning. You also have access to pedal up, pedal down and in between as well. If you’re midi keyboard has a sustain pedal and you’re recording in real time, you can control the pedal using your midi keyboard sustain pedal.
For timpani they recorded sound effects on the drums as well. For example, glissandos, middle of the head, suspended cymbal on the timpani and playing on the bowls.
Numerous hand and suspended cymbals were sampled as crashes, rolls, and various sound effects.
What’s a drumline score without concert bass and gong/tam-tam right? Well, the concert bass they recorded is enough to make walls shake. The difference between playing back a piece with and without concert bass is night and day different.
To list all of the front ensemble sounds would require a book practically. If there are any samples you’d like to know about, feel free to ask.
The only downside that I can see with this library is its size. You need 4.5 gigs of space on your hard drive and you must have a DVD player on your computer. Also, some of the samples are bigger memory hogs than others. Vibes and glockenspiel and chimes have a long decay so that eats into your resources. So, make sure you’ve got enough RAM. Most of the current computers have the bare minimum needed to run Virtual Drumline:2. 512 is the bare minimum for memory but 1 gig or more is strongly recommended.
With Virtual Drumline:2, the world is yours when it comes to sample libraries. I’ve worked with numerous sample libraries and none of them come close in terms of depth and quality that Virtual Drumline:2 has.
Go to www.tapspace.com/vdl2 <http://www.tapspace.com/vdl2> for more information and to hear some demo’s. More demo’s are on the way so keep checking back as well.
If I had to score Virtual Drumline:2 I would give it 4.5 stars out of 5. The only complaints might be the size and requirements for some users. Also, if you’re comfortable with Virtual Drumline:1, you might experience a slight learning curve with Virtual Drumline:2 since some of the maps have changed. Not huge differences, but just enough to make me take time to adjust.
As with all software of course, there is a learning curve involved. But with the enhancements and included player, the learning curve is considerably smaller. Patience and a little practice is all you need to be up and running in little time.
Place your order today and be the first kid on the block to use this amazing product.
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