D16 Drumazon Review and Tutorials

I have had the D16 Drumazon for a few years now and I’ll be honest my poor little head could not get around it. Call it a need for speed thing.

I wanted an instant boom and didn’t get it – mainly because i was just too damn lazy to get to grips with it.

At the time I would have given it a 6/10 score – but that would have been completely unfair.

What they say:

Drumazon synthesis emulates all the sounds of the original 909. All the instruments are synthesized in exactly the same way as the original. All the nuances and detail of the original are captured perfectly. In addition, all Drumazon instruments have enhanced controls. This extra functionality allows the user to adjust the sounds further than on the original unit. This opens up a whole new world of sound creation. Listen to the audio demos or tweak it yourself with the demo version 🙂

My score would have been purely on sound alone, as to it’s authenticity?

Let’s put this one down – it’s an instrument of its own in my opinion – right tool for the right job.

If you want the real thing get the real thing – it works both ways.

What am I trying to say is don’t look at this as a replication but as an instrument in it’s own right and you’re good to go.

In my opinion it sounds great.

Now for the 6/10 score – my laziness stems from my not wanting to get into the programming.

But that is what defines this plugin.

Once you get to grips with that it is an awesome plugin – 9/10 in fact.

This is where this review becomes more of an appraisal.

More of a run down of it’s integration in my setup and how I have used it.

Within the internal sequencer, patterns are stored in 8 banks. Each bank can store up to 12 patterns. Each pattern consists of 16 steps. Each pattern location has a midi note number assigned to it. The patterns can be edited traditionally using the step buttons or using the tap function.

The internal sequencer has various modes of operation. In Chain Mode, a range of patterns are selected from the internal banks and are played through in a circular fashion. Patterns can also be triggered freely by selecting the corresponding midi note (for example, from a midi controller keyboard). External controllers can be used in any mode to provide full control over pattern playback.

A Randomizer function is also provided within the internal sequencer. It can be used to make simple changes to a pattern or create a whole new one – ideal when your creativity needs a boost! Randomizing can be applied to specific instruments and specific steps. The frequency of occurrence can also be adjusted to give you just the right amount.

Files are stored in the XML format. This allows single patterns or whole banks to be exchanged between users easily. XML allows the files to be edited in a text editor. Ideal if you want to post or share a pattern on a web site -just post the text!

I use it within Reaper – I will program as many patterns as I want/need then trigger them using Reapers midi.

See the following tutorials:

Pattern Sequencing using Reaper

Editing Patterns

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