The Bottom Line
Every recording engineer fights with drum tracks; no matter how easy it looks, you'll inevitably record a drummer with a bad-sounding kit or lack of tuning expertise; sometimes, you just have a bad day fighting with microphone or preamp issues in getting your ideal tone.
I've gotten pretty good at getting drums sounding how I like in most sessions, but sometimes there's too much working against me to do it naturally (especially a band's budget). That's where Drumagog comes in.
Drumagog has quickly become indispensable; the drum tone, punch, and depth that I can achieve with Drumagog is outstanding for the price.
I've gotten pretty good at getting drums sounding how I like in most sessions, but sometimes there's too much working against me to do it naturally (especially a band's budget). That's where Drumagog comes in.
Drumagog has quickly become indispensable; the drum tone, punch, and depth that I can achieve with Drumagog is outstanding for the price.
Pros
- Extremely High Quality Sound
- High-Quality Samples Included
- Low Latency
- Wide Compatability
- Affordable
Cons
- Expensive Additional Samples
- Requires Fast Computer
Description
- Three flavors with varying features from $199 to $379. Includes access to a 2GB sample library and technical support.
- Drumagog Basic at $199 supports most standard basic features, except live triggering & advanced editing features.
- Drumagog Pro offers all available features, except support for BFD (a MIDI drum sequencing software), priced at $289.
- Available direct from WaveMachine labs; buy & download available.
Guide Review - WaveMachine Labs Drumagog
WaveMachine Labs' Drumagog is a rare piece of software; not only does it work exactly as intended, it has the ability to completely save a session gone wrong! Very affordable in three flavors from $199 to $379 and with wide compatibility across many of the top recording software suites (including Logic and Pro Tools), Drumagog is an indispensable tool that no engineer should be without.
Drumagog works like any standard audio plug-in. Seamless RTAS compatibility with Pro Tools and other major software suites make this an easy sell; there's no configuration hassles, and it works seamlessly with other plug-ins for dynamics processing and EQ. Simply insert Drumagog on your drum channel, tweak the sample settings, and you're good to go.
Drumagog offers three sampling modes, and depending on your system resources, you may find that one works better than another. While it offers the lowest quality of the three, I found that the "live" triggering mode offered the lowest latency, and therefore the easiest path to getting the sound I wanted.
Drumagog drum samples come with several different multi-sample textures per drum; these are triggered based upon the detected velocity, and allow Drumagog to retain a very natural feel (as opposed to simply replacing the hit with a single drum sample). This gives an extremely high-quality, virtually undetectable new layer of drum sounds on top of your original tracks.
The only drawbacks I found to Drumagog is that you'll quickly become addicted to wanting more drum samples, and those can be expensive; you can easily spend 2 to 3 times the cost of the software in additional samples. You'll also need a fast computer to get the job done well, as Drumagog is resource-heavy, but don't let that hold you back -- Drumagog will quickly become a piece of software your studio can rely on -- and believe me, it will!
Drumagog works like any standard audio plug-in. Seamless RTAS compatibility with Pro Tools and other major software suites make this an easy sell; there's no configuration hassles, and it works seamlessly with other plug-ins for dynamics processing and EQ. Simply insert Drumagog on your drum channel, tweak the sample settings, and you're good to go.
Drumagog offers three sampling modes, and depending on your system resources, you may find that one works better than another. While it offers the lowest quality of the three, I found that the "live" triggering mode offered the lowest latency, and therefore the easiest path to getting the sound I wanted.
Drumagog drum samples come with several different multi-sample textures per drum; these are triggered based upon the detected velocity, and allow Drumagog to retain a very natural feel (as opposed to simply replacing the hit with a single drum sample). This gives an extremely high-quality, virtually undetectable new layer of drum sounds on top of your original tracks.
The only drawbacks I found to Drumagog is that you'll quickly become addicted to wanting more drum samples, and those can be expensive; you can easily spend 2 to 3 times the cost of the software in additional samples. You'll also need a fast computer to get the job done well, as Drumagog is resource-heavy, but don't let that hold you back -- Drumagog will quickly become a piece of software your studio can rely on -- and believe me, it will!