Recording - January 2014 - 43

Black Velvet ADPaks. Vintage Dry is classic
1970s, from disco to Phil Collins. Using vintage mics going through vintage gear at a
vintage studio, from capture to packaging,
Vintage Dry is a true emulation of the '70s
dry and fat sound. Black Velvet is dark, alternative and raw, capturing a rock-based
heaviness with a post-grunge and industrial
attitude. From scraping digital sounds à la
NIN to big, wet and mean arena kits, Black
Velvet is a fully loaded ADPak with the aptly
named Loud MIDIPak to fill out the Bundle.
Vintage Dry
Starting with Vintage Dry, I load up one
of over 40 presets in the ADPak, entitled
"Soundcheck." Out of habit, I choose
from the XLN drop-down menu first. In my
experience, these presets are the most
interesting and appealing of the sub-categories in each ADPak.
Putting on the 'Dry Disco Groove' from
the accompanying Vintage Dry MIDIPak, I
hit Play. After a few seconds, I feel quite
sure that I'm listening to the kick through a
pillow. It turns out that I am! Via tried-andtrue hi-fi techniques, it's yet another nod to
AD's lifelike style captures. In true '70s
fashion, the XLN Audio team stuffed the
kick with a pillow and a large felt sheet.
The toms also got the felt treatment while
newspapers were taped to the snare.

Recorded at Ingrid Studios in
Stockholm, all the beats on the tuned and
damped 1968 Ludwig Silver Sparkle kit
(the kit included in the ADPak) went
through the vintage API console.
The ADPak also throws in a Sonor Phonic
kick and snare for some disco thump, not to
be outdone by the hand claps, finger snaps
and lap claps available in the "Xtras" menu.
Although uncommon at the time, AD also
includes a stereo Mid-Side room recording
run through two API 525 compressors-
original, not reissue, of course.
Getting back to the presets, I visit the first
on the list: the simple "Clean - Early 70s"
preset which proves to be a straightforward
and honest representation of the Vintage
Dry goal: damped, fat and vintage.
The "Nille" preset, so named after the
senior engineer at Ingrid studios, offers a
bit more crack in the kick and presence in

the snare, while "1976 Sideburns," in the
'Tight' sub-menu, highlights a snare that
sounds like an overweight furry cat is sitting on it. "In The Air," aptly named in the
'Wet' sub-menu, pumps in a little distortion
on the kick and tightens the hell out of the
toms while damping down the ring to
keep it smooth and fat. "Slap That Room
Back" pushes all kit piece faders down
except the Kick, Snare, Xtra, OH and
Room, offering a reverberant popcorn
pop to every tom fill and a trebly presence
that plays nice with the damped kit pieces.
Black Velvet
Contrasted with Vintage Dry, the Black
Velvet kit, a DW Collector's Series with
Zildjian cymbals, was recorded in two
places: drums opened up in a gym-sized
live room while cymbals were sequestered
to a smaller, deader space. The idea was to
give the drums air and depth while controlling the sizzle and spread of the cymbals.
Moving the mouse, I hover over the trusty
'XLN Audio' sub-menu but decide to be a little adventurous and try the "Jagz Tape @
Half Speed" preset under the 'Jagz Kooner'
sub-menu. This preset is dampened and has
a crunchy, early '90s tonality with the
warmth of, well, tape. Taking the plunge, I
click on "Jagz Pitch Glide Down." This is the
drum sound to play laser tag to! A dry kick
meets with a pinched snare,
cymbals that pitch shift, not to
mention a cowbell that
sounds like a bad sci-fi movie
laser gun.
"Morten Break" is an
entirely band-passed kit,
while "Even B.I.G.ger OH &
Room" features nothing but
the Overhead and Room
faders pushed all the way up,
hugely blending a plate and
ambient reverb with double
helpings of distortion. Arena
rock anyone? "Fresh Skin" in
the 'XLN Audio' sub-menu is
just that: tight, fresh skins with snap, crack,
pop and a nice smooth reverb. "Upward
Spiral" is certainly reminiscent of NIN's
"Downward Spiral," industrial and sharp
with a beefy but tight kick.
After all
Giving my ears a rest, I feel pretty
stretched between '70s swagger and postgrunge moodiness. XLN Audio did a good
job of capturing the sound and feel of
these two distinct times and styles, offering
real-life, varied representations of both.
Even if you're not emulating post-grunge
rock or '70s vintage, these two ADPaks
and the accompanying MIDIPaks can
deliver in a broad spectrum of music when
dragged, dropped, edited, blended,
effected and mixed, building a soundscape of any and every drum beat, groove
and kit you can imagine. Enjoy.

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Recording - January 2014

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