RECORDING January 2023 - 22

and three toms (12 " , 13 " and 16 " ), this
set also adds a quartet of Octabons (long
thin, high-pitched tubular drums) and a
14x20 " Gongdrum. The cymbals are the
Paiste RUDE series with 14 " hats, two
crashes, two splashes, a 22 " 2002 Black
Label ride and an 18 " China.
Extras
The collection also includes five additional
Yamaha kick drum choices from
14x18 " to 16x24 " and five snare offerings
from Yamaha, Tama and Premier.
Microphones
The mic selection is quite 80s/90s
standard with an AKG D112 and Neumann
U 47 FET for the kick drum, Sennheiser MD
421 tom mics, Shure SM57 on the snare,
Coles 4038 ribbon mics on overheads
and others. Room mics include Neumann
U 87 condensers for mid-room ambiance,
Neumann M 50 omni mics in an L/C/R
Decca Tree, and additional M50 mics as a
rear-spaced pair. The U 87 mid-room mics
offer the most reflective slap, while the M50
mics are smooth and natural.
Ball & Biscuit
A star player of this SDX is the Coles/
STC 4021 " Ball & Biscuit " mic. This is the
actual talkback mic from the Townhouse
Studios, where the classic SSL-compressed
gated drum effect was originally
and accidentally
stumbled upon. It
is
positioned above the kit, runs through the
classic talkback compression circuit, and
adds a unique saturated ambiance to the
drums with and without gating.
with the original pads and settings), and
a Simmons Clap Trap. Two machines
that bear singling out are the Wendel Jr.
and the Roland CR-78.
The Wendel Jr. offers a single drum
sound layered from two sound cartridges
(you get ten of Hugh's private cartridges
here) triggered by an external source, like
an acoustic drum. The Wendel Jr. could be
considered the world's first drum replacer.
The CR-78 is an analog rhythm box
with preset rhythms and minimal yet
effective programmability--looms large
in the music of Genesis and Phil Collins.
Not only do you get near spot-on emulations
of grooves and tones from classic
songs, but Toontrack also includes the
original preset rhythms from the box-
a lovely touch.
In addition to direct captures of the
above, each machine was played back
into the studio through speakers and
captured with the same room mics as
the drums, including the Ball & Biscuit.
In Use
The Hitmaker SDX is, by and large, the sound of my youth. I am a huge Police,
Genesis and XTC fan, and those tones are all here in beautiful detail.
While this SDX is heavily stylized, the extensive mic and mixer functionality makes
it easy to manipulate and blend the sound of the drums and the effects easily, so it's
possible to finesse the sounds into any number of broader use scenarios. Beyond the
excellent, highly realistic included MIDI grooves, Hitmaker SDX is very satisfying to
play live with an electronic drum set.
Hitmaker SDX is also educational in an almost forensic way, as you can dig into
and dissect these tones in great detail.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of the collection is the drum machine offerings. Typically
when we think of vintage drum machines, we jump to hip-hop, electronica and
circuit-bent, heavily manipulated modern-glitchy territory. Hitmaker Machines is not
that. What you get here is possibly the single best representation of the pre-techno
decadent drum machine tonality found in early 80s pop and R&B productions in all
its hi-fi glossy sheen--beautiful reverb and all.
Hitmaker Machines
On the electric drum side are more
than 400 expertly sampled tones from
a Roland TR-707, TR-727, TR-808, TR909,
a LinnDrum, Oberheim DX, E-mu
SP-1200, a Simmons SDS V (played
22 RECORDING January 2023
It's a Wrap
Yes, I am ODing on a dose of heavy nostalgia that I cannot wait to pepper into my
productions. Luckily thanks to Stranger Things and such, many 80s and 90s musical
aesthetics have come around again. We live in a time when music is a vast melting
pot of eras and styles: 50s slap-back vocals, 60s psychedelic guitars, 70s funk bass,
80s gated toms and modern 00s synths... bring it on!
If you crave high production value, larger-than-life crisp, yet spacious reverb-laden
80s drums (with and without gating), and if you are a Superior Drummer 3 user, the
Toontrack Hitmaker SDX is the collection for you.
Price: $179 More From: toontrack.com
http://arturia.com http://www.toontrack.com
RECORDING January 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of RECORDING January 2023
