DOMINIC GUSS INFINITE KIT
OVERVIEW
Dominic Guss Infinite Kit is the first release available from our Discrete Series of sample libraries containing a very broad range of specialized recordings from single drum kits and cymbal sets. In this first release, Dominic has sampled a limited edition high end drum kit with hand-picked vintage and modern cymbals.In Dominic's Discrete Series of drum sample libraries, he treats each drum and cymbal as a unique instrument, rather than treating the entire drum kit as single instrument. This provides several advantages over conventional drum kit recording techniques typically utilized live and in the recording studio.
Even though only one drum kit was sampled for the Infinite Kit library, the resultant size of the library is relatively large due to the generous number of mics, velocity ranges, and drum configurations utilized. Due to the large size of the Infinite Kit library, it is only available and shipped on an external hard drive.
Over two years in the making, the Dominic Guss Infinite Kit provides a highly versatile drum sample library with unusually unique and varied sounds suitable over a wide range of musical styles and genres.
SPECIFICATIONS
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Platform | Kontakt 5.0+ |
| Kontakt Player Included? | No |
| Library Size | *~150 Gigabytes |
| Total Number Of Samples | *>5000 |
| Sample Rate | 44.1 KHz |
| Bit Depth | 24 |
| Sample Sustain Length | Until room/equipment noise masks signal. |
| Media Format | *External E-SATA/USB 3.0 hard drive. |
| Multi-Velocity Layering? | Yes |
| Velocity Layers | *1 - 30 layers depending on sample type. |
| Velocity Groups Per Sample | *2 - 4 depending on sample type. |
| Velocity Group Switching Method | Round Robin |
| Mics/Channels Per Sample | 8 - 16 depending on sample type. |
| Post-Production Effects, e.g. EQ & Compression? | On specific presets using Kontakt only. |
| Unprocessed Samples/Presets Included? | Yes |
| Custom Impulse Responses Included? | Yes, through Kontakt only. |
| Number Of Presets Included | *>20 |
| Recording Environment | Highly customized "roomless" environment utilizing various acoustic treatment including our own Cylinder Traps. |
| Mic Manufacturers/Models Utilized | Extensive number of dynamics, condensers, and ribbons from low end to high end. |
| Mic Techniques Utilized | Near, mid, and far-field distances utilizing Blumlein, ORTF, AB/Spaced Pair, X/Y, midside, Glyn Johns, Recorderman, variations of the above, and numerous "custom" methods developed over the years. |
| Polar Patterns Utilized | Cardioid, supercardioid, wide cardioid, figure 8, and omni. |
| Mic Preamps Utilized | Various low to high end preamps utilized from very clean to neutral to quite colored. |
| A/D Conversion Utilized | High end AND low end A/D conversion. |
| Drum Manufacturer/Model | Limited Edition Sonor Beech Infinite. |
| Number Of Snares | *One snare, four configurations. |
| Number Of Kicks | *One kick, three configurations. |
| Number Of Toms | Four toms, two configurations per tom. |
| Cymbal Manufacturers | Zildjian, Paiste, and Wuhan. |
| Number Of Cymbals | Seven: Hi hat (2), two crashes, one ride, one splash, one China. |
| Sticking Techniques | Numerous sticking techniques utilizing traditional sticks, bushel sticks, and brushes. |
| Rimshots Included? | On all drums except kick. |
| Sidestick Samples Included? | On snare only. |
| Deactivated Snare Samples? | Yes |
| Sympathetic Snare Sound Samples Included? | Through target sample mics only (not through snare mics). |
| Protection | User-specific watermarking. |
| Price | *$399 including external hard drive. Shipping not included. |
*Preliminary spec, which is likely to change.
RECORDING & PRODUCTION METHODS
Every effort has been made to capture these drums and cymbals both faithfully (being there), as well as colorfully (musically useful in context), to our high standards. It is up to the artist to decide what type of sound ("pure," "colored," or somewhere in between) that will fit his or her music/production style best. The key to this library is its high versatility from a single drum kit.Critical to the reproduction of these drums and cymbals includes the recording environment and attention to its acoustics, the instruments' position within the environment, mic selection and positioning, preamp selection and other components in the signal chain, thoughtful gain staging, drum tuning techniques, drum head selection, instrument positioning on stands, how the instruments are played to get the most out of them, and stick selection. All of these artistic attributes contribute to the final reproduced sound of these instruments.
Configurations
All drums and most cymbals in the Infinite Kit library consist of two or more "configurations". A configuration is the setup of the instrument that determines its sound for that particular configuration. A configuration could be something as seemingly small as changing the stick used to strike the instrument. Or, it could be a different head or set of heads, different snare wires, and/or a different rim or set of rims on a snare drum, for example.THE DRUMS
As the library's title hints at, the drum kit sampled is the limited edition Sonor Beech Infinite kit, one of 160 produced worldwide. There were between five and ten kits shipped to the US. This is a high end kit completely manufactured in Germany utilizing beechwood grown near Sonor's headquarters. The beechwood used in this kit is of high grade quality and shouldn't be confused with the beechwood utilized in their lower end kits manufactured outside of Germany.The kit as a whole is very similar to the Sonor SQ line of drums and uses much of the same hardware. At close range, the fit and finish of this kit is flawless, and the attention to detail is immediately apparent. The grain of the wood is very uniform and the bearing edges are perfect.
Unique to the Beech Infinite kit is the custom paint, which was hand-applied and has a smooth velvet-like feel when running your fingers across it. The kit sampled has the cream-colored paint, one of only two colors available; the other was black.
The tom shells and snare shell thickness are medium (6 mm), and the kick drum thickness is heavy (8 mm).
The drum sizes of this kit are somewhat unique, seeing how the toms are relatively shallow and the kick drum is just the opposite; quite deep, which gives it a cannon-like quality depending on how its configured/tuned. The sizes of the drums are as follows:
22"x20" Virgin Kick (No Tom Mount)
14"x6" Snare Drum
10"x7" Rack Tom
12"x8" Rack Tom
14"x12" Floor Tom
16"x14" Floor Tom
THE SOUND OF BEECH
Beechwood is relatively rare among drum manufacturers. However, Sonor is probably best known for their use of this wood, for which they are famous for.The beech sound can be described as a cross between Maple (full/warm) and Birch (bright with a lot of attack). It is a happy medium between the two. Sonor's shell manufacturing techniques along with this type of wood gives these drums their own unique tonal qualities not found anywhere else.
THE CYMBALS
Most of the cymbals selected for this library are vintage models purchased in the early 80s and are still used heavily today. All of these cymbals are Dominic's "go to" picks for a wide variety of applications.The lineup is as follows:
Zildjian 14" New Beat Hi Hats
This set of cymbals were hand-picked out of nearly fifty sets of the same model way back in 1982. Since then, they have been used in thousands of recordings and have been played before many crowds over the years.These hi hats can have a bold, cutting sound but can also be finesse as well for lighter work. Therefore, they can be used across multiple genres depending on how and with what sticks they are played.
Zildjian 18" Medium-Thin Crash
Purchased at the same time as the New Beat hi hats listed above, this is Dominic's all-time favorite cymbal. A very colorful and beautiful sound suitable for many styles, many offers have been made for this particular cymbal over the years. This crash was picked out of a large number of cymbals of the same model as well, and had just the right blend of overtones.Paiste 17" Full Crash
This is a newer cymbal purchased in 2012, and was chosen as the overall best sounding crash cymbal by a number of drummers in a shootout between 57 other crashes at a local music store. Higher in pitch and having more varied overtones than the 18" Zildjian crash, it compliments the Zildjian well quite often.Zildjian 20" Ping Ride
Purchased in 1982, as the name implies, this cymbal does indeed have a definite "ping" sound, which is in contrast to the dryer tone most people are used to coming from ride cymbals. This kind of sound can cut through a thick mix better than a dry ride cymbal, and this particular cymbal has enough overtones to keep it from having a defined pitch that may otherwise stand out too much.We have found that this cymbal can vary in tone much more than the other cymbals in this group depending on how its mounted on the cymbal stand, how it's played, and what sticks are hitting it. Therefore, with the exception of the hi hats, you'll find a relatively higher number of tones coming from this cymbal compared to the other cymbals in this library.
Zildjian 9" Custom Hybrid K Splash
As the name states, this modern cymbal is a hybrid design, which has a relatively large bell for a cymbal this size, increasing projection and color at the same time, while retaining brilliance. It is an addictive cymbal that is useful in many contexts.Wuhan 22" China Cymbal
Very bright attention-getting effects cymbal with a very fast decay, it was purchased in 1983.SAMPLES
Coming soon...INFINITE KIT FAQ
Is there a downloadable version of this library available?
No. This library is shipped on an external hard drive only. Please see the Infinite Kit Specifications
section for details.
Is this library available in other formats/platforms?
No, not at this time. Part of the high versatility of the Infinite Kit Library is taking substantial advantage
of the host sampler's extensive effects, as well as its other feature capabilities. We may offer the library on
other platforms in the future if they can offer comparable effects and feature capabilities as Kontakt.
Can I return the hard drive for a discount?
Currently we do not offer this discount, but may consider it in the future.
Why didn't you sample the library at 96 KHz?
We feel that the doubling in size of the library and its performance pitfalls do not warrant any increase in sound
quality, if any.
It's only one kit. Why is the library so large?
The combination of a relatively large number of mics, multi-sample layers, configurations, and variations in performance
contribute to this large size, which increases versatility.
Are your samples phase accurate?
By design some aren't, and some are. Phase can be used as an artistic effect, and we take advantage of it in some areas.
Mic ___ is not in phase with mic ___.
We do not guarantee that all mics will be in phase with each other. Hundreds of well-regarded famous recordings have
out-of-phase mics in the drum mix. Furthermore, the intention of the Infinite Kit library is not to necessarily utilize
all mics at once.
We encourage the user to listen to all of the presets frequently during composition. These presets as a whole contain a wide variety of mic combinations, contributing to a high number of sounds available.
A dry, clean drum sound may be more suited to a particular mix/composition than a large, fat, and more "colorful" sound, for example. The large combination of mics, their positioning, and numerous on-the-fly preset mixing/effects all contribute to a broad number of sounds available.
We encourage the user to listen to all of the presets frequently during composition. These presets as a whole contain a wide variety of mic combinations, contributing to a high number of sounds available.
A dry, clean drum sound may be more suited to a particular mix/composition than a large, fat, and more "colorful" sound, for example. The large combination of mics, their positioning, and numerous on-the-fly preset mixing/effects all contribute to a broad number of sounds available.
Do the actual samples have any effects applied, i.e. EQ and/or compression?
No. All processing, where applicable, is done in Kontakt.
There are various presets that have no processing applied, where the artist/engineer is free to use his or her own post-production processing, if desired.
There are various presets that have no processing applied, where the artist/engineer is free to use his or her own post-production processing, if desired.
Why do you intentionally sometimes utilize low end equipment?
We believe there is never a one-size-fits-all recording tool that will work best for everything, and in some cases, a low end
tool may provide desireable qualities a higher end tool may not provide in a particular scenario.
Will other Discrete Series kits have more than one snare drum?
No. All future Discrete Series kits will have only one snare drum, as this series focuses on single drum kits.
However, we are considering creating and releasing a library containing only snare drums using the same recording and production techniques used in the Discrete Series drum kits.
However, we are considering creating and releasing a library containing only snare drums using the same recording and production techniques used in the Discrete Series drum kits.
What mic/preamp, etc., was used for sample ___?
Please contact us for this information, but we must emphasize not to get too caught up in these details,
as there are so many variables that contribute to the final sound you are hearing.
That said, if you are hearing a particular sound you keep recognizing over a number of various samples, this may prove to be coming from one particular mic and preamp combination. This may be a good starting point for the possible purchase of a mic and/or preamp you may be considering, for example. But, do not forget the acoustics, as they play a very large part in the sound of these samples.
That said, if you are hearing a particular sound you keep recognizing over a number of various samples, this may prove to be coming from one particular mic and preamp combination. This may be a good starting point for the possible purchase of a mic and/or preamp you may be considering, for example. But, do not forget the acoustics, as they play a very large part in the sound of these samples.
What heads did you use on the drums?
Please contact us for this information, as it varies. Also keep in mind that, depending on the kit, we may choose to
use entirely different heads than what were used on this Sonor kit. Our choice of heads are dependant not only on the
sound of the heads themselves, but also on the drums themselves, the type of tuning utilized, and finally the room
in which the drums are to be recorded in.
Is the goal of this library to sound as lifelike/realistic as possible?
Not necessarily. The goal of this library is to be as musically useful as possible, whether that means being
"lifelike", "colored", "realistic", "warm", among other descriptions, all of which are optional.
During the production of the Infinite Kit library, realism was only one attribute that came into play. More important was whether or not the samples were useful in context over a wide variety of genres. Being "realistic" does not guarantee that the samples will translate in the context of a real-world mix.
That said, some customers have mentioned that some of the Infinite Kit presets sound very realistic to them. However, realism is heavily tied to performance as well. As with any library, the peformance behind the samples play a large role in the subjective "realism," not just the static sound of the samples on their own.
During the production of the Infinite Kit library, realism was only one attribute that came into play. More important was whether or not the samples were useful in context over a wide variety of genres. Being "realistic" does not guarantee that the samples will translate in the context of a real-world mix.
That said, some customers have mentioned that some of the Infinite Kit presets sound very realistic to them. However, realism is heavily tied to performance as well. As with any library, the peformance behind the samples play a large role in the subjective "realism," not just the static sound of the samples on their own.
Are groove templates included?
No, the Discrete series of sample libraries do not include groove templates.