“Refreshing approach to drum programming and impressive sound quality”: Sampleson Drumbada review

Sampleson Drumbada: What is it?

A compelling software instrument is not just a high-quality sound module, but also an active aid in the production process. The team at Sampleson know this all too well, and its latest release, Drumbada, offers a highly intuitive way of understanding and designing polyrhythms. 

Today’s drum production can often be focused too heavily on sound design at the expense of rhythm, with an emphasis on layering samples to create a satisfying sound, or selecting the perfect sample for the job. And while it can be tempting to reach for sample packs with 100 different snares, by the time you’ve assembled the body, tail,  ‘thwack’ and ‘crunch’, you can lose sight of the overall beat – potentially creating something that sounds both laboured and rhythmically barren.

Sampleson Drumbada: Performance and verdict

Sampleson’s third venture into percussion plugins, Drumbada is a polyrhythmic percussion engine, which features just one drum, deeply sampled – the South America bombo legüero bass drum. This simple focus, as well as Drumbada’s straightforward interface, allows its user to refocus on rhythm as a basis for creative drum production rather than have them wading through samples. 

At the heart of Drumbada’s appeal is a set of five arpeggiators which can produce complex polyrhythms when combined. Effectively, each arpeggiator is a drummer playing a distinct rhythm. For each arpeggiator, you can modify the velocity, note, speed, and number of steps. The accent and spread controls add a further naturalistic quality to the playing, where the spread function varies the accuracy with which each individual step in an arpeggiator is ‘struck’ – similar to the humanise function for MIDI. 

The crew function on each arpeggiator, when activated, expands the drum ensemble beyond the default five players, adding further voices behind each arpeggiator. The velocity, accent and spread functions are not activated without crew mode, which isn’t immediately apparent – revealing a less user-friendly side of the plugin. 

Still, the polyrhythmic possibilities really are endless here. The arpeggiator speeds go from 1/1 to 1/16, including triplet and dotted rhythms marked by a D and T at the end of the note divisions. You can conjure anything from a simple 2:3 syncopation, through to matching 1/16T with 1/8D, producing a mind-bending stagger as dotted and triplet rhythms collide.

The interface shows you the number of steps and speed of playback of each arpeggiator, indicated by a lighter grey line which moves through the sequence upon playback. This visualisation can make it easier to hear and construct more complex rhythms; useful if you are not a percussionist.

Polyrhythm perfection

As with several of Sampleson’s previous instruments, Drumbada features the intuitive mouse-drag macros function, which enables its user to modify several parameters at the click and drag of a mouse. You can, for example, pan one of the drums during playback, or modify the speed or number of steps of an arpeggiator on the fly, to name just two uses of this feature. Each macro comes with an invert function, further expanding the field of possibilities. You can speed up one arpeggiator while slowing down another, or unmute a third arpeggiator while muting one of the first two. 

Likewise, Drumbada comes with a host of presets. The reverb function is turned on by default and is not customisable, which feels like an afterthought, but you can easily re-save your own presets without the activated effect.

A drum both mystical and modern...

The bombo legüero is a South American drum usually made from a hollowed-out tree trunk with a drumhead made of animal hide. It has historically played an important role in Argentine folk dances like the chacarera and zamba, and has continued to feature in popular South American music, even forming a backdrop to protest events in Argentina in the past hundred years. 

Most of Drumbada’s presets have fictional names and are not based on any specific rhythmic patterns, which feels like a missed chance given Drumbada’s focus on a very culturally-specific piece of percussion. However, some of the presets do pay homage to South American rhythms, such as with the ‘Easy Chacarera’ which harks back to the bombo legüero’s own legacy. 

The samples for Drumbada were recorded in a studio in Patagonia in South America, with the aim of not only capturing the drum’s sounds, but also, as Sampleson tell us, “emulating the organic imperfections [that are] inherent in a live ensemble.”

Verdict

One can’t help imagining this interface, with a polyrhythmic arpeggiator section, applied to a broader set of percussion, or perhaps even including a sampler capability. However, honing in on just one drum allows for a deeper dive into the rhythmic, rather than exclusively tone-based element of percussion, which is perhaps Drumbada’s greatest strength.

MusicRadar verdict: Drumbada’s refreshing approach to drum programming and impressive sound quality make for a smooth experience. Whether you’re after something solemn and mystical, or fast-paced and modern, Drumbada has you covered.

Sampleson Drumbada: Hands-on demos

Sampleson

Drumbada - Polyrhythmic Cinematic Drums - YouTube

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Andrew G Dugros

What is DRUMBADA ? by Sampleson @AGDugros - YouTube

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Sampleson Drumbada: Specifications

• macOS OSX 10.7 or later. Supported on Apple Silicon (Native) and Intel Macs. Standalone App, VST3 and AU included. Host must support VSTi or AU plugins. 64 bits Plugin and Standalone.
• Windows 7 or later. Standalone 64 bits App and VST3 included. Host must support VSTi plugins. 64 bits Plugin and Standalone.
• CONTACT: Sampleson