SDX The Rooms of Hansa — Free Download

Purpose and Concept

This SDX offers a curated collection of drum performances recorded across the four distinct rooms of Berlin’s historic Hansa Tonstudio, aiming to represent the full sonic scope of its natural ambiences. The sessions were produced by Grammy-winning engineer Michael Ilbert, who selected a variety of drums to capture the character of each space, from the tight confines of the Vocal Booth to the grand Meistersaal.

The expansion is designed for users of Toontrack’s Superior Drummer, providing a palette of drum tones that range from dry and direct to reverberant and massive. It includes a blend of complete kits and additional components, allowing for extensive mixing and matching.

Key Capabilities and Components

The library features six complete kits with many optional configurations, encompassing a broad selection of snares, kicks, hi-hats, and cymbals. Notable kits include the custom-built Twin Shell Kit with its steel and maple construction, a damped version with tea towels, and an acrylic kit with octabans or rototoms for extended tom setups.

Recordings were made in the Marble Room, Live Room, Vocal Booth, and the iconic Meistersaal, with the latter captured using a 5.1 surround setup and additional height microphones for extended ambience options. The Marble Room also benefits from an extra channel recorded in the concrete Hansa staircase.

Workflow and Integration

The SDX integrates directly with Superior Drummer, allowing users to mix and match the various kits, rooms, and ambience channels to craft their own drum sounds. The multiple room configurations and additional mic setups provide flexibility in shaping the level of natural reverb and spatial depth without relying on external effects. The included drum MIDI grooves offer a starting point for compositions, which users can modify to fit their tracks.

Given the range of rooms, producers can dial in anything from a tight, minimal, and dry sound suitable for beat-making or hybrid kit creation to a big, reverberant, and massive tone ideal for rock or cinematic productions. The different kits, such as the Mahogany Stave Kit with its low-velocity expressiveness and the powerful Twin Shell Kit, cater to diverse musical needs.

Practical Applications

The Rooms of Hansa SDX is versatile, suitable for genres like rock, pop, metal, and electronic music. The Marble Room’s controlled ambience is well-suited for rock drums, while the Live Room’s balanced acoustics work for a wide range of styles. The Vocal Booth offers transparent, direct tones that sit well in dense mixes, making it a go-to for beat-making and hybrid kits.

The Meistersaal’s majestic sound, captured with vintage gear and surround mics, is ideal for grandiose productions that benefit from a large, iconic room sound. The unique characteristics of each kit, such as the Acrylic Kit’s focused tone or the 1960s Italian kit’s mellow depth, provide producers with a broad palette to match the mood of their music.

Key features

• Six complete kits with many optional configurations
• Twelve snares and seven kicks plus a broad collection of hi-hats and cymbals
• Recorded in four rooms of Hansa Tonstudio including the iconic Meistersaal
• Meistersaal setup recorded in 5.1 surround with additional height microphones
• Includes a stereo ambience captured in the Hansa staircase for select kits
• Produced by Michael Ilbert, known for work with major artists
• Includes a collection of drum MIDI grooves

Best for

This SDX is best for producers seeking high-quality, characterful drum sounds with a wide range of natural ambiences, from dry to massive. It suits rock, pop, and beat-making, and is particularly valuable for those who appreciate the historical legacy of Hansa Tonstudio and want that iconic sonic imprint.