DrumCore3

Reviews of DrumCore 3

Tweet

Check out the more recent reviews on the DrumCore 4 Reviews page. Below are reviews about the past DrumCore 3 and KitCore 2 Plug-ins. For all product reviews, see the Sonoma Products Reviews page.

M Music & Musicians Magazine

DrumCore 3 offers a great collection of audio loops, sampled kits and MIDI loops played by a host of killer drummers.
"You have your choice of dragging audio loops or MIDI files onto the timeline in your favorite recording application. The latter affords you some incredible options, like hearing Terry Bozzio laying down a fat 5/4 groove played back through Matt Sorum's sampled drum kit. Whether you want to kick some funky grooves with Zoro, or get down and dirty with John Tempesta or add some Latin flavor with Luis Conte's congas, you'll be hard-pressed to find a single collection that offers this depth and functionality." - Doug Doppler for M Music and Musicians Magazine

Sonoma Wire Works

"Retro Drums DrummerPack by Billy Martin, the internationally acclaimed drummer and multi percussionist for Medeski, Martin and Wood.
"Well known and highly respected for his innovative rhythms, creative approach, and manic improvisational skills over a wide range of styles, Billy continues to push the art of drumming and rhythm to a higher level." Listen to previews and purchase this DrummerPack content à la carte (one GrooveSet or DrumKit at a time) in the DrumCore 4 plug-in store. [Some DrumCore 4 audio previews are online here.] Retro Drums Press Release

Sonoma Wire Works

Billy Martin: Loops from the Underground DrummerPack for DrumCore has been launched by Sonoma Wire Works in conjunction with Submersible Music
"Billy Martin is an internationally acclaimed drummer/multi percussionist for Medeski, Martin and Wood. This DrummerPack features 13 original Billy Martin Groovesets that include audio loops, MIDI grooves and fills. The live audio drum loops by Billy cover a vast range of styles, and are presented in stretchable REX format for ease of tempo selection. Groove variations, fills, intros, stops, and endings are all included for virtually infinite drum track creations in your DAW. Also included are 12 Multi-Velocity layered MIDI Kits for programming MIDI grooves with Billy's kit sounds, as well as MIDI file versions of Billy's grooves and fills. Single hit Kit sounds are also readily available for easy addition to your audio loops." Listen to previews and purchase this DrummerPack content à la carte (one GrooveSet or DrumKit at a time) in the DrumCore 4 plug-in store. [Some DrumCore 4 audio previews are online here.] Billy Martin: Loops from the Underground Press Release

Sonoma Wire Works

Sonoma Wire Works has launched the HigginsPack DrummerPack for DrumCore 3
"Terence Higgins, drummer for The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, brings DrumCore users unique New Orleans marching style drum loops, variations, fills and drumkit sounds with a dash of hip hop, funk, R&B, and soul. Higgins says this DrummerPack is "guaranteed to add a little grease to your tracks." HigginsPack includes 3.5 GB of content including 7 DrumKits (24 pads each) that match 7 GrooveSets (360 audio loops, 427 audio fills, 97 MIDI loops and 41 MIDI fills)." Listen to previews and purchase this DrummerPack content à la carte (one GrooveSet or DrumKit at a time) in the DrumCore 4 plug-in store. [Some DrumCore 4 audio previews are online here.] HigginsPack Press Release

Sound On Sound

DrumCore's Come a Long Way
" DrumCore 3 [now see DrumCore 4] makes it easier than ever to use pro drummer performances on your tracks. Drumcore offers an attractive way of assembling a great-sounding rhythm track in a short time. Personally, I love the elegant simplicity."

TapeOp Magazine

As Anticipated, I was Definitely ‘Wowed’ by DrumCore 3's Workflow
"What really won me over was the natural, uncolored quality of the recorded audio files (24-bit/48k). In addition to the great selection of drum kit and percussion libraries included with the factory install, Submersible has complied an impressive catalog of ‘GrooveSets’ in ‘DrummerPack’ expansion libraries. All of Drumcore’s libraries, including both the factory and expansion packs, feature many drummers you’re sure to recognize… like Alan White, Bill Bruford, Luis Conte and more. Drumcore shuns the toy-like look and clunky functionality of many virtual instruments, instead focusing on servicing the needs of songwriters and composers. Now you can concentrate your efforts on the creative process of making music… and the drummer never shows up late!"

Wall Street Journal

The Beat Goes On For Another Paul Allen Accidental Business
"Allen had his team at Vulcan Technologies develop DrumCore, a software package that enabled him to play guitar alongside drum loops composed by famous musicians. And last week, an endeavor born to support Allen's hobby found an acquirer when DrumCore 3 sold to Sonoma Wire Works, creators of the popular RiffWorks and InstantDrummer software as well as FourTrack and StudioTrack iOS applications. "We had no idea of doing anything public-facing with it," said Chris Purcell, vice president of Vulcan Technologies. "But we thought, 'Hey, we really have something here.' It shocked us with the success it had." - The Beat Goes On For Another Paul Allen Accidental Business" by Ty McMahan on The Wall Street Journal Blog

Sonoma Wire Works

Sonoma Wire Works acquired the entire Submersible Music product line, including the award-winning DrumCore 3 and KitCore software and drum content.
"Submersible Music was created by Paul Allen, the philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, to help him in his own songwriting. The company's products realized his goal of a great-sounding, accessible drum tool that allows guitarists like him to be backed by some of the most famous rock drummers."

"Sonoma Wire Works was the unanimous choice of our review team," said Chris Purcell of Submersible. "We particularly appreciated their sincere and enthusiastic presentation here in Seattle. Part of our quest was to find a good home for DrumCore, where it could move up to the next level of technology and market presence. Sonoma Wire Works really resonated with us." (Now see DrumCore 4) - DrumCore 3 Acquisition Press Release

Computer Music

Performance Award Winner!
"DrumCore 3 is a winner, and the huge amount of content makes it good value for money." [DrumCore 4 Prime contains the same amount of content as DrumCore 3.]

Music Radar

If Drum Kit Loops are Your Thing Then These Are the Best in the Business
"Some of the best live drum loops in the business. Now you can drag-and-drop loops directly into your DAW. Huge drum hit library. DrumCore 3 [now see DrumCore 4] is a combination of a drum loop player, a loop librarian and a drum machine with MIDI grooves. The included sample library is huge and now incorporates the Urban GT expansion pack, which specializes in RnB drum sounds. There are two main approaches you can adopt: use Drumcore to audition and render drum loops for use in your DAW or as a sample player. There's no question of the quality of the results you can get from Drumcore. These loops and drum hits were recorded with the best drummers around, and leap out of your speakers. Honourable mentions go to the superb contributions from Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiction, Porno for Pyros), Sly Dunbar (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh) and Alan White (John Lennon, Yes). But these are simply standout loops from a fantastic collection."

Music Tech Magazine

Excellent No-Fuss Tool for Composers and Songwriters
"Not everybody wants, needs or can spare the time to wrestle with the extensive engineering features supplied with drum software such as BFD and others. After all, apart from virtual mic placement, most processing and mixing tasks can be accomplished within a DAW’s mixing environment. And with so many well-recorded kit pieces and grooves to choose from, many composers will find that DrumCore 3 [now see DrumCore 4] fulfills all their needs...Authentic drummers, style-specific grooves and great kit sounds all help to make DrumCore 3 an excellent no-fuss tool for composers and songwriters who need to program drums in a fast and intuitive fashion."

Keyboard Magazine

KitCore Deluxe Receives "Key Buy" Award
"KitCore is worth a serious look and listen if your productions rely on acoustic drums and percussion. The recordings are consistently wonderful. The kits and players are truly legendary. That you get all this for around $99 makes it a Key Buy." [KitCore has been updated to DrumCore 4]

Electronic Musician Magazine

KitCore Deluxe is a Definite Winner! 4 out of 5 Stars
"Overall KitCore Deluxe is very handy for building MIDI drum parts. The huge range of sounds you get, the well played grooves, plus an easy to use interface, and a street price of only $99 makes KitCore Deluxe a definite winner!" [KitCore has been updated to DrumCore 4]

Rekkerd.org

KitCore Deluxe is a Definite Winner! 4 out of 5 Stars
"KitCore is a great piece of software for people who want a no-nonsense drum plug-in. You get some great sounding kits with volume, panning and tune controls for each drum pad and that’s about it. Pretty no fuss eh? I really like the variety of kits included with KitCore Deluxe (I’d say it’s a bit of a no brainer to get the Deluxe version for an additional $50 USD, since it includes 100+ kits compared to the 8 included with the standard KitCore pack) and the samples are of good quality. You also get tons of categorized MIDI patterns, which you can preview in the Groove Browser and drag & drop onto MIDI tracks in your sequencer. So if you’re looking for some “ready to go” drum sounds and don’t want to spend a lot of time setting things up you should definitely consider KitCore Deluxe. For those who want more (like audio loops and loading your own samples) there’s always DrumCore." [KitCore has been updated to DrumCore 4]

Submersible Music

DrumCore 3 Released by Submersible Music
DrumCore 3 [now see DrumCore 4] was released in 2009 with Sunburst Finish, RTAS/AU/VSTi Compatibility, LiveDrummer and Twice the Drum Loops, MIDI and Instrument Sounds. A huge selection of bread-and-butter songwriting beats have been added plus expanded jazz content featuring Seattle jazz drummer Gregg Keplinger. The "Urban GT" expansion pack ($49 value) was included, which features classic hip-hop and modern R&B MIDI grooves plus 24 subwoofer-slammin’ drumkits. Also included with v3 are drumkits and grooves from Seattle rock/alternative legend Matt Cameron (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam), all of the TempestaPack II expansion pack ($79 value) featuring smoldering metal drummer John Tempesta (Rob Zombie, Testament, Helmet) and new grooves by Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins.".