MPD18 Steven Slate Firewire Drum Package

The Akai MPD18 Steven Slate FireWire Drum Package features plenty of tools for creating hot drum tracks with your computer wherever inspiration hits you. The Steven Slate bundle includes an Akai MPD18 MIDI Pad Controller, Phonic Firefly 202 Portable FireWire Interface, Steven Slate Drums Signature Drum Kits EX software, and a PC Audio Labs 160GB FireWire external hard drive.

Akai MPD18 MIDI Pad Controller
The Akai MPD18 MIDI Pad Controller is an easy way to add genuine MPC pads to your setup. This MIDI-over-USB pad controller for DJs, programmers, producers, and other musicians is built around the pads and controls from Akai Professional's industry-standard MPC series. The MPD18 is an expressive and intuitive instrument ideal for the studio and stage.

At the heart of the Akai MPD18 is its bank of 16 velocity and pressure-sensitive MPC pads, an Akai Pro exclusive. You can access 3 different banks of sounds from the MPC pads for a total of 48 sounds at your fingertips. The MPD18 also borrows the MPC series' assignable Q-Link controllers, enabling you to control nearly any parameter in your software in real time. You get an assignable Q-Link fader for natural, hands-on control of your most-used parameters, and MPC Note Repeat enables you to quickly input patterns such as hi-hat parts or drum rolls. The MPD18 also has 16 configurable presets so you can program it for the way you work with different hardware and software.

The Akai MPD18 sends MIDI information over its plug-and-play USB interface so you can use it with your Mac or PC without installing any drivers. The USB connection even powers the MPD18 so the included USB cable is all you need for portable production. It can control nearly any MIDI software, as well as MIDI hardware, such as synths, sound modules, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, and more.

PC Audio Labs 160GB FireWire External Hard Drive
One of the most important things to do if you use a computer to record your music is to back it up. With PCAudioLabs' 160GB External Hard Drive, it's now as easy as it is important. This external FireWire drive comes already formatted for use with most computers, so all you have to do is plug it in and you're ready to rock, or save, as the case may be. Beyond using this hard drive for back up, it is also a great way to transport sessions from one place to another in a durable, cost-effective manner.

This 7200rpm, Seagate hard drive has a 2MB cache, transfer rate of 400bps, and an IDE to FireWire IEEE/1394 interface. It's housed in a sturdy aluminum frame and metal tray with a cooling fan, stereo earphone jack, and comes with a power adapter. It works with both PC and Mac.

Phonic Firefly 202 Portable FireWire Interface
The Firefly 202 Portable FireWire Interface from Phonic is an affordable, easy-to-use, audio interface for performers and songwriters who want to record guitars, keyboards, vocals, and more to the computer. It features 2 balanced 1/4" inputs and 2 balanced 1/4" outputs which are sent to and from the computer in real time through the 24-bit/96kHz FireWire connection. Also included is a high-volume headphone output with dedicated level control, ideal for the monitoring of recordings. Compatible with the most popular of digital audio workstation software, this compact, bus-powered Phonic FireWire interface is small enough to go anywhere you take your music.

Steven Slate Drums Signature Drum Kits EX
Steven Slate Drums EX contains 10 drum kits including the famous Old Zep kit (an authentic Led Zeppelin model recorded in a stone castle) as well as 5 hybrid kits which use multiple layers of kicks and snare to achieve highly unique sounds.

This EX drum suite is a complete digital drum suite, conquering all your digital drum needs with an RTAS, VST, AU, and standalone MIDI plug-in, instant presets for all Roland VDrum Modules, hundreds of easy-to-use MIDI grooves in SSD's unique SONG form.

The Samples
At the heart of any drum library are the actual samples themselves. Steven Slate has been called the master of drum sounds. In the early 2000s, his original drum sample disc was in high demand amongst many top Hollywood producers and mixers. By 2006, when he publicly released his first official drum sample disc, his sounds could already be heard in many top billboard hits. Today, the airwaves are filled with Steven's samples, as they are used by top mixers such as Mike Shipley, Chris Lord-Alge, Dave Way, Jeff Juliano, Jay Baumgardner, and more.

Steven has recorded only quality drums, all tuned to perfection. Every drum and cymbal has been recorded first to 2" tape, enhancing their unique, rich sound. Every drum and cymbal was recorded with multiple velocities and multiple hits per velocity to ensure the most natural recreation. Then the samples were transferred to digital via high-end A/D converters at 24-bit/ 44.1khz.

The samples were then processed by Steven Slate using some of the most classic analog gear from both past and present. The result are drums that sound like you've always dreamed of, with punchy transients and smooth decays.

SSD Virtual Instrument
The SSD Virtual Instrument, powered by KONTAKT Player3, is a standalone or RTAS-VST-AU plugin that is easy to use and integrate into your DAW. It contains both maps for keyboard and a universal mapping for Roland VDrums. With its custom velocity and remapping features, you can also customize your own maps.

New in version 3.5 is the "Advanced AMG" anti-machine gun mode. This new algorithm is physically modeled after real drummers playing real drums. Advanced AMG makes the drums play with an extreme amount of realism with detailed response and sensitivity.

Modeled Kits
While you'll probably find many of the drum kits on Steven Slate Drums are reminscent of drum kits you've heard from various bands over the years, 13 kits have been authentically modeled for a sound so close, you'll think it is the real thing. The initial EX pack contains the now famous Old Zep kit, modeled after the classic sound of Led Zeppelin. Upgrading with the EX expansions can get you all of the modeled kits, including: Steely Dan, Motley Crue, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Dream Theater. Keep in mind, these drum kits model the finalized mixed sounds that you have become familiar with, not just raw recordings of the drummer's kits.

Room Mics
The Steven Slate Drums collection contains two unique sounding sets of room mics. The first set is from a large warehouse with concrete walls. These room mics were processed with heavy doses of compression, EQ, and even modulation to make a larger then life, deep, wide, expressive room sound.

The drums were then sampled in the famous NRG Recording STUDIO A, known for being one of the top drum rooms in Los Angeles. It's been home to bands like Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Billy Joel, and more. These room mics have been left unprocessed and contain the signature depth and space from this beautiful sounding room.