Sounds & Samples

As with older synths, there is an ongoing fascination with classic drum machines. Unlike synths, though, there’s a longer tradition of using samples to access their distinctive sound. A trawl though much of that last 25 year of dance music will reveal more tracks using 909 samples than the real thing.

Enter UVI’s Beatbox Anthology 2, a new version of their earlier instrument with extra sound sources (including the spanking new MatrixBrute), updated interface and more flexible effect processing. Each of the 12 drum slots can host 3 layered elements - each with a distortion, envelope and LP/HP filter section – which are fed into their own compressor and EQ, before being sent to the four global delay/reverb effects via individual sends. The Kick and Snare tracks differ slightly, by replacing the 3rd sample layer with swept-pitch tone generator.

Sounds can be triggered via MIDI or from the internal sequencer (which includes full MIDI export). Different pre-configured versions of the instrument can be loaded providing individual audio outs (or separate MIDI channel access) should you choose to mix and process in your DAW’s mixer. One nice inclusion is the way in which the bass drum sound is always available as part of the kits whilst also being mapped chromatically lower down the keyboard, for harmonically informed playing. Make sure you check out the ‘Recreations’ preset folder for some classic drum programming examples that should provoke a nod of familiarity.

Beatbox Anthology 2 is quick and easy to use, but also sonically flexible. VERDICT 8.8