IK Multimedia MODO Drum 1.5 £250
With some of the most expansive tone-shaping control we’ve ever handled, IK have augmented an already unparalleled drum workstation
Beats. Everyone needs them, everyone tackles them in their own way and it’s widely agreed that when it comes to mixing, they’re more often than not the most awkward thing to get right. IK Multimedia’s MODO Drum aims at serving all needs via its holistic, genre-neutral approach to kit control. Though the emphasis here is clearly on giving you the sound of a live, in-the-room drum kit, the sheer level of tonal shaping, FX, groove-shaping and real-world nuance that you can control here, results in perhaps the only piece of beat-building software you’ll ever need.
From the outset, IK offer a smooth, straightforward experience, a quality for which the company are well known. MODO Drum brings the same multi-page, visually entrancing approach as MODO Bass. V1.5 brings three more kits to the original’s ten, all realised with IK’s detailed physical modelling drum synthesis.
Kit bag
The kits on offer here range from the six-piece Rock Custom, aimed at the vest-sporting, longhaired, seasoned kit vet, to the genre-neutral new kit for v1.5, Silver, which could be used across pop, country and rock. Then there’s the cutting, razor sharp tones of the Djentleman, a kit directed at a particular niche of metal, but whose biting quality works well in a variety of other contexts. 1.5 also brings in other new kits not previously available: Brit Custom and a tasty Metal kit. Actual kit selection is swift, with an image of each kit selectable via the Model page, which shows a depiction of the kit in all its splendour. MODO Drum’s array of seven core pages are neatly displayed at the top of the UI.
While the kits have been assembled to fulfil specific objectives, within the Customise page
“well beyond that seen elsewhere in the ‘virtual player’ domain… quite frankly the sculptural scope is astounding”
you can mix and match drum elements from other kits, and build your own Frankenstein kit to better suit your needs. That’s not all though: each constituent part can have their virtual skins swapped, be retuned, have the buzz dialled up or down, and re-define the shell profile. This is all down to the mind-boggling synthesis technology that certainly trumps the conventional approach to capturing samples. This flexibility is further evidenced by the breathtaking effect of changing your virtual drum room via IK’s deft use of convolution, and effect-soaking certain kit elements in the Mixer.
Playstation
While the kit’s sound is highly malleable, MODO Drum is also loaded up with a range of playability options. Going well beyond what we’ve seen elsewhere in the ‘virtual player’ domain, MODO Drum’s Play Style option allows for the precise choosing of sticks, exactly where on each drum element the sticks are hit, and just how accurate this digital drummer’s impacts are. Quite frankly the sculptural scope is astounding. The Grooves section is the easiest way to hear the results of all of this in full flight, with a pyramid of pre-determined drum patterns. As with MODO Bass, these samples are super easy to slot into your project.
Using MODO Drum to build up a series of demos results in a rewarding experience, and while we find it very easy to get entirely comfortable with the surface level offerings of the library, there’s a veritable ocean of possibility beneath the surface. While size might be an issue, thankfully you’re able to download only those kits you need. While other drum libraries trade off on bringing you accurate, playable recordings of premiere kits in worldclass locations, IK instead hand the keys to you, with the player, room, kit and character entirely at your control.