March 2012

Electronic Review

Wavemachine Labs

Drumagog 5

by Butch Jones

Since its inception, Drumagog has been one of the top choices for drum repair work because of its ability to accurately detect hits and then trigger samples from an internal library or from VST drum software like FXpansion’s BFD2. The samples can be played at dynamics that mirror the recorded track, or you can have them trigger at a set level. Drumagog can also be used for sending and receiving MIDI notes to and from outboard equipment and virtual plug-in instruments. Inserting Drumagog on a track, choosing a drum sample, and dialing in your trigger settings is all it takes to start tweaking your sound.

Drumagog 5 comes in three forms, Basic ($149), Pro ($269), and Platinum ($359). We checked out Platinum (Version 5.11), which can be installed on Windows XP, Vista, or 7 and Mac OSX 10.4.11 or higher. The plug-in can be run on 32- or 64-bit systems and requires 6 GB of available hard-drive space for installing the included samples. The installation process is painless, and if you have Drumagog 4 already on your system it will not be overwritten, leaving you the option to access that version’s samples in Drumagog 5.

Let’s Take a Look

The updated Drumagog manual is laid out clearly, and after checking out the New User Tutorial, I was up and running in a flash. Drumagog 5’s updated GUI (graphic user interface) has made it easier to navigate through all of the software’s functions within a single window, which is partitioned into five sections with easily accessible controls. The dial-style pots in earlier versions have been replaced with slider controls, making it simpler to adjust the various settings when needed. Advertisement

File Browser

The included Gog samples are easily accessible using this new window. Double-clicking a sample will send it to the samples window, or you can drag and drop audio samples directly into the sample window for triggering. Adding your often-used samples to the “favorites” folder will cut down on future search times.

Here’s an audio sample of a drum recording made without Drumagog 5.

 

Here’s an audio sample of a drum recording made using Drumagog to enhance the final drum sound.

 

For the complete review of Drumagog 5, check out the March 2012 issue of Modern Drummer.

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