Toontrack Stories SDX Expansion Pack

Whether you grew up in the ’80s, ’90s or the 2000s, you can’t have escaped hearing music touched by the audio genius of Frank Filipetti. From Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame,” Carly Simon’s “Coming Around Again” and James Taylor’s “Hourglass” to jaw-dropping surround mixes, beautifully captured original cast Broadway productions as well as soundtracks for blockbuster movies – he’s done them all. For more than five decades and counting, Filipetti has shaped the sound for the absolute top tier of the industry in genres spanning the entire range and, what’s more, excelled in them all. If anything, his seven Grammy Award wins and ten nominations are a testament to that.

This SDX expansion for Superior Drummer 3 includes a broad selection of drum kits and percussion instruments handpicked to paint a brushstroke across Frank’s entire catalogue and ultimately represent a cross section of his remarkable career. Recorded in both the main room as well as two different-size isolation booths of Filipetti’s choice studio, Power Station New England, the natural reverberation in this SDX covers the entire spectrum – from ambient and loud down to tight, intimate and subtle. In addition, a 5.0 surround microphone setup was kept intact between all rooms captured, giving you endless options to mix drums within a scope limited only by your imagination.

Aside from the drums and percussion, libraries of mix-ready presets engineered by both Frank as well as the Toontrack sound design team are provided. On top of that, one custom set of MIDI files dedicated to each kit as well as a general collection of percussion patterns are provided, allowing you to get started with grooves and sounds that instantly bring out the heart and soul of the instruments.

Every meeting, connection, personal journey started or completed, bridge crossed or hurdle overcome has a story attached. Combined, this string of stories weave the intricate patchwork of fleeting episodes that constitute what we call life. In that, songs play a pivotal role – not only as musical markers to reminisce to, but they also help us connect on an emotional level. Here are Frank Filipetti’s stories, told in the shape of six drum kits that each portrays a mile marker in his life’s work.

We all have stories to tell. For the next one of yours, say it with a kit.

• Six (6) kits and a comprehensive collection of percussion instruments
• Recorded at Power Station New England by multi-award-winning producer/engineer/mixer Frank Filipetti
• Drum and tuning technician: Artie Smith
• Three different ambiences (main room and two isolation booths)
• Sampled with drumsticks throughout as well as with snare wires on/off, rods and mallets for selected kits
• All kits/percussion captured with an additional five room microphones for mixing in stereo up to 5.0 surround
• One of the included kits sampled with both drumsticks (wires on/off) as well as rods and mallets
• A broad selection of mix-ready presets
• Includes MIDI grooves and patterns for the drum kits, additional tools and percussion

THE DRUMS.

Tuned, treated and recorded to perfection.

The six drum kits for this SDX were selected to each portray an era or sound in Frank Filipetti’s catalogue. With a career spanning more than six decades and covering highlights touching on anything from pop, rock and metal to musical theater and soundtracks, you’ll have a pool of kits that by design spans an enormous breadth of tones.

In addition, legendary drum technician Artie Smith was present throughout the entire session to oversee tuning and treatments. The imprint Artie has left through his several-decade-long tenure in the world of drums can’t be overlooked. Since the early 1980s and through to now, first-call session drummers like Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Ferrone and Steve Jordan as well as engineers and producers behind countless top albums have trusted his bottomless know-how and enormous vault of drums during recordings.

MODERN ROCK KIT.

Tool(s) recorded: Drumsticks (wires on)

Brand: DW
Model: Collector’s Series
Material: Birch
Finish: Broken Glass
Era: 2000s

A beautifully transparent and balanced kit that has an amazing grit, power and oomph to cut through in any mix. This was the perfect choice for a kit to cover the rock and metal aspect of Frank’s discography.

CLASSIC ROCK KIT.

Tool(s) recorded: Drumsticks (wires on)

Brand: Rogers
Model: Londoner 5
Material: Birch/maple
Finish: Black
Era: 1960s

The second we heard how the thick, warm and round tone of this classic late-’60s kit interacted with the ambience of the main room, we knew we had a winner for Frank’s signature big ballad and 1980s-type rock sound.

ART ROCK KIT.

Tool(s) recorded: Drumsticks (wires on)

Brand: Premier
Model: Elite
Material: Birch
Finish: Pink
Era: 1970s

This kit has tons of history in the New York City recording scene and can be heard on countless albums. It’s just one of those sturdy workhorse kits that never fail. If you love it loud and want to make a statement, this kit is it.

ACOUSTIC SONGWRITER KIT.

Tool(s) recorded: Drumsticks (wires on)

Brand: Gretch
Model: Stop Sign Badge
Material: Maple
Finish: Natural Maple
Era: 1980s

No bells, whistles or extras, just one of those humble kits that subtly sing in an acoustically immaculate way. To no surprise, the underlying inspiration came from the drums Frank captured on James Taylor’s Grammy Award-winning record “Hourglass.” If nuance had a name, it would be this kit.

VINTAGE POP KIT.

Tool(s) recorded: Drumsticks (wires on)

Brand: Ludwig
Model: Super Classic
Material: Mahogany/poplar
Finish: White Marine Pearl
Era: 1960s

As heard on his records with Carly Simon, Marc Cohn and James Taylor, Frank has a unique gift for bringing out the natural tone and timbre of acoustic instruments. As delicately as Frank captured this kit, it virtually sounds like you’re there, right next to it – in the room.

MUSICAL THEATER KIT.

Tool(s) recorded: Drumsticks (wires on/off), mallets and rods

Brand: Slingerland
Model: Cloud Badge Radio King
Material: Maple
Finish: White Marine
Era: 1930s

Inspired by Frank’s outstanding work in the orchestral, musical theater and movie soundtrack fields, this kit was handpicked for its uncanny adaptability. Recorded with sticks (wires on/off) as well as with rods and mallets, it’s nothing short of a chameleon. To add, it blends especially well with the extensive percussion portion of this SDX.

THE PERCUSSION.

The go-tos and must-haves – across the genres!

With Frank having worked on music for anything from motion picture soundtracks to original cast Broadway shows, this SDX wouldn’t be complete without a comprehensive collection of percussion to go with the drums. To that end, 34 carefully selected instruments were chosen and recorded in the main room using the same 5.0 microphone setup as the drums were recorded with. Ranging anything from roaring timpani and majestic gongs down to subtle handheld shakers, this portion of the SDX will give you an essential toolset of go-to instruments for any Broadway-type of production to singer-songwriter, pop and rock.

THE ADDITIONAL INSTRUMENTS.

Extra kicks, snares and crash cymbals.

This SDX covers a selection of extra kicks, snares and crash cymbals that are not attached to any of the included kit configurations. Use these to create your own drum set hybrids or to seamlessly mix, match and blend them into any of the presets.

THREE SEPARATE ROOMS – ALL CAPTURED IN 5.0 SURROUND.

Between the three rooms recorded for this SDX, the 5.0 microphone configuration was kept intact. This means you’ll have a vast array of channels and ambiences to work with in order to create one-of-a-kind drum mixes using the complex framework of Superior Drummer 3.

MAIN ROOM

ISO A

ISO B

THE PRESETS.

Broadcast-ready drum mixes, at your fingertips.

This SDX includes in excess of 60 individually engineered presets covering anything from the most plain and acoustic to the more elaborate, saturated and compressed renditions of the kits.

If you want to get up and running immediately, use the presets for a mix-ready sound. Feel the need to tweak? Use them as a starting point for your own mixes!

THE MIDI.

Unique MIDI material tailored for all kits, special tools and percussion.

To highlight the width of styles that Frank has excelled in throughout his career and to ensure that you have the proper groove starting points to go with the sounds in this SDX, each kit has its own dedicated pool of MIDI material. Each “song” that goes with its matching kit was both tailored in terms of performance, style and velocity and, of course, inspired by the artists and drummers behind some of the many milestones in Frank’s life’s work.

To add, unique patterns and grooves for the percussion instruments as well as the rods, mallets and snare-wires-on kit configurations are included.