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“I absolutely love AC‑DR! All the sounds have been created organically, whether recorded via microphone, passed through an analogue processor or given character in a physical space. The raw sound‑sources are beautifully recorded, and the various methods and ingenuity used to create them results in a huge palette of unique source material to work with. The way in which each element can be manipulated beyond imagination is endlessly creative and incredibly addictive, and this is where the lines blur between acoustic and electronic. The fact that the instrument is based entirely on samples of natural acoustic drums appeals to the drummer in me, but you can also create the most remarkable ‘electronic’ sounds. In combination with the comprehensive beat creation tools that lend themselves to the more mechanical side of drumming, the AC‑DR can indeed ‘emulate classic drum machines of the past’ but it is much, much more than that — and very much worth adding to your VI arsenal.”

Full Review Here

Mark Gordon tested out the Lumen for SOS, and said:

“I enjoyed playing the Lumen, a lot. It feels solid and well built, the pads are responsive, and the a long-lasting battery sets it apart from almost every other electronic percussion device I can sampled sounds are excellent. Having a built-in speaker (that actually sounds very good!) and think of, enabling it to work perfectly for busking, a favourite pursuit of acoustic players.”

“The Lumen takes a unique acoustic instrument into the digital age and is beautifully presented and well implemented. It’s a refreshing newcomer to the digital percussion scene.”

You can read the full review on The Sound On Sound Website

Lumen Is Available to Buy Here

So he’s put together a series of mini-tutorials that just show you how to do one thing with AC-DR. One thing at a. time. That’s the best way, right?

Follow us on Youtube for more @Soniccoutureofficial

Guy Shows you how to put together a contemplative, scandi type piece of music, using ONLY Soniccouture instruments. Features Nyckelharpas, AS Choir, Celeste.. etc

Follow Guy @ThinkSpaceEducation

RECORDING

As well as traditional mics, specialist Ukko drum contact mics were used: to create the ‘knock’ and ‘shell’ sound on the bass drums and toms, the ‘metal’ sounds on the hi-hats & rides, and the ‘body’ channel for the cowbell. While these mics are certainly not full sounding on their own, they add a certain synthetic texture to the mix.

The ‘Trans’ (transformer) signal featured on BD and TT was created by sending the samples through an Overstayer saturation hardware unit. Again, as with all the sampling, a full set of 10 round- robins was captured so that the variation of the samples is repeated in the response of the distortion.

SNARE DRUMS

For snare drums we developed a particularly unusual process: using a Poly End Perc auto percussion device, 8 separate recording passes were made for each snare:

• Snare Off – Damped + Undamped
• Snare On Loose – Damped + Undamped
• Snare On Medium – Damped + Undamped
• Snare on Tight – Damped + Undamped

This process enabled us to separate the snare off ‘body + rim’ sounds of the snare from the bottom mic ‘wire’ sounds; the Polyend giving great precision in terms of hitting exactly the same spot at exactly the same velocity. This meant the different recordings all line up perfectly and recombine into the multi-signal sound you hear in the instrument.
The Polyend Perc was not used to record any other instruments, however, as the natural methods were preferable for sonic reasons.

ROBINS

The recording process itself was combined with editing concurrently – short takes of 30-40 hits were recorded, then edited manually using a proprietary tool for selecting identical round robins. If the take was not tight enough, then more takes would be recorded until the set of round robins could be completed. Balancing the timbral effect between the Accent and Normal layers was also a consideration here, and one or the other would also be re-recorded after auditioning the two layers playing together.

ECHO CHAMBERS

Once all sets of bass drums, snares, rimshots and toms were finalised, we set off to Rockfield Studios in south Wales, to utilise their two amazing echo chambers. Inspired by a visit to Capitol? Studios in the 1960s, owners Kingsley & Charles Ward applied Welsh farmer know-how and built their own – 7 layers of lacquer on the curved plywood ceilings being the key to the reflective sound. Chamber 1 is a much bigger sound than Chamber 2.
The full sets of round robins for each drum (signals summed) was played back through two different echo chambers and the results recorded. The ‘SPACE’ signal on the BD, SD, RS, TT channels is a mono mic from each chamber, and you can choose Chamber 1 or 2. The signal here is mono because the intention is not so much that it functions as a natural reverb, but as an additional sound design element to drums sound. EG: the SPACE signal forms a very useful noise element particularly in the BD module – if you close down the decay until it is only a short attack it adds definition to the front of the kick drum sound.

AC-DR: Acoustic Drum Machine will be released in December 2023