Review: RealiDrums by Realitone

RealiDrums comes with a diverse collection of great sounding samples and lots of tonal controls but the intelligent Groove Generator is what makes this percussion instrument for Kontakt stand out from the crowd!

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Review: RealiDrums by Realitone

First, there was the near-realism of Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars Rouge One now Realidrums intelligent Groove Generator. It’s obviously to me we are on the pathway to the Skynet machine overlords.

RealiDrums sells for $299 from Realitone

Originaly posted on Feb 2, 2017

Thoughts

RealiDrums Main GUI

The official RealiDrums page is written with the character of developer Mike Greene. Written with tongue-n-cheek phrases, the official page says the drum instrument for Kontakt has the “fastest workflow” and the “most fun Groove Generator” and I have to say that is not far from the truth.

A first glance at the keyboard shows RealiDrums plays back like other drum libraries.  The blue keys of the keyboard trigger individual drum samples. All of the green keys trigger back different Fills which are tempo sync’d to your DAW.  There are over 2 dozen fills at the ready and the instrument gives you controls to adjust the lengths of the Fills as well as a button to select whether the Fill ends with a crash or not.

RealiDrums Groove selection pull down

Once I started digging into RealiDrums I understood what the hype was all about. I instantly saw just how smart the programming was and how the Groove Generator engine has been integrated into the instrument. It lets users create great backbeats and jump to fills with just a little direction through selecting a “Groove” and adjusting the “Intensity” sliders.

In the review video I gushed about the Groove Generator as it is a real breakthrough in my opinion. However, none of the programming and intuitive workflow would matter at all if RealiDrums didn’t deliver great drum samples.

RealiDrums snare drum selection drop down shown.

With upwards of 42 different Snares, 7 different kicks, 11 hi-hats, 24 rides, 33 crash cymbals, plus sidesticks and percussion elements, the RealiDrums sample set is clean and crisp with plenty of punch.

You’re able to easily click on any of the drums in the GUI and with a drop-down, knob or button cycle through the different samples for each drum. Users can assemble their own drum kits selecting drums to their liking, as well as select microphone options (close, rock, room, beast) or select a  Kit Preset to load up an entire drum sample set, mic positions and FX.

I found that RealiDrums can work well in just about any genre, as it can deliver such a diverse range of timbres and tones.

I found the addition of a mixer panel and Rack panel (below)  with the usual EQ, Compression and FX sends allow users to further craft their drums sound.

RealiDrums Mixer panel

The library also comes with a separate Rack panel which allow users to see all drums with settings at a glance which might be an easier way to dig deep into the library and get just the right sound and settings while you playback a loop or groove.

RealiDrums Rack Panel

There is still a lot more selections and functionality so check out the official RealiDrums video (below) or check out the manual which you can download from the instruments webpage.

There’s something really special about this library. Sure, the drums sound great and there are lots of individual drum choices, but what sets this drum instrument apart from others is how RealiDrums offers up an intuitive way to interact with the intelligent Groove Generator. It almost feels like working with a real drummer in many ways; with the exception that its is always on time and it never calls you collect for a ride to the gig!

Facts

RealiDrums is a Kontakt Player Instrument and downloads as 3.45 GB.

RealiDrums sells for $299 from Realitone

Videos of RealiDrums