MAGIC AFRICAN DRUMS

Instantly replicate the authentic sounds and grooves of central and western African drums with this unique Kontakt library! 

With a rich collection of ensemble and solo instruments, MAGIC AFRICAN DRUMS is a mesmerizing journey into the heart of African musical tradition.

 

  • Rich and inspiring ensemble instruments that reproduce the sound and feel of musicians playing together

  • Expressive and dynamic Talking drum and Djembe solo instruments that are fun and easy to play

  • ‘Magic’ automatic variations in rhythms to create highly realistic grooves

  • Innovative reproduction of authentic African rhythmic feels, cross-rhythms and polyrhythms.

  • Unique rhythmic features let you morph between a 4/4 and a 6/8 metric

  • Improvise variations, calls&answers, fills, and rolls with your keyboard and modulation wheel!

  • Extended articulations for all instruments using traditional playing techniques

  • Deep sampling with a clean, rich, and dry sound for maximum flexibility

 
 

MAGIC AFRICAN DRUMS 

Highly authentic and realistic, exciting, fun, and with a sound and groove like no other percussion library!

  • 6406 samples (mono and stereo WAV, 24 bit, 48kHz)

  • 36 Kontakt presets

  • 4 ensembles with 7 instruments each

  • 4 solo talking drums and 2 solo djembes

  • Alternative 4/4 and 6/8 rhythm presets for each instrument

  • built-in tempo-synced grooves, call & response, and fill-ins

  • Groove variations and fills with mod wheel control

  • 30 custom Impulse Responses

  • Intuitive GUI with a four-band EQ, filters, saturation, limiter, and reverb

  • Up to 42 velocity layers

  • Left and right-hand sampling for many instruments

  • ‘Magic keys’ with up to 200 round-robin samples per key for maximum realism and automatic subtle variations

  • full Kontakt 5.8+ required!!!

  • total size uncompressed: 1.3GB

  • list price: €112,- (+VAT for EU customers)

 

VIDEO DEMO: This video is a live improvisation using two ensembles and two solo instruments from the library. The video is based on one of the built-in grooves, and it explores several key features of the library:

 

Built-in grooves audio demo: This track is a compilation of short demos directly recorded from Kontakt, using some of the presets included in the library. The demos were performed live, using the built-in grooves and Mod Wheel variations:

 

ENSEMBLES

The library features four percussion ensembles that reproduce the sound of African drummers grooving and improvising together.

Each ensemble includes a selection of 7 complementary instruments, a full 7-channel mixer, and 12 tempo-synced rhythms with mod wheel variations.

Every ensemble has its own character and sound, with its own set of instruments and its own set of rhythms. The ensembles can be combined together or with solo instruments to create Kontakt multis with rich and intricate rhythms. The library includes many Kontakt multis replicating traditional and modern African grooves.

 

ENSEMBLE A

This ensemble features many smaller percussions played with hands and sticks. The resulting sounds are full of energy, and perfect for fast rhythms and talking drum accompaniments!

ENSEMBLE B

An ensemble of gritty, characterful traditional instruments from central Africa. Perfect for authenticity and for adding lovely sonic colors to a music track!

 

ENSEMBLE C

With larger sections and modern instruments, this ensemble is perfect to add impact and force to your rhythm tracks.

ENSEMBLE D

This ensemble offers a balanced sound, with an emphasis on large dundun drums, and wonderful complementary sounds.

 

Each instrument has its own channel in the mixer. The controls let you change the sound in a powerful and intuitive way:

VOLUME (main round knob), PAN (horizontal slider)
High pass filter (HPF), pre-set equalizer (TONE) , saturation (DRIVE), and limiter (LIM)

TUNE: change the pitch of the instrument (+ or - 7 semi-tones)

SEND: send the signal to the main reverb. The amount of signal sent is set pre-fader, before the effects and the volume knob.

!!NB: the level of saturation (DRIVE) and the amount of limiting (LIM) are affected by the volume knob: setting the volume higher will result in more saturation and more limiting.

 

SOLO INSTRUMENTS

Four solo talking drums and two solo djembes are included in the library. Each solo instrument features an extended set of articulations and playing techniques, ‘magic keys’ with automatic variations, and 12 tempo-synced grooves and fill-ins. With left and right hand sampling, impressive amounts of velocity layers and round-robins, these solo instruments are wonderfully responsive and fun to play!

 

‘MAGIC’ KEYS

All instruments feature ‘magic’ keys: A new sample is played every time you press the key.

Up to 200 round-robin alternative samples are programmed on these ‘magic’ keys.

The built-in grooves extensively use this function, resulting in constant subtle variations and ultra-realistic rhythms.