DubTurbo has introduced DrumTROOP, a freeware drum rompler virtual instrument available in VST and AU plugin formats for Windows and Mac OS based digital audio workstations.
DrumTROOP is the latest addition to DubTurbo’s line-up of freeware virtual instruments, following their previously announced collection of five SynthMaker powered plugins that we’ve reviewed in December last year. The new instrument is based on Maize Sampler, a platform that allows the users to build sample-based instruments with custom GUIs and some pretty decent functionality. DubTurbo is giving away DrumTROOP as a freebie, expandable with a selection commercial drum packs that can be purchased on their website. The basic free version comes with 21 bundled kits, each packing a set of sixteen samples. The plugin itself is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of quality, so let’s dig in and see what DubTurbo’s latest venture into the world of virtual instruments has to offer.
Compared to other Maize Sampler based drum romplers, DrumTROOP definitely stands out in terms of available features, although the highly detailed GUI can be a bit confusing at times. On the bright side, the plugin offers sixteen drum pads with individual audio outputs per pad (the number of available outputs depends on the loaded kit) and individual volume, pan, attack and release controls per pad. However, these controls suffer from Maize Sampler’s limitations as a platform, so values from 1 to 50 won’t have any effect on the envelope setting, which might confuse novice users.
The included kits provide a nice variety of sounds, ranging from several classic hip hop kits to trap kits, dubstep sounds, etc. They’re good for jamming and coming up with new musical ideas. My main gripe here, though, is the fact that some of the samples are very rough around the edges. Take the first kit for example – one of the gun samples in this kit is a combination of two layered sounds, however the layering was obviously done in a hurry since you can hear the end of both layered samples and their combined noise, leading to a very clumsy result. A couple of fade-outs could have turned this one into a nicely polished gun shot sample. There are quite a few similar examples of lazy editing throughout the included sound library and that’s definitely not something that you want to get from a rompler instrument, since you can’t expand it with your own samples.
For drum rompler collectors (count me in that group) and beginners who are looking for an easy to use drum instrument, this one is worth checking out, although its quirks might confuse some users. With a good bit of sample polishing and a few functionality improvements, DubTurbo could transform DrumTROOP into a solid freebie that’s more than just another Maize based rompler.
Video Demo
Check out the DrumTROOP intro video:
Download
DrumTROOP is available for free download via DubTurbo (134 MB download size, RAR archive, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU plugin format for Windows & Mac OS).
Last Updated on October 15, 2015 by Tomislav Zlatic.
