Sonus Instruments Releases Free SinnDrum For NI Kontakt

Sonus Instruments has released SinnDrum, a freely downloadable sample library for Native Instruments Kontakt featuring the sounds of the LinnDrum drum machine. The included samples are also provided in WAV file format.

SinnDrum is based on a set of 61 samples captured from the legendary LinnDrum hardware drum machine. In addition to the clean tones, the pack also contains two tape-processed tape variations of each sampled sound. These were recorded at two different speeds (30 and 7.5 inches per second) using the vintage 2″ analog Studer A820 tape machine. This recording technique resulted in a broad spectrum of tones, from the sparkling clean and transparent drum hits to warm and slightly lo-fi Linndrum sounds recorded at 7.5 IPS.

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The custom user interface for NI Kontakt features separate volume, tune, and pan controls for each drum channel, along with solo and mute buttons. The sample variation (Clean, 7.5 IPS, 30 IPS) can be toggled per-channel or globally. The interface isn’t super advanced but it allows for quite a bit of tonal control over the drum kit. By detuning several channels and using different tape settings on different sounds, you can create more than a few interesting variations of the well-known LinnDrum sound. For example, tuning down the snares and toms while using 7.5 IPS hi-hats will result in a warm and punchy kit with that unmistakable 80s character. Another neat feature is the limiter on the master channel which can be used to beef up the sound a bit, in addition to preventing clipping.

Of course, you will need the full version of NI Kontakt 5 or above to use the NKI version of the library without any limitations. The instrument will only work for fifteen minutes at a time in the free Kontakt Player. However, users who don’t own Kontakt can still take advantage of the included WAV samples in tandem with a drum sampler such as Sitala or our own Grooove BPB. To download your free copy of SinnDrum, first sign up for a Sonus Instruments user account (registration is free) and then complete the checkout process on the product page linked below.

SinnDrum is available for free download via Sonus Instruments (3.26 MB download size, ZIP archive, contains 61 audio samples in WAV format, compatible with Native Instruments Kontakt 5 and above).