Tupans X3M

About Tupans X3M

One of the most requested instruments is finally released. Inspired by the aggressive sound of recent Action Blockbusters, Strezov Sampling decided to produce the definitive sample set of Tupans. A sound which hasn't been commercially available up until now.

The Tupan is a traditional Bulgarian drum played with a beater and a stick at the same time. Tupans X3M, recorded in the Sofia Session Studio with different ensemble sizes (a8, a3, Solo), delivers you the articulations to perform traditional Tupan rhythms with instant cinematic sound but also, in addition to that, contains advanced playing styles with brushes, damped beaters, mallets and more.

But Tupans X3M is not just all about organic and realistic sounding Tupans. In fact it's way more than that, since it also includes a handcrafted selection of three different Sound Design Percussion sets ranging from Epic Ensembles, Thunderous Impacts and neutral sounding percussive sound effects suitable for any style of music. These sounds were created from the sample material of Tupans X3M and our flagship percussion suite Thunder X3M, resulting in a broad sound spectrum suitable for any project in need of new fresh sound colours.

{See video at top of page}

The X3M Percussion Engine

The concept behind the this engine is fairly simple – the keyboard range is divided into 12 zones that you are able to assign different sounds to. After making the template of your choosing just plug in and play – nothing else needed.

In addition to that the engine also allows you to tweak individual zones, as well as the whole mapped ensemble patch with various effects and mic positions. Combining these with the natural and organic recordings you have maximum flexibility when it comes to sound.

Once you load up the X3M Ensemble Builder you automatically load all samples inside the "Samples" directory. However, the instrument is built in such a way that it actually keeps all samples purged, unless you load them up into a zone. This means that not only you have a single patch with all types of percussion you might need, but it is also optimized and doesn't hurt your RAM resources in any way.

Articulation List:

• Ensemble a8, Ensemble a3 and Solo Tupan.
• Beater.
• Beater (dampened).
• Clack (on side of drum).
• Stick.
• Stick (offbeat hit).
• Stick (dampened).
• Brushes.
• Brushes (dampened).
• Brushes (played on the side of the drum).
• Mallet.
• Mallet (dampened).
• Beater (rimshot) - only for three tupan players and solo tupan.
• Rolls (normal).
• Rolls (brushes).
• All articulations have 4 dynamic layers and 6 round robins per layer.
• 13 Hand-crafted Impact samples.
• 12 Hand-crafted epic ensembles.
• 49 Sound effect samples.
• 4 Bonus "Chan" patches (ethnic cowbell).