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DK+ Virtual Drums

Drum Sampler Plugin by NUSofting
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DK+ Virtual Drums
DK+ Virtual Drums by NUSofting is a Virtual Instrument Audio Plugin for Windows. It functions as a VST Plugin.
Product
Version
2.0
Instrument
Formats
Sample Formats
Loads and/or Saves
LM-4, WAV
Copy Protection
None
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30 KVR members have added DK+ Virtual Drums to 6 My KVR groups 35 times.
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KVR Rank

Overall: 10703   9667

30-Day: 12073; 7-Day: 4877; Yesterday: 1028

DK+ Virtual Drums is a powerful drum machine with 24 fully programmable drum pads, 6 output busses (3 stereo + 3 mono), an audio compressor/limiter for each stereo bus and a powerful step sequencer amongst its many features. It ships with a library of 36 drum kits with the sounds of the most widely used vintage drum machines, studio-quality acoustic kits and more. It also offers a wide library of drum styles ranging from Latin rhythms to classic rock and many modern styles.

The DK+ Library is organized in 3 sections:

  1. Factory Library: with a pattern collection arranged per musical style. It features 26 drum kits and 22 styles (~4000 different patterns). More will be added with each DK+ update.
  2. Custom Library: with an internal pattern set per kit. It features 9 drum kits with internal style. The drum kits in the Custom Library section do not use the Style list, but they include a variable number of custom patterns inside the kit itself (e.g. the Tabla kit features two Bhangra style patterns).
  3. User Library: - fill with your own creations.

Pads, sample player engine:

  • 24 Pads, each with:
    • Cross-velocity support, 10 layers per pad.
    • Random picking for layer with same cross-velocity value, this allows to mix Cross-velocity with random choice.
  • Weighted randomization possible for all 10 layers as alternative option.
  • Gentle low pass filter sensitive to MIDI velocity for natural dynamics.
  • Note on/off support, off switchable.
  • Decay, Level and Pitch control.
  • Panning 100% mono compatible.
  • FX Send for the on-board reverb.
  • Automatically learns note as trigger.
  • Single note triggering or note range selectable with pitch to note.
    Mute Group (Choke).
  • Output selectable among the 6 available (3 stereo + 3 mono).

Mixer and outputs:

  • 3 separate stereo outputs + 3 mono Aux outputs.
  • 3 Level control for the 3 stereo outputs.
  • Three analog-sounding compressors on-board with Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, Gain.
  • Built-in audio meters for output and compressors separately.
  • Reverb effect : Small Room and Large Room presets.

Sequencer:

  • 10 Track step sequencer synced to VST host.
  • Solo and Mute per track.
  • All tracks visible at once in one window.
  • Voice editor can be accessed for each track as pop up window.
  • 24 patterns memory, to save in its own format and with MIDI file export.
  • Pattern length up to 128 steps arranged in 8 pages.
  • "Follow" function while sequencer is running.
  • Step resolution selectable: 32, 16T, 8T, 16.
  • Pattern selection is MIDI controllable.
  • Features per step: On/Off, Velocity, Flam and Double stroke functions.

Others:

  • 64-bit internal engine.
  • Import wave files with 8, 16, 20, 24 and 32-bit integer resolution, and 32 or 64-bit floating point resolution, mono or stereo. DK+ will resample the files automatically if they are stored at a higher or lower sample rate than the sample rate used in the host application. All the samples loaded are normalized automatically.
  • Polyphony selectable from 8 to 128 voices.
  • Can export and import drum banks in its own format or as FXB.
  • Can import LM-4 drum banks (with some limitations).
  • Pitch-bend support.
  • Velocity sensitivity, compression or expansion adjustable.
  • Sample precise synchronization.
  • Low CPU usage even with old processors.
  • MIDI reset.
  • Knob mode: linear, circular selectable.
  • Almost every parameter can be controlled via MIDI.
  • Skinable and comes with 5 skins.

Latest User Reviews

Average user rating of 3.67 from 3 reviews
DK+ Virtual Drums

Reviewed By rich_h [all]
November 30th, 2005
Version reviewed: 1.2 on Windows

I tried out DK+ on Thursday and bought it on Friday. I like the randomisation of sample selection the most - I have a few samples, particularly snares, where I have several samples of the same loudness but subtly different, with DK+ I can assign all these samples to the same velocity value and it will pick one at random, which really helps with a human feel. The compressor is quite reasonable sounding, too. I have yet to try out the sequencer section as I usually play pads straight into Tracktion to trigger it, but it looks much like any other drum grid I have ever seen.

The included kits are reasonable - not the greatest sample set you'll ever hear, but perfectly usable. Creating your own kits is simple. You can use the velocity sensitivity to adjust the filter cutoff of a sample - used sparingly this is actually quite effective.

The one thing I do miss is velocity crossfading, but I can live without it for the time being.

The user interface is unremarkable, but it's usable and doesn't get in the way.

I had been using RMIII, but it looks like my allegiance is going to change!

One thing to remember if you buy it - download the full installer and install it, and then download and install the 1.2 update otherwise you *will* have problems re-loading it.
Read Review
DK+ Virtual Drums

Reviewed By pw [all]
September 6th, 2005
Version reviewed: 1.2 on Windows

I have been using DK+ for some time now, and it has become my main Drum Sampler due to its ease of use and the EXCELLENT pattern sequencer.

There are not alot of bells and whistles here (aside from the pattern sequencer), DK+ is a simple drum sampler with 24 pads, up to 6 outputs, and three compressors. However, this simplicity for me is a huge plus. Everything is easily accesible, and creating your own drum maps is truly a piece of cake. There is a growing set of drum maps for some of the great free drum kits avaiable on the net, check out the Dash Signature and NuSofting forum for more details.

The pattern sequencer is really great. So easy to use, steps are user definable from 1 to 128 steps. The extra sample packs available, such as the Ethno1234 which focusses on Middle Eastern and North African Drumming, make extensive use of the pattern sequencer, providing a great resource for complex rythms.

DK+ is skinnable, and I only use the excellent Branis skin. The default skins are in my opinion a bit...unique...

As for customer support and service, Liqih is one of the best, and in my opinion, most creative, developers in the VST market. He is always happy to help out by email with anything.

Value for money- this is truly a no brainer at the current pricing!
Read Review
DK+ Virtual Drums

Reviewed By RaymondHayter [all]
May 13th, 2005
Version reviewed: 1.10 on Windows

I use Tracktion now as my primary host, having moved off Reason. I like the Reason instruments but find Rewire clumsy to use compared to VST instruments, so have been carefully selecting "Reason alternatives" for Tracktion.

For the drum sampler, I recently purchased DK+. It was the right decision and at the current special price of $US 38, a bargain for the features.

As a drum sampler, it fits the bill perfectly.
I can't comment on the sequencer - I don't use it. I'd rather do my sequencing in Tracktion.
There is no drum synthesiser - but there are plenty of good free drum synths out there.

Pros: (i.e the features that were important to me)
- Very easy to use and very easy to set up custom kits
- Sample preview in the .wav file browser
- CPU friendly
- Excellent sound quality
- Built-in reverb (adjustable by drum pad - hurrah!!)
- Built-in compressor
- Small footprint. No bloatware here.

Cons:
- Included sound library is ok (some very nice vintage drum machine kits), but nowhere near as comprehensive as DR008, RMIV etc.
- Only supports it's own format and apparently LM4 for kits (at this stage).

I get the feeling that this product will improve substantially with new versions. The improvements from v1.04 to 1.1 are already quite significant. All the important basics are there now and I would highly recommend to musicians who are on a tight budget and have access to plenty of .wav drum samples.
Read Review

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