D16 Group

80 / COMPUTER MUSIC February 2021
> reviews / mini reviews
Web oblivionsoundlab.com
Format PC/Mac, VST/AU
This is a synthesis-based drum machine
inspired by drum machines of the 1980s –
with a speciic focus on aping the Simmons
SDS. Minimalist in its design, it’s designed with
the intention of getting that quick retro drum
feel, while still being able to hold up in modern
mixes. That “Hex” comes from the orig SDS’s
drum pad shapes, but you’ll actually ind
seven drum sounds to design in this one.
For kit elements, you get kick drum,
snare, low, mid and high toms, plus open
and closed hi-hats, allowing for a nice
combination of drum patterns. Each element
has the same universal set of controllable
parameters, and enables you to select from
three analogue-modelled waveshapes each –
a sine, a triangle and a hybrid – allowing for
diferent ‘oscillator’ timbres.
You can tweak settings like pitch, noise
amount and decay, just like a classic drum
machine. Although a visualiser could help to see
how the sound is being afected, this method
deinitely replicates the feel of using a classic
drum machine and
tweaking it by ear.
Hex Drum’s interesting
inclusion of an LFO allows
you to modulate the tone
of each element, giving
rise to further interesting
experimental character.
Using faster LFO speeds,
for example, you can
generate metallic timbres.
The plugin includes
a nice range of presets,
ranging from some
classic and instantly recognisable drum sounds
to more modern and experimental setups. It’s it
for use in a wide variety of genres, but it still
remains true to the original drum machines
that inspired it.
The inclusion of various seemingly simple
functions means that you can customise your
drum sounds in a variety of interesting ways.
The ability to alter pitchbend styles is a nice
touch – one for the serial tweakers – and the
Mix controls ofered for the Noise and Click are
great options for reinforcing the tone and
transients of the hits –or for dulling them
down a bit.
Hex Drum is a solid drum machine at a very
reasonable price. Sonically, it easily rivals the
classic gear on which it’s based, and in terms of
features, it can serve as a workhorse for bread-
and-butter drum sounds in most contexts.
n 8 /10n
A rapid-ire round-up of sample libraries, ROMplers and music gear
mini reviews
Web www.d16.pl
Format PC/Mac, VST/AU/AAX
A new Silverline plugin from D16, Spacerek
takes on the concept of reverb, doing its stuf
by fusing “modelled virtual spaces to a dynamic
delay network”. Whatever the underlying
mechanisms, Spacerek is capable of creating
interesting and rich reverb spaces that don’t
sound unnatural, but still lets you push things
further for some unique results.
Each of Spacerek’s 114 reverb models have
diferent virtual microphone, sound source and
room size conigurations, allowing for versatile
results. Those microphone and speaker icons on
the display, by the way, aren’t moveable – they
just represent how each reverb model works
under the hood.
In the centre, you can set volume for three
reverb stages – Direct sound, Early relections
and Late relections – and alter the stereo
Balance for each. The latter can be done in Left/
Right format or in a Mid/Side coniguration. You
could, say, splay your early relections out in
the stereo ield to give your sound a sense of
location while reining in the tail to make it a little
more mono, keeping the mix focused.
The Tilt EQ can bias the frequency spectrum of
the reverb as a whole, to make it brighter or darker,
and there’s a Low Cut ilter that can be set
diferently for Mid and Sides signals to clear
up mud where it’s needed. Nice!
Another fairly unique addition is discrete
Pre-Delay times for the efect’s Early and Late
relections, which can really help set the perfect
timing to your virtual space, giving the mix more
breathing room where necessary. In use,
it’s a very useful feature.
As is becoming familiar in D16 Group plugins,
Spacerek ofers a preset browser with tagging
to ilter those 114 reverb models for certain
qualities. The presets themselves give you a
large variety of spaces and some experimental
efects. All in all, Spacerek may not have a light
deck full of controls, but it’s capable of making
your sounds take of.
n 9 / 1 0 n
D16 Group
Spacerek €79
Oblivion Sound Lab
Hex Drum $39
CMU291.rev_mini.indd 80 10/12/2020 11:07