Tonehammer is a relatively new face in the commercial sampling world, but not new by any stretch to the industry. Tonehammer was started by Troels Folmann and Mike Peaslee, both acclaimed composers in the film and video game industry. Tonehammer has positioned itself as a creator of high quality sample libraries for use in these industries(and anywhere else they fit, of course), but at prices that even non-Grammy award winners can afford.

So in what will likely be the first of many Tonehammer library reviews here at ProRec, we're going to take a look at one of their instrument bundles, titled "Composer Bundle #2". This bundle contains three products from their already well populated library list; Epic Toms Ensemble Vol. 1, Epic Toms Ensemble Vol. 2, and Bamboo Stick Ensemble.

The Formalities

Each library is presented in Kontakt format using  44.1kHz/16 bit audio files. Priced at $133 for the bundle(purchased separately would cost $157), there is no player included. Not that I would expect one at this price point, but it should be pointed out. You'll need Kontakt 2 or 3 to play these instruments, though you can load the waves into another sampler if you really need to.

The bundle takes about 862MB of hard drive space, although you don't have to have all of them installed since they come as three separate packed files.

Toms Of Epic Proportions

The first library is the Epic Tom Ensemble Vol. 1 and is considered the "low" tom library. Consisting of 439 samples and around 290MB of material, this library focuses on the lower ranged toms and bass drums, as well as a couple of vocal elements.

Sure is a pretty interface, don't you think? 

When loading, you will instantly notice that there are only three patches in Vol. 1. The first is your main patch, and contains a series of bass drum ensemble hits and a series of low tom ensemble hits. As you may have guessed by the word "ensemble", these aren't typical samples recorded with one instrument at a time. Instead, Tonehammer has recorded several drums at once to create an ensemble effect. The patch is organized so that as you go further to the right on the keyboard(each drum type takes up around 5-6 semitones), the hits range from tight, unison hits, to  "loose", or spread out flams. It works pretty well and gives you a good variety of hits to work with.

Also included is a simple patch called "Epic Shouts", which contains two vocal elements. These are loud "HUH!!!" and "HEY!!!" shouts in the style of an old Japanese percussion team. Good for the occasional accent to the drum hits.

Then there is the mod wheel room control patch. This patch combines the above two patches but with a twist. The mod wheel lets you adjust the amount of room sound on each hit so you can have a more dry effect if you wish. There is still room sound in these hits, but you get more of the direct sound to bring the drums seemingly closer to the listener. This is accomplished using some clever envelope tweaks and some filtering. The vocal shouts are present here along with the drums, of course. But the drums take up a couple less semi-tones per hit type, so you lose a small amount of variation in those hits.

There are approximately 7-10 velocity layers for each hit(not counting the vocal shouts, which contain two), and upwards of 10 round robin variations per hit. This is probably the best part of the library because it eliminates almost any possibility of phasing issues and allows for a large amount of variation. The hits never sounded static in any way. No machine gun artifacts were present. Just an enjoyable instrument that you don't have to program around to avoid it's downfalls. To make things even more varied, the mapping of various zones overlap other zones somewhat randomly, essentially giving you more variation depending on which velocity is being struck.

More Toms Of Epic Proportions- Just Smaller Ones…...

The next library, Epic Tom Ensemble Vol. 2, is similar to the first. But this time, the focus is on the "high" tones in the tom family.  647 samples taking up 354MB of space make up this library. The setup isn't much different than Vol. 1, except for different instruments being used. In addition to normal toms, you will find octabans, which are toms with a long tube shape and a smaller head. Roto Toms also make an appearance here, which are toms that kind of look like a snare drum frame without solid walls or a bottom base.

There is an "overall" ensemble set, which seems to include a wide variety of toms playing together, then three more ensemble sets as you go up the keys. These sets get higher in tone and contain seemingly smaller subsets of the first ensemble.  So even though these are all ensemble hits and not individual drums, you essentially have a full four tom "kit". The sound kind of reminds me of the most famous drum riff in history, the drum fill in the Phil Collins classic "In The Air Tonight", but with slightly higher tone. So that should give you a good idea of the sound.

Beyond the tom hits, there are also ensemble rimshot hits and stick clicks(just smashing sticks together basically). These provide a nice top-end variation that compliments the lower instruments quite well. There are no vocal shouts in this collection.

A mod wheel patch is also included for this set, and it does the same thing as with Vol. 1. But since there are no vocal shouts, you get the same wide variation as the non-mod wheel patch.

Once again, there is between 7-9 velocity layers or so, and 10 round robin variations per hit. So there is no loss of detail and variety that you can get in this library. Because of the wider variety of hits in this library, I actually prefer this set over Vol. 1. But put them together, and you have a very solid set of toms that will fill the void in any soundtrack percussion section.

One Man's Trash Is Tonehammer's Pleasure

The last library in this set is possibly the most intriguing. It's the Bamboo Ensemble. Now, apparently Tonehammer found these bamboo poles in the trash and decided to salvage them for sampling. I want to know why my neighbors never throw this kind of stuff away!

So anyways, this set consists of a variety of hollow bamboo poles making all types of sounds that they were probably never intended to make(since, ya know, bamboo was made by the mother of nature herself?). And yes, bamboo poles WERE injured during the recording of this library. Weighing in at 442 samples and 217MB, this may seem like a smaller library than the others. But it's actually the most diverse in sound of the three.

The first patch, and probably my favorite, is the "Clacks and Swooshes" patch. Much of this patch consists of the sounds of these bamboo poles striking each other. These would be the "clacks". Ranging from a tight crack to a lower pitched whack(don't you love technical terms?) and all the way to the sound of two poles as they shatter against each other, these ensembles are quite fun to use.

As with the toms, the hits get looser as you get higher on the keyboard. I imagine that the bamboo poles are actually being destroyed more in each hit as well. Some of the upper hits are even to the point where you can hear pieces crumbling to the ground, and I was even able to use one hit as a form of a shaker due to the dozens of bamboo slivers flying around. With somewhere around 5 velocity layers and 10 round robins, these become highly usable percussion elements.

The "swooshes" part of this patch seems to be made by swinging a bamboo pole extremely quickly and recording the sound of the air as it rushes past the opening, giving a sharp whistle effect. Some swooshes even end in a small impact with whatever happened to be in the way of the pole. Good for use as small stingers and emotional accents, or even a sound effect.

Next, you'll find a series of sounds created by dragging the ends of the bamboo poles against tiled floor. Now, this may seem simple, but this makes up the large majority of this library. And it's like nothing you have heard, I promise you. There are seven patches in all, including several types of sounds characterized as "brassy" and "pad", as well as patches that contain all different sounds.

The sound of bamboo scraping across the floor apparently makes more sounds than I expected. You will find sounds that resemble large majestic brass instruments, all the way down to a mellow and soft pad sound. It's uncanny just how strong some of the brassy sounds are, and they could likely fool a listener into thinking it was a real instrument. You'll find many scrapes that sound like a huge Texas-sized door in desperate need of oil on it's hinges, to a grumbling moan. From the sound of distress in battle to the sound of a large animal crying out for a lost master, these sounds really have the ability to create visuals and fit into a sound effects track. Nowhere near traditional instruments, but highly creative and useful. I just can't state enough how many different sounds are here.

Due to the complete random nature of these sounds, you won't find 10 round robin layers here or many velocities. These are just varied sounds that are perfect stingers and accent pieces. And there are dozens of them. So you are likely to find at least SOMETHING in this set that makes you go "wow, that's cool!", even if you didn't know a bamboo pole could do that.

The sound quality is high in all the libraries. Not too pristine, and with plenty of natural room ambience, these samples have character. A little EQ may be needed here and there, but in all, these are great sounding instruments right out of the box(or a virtualized box-like RAR file, if you will). Not traditional, and even a bit daring, but without losing usefulness.

Libraries Of Three, Let Them Be

It's no wonder why Tonehammer decided to put these three libraries together into a bundle. They just fit. Each library compliments the others without losing the "theme" of exciting and sometimes somber mood settings.

Probably the most rewarding experience with the Composer Bundle #2 is loading a patch from each of the three libraries and just playing. No rearranging or remapping, no editing, just load and play. I loaded the bamboo clacks and swooshes patch along with one each of the tom ensemble patches, and just started mashing notes. Heck, my wife probably believes that I thought I was playing REAL orchestral drums from watching as I threw random patterns and variations at the keyboard.

But you know what? It sounded fantastic. Literally NO effort, and out comes a percussion piece that would blend well behind the most exciting of battle scenes. There was no awkward overlapping of sounds, no phasing, no unwanted masking, but just easily created percussion patterns with multiple layers and elements built right into the patches.

(Audio demo to be posted shortly)

Laying The Tonehammer Down

This bundle isn't exactly a Swiss Army knife of sounds. There is obviously a small and focused set of instruments included, and in the case of the toms, there aren't even any toms recorded by themselves. So this is not an all-in-one type of library for all your soundtrack percussion needs.  Having a few other variations or instruments would have been nice, or even different ensemble sizes, on the tom libraries.

On their own, I feel these individual libraries may leave a bit to be desired due to just how small the variety is(not in terms of sound varieties, but instrument varieties). I won't go so far as to say they are overpriced, but they are much less of a deal when purchased individually. Because of this, I do think that buying the bundle is the absolute best way to go. It evens out the value factor and tips it in the opposite direction in a big way. Even if you don't particularly NEED all three libraries, you'll likely find a use for them all as they fit so well together. And because of the discount calculator, you can switch out instruments as needed or even add more to them.

Regardless, the sounds that ARE included are done quite well. And the results are very pleasing. Sometimes, a library doesn't have to be a 100GB world beater to be effective, and this bundle proves that point. Easy to use, simple, and fast. No tweaking needed, just solid, out of the box sounds that will fit in many different musical contexts.

Welcoming The "New Kid" To The Block

Tonehammer may be a newcomer to the world of sample libraries, but they have jumped in head first and are creating libraries at a blistering pace. If the quality of the Composer Bundle #2 is an indication of the rest of their libraries, then the sampling world is in for a treat. And you don't have to pay any of your much needed extremities to join the party.

The Composer Bundle #2 is a solid offering and shows a good cross section of what Tonehammer is all about. If you're unsure of which library to get, I suggest you try this one first. You'll find usable, and not TOO exotic of instruments that will give you pleasing results with very small amounts of effort.

BRandall