Handy Drums- STUDIO LEGEND

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Looking for a versatile drumset like the ones used on some of the best-selling records from the ’70s, ’80s, and up to current times? Look no further than Handy Drums STUDIO LEGEND. This virtual instrument samples the iconic Yamaha Recording Custom (aka 9000) that has been used in countless hit songs over the years.

 

The STUDIO LEGEND drumset is incredibly punchy, warm, and full-bodied with a short sustain, so it gets out of the way quickly. Its medium ambiance is halfway between our Studio Standard and Rock Standard drumsets, making it ideal for a wide range of music styles, from Pop and Rock to Country, Blues, and even Jazz.

 

The set sampled here is similar to the one Dave Weckl played in the ’80s and ’90s, but it has been upgraded with a RIMS mounting system for the toms. This results in the fullest tone, fatness, and sustain that isn’t achievable with the original mounting system. For this sampling session, the drumset was fitted with drum heads that produce a deep, warm sound with plenty of attack but with short sustain. This provides all the presence and body while quickly getting out of the way.

 

The snare drum in the STUDIO LEGEND drumset is a custom GoranGrooves maple drum with wooden hoops built about a decade ago. This drum adds a unique and distinctive sound to the set, making it stand out from other virtual drumsets on the market.

 

The STUDIO LEGEND drumset was recorded at full dynamic range using a collection of high-definition mics from Earthworks, Focusrite ISA828 preamps, and Lynx Aurora N converters. This ensures that you get the most authentic and realistic drum sounds possible, with every nuance and detail captured in stunning clarity.

 

Whether you’re a professional producer or a home recording enthusiast, the STUDIO LEGEND drumset is the perfect choice for adding that iconic Yamaha Recording Custom sound to your music. Order now and experience the legendary sound of the STUDIO LEGEND drumset for yourself.

 

History Of Yamaha Recording Custom

Launching the ‘9000’ professional line of drumsets in the mid-’70s, Yamaha created a new standard that quickly became highly sought after by pro drummers and producers alike. The series was later renamed Yamaha Recording Custom.

 

Legendary drummer, Steve Gadd, who was involved in its design, helped make it famous. Along with other great session drummers by the likes of Jeff Porcaro, John JR Robinson, and Vinnie Colaiuta, they helped solidify its staple as one of the most recorded drumsets in history by playing it on countless recordings throughout the ’70s and ’80s.

 

This product is included in the Producer Collection plugin bundle.

Type: Virtual Instruments

Size: 703MB

Producer:

 Goran Rista

Format: VST/AU/AAX/Standalone

Genre: GENERAL, POP, FUNK, BLUES, LATIN, COUNTRY, R&B, FOLK

Platform:

(Win 7+)  (MacOS 10.11+, dual binary)

When the budget is tight, but you need realistic-sounding, professional-quality drum tracks for your project, Handy Drums are here for you.

With stunning drum sound, mix-ready right out of the box, Handy Drums are the most practical, professional virtual drum instruments for your recording project.

PRE-MIXED, READY-TO-USE STUDIO DRUMS

Get that legendary sound at your fingertips without spending a century studying and replicating the drumming and engineering greats that made those drums so famous.

 

We poured in our knowledge and years of experience carefully setting up recording sessions to sample and bring you these authentic sounds in a handy, ready-to-use package. 

 

With just the right blend of close mics, overheads, and room mics, expertly sculpted for a full, punchy, natural-sounding drum set, it will sit right into your mix!

 

Every kit and percussion setup has a very balanced sound–not too hyped and not too dry.
RECORDING MAGAZINE

 

Brilliantly recorded, mix-ready kits.
COMPUTER MUSIC

 

Without exception, the kits sound really good; this is mix‑ready stuff with a minimum of fuss.
SOUND ON SOUND

EASY TO USE AND MANIPULATE

Laptop computer screen in the background with Handy Drums plugin on display, with a steaming cup of coffee in the foreground.

EASY TO USE AND MANIPULATE

It’s as easy as loading the Studio Legend plug-in, sending your favorite midi groove to it, and being ready in a few minutes. We did the time-consuming work to get you a finished drum sound right out of the box. You are free to focus on the musical aspects of your track.

 

The intuitive interface still allows for plenty of tweaks to suit your taste.

 

Handy Drums reminds a bit of the Drummer VST baked into Apple Logic Pro. Namely, there is a similar simplicity and immediacy to the results.
RECORDING MAGAZINE

 

I could easily imagine a Handy Drums instrument making a no‑fuss sound module, whether in the studio or live.
– John Walden, SOUND ON SOUND

CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED DRUM SOUND

award icon with blurry beat buddy pedal in the background

Drum sounds behind the hit drum machine are here for your DAW!

 

Goran Rista, the producer of Handy Drums, used the same recording and production techniques he did for BeatBuddy’s original drumsets, an award-winning, best-selling drum machine.

 

The revered drum sounds that have made the BeatBuddy such a hit with live performers are now available in their expanded versions for your recording needs.

award icon with blurry beat buddy pedal in the background
Computer Music Innovation Award to Handy Drums plugins by GoranGrooves

I have to say that I’m impressed by the core drum sounds…
In summary, great value, great sounds, and great usability.

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SOUND ON SOUND

For those needing pro drums, quickly and painlessly
– the Handy Drums range delivers in spades.

        

COMPUTER MUSIC

How Does it Sound? In a word, fantastic!
A quick and reliable way to get studio-quality drums in your song.

        

RECORDING MAGAZINE

Handy Drums – Perhaps The Simplest Drum VI Around

PRODUCTION EXPERT

VERIFIED CUSTOMER REVIEWS

UNBEATABLE VALUE

UNBEATABLE VALUE

Why should the best sounding drums be available only to those with large budgets? We believe that if you have the talent, you should have access to the best sounding drums and let your musical creativity make the difference.

 

These virtual drum instruments are the best value you’ll find anywhere.

 

they are an absolute steal given just how good they sound.
SOUND ON SOUND

3RD PARTY SAMPLERS NOT REQUIRED

Handy Drums are a one stop shop for all your virtual drumming requirements. No need for: extra samplers, compatibility issues with 3rd party samplers, dealing with complex updates and/or sound banks to name but a few.

 

Handy Drums are are self-contained and come with multiple powerful samplers already built-in. Load them like any standard VST/AU plugin or a stand-alone app.

 

Be up and running in a few minutes.

Kontakt sampler crossed out not used
EXS24 sampler crossed out not used
HALion sampler crossed out not used
MACHFIVE Sampler crossed out

You don’t need any additional sampler to load Handy Drums. They are self-contained and come with multiple powerful samplers built-in. Load them like any standard VST/AU plugin or a stand-alone app.

 

Be up and running in mere minutes.

PERFECT COMPANIONS- HANDY GROOVES

Use them as they are or as a starting point for your own grooves.

 

Why not try one of our Handy GROOVES, MIDI drum loop packages for an instant WOW?

 

Produced by world-class drummer/engineers to bring you authentic timing, feel, and dynamics tailored to work specifically with Handy Drums plugins.

 

Handy Drums and Handy Grooves is a perfect pairing for the singer-songwriter, musician, or producer who wants to get a professional-sounding drum track up and grooving.
RECORDING MAGAZINE

 

Unless you are a dab hand at programming your own drum parts, these are a great complement to the instruments themselves.
SOUND ON SOUND

FEATURES

PRACTICAL, INTUITIVE, EASY-TO-USE INTERFACE

PRACTICAL, INTUITIVE, EASY-TO-USE INTERFACE

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 

Handy Drums do not require a complicated manual to use. An elaborate design of over 50 samplers and smart algorithms work behind the simple user interface to provide a seamless experience.

 

Access all of the essential functions intuitively.

 

Simple and immediate UI saves time.
COMPUTER MUSIC

MULTIPLE DYNAMIC LEVELS

Each drum and cymbal was sampled at numerous dynamic levels to ensure the instrument’s fullest dynamic range when played back. Handy Drums Studio Legend contains up to 12 dynamic levels per instrument!

 

The samples respond accordingly with a very realistic sound and response.
RECORDING MAGAZINE

 

Throughout our tests, we never noticed any clipping or struggling to keep pace with our shifting tempo, even when aggressively swinging between extreme bpm and more leisurely paced plods.
COMPUTER MUSIC

ROUND ROBIN

ROUND ROBIN

Up to 10 samples per dynamic level

 

No human plays subsequent drum hits identically regardless of how great a musician they are.  This is one of the things that makes it sound so beautiful and real to our ears. The constant change is intrinsic to a realistic drum sound

 

That is why in Handy Drums each drum and cymbal have been sampled numerous times at every dynamic level! During playback, no sample is repeated sequentially, but a different sample is triggered.

 

This culminates in the impression of a drummer hitting each drum with minor variations each time. Something many other ‘realistic’ VIs never quite nail.
COMPUTER MUSIC

24BIT SAMPLES

icon showing 24 bit audio recording graph

All Handy Drums samples come in 24bit wav format for the ultimate resolution and sound quality.

icon showing 24 bit audio recording graph

IMMACULATELY-SAMPLED ACOUSTIC DRUMS

Earthworks microphone recording overhead O/H drums

IMMACULATELY-SAMPLED ACOUSTIC DRUMS

To achieve larger-than-life yet completely natural-sounding drums, every step of the sampling process is just as important. We paid close attention to every detail such as: skin selection, tuning, placement, room, mic choice and placement to name but a few. 

 

They are captured using the highest-quality mics, pre-amps, and converters to preserve every little detail.

UNPARALLELED REALISM FROM VIRTUAL DRUMS

Drum set with kick drum sticking out from computer screen

Sound so natural; you can almost touch them!

 

Handy Drums sound like an actual drum set being played right in front of you in a room instead of a bunch of individual components sounding in their own isolated spaces. 

 

We achieved realism by recording full depth and width of acoustic drums and their natural ambience, then meticulously edited and mixed them in the post-production.

 

The sound is very much like you are listening to the drums within a beautifully treated, compact studio room.
SOUND ON SOUND

Drum set with kick drum sticking out from computer screen

VARIETY OF FORMATS

windows icon
Virtual Sampled Drums Compatible with MAC OS icon
icon-M1
icon-M2
VST3 icon: Virtual Sampled Drums available in VST format icon
Audio Units icon: Virtual Sampled Drums available in Audio Units format icon
AAX format for Pro Tools, icon
64 bit DAW plugin icon
Icon for standalone apps for PC and Mac

Handy Drums are compatible with all DAWs that support virtual instrument plugins in either VST2, VST3, AU, AAX.

They are available in 64bit for both Windows and MacOS. They come in dual binary for MacOS and can be run natively on systems equipped with either Intel or Apple silicon chips.

INCLUDED DRUM ELEMENTS

kick icon

kick

snare icon

snare

hats icon

hats

tom 1 icon

tom 1

tom 2 icon

tom 2

tom 3 icon

tom 3

tom 4

tom 4

ride icon

ride

crashes icon

crashes

splashes cymbal icon

splashes

handclaps icon

claps

tambourine icon

tamb.

cowbell square icon

cowbell

shaker icon

shaker

triangle icon

triangle

Finger snaps icon

snaps

Metronome / click icon

click

For a detailed drum mapping, see GoranGrooves Standard Drum Map.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONALITIES

MIXER

MIXER

While Handy Drums come pre-leveled as they would naturally occur in an acoustic environment, you still have an option to tweak and automate individual drum components to suit your mix. More kick or snare? No problem.

Adjustable Drum Mapping

Drum mapping for Handy Drums showing notes assigned to each component in sampler

Handy Drums conform to GM drum mapping wherever possible. Drop-in any standard midi drum loop onto your DAW timeline to hear instant results. Easily match the mapping of Handy Drums to any custom midi drum loop.

Drum mapping for Handy Drums showing notes assigned to each component in sampler

MULTIPLE OUTPUTS

MULTIPLE OUTPUTS

Use your favourite compressor, tape sim, reverb, EQ, phaser or other FX plugins to further manipulate Handy Drums’ individual components. Output each drum component to any of the available eight stereo subgroups and independently process them.

Variable Hi-hats

Variable Hi Hats- What Are They And How To Utilize Them Within Handy Drums?

An acoustic hi-hat is a complex instrument in its own right. Studio Legend’s variable hi-hats utilize the full range of sampled hats from tightly closed to closed, 25% open, 50% open, 75% open, and 100% open, for both edge and tip sounds. 

 

Despite these 12 types of articulations, multiple dynamic ranges, and round robins, you can seamlessly switch from one to another using only TWO notes and a CC4 controller.

 

This approach streamlines something that was previously more of a time sink of assigning notes to each articulation.
COMPUTER MUSIC

 

…the hi‑hat mapping is nicely done, providing plenty of control over the degree of closed/open status of the cymbals.
SOUND ON SOUND

 

The variable Hi-hats alone contain over 700 samples!

 

In addition to variable hats, standard open/close/foot hats are also included for better compatibility with GM drum loops. As a bonus, included is foot splash hi-hat articulation on B1.

Variable Hi Hats- What Are They And How To Utilize Them Within Handy Drums?

Adjustable CC4 curve (variable hats foot controller)

Adjustable CC4 curve (variable hats foot controller)

Using Handy Drums with electronic kits is just as easy and pleasurable. You can even adjust your hi-hat foot controller curve which is particularly beneficial for drum modules that do not output the full MIDI value range from 1-127.

BONUS PERCUSSION

The STUDIO LEGEND comes with several bonus percussion instruments and their dedicated mixer tab, for additional colors and better compatibility with the rest of the Handy Drums plugins range.

 

The following percussion elements are included:

handclaps, fingersnaps, tambourine, cowbell, shaker, triangle, and metronome sounds.

Audition Buttons

Audition Buttons

Audition each drum component quickly by clicking on the icons. (Note that they will play at random velocities so click away)

Resizable GUI

Studio Legend GU resizeable interface explained with arrows

The high-definition interface can be adjusted to be as large or as small as you need to suit your computer monitor best.

Studio Legend GU resizeable interface explained with arrows

PERFECT FOR DRUM REPLACEMENT

Graphic showing extracting hitpoints to create a midi loop and output to virtual drum instrument

PERFECT FOR DRUM REPLACEMENT

Sometimes it may become necessary to replace drum sounds of an already recorded acoustic drum track in order to meet the needs of a particular track. (Maybe you have a great drum take but someone knocked over a mic or two during recording and now you have a problem)

 

Drum replacement to the rescue!

 

This sampled drum instrument makes for an ideal drum replacement contender. If your DAW can extract transients from an audio recording, it is a simple task to create a MIDI track from it and rout it to Handy Drums instrument. Instant punch and presence!

 

Alternatively, you can use a dedicated drum replacement tool such as appTrigga3.

MEET THE DRUMMER PRODUCER- GORAN RISTA

Meet the drummer producer Goran Rista

Goran Rista is a professional session drummer and producer based out of Miami, FL, and founder of GoranGrooves.com.

 

He has produced over 25 virtual drum instruments, and over 13,000 midi drum beats and drum fills, making him one of the world’s most prolific drum loop producers.

 

Goran’s drum set libraries and drum loops are used by over 85,000 musicians and producers in both live and recording settings.

 

Read more here.

Meet the drummer producer Goran Rista

Ready to get grooving?

$35.00