A 3D box on the left depicting a hand drawing of a drumset, on the right is plugin's GUI.

HANDY DRUMS- STUDIO STANDARD V2.0

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In partnership with AVID, GoranGrooves brings you Handy Drums STUDIO STANDARD – the simplest solution for including realistic-sounding drums into your music production! Our best-selling VI drums feature the sought-after Yamaha Maple Custom drums, known for their warm and punchy sound that captures the essence of recording studio character.

 

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a beginner, the Studio Standard is an excellent kit for contemporary music styles. It’s an all-rounder suitable for any genre you’re working on. The sound of these drums is “close up” with crispy presence and short sustain, giving you a clear and focused sound that sits flawlessly in your mix.

 

The snare is snappy and deep with a real sizzly snare wire character that cuts through the mix. The kick is weighty, short, and punches through the speakers, providing a solid foundation for your beats. The toms have a clear note and a fast release, making them ideal for those big hits.

 

The hi-hats and cymbals are equally impressive, with plenty of presence that blends seamlessly with the rest of the drums. With the Studio Standard, you’ll get an immaculate sound balance, ensuring your tracks sound polished and professional.

 

A full suite of GM-mapped percussion will allow you to additional groove layers for even more color and musical variety.

 

If you’re looking for a “Swiss army knife” kind of drum kit, then the STUDIO STANDARD, with its full suite of acoustic percussion, is an exceptional choice.

VARIETY OF FORMATS

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

Handy Drums run on Windows 7+, come in dual binary for MacOS and can be run natively on systems equipped with either Intel or Apple silicon chips.

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

Create music with great-sounding drums in minutes, not hours!

 

We invested countless hours painstakingly editing and carefully mixing drums from multitrack recordings so you don’t have to.

 

Our drum samples were carefully blended to recreate the true stereo image and ambiance as it was in the recording room. This gives you natural-sounding drums that immediately sit well inside your mix and allows you to style them to taste by adding additional effects such as reverb.

 

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.

Load the Handy Drums Studio Standard plugin, browse to a favorite MIDI drum beat, drag it into Pro Tools, and you’re on your way to a killer groove!

 

We did the heavy lifting for you—an awesome drum sound right out of the box. You are free to focus on the musical aspects of the drum track.

 

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.
SOUND ON SOUND

IMMACULATELY-SAMPLED ACOUSTIC DRUMS, CYMBALS & PERCUSSION

Every step of the sampling process is critical to achieving larger-than-life yet completely natural-sounding drums. Starting with the drum and skin selection and tuning, room, mic selection and placement, the instrument goes through a whole process before even a single note gets played.

 

All our instruments are captured using the highest-quality mics, preamps, and converters to preserve every detail.

Earthworks microphone recording overhead O/H drums

CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED DRUM SAMPLES

award icon with blurry beat buddy pedal in the background

Drum sounds behind the hit drum machine are finally here for Pro Tools!

 

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

 

The revered drum sounds that have made the little drummer pedal such a hit with live performers are now available in their expanded versions for your studio production.

Computer Music Innovation Award to Handy Drums plugins by GoranGrooves

The Studio Standard would make for an obvious first choice on two fronts. First, it sounds great, but is neutral enough to suit a very wide range of musical styles. Second, it includes an impressive range of additional percussion.

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SOUND ON SOUND

A veritable platter of beefy drum kits and vibrant percussion instruments that are ready and eager to slot themselves into your musical world, the Handy Drums series is a no-brainer for those who need a solid rhythm section – no questions asked.

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COMPUTER MUSIC

A quick and reliable way to get studio-quality drums in your song.

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RECORDING MAGAZINE

Handy Drums – Perhaps The Simplest Drum VI Around

PRODUCTION EXPERT

USERS WHO HAVE ALREADY REDEEMED THE OFFER SAY THIS:

3RD PARTY SAMPLERS NOT REQUIRED

The wonderful thing about the STUDIO STANDARD plugin is that no additional samplers are needed to run it. How cool is that?

 

All Handy Drums plugins are self-contained and come with multiple powerful samplers built-in. Load them like any standard AAX virtual instrument or a stand-alone app.

 

Everything gets installed and configured at once so you can be grooving 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

FEATURES

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 Studio Standard does not require a complicated manual to use. It’s super intuitive, but behind the simple interface lies an elaborate design of over 100 samplers and smart algorithms that power your seamless experience.

 

Access all of the essential functions intuitively.

 

Simple and immediate UI saves time.
COMPUTER MUSIC

ULTRA-REALISTIC DRUMS & PERCUSSION

The sound so natural; you can almost touch them.

 

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

 

We achieved realism by recording the full width of acoustic drums and their natural ambiance, 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

INCLUDED DRUM ELEMENTS

kick

snare drum icon

snare

tenor snare drum icon

synth snare

hats

left rack tom icon

tom 1

right rack tom icon

tom 2

floor tom icon

tom 3

floor tom icon

tom 4

ride

crashes

china

splashes

BONUS: FULL GM-MAPPED PERCUSSION

bongos

congas

timbales icon

timbales

agogo

cabasa

maracas

whistle

guiro

clave

blocks

quica

castañets

snaps

claps

tambourine icon

tamb.

cowbell

shaker icon

shaker

triangle instrument icon

triangle

click

For full drum mapping, see Studio Standard Drum Map.

NEW IN V2.0: INTEGRATED MIDI LOOP PREVIEWER

Effortlessly browse through all MIDI drum loops on your computer, audition them, and import them into Pro Tools by way of drag-n-drop.

 

To get you going quickly, we have included a selection of MIDI drum loops, immediately accessible from within this browser.

 

Save your most accessed MIDI folders or favorite loops in the included Favorites section for instant access at any time.

 

And any Handy Grooves MIDI packs you purchase and install will show here by default.

 

Learn more about the MIDI Loop Browser.

ADVANCED DRUM MAPPING

Map Handy Drums Studio Standard just the way you like, quickly and effortlessly, then use the Preset Manager to save your mapping for future use.

 

Select a note for any available instrument, or start with a blank slate and use our “strike-to-learn-note” mapping to assign any key on your MIDI controller to an instrument.

 

NEW IN V2.0: Take advantage of the additional “blank” mapping to assign several keys to a single instrument sound, which is great for keyboardists looking to play drum rolls.

 

Read more about drum mapping in Handy Drums.

NEW IN V2.0: DYNAMIC AUDITION PADS FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS

No guessing on what each drum, cymbal or percussion instrument sounds like!

 

Hover over any instrument name on the Key-Mapping/ Pitch-Tuning panel, and magic happens: dynamic audition pads are revealed, allowing you to trigger any available sound in its full dynamic range and articulations.

 

As you press the pads from left to right, the sounds are triggered at velocities from 1-127.

 

Learn more about the drum pads.

VARIABLE HI-HATS

We pride Handy Drums as being the most practical virtual drums on the market, and our variable hats are one of those features that sets us apart from everyone else.

 

Handy Drums’s variable hi-hats utilize sampled hats from tightly closed to 100% open for both tip and edge sounds. 

 

Despite these 12 types of articulations, full dynamic ranges, and numerous round robins, Handy Drums are the only VI allowing you to seamlessly switch from one to another using only TWO notes and a CC4 controller!

 

We made major improvements to our variable hats in v2.0 so they play, feel, and sound as close to the real thing as possible.

 

NEW IN V2.0: Play variable hats with any regular GM drum loop.

 

NEW IN V2.0: For e-drummers, play variable hats with either dual-zone or single-zone pad, as long as your foot controller sends CC4 messages. Play hat foot splashes as you would on an acoustic kit.

 

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

 

Find out more about our variable hats.

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

NEW in V2.0: PITCH TUNING FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS

Tweak the pitch of individual drum components right inside the plugin. This is useful when you want to match the key of a song, which is usually not more than a semitone away.

 

Learn more about the pitch-tuning.

NEW IN V2.0: E-DRUMMER MODE

While we initially focused on non-drummers when creating Handy Drums, much of our focus for v2.0 has been dedicated to features relevant to drummers playing electronic kits.

 

With a simple switch, Handy Drums will be specifically tailored to e-drummers:

 

  • The snare drum is split into head-on D1 and rimshot on E1
  • You can trigger hi-hat foot splashes in the same way you would on an acoustic kit
  • You can use either a dual-zone or single-zone hi-hat pad to play the variable hats as long as your hat foot controller sends CC4 messages.
  • Our variable hats respond like the real thing with natural hi-hat chokes, producing different sounds depending on whether you close the pedal slowly or quickly.

 

Learn more about the e-drummer mode.

Behind the electronic v-drums kit.

MULTIPLE PLUGIN OUTPUTS X16

Use your favorite compressor, reverb, EQ, tape simulator, or other plugin effects to manipulate Handy Drums’ individual components further. Output each drum component to any of the available 16 stereo subgroups and independently process them.

 

Read more about the multiple plugin outputs.

PRESET MANAGER

Save and recall the entire plugin’s state at any point by using the Preset Manager.

 

This is particularly handy for creating custom drum maps.

 

Learn more about the preset manager.

NEW IN V2.0: LOAD SAMPLES ON DEMAND

A lightning strike with handy drums within it.

Initiate the Handy Drums plugin or standalone app quickly and keep the memory overhead to a minimum by differing the sample loading until needed.

 

Starting with v2.0, the Handy Drums samples are instantly loaded into the memory only when played. That means that you can run several Handy Drums plugin instances, and only the samples utilized are ever loaded.

 

If you wish to load the entire sample library, you can do so with a simple switch. Even so, only portions of the highly optimized sample library format are loaded into the memory, with the rest being read straight from the disk.

 

Learn more about the sample loading modes.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

INTEGRATED MIXER

The mixer takes center stage in Handy Drums and gives you immediate access to essential controls.

 

Quickly preview included components to make sure everything is in working order using the audition buttons on top of each instrument group.

 

NEW in V2.0:

View mute, solo, and panning states of all channels at a glance. Unmute and un-solo all channels at once.

 

Pan instruments, swap left and right channels, or turn them mono with a simple switch.

 

Additional popup mixers give you access to individual components of complex instruments, such as hi-hats.

 

Get all the details on the mixer here.

MULTIPLE DYNAMIC LEVELS

Each drum and cymbal was sampled at a number of dynamic levels to ensure the instrument’s fullest dynamic range when played back. Handy Drums Studio Standard contains up to 10 real recorded dynamic levels.

 

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 / “RANDOM” ROBIN

Up to 13 samples per dynamic level

 

A human ear can intuitively tell the difference between the same snare sample repeated over and over again and a real drummer playing it. When a drummer strikes a drum, each sub-sequential stroke is ever so slightly different from the one before, no matter how consistently they are played.

 

To solve this, we sampled each drum and cymbal numerous times at various dynamic levels. Then, during playback, no sample is repeated sequentially, but a different sample is triggered. Depending on the instrument, some internal samplers will play the available samples at random, while others will be played in a “round robin” fashion.

 

Every instrument has a round/random robin independent from other instruments.

 

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

24-BIT SAMPLE DEPTH

icon showing 24 bit audio recording graph

While recorded at 24-bit depth and mixed at 32-floating point, our sample libraries are provided in a special, highly memory-optimized HLAC format, preserving the full resolution at a much smaller footprint.

 

The result is the sample library that sounds great while taking less space on your disk and loading instantly into your memory.

LEARN/ ASSIGN MIDI CC

Assign any MIDI CC controller to a number of relevant controls on Handy Drums, such as volume faders, panners, mute buttons, and more.

 

It is as simple as right-clicking, selecting “Learn MIDI CC,” and then moving a fader or a knob on your hardware MIDI controller for instant pairing. Save your settings in the Preset Manager for future use.

 

Learn more about the assign/ learn MIDI CC functionality.

RESIZABLE GUI

A smaller GUI of Handy Drums on top of larger transparent GUI with arrows depicting it can be resized

Make the high-definition interface as large or as small as you need to suit your computer monitor best.

 

Handy Drums GUI is now fully vectorized so that it will look pixel-perfect at any resolution and zoom level.

CPU AND MEMORY EFFICIENT

Handy Drums have an exceptionally small CPU and memory footprint. Because we have gotten away from unnecessary effects, your computer will run them without breaking a sweat.

 

Go ahead and load several Handy Drums plugins with no problem.

MEET THE DRUMMER PRODUCER- GORAN RISTA

Meet the drummer producer Goran Rista

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

 

He has produced dozens of virtual drum and percussion 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 100k musicians and producers in both live and recording settings.

 

Read more here.