Handy Drums- STUDIO LEGEND v2

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Original price was: $60.00.Current price is: $39.00.

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.

 

For BeatBuddy users:

This product also includes .DRM format compatible with BeatBuddy, which comes with dedicated Windows and MacOS installers that will install the BeatBuddy drumset directly on your SD card, adding it to your existing project in seconds.

 

Also available is the Studio Legend drumset for BeatBuddy version only.

Type: Virtual Instruments

Size: 703MB

Producer:

 Goran Rista

Format: VST/AU/AAX/Standalone/DRM

Genre: NEW WAVE, GENERAL, POP, ROCK, JAZZ, BLUES, COUNTRY

Platform:

Windows icon (Win 7+),  Apple icon (MacOS 10.11+, dual binary), BeatBuddy

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.

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

IMMACULATELY-SAMPLED ACOUSTIC DRUMS, CYMBALS & PERCUSSION

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.

Earthworks microphone recording overhead O/H drums
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.

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COMPUTER MUSIC

How Does it Sound? In a word, fantastic!
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

VERIFIED CUSTOMER REVIEWS

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/AAX 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

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 do not require a complicated manual to use. An elaborate design of over 100 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

ULTRA-REALISTIC DRUMS & PERCUSSION

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

INCLUDED DRUM ELEMENTS

kick

snare drum icon

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

splashes

BONUS: PERCUSSION

tambourine icon

tamb.

shaker icon

shakers

cowbell

triangle instrument icon

triangle

snaps

claps

click

For detailed drum mapping, see GoranGrooves 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 your DAW 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 Legend 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

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.

The variable Hi-hats alone contain over 700 samples!

 

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.
  • Choose between a dual zone (default) ride cymbal pad or a single zone pad to play both bow and bell sounds separated by velocity threshold.

 

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.

VARIETY OF FORMATS

windows icon
Virtual Sampled Drums Compatible with MAC OS icon
icon-M1
icon-M2
64 bit DAW plugin icon
Icon for standalone apps for PC and Mac
VST2 icon: Virtual Sampled Drums available in VST format
AAX format for Pro Tools, icon
VST3 icon: Virtual Sampled Drums available in VST format icon
Audio Units icon: Virtual Sampled Drums available in Audio Units format icon

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.

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

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 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 / “RANDOM” 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. 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 out of Miami, FL, and founder of GoranGrooves.com.

 

Over two dozen virtual drum instruments consisting of thousands of drum samples and over 13,000 midi drum beats and drum fills, make him one of the world's most prolific drum loop producers.

 

Goran's drum set libraries and drum loops are used by well over 250k performing musicians and studio producers worldwide.

 

Curious to find out more?

Ready to get grooving?

Original price was: $60.00.Current price is: $39.00.