“As Audified is already well versed in creating amazing audio plug-ins, we didn’t want to pretend to be software engineers, but rather play to our strength in knowing what drummers want and translating that into a product that’s not over-engineered and is easy to use — something that makes music-making more fruitful. We gave Audified a list of ideas and they ran with it, but, before we knew it, we were working on presets and had already established a way to maximise workflow.”
- Scott Donnell, Vice President of Marketing for DW® brands, 2018
BOSKOVICE, CZECH REPUBLIC: audio software and hardware effects developer Audified is proud to deliver DW Drum Enhancer — an aptly-named, all-in-one drum processing plug-in par excellence evolved in close collaboration with DWe (DW Electronics), a acclaimed brand belonging to family-owned American professional drums, pedals, and hardware manufacturer Drum Workshop, Inc. (DW®), designed to enable users to significantly speed up their work with wonderful results workable within seconds, thanks to carefully-crafted combinations of parameters provided by a true doyen of DW® content, Chris Denogean — as of January 22…
Arising as a result of a creative combination of Audified’s tried-and-tested technology and acknowledged DW® know-how, DW Drum Enhancer is billed as being the only drum processing tool that anyone would ever need to get the drum sound of their dreams, designed to process the basic drum sound spectrum. Put it this way: without DW Drum Enhancer, achieving any drum sound worth its weight in (musical) gold almost always necessitated the now-unnecessary utilisation of several different plug-ins to gate, compress, and EQ it to the heart’s content — clearly easier said than done. After all, when all is said and done, we’re talking about having to carefully match levels between the various plug-ins involved in doing so while fine-tuning the overall sound via several simultaneous windows, which is surely something of an audio headache. However, it definitely doesn’t have to be like that, thanks to DW Drum Enhancer.
Easing the drum processing pain by effectively simplifying and streamlining the effects processing chain, DW Drum Enhancer is not simply one effect. Far from it, in fact. For DW Drum Enhancer encompasses several EQs and compressors (including a model of classic solid state compressor circuits) when getting its musical mojo working. When working with DW Drum Enhancer users can choose their desired Drum type settings using the 12-position selector that includes three types of drums (SNARE, KICK, and TOMS), each with three (Modern, Heavy, and Vintage) variations. The remaining three (OTHER) positions are arranged as follows: OH (overheads); Bus, for servicing the whole set (usually in a mixing console group); and Room, intended for processing whole drum kits recorded by two microphones. Meanwhile, each selection automatically applies appropriate settings, such as EQ type, slope, and frequency; Comp (compressor) type, attack, release, and knee shape; noise Gate attack and release, and sidechain filter. Fortunately, this makes for a speedy, straightforward workflow while also allowing for further fine-tuning through the use of easily accessible additional controls courtesy of a stunningly-photorealistic GUI (Graphical User Interface) that’s as easy on the eye as it is easy to use.
Usefully, oval buttons are perfectly positioned at the top of DW Drum Enhancer’s Gate, Comp, and EQ ‘modules’ to turn them on and off. Of course, each module makes several standard controls readily available to the tweaker-happy user, with the exact parameter of whatever is being changed clearly visible in the left-hand display. Gate is armed and ready to remove unwanted audio material below a certain threshold (turning the signal off when only hum or noise is present); Comp limits the dynamic range of the incoming signal (applied once the volume of the incoming signal exceeds the Threshold control setting, while the Mix knob adjusts the parallel mixing level and adjacent Make-up knob compensates for average volume); EQ adjusts the Hi, Mid, and Low frequency amounts (alongside an EQ Position switch to set it before or after the compressor, while HP and LP buttons switch high-pass and lowpass filters on or off).
On top of that, DW Drum Enhancer embraces an advanced model of real valve saturation circuitry. The oval Sat button turns saturation on or off while the big saturation knob adjusts the amount of saturation being applied with higher levels adding harmonics to the incoming signal. Similarly straightforward, specific buttons change the tube circuit, affecting the point at which it kicks in and also its frequency response. The following selections are available: Presence (higher amount of signal on mid-high frequencies to best facilitate cutting through the mix), Vintage (smoother highs and more even harmonics), Brown (an almost flat frequency response with only light high frequency rolloff and higher harmonic punch), White (higher amount of signal on higher frequencies and a balanced ratio between the even and odd harmonics), and LoFi (less low and high frequencies). All add colour, warmth, and sonic character based on Audified’s precise circuit modelling technology. This imbues any drum track with a true-to-life feel and an all-natural analogue sound, without shying away from its side effects — exactly the same as with all Audified plug-ins.
Putting DW Drum Enhancer to work... well, it clearly couldn’t be easier: one click sets up the system, then the dream drum sound-seeker conceivably only needs to think about applying some fine-tuning and gentle saturation to their sound, saving time, insert slots, and CPU (Central Processing Unit) load.
Little wonder, though, that DW Drum Enhancer’s provided presets for almost all occasions are an even speedier, sure-fire way of achieving a dream drum sound since they were professionally prepared to the highest standard in DW®’s dedicated studio by trusty audio engineer Chris Denogean. Duly responsible for almost all DW® content, having also recorded some of the world’s best drummers, DW Drum Enhancer users of all abilities further benefit from his specialised skills since there is no need to search for EQ sweet spots when working with the plug-in as its EQ section has helpfully been carefully crafted in collaboration with the talented DW® engineer, enabling the associated Hi, Mid, and Low frequencies and HP and LP filter behaviour to be dependent on the Drum type selected. Similarly, compressor type, knee, and times are also dependent on the Drum type selected while the tweak-able, intelligent Gate helps remove the unwanted signal from the material being recorded.
Reality reasons, then, that DW Drum Enhancer effectively lives up to its appellation as a time-saving complete drum chain with tube simulation. So, thanks to Audified’s close collaboration with a true doyen of DW® content, achieving a dream drum sound has never been easier — or sounded better... just ask Scott Donnell, Vice President of Marketing for DW®’s umbrella of brands (including DW Drums, Gretsch Drums, DW Electronics, and more)!
Meanwhile, DW Drum Enhancer will be being showcased by both DW® and Audified’s North American distributor, Eleven Dimensions Media, on booths #202A and #15001, respectively, at The 2018 NAMM Show, January 25-28 in Anaheim, California. Come check it out... these are the things that (drumming) dreams are made of!
DW Drum Enhancer is available to purchase at an introductory promo price of $149.00 USD until February 15, 2018 — rising to $199.00 USD thereafter — from Audified’s online shop here: https://shop.audified.com/products/dw-drum-enhancer
DW Drum Enhancer can be directly downloaded as a multi-format (AAX, AU, VST2, VST3), 32- and 64-bit native plug-in for MacOS (10.9 and above) and Windows (7 and above) — alongside a fully-functional, 30-day trial version — from Audified here: https://services.audified.com/download
For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated DW Drum Enhancer webpage here: https://shop.audified.com/products/dw-drum-enhancer
DW Drum Enhancer can be seen and heard in this informative introductory video here: https://youtu.be/CRjKxf8ummU
