Toontrack SDX: Drumopolis

Welcome To Kit City

Eight kits recorded by legendary producer Tony Visconti.

Few producers have resonated through music history quite like Tony Visconti.

Not only has he pushed sonic boundaries and rejuvenated the sound of rock, he's created mold-breaking milestones of musical art throughout a career spanning nearly six decades.

From seminal albums with iconic artists like David Bowie, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy to multiple Grammy wins and a Music Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Contribution, Visconti's influence speaks for itself - etched into the very fabric of music as we know it.

For this SDX, he took his fearless approach and unending curiosity to London's legendary Metropolis Studios.

Flanked by his choice-drummer - UK session stalwart Stephen Gilchrist (The Damned, Cardiacs, Graham

Coxon) and engineer Liam Nolan (Adele, Rihanna, Drake, Stormzy) - he oversaw recordings of eight kits, all sourced to pinpoint some of the most iconic stops along the way of his extraordinary career.

Two distinct Studio A environments were captured: the spacious main room and the tighter, damped iso booth.

In the main room, lively, edgy kits representing Visconti's Bowie-era work were recorded while in the booth, grittier sounds more in the style of Thin Lizzy and T. Rex were sought.

In both rooms, a broad range of ambiences and extra mics were recorded, giving you optional tonal flavors to use when shaping your mixes.

To top it off, the natural reverb in the adjacent stone room was captured using a stereo ribbon mic, giving you another organic layer to work with for all kits.

Altogether, this will give you kits covering eight different facets of rock - from the loud and open to the tight and gritty.

Be it for glam, classic, alternative, art, prog or beyond, you're covered.

In addition to the sounds, a broad selection of presets engineered by Tony Visconti himself as well as a MIDI library of grooves and fills by Stephen Gilchrist are included - all inspired by the different eras and work that has made Visconti the legend that he is.

The Drumopolis SDX is Tony Visconti's legacy in drum form - captured with detail, depth and an unmistakable passion for drums.

Features

• Produced by Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex, Thin Lizzy), legendary and Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer/mixer
• Engineered by Liam Nolan (Adele, Rihanna, Drake, Stormzy)
• Recorded in two different rooms at the iconic Metropolis Studios in London, UK
• Sampled by drummer Stephen Gilchrist (The Damned, Cardiacs, Graham Coxon)
• Eight complete drum kits, including a total of 11 kicks, 13 snares, 34 toms, 22 cymbals and 4 sets of hi-hats

About Tony Visconti

One of the most defining producers and sonic visionaries of our time.

Tony Visconti is one of the true musical architects of our time - a producer, arranger and sonic visionary whose work has defined every era of musical evolution since the late 1960s.

From shaping the glam revolution and pushing the sonic boundaries of art-rock to fearlessly merging classic ideas with cutting-edge production, his audio-visionary mind, sharp ear and uncanny attention to detail have proven one thing again and again: great music isn't just captured - it's crafted.

For more than six decades, Visconti has turned studios into instruments, performances into defining moments and everything he's touched into bold, audacious art.

The Studio

Tucked away between the brick-lined streets of West London's Chiswick district, an unassuming building hides one of Europe's most iconic recording hotspots: Metropolis Studios.

Since its formative years in the late 1980s, landmark records like Queen's "Innuendo" and Adele's "25" have been crafted within its walls.

Over the years, artists such as The Rolling Stones, U2, Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Harry Styles, Rihanna, Jay-Z and many more have all passed through its doors.

In every sense, it's hallowed ground for hit records.

Combined with perfectly crafted acoustics for drums, the Studio A SSL 9072 J Series console and a mic locker covering every conceivable need, Metropolis was the perfect choice for this project.

Studio A

Spanning 80 square meters with a soaring ceiling, the room delivers an open, natural and expansive ambience - perfect for bold rock drums.

Together with Visconti's carefully placed gobos to rein in the close mics and overheads, it provides a remarkably versatile foundation for anything from wide and explosive to focused and tight.

Studio A Iso

This sealed-off 15-square-meter space sits just next to the control room.

Here, Visconti surrounded the kit with baffles to further dampen the already dry acoustics.

To create extra width and space, the doors leading into the main room were left open, with several ambience mics placed there - adding a third dimension of natural reverb.

Stone Room

No kits were recorded in this space, but a stereo ribbon room mic was set up to capture the unique reverb created as the drums bounced off the surfaces of the stone walls.

A great layer of natural ambience to blend in when mixing.