Live drum tracks made to order via the web

You can't beat a real kit being played by a real drummer, says Voxengo.
You can't beat a real kit being played by a real drummer, says Voxengo.

If the thing your latest song is missing is a live drum track, plug-in developer Voxengo might just be able to help you.

However, rather than selling you a new bit of rhythmic software, the company is offering to record a track that's played by a real drummer in its own studio.

Given its history as a plug-in producer, Voxengo is surprisingly dismissive of drum samplers, claiming that "nothing in the computer world can replace a real human drummer feel".

The company believes that: "A realistic drum sound cannot be reproduced by a drum sampler since a drum set 'sounds' as a single complex acoustical instrument: this makes it impossible to recreate such sound by means of discrete sampled drum hits."

"Nothing in the computer world can replace a real human drummer feel."

Voxengo

Those who order a drum track from Voxengo will receive a finalised stereo mix within five days. This can be used 'as is' or be treated with additional processing.

To carry out the service, Voxengo requires a song track (ie, the song minus the drums) and a separate rhythm track for guidance.

The price is $109.95 per song - you can find out more and hear examples of the kind of results you can expect on the Voxengo website.

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.