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Product review: SSD 4.0 THE OLD STEVEN Slate Drums had a cult following, despite the fact that it needed Native Instruments’ Kontakt as a host. The latest incarnation, Steven Slate Drums 4.0 Platinum, has moved away from the NI host with the development of a new player, SSD Player. However, it still requires a DAW or host programme, and I tested it with Reaper and the free VSTHost offering.
What’s in the box
Firstly, for me, there was no box. Instead there was a 9GB download (thankfully broken into multiple packages) and a fairly painless install and registration process. My download was one of the first after the project had been finalised and, to the company’s credit, there were reassurances that there would be updates and new content. True to their word, the updates have been timely and effective in ironing out bugs and improving the performance and playing experience. This review is based on the v1.093 build.
digitalDRUMMER, AUGUST 2012
Layout and configuration
The basic kit has 12 pieces: a kick, a snare, four toms, hi-hat, ride, two crashes, a china and splash cymbal. Not all the kits use all the pieces, but one can add sounds to the unused drums or cymbals as required. The SSD4 screen layout is different to the mainstream competitors, with the kit list in an upper pane and the kit image in the bottom pane.
The listing is logically arranged in rough genres – like rock, vintage, jazz, etc. One strange deviation is the inclusion of revamped versions of older Slate kits under the “SSD Classic” classification – a topic we’ll revisit a little later. The kit selections occur in the Construct Kit tab.
Next, there’s an Edit Instrument tab which reveals a range of instrument tweaking options from attack and sustain to volume, tuning and panning. You can audition the individual kit pieces and their articulations at a click of the mouse. 37