Sounds Expo06: Guru Drum Machine Plug Gets a Workout

Featuring 8 separate drum machine engines in each instance, dedicated FX, filters and super-fast file browsing for loading of your own or 3GB of included sounds, Guru is very much a real-time experience and will appeal to those who remember working with a real hardware drum box - and those who don't.

We hooked up with FXpansion's Angus Hewlett - one of the coders of Guru for a tour of what it could do - check the video.

Features
8 Engines, each comprising:
• - 16 MIDI-triggered Sample Pads
• - Powerful step-sequencer with 24 MIDI-triggered Patterns of up to 128 steps
• - Three Aux effect slots
• - Insert effects slot

Comprehensive Sample Pad Editor offering individual control of the following for each Pad:

• - Gain, pan, tuning, resonant filtering (blendable between LP/BP/HP), start/end points
• - Amp/FX envelopes
• - 8 layers (with optional velocity split and crossfades)
• - Cut groups (choke groups)
• - 3 Aux sends and an effect slot

Automated sample slicing, classification and pad mapping (kick, snare, hat, percussion) with manual slice-tuning capability and optional MIDI score extraction

Can load audio loops (WAV/AIFF/REX), MIDI loops, single-hits, complete kits, pattern banks.

Includes library of over 2GB of professional sample content, featuring material by Yellow Tools, Wizoo, Gearshift and others.

Eight stereo outputs, flexible routing.

Exceptional quality on board effects – Delay, Flanger, Chorus, Reverb, Phaser, Compressor, EQ, Multimode Filter (ENV & LFO), Comb Filter, Bit Crusher, Distortion, Ring Mod, Trance Gate, Freeze, pitched and noise oscillators.

Built in midi mapping allows you to quickly setup GURU to work with your hardware MIDI controller / groove box / drum triggers.*

Stand-alone application, ReWire device, and VST, DXi, AudioUnit, RTAS plug-in formats, available for Windows 2000/XP and Mac OS X. * (Such as Akai MPC/MPD series, Alternate Mode DrumKat, Korg MicroKontrol, M-Audio Trigger Finger etc.)

Price and Availability:
GURU is available now direct from FXpansion's online store for $249 / €199 / £129, excluding local taxes where applicable.

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