AES: FXpansion FXpands BFD

US New Kit 29/10/04

Your own Sound Factory in a box

Buying Choices

Affilliate Links help support the site

FXpansion's BFD is already a mighty fine sounding piece of software - we recently compared it to a real Ludwig kit and Roland's finest TD-20 (watch this space for a forthcoming video story) and the sounds are pretty amazing. However, it doesn't synthesize sounds but play recordings of real instruments, so the voices are limited to those in the library.
These have now been broadened to include a range of new instruments and sounds with the introduction of their new add-on kit:-

"BFD 8 Bit Kit is the highly anticipated second add-on pack for FXpansion’s BFD software drum module system, offering exciting new flavours for your drum productions. The first BFD recording made at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles, 8 Bit Kit is the brainchild of S. Husky Hoskulds, recording engineer for production company 8 Bit Audio and responsible for recording such diverse artists as Tom Waits, Fantômas, Solomon Burke, Joe Henry, Sheryl Crow, The Wallflowers and many more.

Features include:

Unorthodox kit-pieces:
A variety of custom, modified and downright weird kit-pieces recorded with an array of strange and wonderful mics. Highlights include kicks which are detuned and with chains attached; warped, cracked and mismatched hihats; junk percussion; and ethnic instruments such as framedrums, Moroccan tambourines and African hand drums.

A different recording space and mic setup:
8 Bit Kit was recorded in a different acoustic space, which offers a tighter and fatter sound than the Eldorado room used in BFD and BFD XFL, while still integrating perfectly with the system. The mics used reflect the esoteric theme of BFD – such oddities as parabolic ‘Spy Mics’, Calrec Soundfields and mics with a gramophone horn attached were used.

Creative processing:
8 Bit Kit creatively uses BFD’s mixing functions, such as providing processed versions of the sounds within certain mic channels. Many of the kit-pieces are provided in ‘supersized’ versions, featuring more extreme use of processing techniques such as compression, distortion and filtering.

Vintage analog drum machine sounds:
A range of classic vintage electronic drum machines are captured both dry, and played out over a high quality PA system in the drum room. These sounds are perfect for layering with acoustic drums to create a more contemporary sound.

Price and Availability:

BFD 8 Bit Kit is available direct from FXpansion’s online store for $199 / €149 / £99.

BFD 8 Bit Kit will also be available in stores in some countries.

www.fxpansion.com

FXPansion Social