Weiss Drums: The Maio Collection Review
Whats good MM world! I’m here with a review for the new “The Maio Collection” from super engineer Matthew Weiss. Maio Collection supplies us with over 160 acoustic drums that were recorded through vintage analog gear and tape machines. With the overwhelming amount of synthetic drums dominating over the last couple decades, Matt creates an unique sound bank that delivers just as much punch, power, and texture as any drum kit out today.
All sounds have characteristics we can use to describe what we hear. Matt Weiss takes it to another level giving each sound folder a clever short story that puts my mind into visualization of a real character. Read below how he describes the kicks:
“Meet Griswald. Griswald is a 98 years old Hungarian man who lives in a cave. He used to be a leather tanner, but then he went crazy. He’s 5’5″, 280lbs., and enjoys screaming at birds. He’s full of grunge, muscle, and makes himself known to anyone listening.”
With that being said these kicks are rocking big and heavy acoustic style. The combination of presence and power in all the right frequencies. Also they are strong enough to stand alone or become a layer for other drums that need desperate help of punch. Nice and loud and in your face like that guy would be!
Cymbals/crashes tend to be the most neglected sound supplied in recent drum kits. Even a few of the 2013 Top Ten Drums Kits slacked compared to the quantity of quality crash hits here. With 40 plus cymbals crashes there is a large variety to choose from for your tracks. The Maio Collection cymbals consist of hits with short to long resonance up to ten seconds. Capturing the full essence of the sound.
The acoustic snares are awesome stand alone sounds as well. Full in the body with great snap remixed into their own space leaving a sonic residue of energy. These will sound great over sample based tracks that need that authentic match.
Hi hats and percussion are another example of top of the line sound design. Adding a beautiful top end shine along with the gritty clang achieving classic 90’s Hip Hop feel that will contribute to any track. Matt Weiss explains it like this:
“After Goldie Locks violated their home, the three bears, Mama, Papa, and Baby decided to open a venture capitalist firm. Their first portfolio grossed over four million dollars and set the bears off on a course of profound success. To this day, Bear, Bear & Bear is still one of the most in demand investment firms in Deutschland.”
Weissdrums.com comes out swinging for the 1st quarter of drum kits for 2014. I feel that this is a kit that I will always grab from during the creation process. With Weiss being a mixing mastermind, we as producers/beatmakers can spend less time mixing and more time to complete our workflow. The description alone puts me into a creative mind and could be drawn up as comic strips! Never would of thought of it like that! Awesome and hilarious! And with the affordable price of $25, you can not sleep on this kit. Myself and the rest of the producing world is excited to see what Mr. Weiss comes up with next!