MSX Audio “Dusty Drums” Review

What up MM. Hope y’all are well.  I got a little something that will get the MSXII fans excited. Yes, the critically acclaimed MSXII Sound Design have released yet another line of producer kits, Dusty Drums.  As a Hip-Hop producer, this kit sounds great and I love the fact that main pic is an AKAI MPC. I hope this kit takes me back to that golden era of Hip-Hop with some SEXY ASS BOOM BAP DRUMS. Let’s jump into it.

Dusty Drums is a unique and distinguished collection of drums. MSXII have gone to the trouble of recording these drum one-shots live. Giving the user that raw, dusty, vintage feel. This sample pack is boosted by the fact that MSXII have resampled the entire drum one-shot library through the MPC 3000. The iconic machine, that many Hiphop heads have come to love for its one of a kind sound. This tactic employed by MSX gives the drums an extra edge, and character to them. If you have ever copped the Sammich kits or MPC kits from MSXII, then try to imagine this being somewhere in the middle, a hybrid of the 2.

As you could probably expect, MSXII have separated the initial live sounds and the re-sampled MPC 3000 sounds. In fact the MPC 3000 sounds have their own dedicated folder, but the initial sounds are split out into Cymbals, Fills, Kicks, Percussion (misc) and Snares. MSXII have kept the consistency when organizing this kit. The MPC 3000 folder is dissected identical to the main folder layout. This makes it really easy to navigate and if you want to try the MPC 3000 version, then you know exactly where to look, saving time.

All in all, MSXII have packed this with 54 sounds, but with the same 54 sounds having been re-sampled using the MPC 3000, we actually get a grand total of 108 drum one-shots. This includes 20 cymbals, 12 Fills, 20 Kicks, 22 Percussion (misc) and 34 Snares. All the samples come in .Wav format and are compatible with most DAW’s including Logic Pro, Ableton, Reason, Cubase, Pro tools etc.

Right, now lets get to the Juicy bit, how they sound! Well we expect quality from MSXII and they don’t disappoint. The Cymbals are as crispy as chicken and as raw as steak. There is a wide range of Cymbal sounds and 2 of my favorites are “Trash Can” and “Washem”. The Fills are smooth and versatile. I don’t usually use Fills, but I can see myself reverting back to these if I ever did. There’s is a wide range of Kicks, Kicks that are layered with Cymbals, hard-hitting and there’s 1 in particular that I like, “Simply Molded Kick”. Its clean and crisp but delivers that Boom Bap Punch. The Percussion is mixed up a bit and ranges from Shakers, Congo’s, Claps and a few loops. They are all of high quality, but they just don’t stand out enough for me, except for “Slack Lazy Loop”, which I would say this is more of a fill than a loop. Once again there is a wide variety of Snares and they all sound delightful, just like the rest of the kit. The Snares can be crisp and hard-hitting or they can be soft and subtle.

So how do the MPC sounds differ to the original? Well if I am honest it is difficult to explain. There is a difference and it’s more noticeable on some sounds than others. For example the “Cardboard” Fill. The original sounds like it has bit of reverb, where as the MPC file sounds raw, unprocessed. I’m an MPC fan and I’d say the MPC files are better to work with, but that’s my preference.

Once again MSXII has delivered on my high expectations. This kit is a great asset for any producer and in particular, I would recommend it to any Hip-Hop producer. Be sure to grab your copy from DrumBroker for bargain price of $24.99. Bare in mind these were all recorded live and resampled via an MPC 3000. That’s all from me. Be sure to catch me at @UKAntSmith

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