Toontrack – Area 33 – Origin SDX + MIDI

Although Area 33 SDX is arguably the most comprehensive metal-related drum library ever recorded, the team of Thordendal/Bergstrand/Margarit felt they’d barely scratched the surface. They needed to return to the roots—to the beginning. In this follow-up, they transport themselves back to the formative years, when heavy metal as we know it was still in its infancy. From there, they move upward until they catch up with the first SDX. Welcome to the sequel, which begins even before the first: Area 33 — Origin SDX.

For this SDX, the team returned to Fredrik Thordendal’s personal Studio 33 in Stockholm, Sweden. A total of five kits were recorded, each representing a key branch in the lineage of classic hard rock and heavy metal from the late 1960s to the 1980s. But that’s not all. With two recorded tom configurations for each kit—one open and one muted—this SDX covers all the “blind spots” in between, providing you with the raw material to create genre-defying drum mixes, from stunning and thunderous to subdued, tight, and fast drums for any style. 

On top of all this, the kits were recorded using microphones that go far beyond traditional ones. Each kit was recorded using the classic close-mic technique, but also with an additional set of microphones at each position. This means that each drum and cymbal is represented by both a mono microphone and a stereo pair of microphones, allowing you to create sounds beyond what you thought possible. Additionally, to capture the stellar character of the 33 drum room, 11 ambience microphones were recorded (seven of which were in stereo).

This project is the culmination of a group of acclaimed drummers receiving carte blanche studio time, an à la carte menu of percussion instruments, and the ability to virtually unleash unbridled sampling. Welcome to SDX, rooted in classic rock and heavy metal but transcending any genre limitations.