> You would be forgiven for thinking Impact Soundworks’ Tokyo Scoring Drum Kits might be a bombastic ensemble-based collection geared toward ‘big’ film score work. However, after reading further on the product page – and seeing the picture of a relatively modest-sized conventional drum kit – it became clear that this isn’t really the case. In fact, after loading this Kontakt-based library for the first time, my primary thoughts were that it offered a well-recorded and immensely playable drum library that could work well in a wide range of contexts. It was only when exploring the ensemble-based presets that I sensed it might also be able to turn its hand to ‘big score’ work. However, it was also apparent that my own biases as to what represented a scoring drum kit might also need checking. Delving deeper into the creation of Tokyo Scoring Drum Kits (TSDK) helped clarify much of this as well. To get the right frame of reference here it is appropriate to consider the wide-ranging music featured in anime and Japanese computer game soundtracks.
TSDK was recorded and mixed by top Japanese engineer Mitsunori Aizawa and takes in five different acoustic kits and one ensemble presented across three different sample sets. Once downloaded, installed and registered you get six different instruments, each with their own set of presets. These are grouped as – ‘Aizawa Signature mix’ (12 adjustable mic channels with mic bleed), ‘Full mix’ (16 adjustable channels with mic bleed), and ‘Board mix’ (12 channels, no bleed) – each in kit and ensemble versions.