Boom

I’ve probably said this before, but drums are probably the most important instrument in most genres of electronic music. Drums make up the structure of a song, and they usually tell the crowd exactly how to move. It’s not important only to have powerful drums with many added parameters that make them louder and harsher, but also to have them arranged in a pattern that people find engaging.

If you’re looking for a virtual synth to help you with this process, then you should also consider Boom.

Now, the name of this plugin may be a bit deceiving, because as I’ve already suggested, this is tool for creating drum patterns, not for adding loudness and distortion parameters that will make them go “boom”. Boom’s interface is actually designed to imitate vintage drum machines, and it would be a good time to mention that the plugin also has quite a few limitations that you’d expect from an old school tool.

However, that’s not necessarily a downside. Boom’s interface may seem simplistic when compared to other plugins, but it’s also very easy to use, and will thus allow you to focus more on the task of creating an engaging drum pattern.

As soon as you open Boom, you can start creating beats by using the pattern sequencer. You have ten instrument channels, each for a different drum sound (kick, snare, clap, hi-hat, etc.), and also ten drum racks to choose from. The best part is that you can combine sounds from different racks in order to create original patterns.

Each drum channel has four parameters: pan, level, tune, and decay. Also, for each drum, you have three levels of velocity that you can use to make your beat sound more natural. You can also adjust swing and dynamics, but also play explore the possibilities of the 50 presets.

While Boom isn’t a very advanced plugin, it can be extremely useful for producers who wish to design their drums meticulously.