8Dio – Alien Drum v2

The New Alien Drum VST (aka Hand Pan) is a unique tone based percussion instrument, which is almost impossible to come by, since there is only one maker in the world and less than 1000 drums in circulation. The instrument has a soft, sorrowful, melancholic tone to it and is a perfect companion for emotional or ambient type of scores. The 8Dio Alien Drum is unique in the sense it was recorded at an average of 15 velocity layers and with 10 round-robin repetitions pr. layer/note, so you will never experience any repetition in the articulation.

We used custom microphone set-ups to capture the delicate resonance both inside and outside the drum, since the resonance defines the true sound of the drum. Additionally we sampled multiple playing techniques with fingers, palm, slaps, hand brushing and the back-side of the drum, which has the similar properties to the Udu. Multiple versions of all multis allow for a variety of ways to switch or fade between articulations while playing.

The New Alien Drum also contains several morphed patches – where the Hand Pan Drum was morphed with other acoustic instruments (ex. modified piano, modified tonal percussion, modified stringed instruments, synths etc) and 20 carefully crafted ethereal ambiences. This is the first virtual instrument designed to match the SETI program and we are proud to announce it has been approved by the IGMP (Intergalactic Music Program).