You know I’m always looking for the best tools, that get out of the way and let you work.
One of my gripes with the current choice of drum sampling software is their inability to understand how simply we want to layer sounds.
Many folks just want to drag a sound to a pad, then another, and another, and have instant access to each layer to tweak and create new composite sounds.
Unfortunately, many of the products out just don’t get that. Most make you go deep into the keymapping setup to layer sounds on the keys, or they don’t allow layering at all, or it’s so complicated you just say forget it and just play each sound on it’s own, layering “in sequence”!
Enter Poise…from an independent developer one small clue…someone who, like me, must have been fed up with the current crop, bloat, and “just don’t get it” operation of the majority of software drum samplers out now.
What we need is something that’s simple, cost effective, lean, clean…and to the point.
So what is Poise?
In my mind, poise is the drum sampler we’ve all been looking for.
Poise is what I would make if I could write software….
Poise is a simple, 16 pad drum sampler that lets you quickly add layers, manipulate the layers, and come up with new sounds.
Poise is NOT a sequencer. You can NOT sample into it.
from the site:
Direct, straightforward, no frills and no bloat! Poise aims to make working with drum samples quick and painless, allowing you to focus on making music.
sounds good to me, so good I had to keep it under wraps until I could actually SHOW you what it did. It’s not new, it’s been around, but I just found out about it and I know many of you will love it, because I get the same questions from folks looking for an easy drum sampler that let’s you layer your drums quickly and tweak each layer.
Why I think Poise “gets it”
Why do I think it’s the best? Let me list the reasons.
- It’s easy to layer sounds, just drag them onto the pad, and a layer number will appear in the window
- layers can be played in round robin, layered, or velocity switching mode
- You can have up to 16 outpus, enough to send each pad to it’s own track in your daw if you want
- It’s easy to setup to work with your midi controller
- You can have note on or oneshot mode for your samples
- It has mono mode, so you can get down like on your hardware, making pads cut each other
- You also have “cut groups” so you can set pads to cut each other off
- You can link pads… so you can quickly layer multiple sounds just by linking the pads together
- You can save your own kits quickly
- You can tweak aeach layer on a pad separately or together
- you can use wav, aiff, or mpc snd format sounds
- It’s lean and cpu efficient
- It’s 49 bucks
What about the interface, is it easy to use?
Very easy, very clean, very straight forward, and very intuitive.
It has everything you need to layer and play with your samples, and nothing you don’t.
No sequencer screen that you won’t use getting in the way.
No complex menus of keygroups and mapping to mess with.
16 pads, each with 8 layers, knobs to tweak each layer/sound…and not much else.
right-clicking on a pad let’s you access things like note on/oneshot mode, or mono mode, pad linking, etc.
It’s really simple, and everything you would try to do naturally, it just does it…this is the way a simple drum sampler should be…not a bunch of bells, whistles, and balloons.
So you really like it huh?
Uhhh….yeah.
This plugin is 5 subs all the way around in my honest opinion…I could hardly contain myself when I found out about it.
Try it and tell me it’s not what you’ve been looking for. You can layer, edit start and end points of samples, send each pad to it’s own output in your daw for simple tracking….tweak each layer, save your kits….really what else do you need in a drum sampler?
I honestly, so far, can’t think of anything I would change about it. It does what it needs to do…allow quick playing and manipulation of samples.
check it out at One Small Clue, download the demo, and see for yourself.
let me know what you think of course, leave a comment below.
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January 28th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
how would you compare this to battery? which one would u say was better
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saintjoe Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
they are both good, I like this one better for what I’d use it for. It’s simple, and let’s me layer drums quickly, allowing me to tweak them on each layer quickly.
I have battery and tons of other programs, but they all left me searching for something quicker, easier, and cleaner.
this is it, in my opinion.
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January 28th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Yo,
That is the sickest drum sampler I have ever seen. I just got Sampla from Sonivox and it’s the closest to simple out their besides Poise. Poise is still worth it I’m going to get it. Just a side note for people who can’t play chords Sampla has a mapping feature were can assign chords to a pad.
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saintjoe Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
No doubt man, this joint is so straight forward and smooth, i love it.
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January 28th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
is this better than the virtual beat thang?
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saintjoe Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
they aren’t even close, beat thang virtual is an actual beat machine with sounds, fx, and a full sequencer. it’s really it’s own little environment for making beats.
Poise is a vst plugin, it requires a host to run it in, and it doesn’t sequence.
they are two different tools in my opinion
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January 29th, 2010 at 12:05 am
sounds like what we been waiting on..i will surely check it out..thanx for the review saint joe
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:56 am
thanks for checkin it out fam, I really like this lil app yo.
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January 29th, 2010 at 12:19 am
dope. need it for MAC and i’d make it crack
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:56 am
I feel ya, I don’t know what programs on mac can read vst instruments, but if you got one, you can use it.
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January 29th, 2010 at 12:37 am
I beta tested Poise (still do) for the developer (Shannon) and your right strangely enough it stands alone by it self in simpliciy and functionality. When I’m not using BPM its Poise all day.
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:55 am
Yeah man, Shannon is cool peeps and I agree, it’s alone. I think bpm/maschine are different because they are really their own sequencing environment and allow you to do everything in their program if you wish.
this is a simple device that fits into most daw workflows…and does what ya need.
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January 29th, 2010 at 12:38 am
That VST is pretty sweet! Very simple interface and looks like it would be real easy to tweak my drum samples with (love the round-robin feature) and I’m glad that it is a vst and not a standalone app because my workflow is tied primarily to my DAW so this works for me. And the price it right too!!! I’ll have to pick that up.
Thanks for the heads up man.
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:54 am
yeah man! it’s very simple and moves seamlessly into any daw environment that takes vst plugins. I really like how quick and simple it is. I have a lot of drum samplers, but this is what I wished they operated like.
He’s still developing it so it will get better, but right now it’s already dope in my opinion.
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January 29th, 2010 at 4:52 am
all i got say is sold good lookin out keep up the good work oh , will you be doing any brass or horn section reviews soon i could really use some input on some real good sounding stuff holla a ya boi
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:49 am
Yeah, I’ll deff be getting into some horn section stuff, probably do something on Vir2 instruments Mojo joint in the future.
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January 29th, 2010 at 6:52 am
Looks Cool / Nice review
But I guess I show my age in saying I think the hands on-(Hardware) is much better. I have not used it but I have a MPC2500 w/ JJOS and it is untouchable in my opinion…
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:43 am
It’s all good…I have a 4k, I love Maschine cuz it’s the best of both worlds. But some just want a simple sampler that can layer, I think this is it.
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January 29th, 2010 at 6:57 am
saintjoe you are a breath of fresh air man im really glad i ran into your site! i love the updates,but yeah this is very dope! & for the price excellent too!
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 7:42 am
thanks yo, I try to run the site to make it a place I’d want to come back to lol. I’m glad you found it too!
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January 29th, 2010 at 7:46 am
Hey bro is this just a vst or is it also an rtas plugin. because I work with ProTools. Looks and sounds good…lol
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 8:26 am
it’s just a vst, but I believe fxpansion makes a vst to rtas wrapper?
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January 29th, 2010 at 8:08 am
You Off Tha Chain Wit tha New Newz Cuz Stay Smooth Wit It God Bless your Werkz…
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 8:26 am
thanks Buq always good to hear from ya, you been around since the beginning lol.
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January 29th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
SO IS THIS JUST FOR PC CAN I RUN THIS ON MY MAC FOR PROTOOLS 8 AND WERE CAN I GET IT.
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
only way to run it in protools is with a vst wrapper.
I put the link in the article to the website you can buy it from.
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January 29th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
I’m like you Joe, I got Battery, Guru, Live Drum Racks etc. While Poise doesn’t do anything these can’t, it sure cuts to the chase quicker. I remember using the beta demo awhile back, but this one has a much nicer GUI. Truth be told I was gonna get it but just forgot all about it. I just went to get the demo, but got the bandwith exceeded message. I think your review might have something to do with that (haha)
I hope you find more independent software like Poise to feature here as these small developers usually ‘get it’ like you said. Also they’re going against corporations so they need the exposure.
Thanks for another solid review.
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saintjoe Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Yeah man…when I saw it, I KNEW many folks like me would love it.
I mean, those other apps are cool, for what they do. But if I got my drums already and I just want to layer quickly…this is the tool. It’s just so simple to come up with new sounds.
Not even drums, you can use it for loops, riffs, chops, whatever… I’m lovin it.
Man…I didn’t mean to get his bandwidth limit! I hope he’s getting some customers out of it too!
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January 31st, 2010 at 2:51 am
Dope review Joe! Software looks pretty fresh man.
You could totally assign your outputs to how u see fit, set your click track, press record and just track directly into your daw, then mix your joint later. Pretty cool man.
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saintjoe Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 2:53 am
yeah man..or your could record your parts as midi…then when you’re done set your outputs to record the audio.
pretty sick
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steezo! Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 3:18 am
Oh word, even better.
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saintjoe Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 3:28 am
fa sho man!
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January 31st, 2010 at 4:30 pm
whats opp can you run this thang with reasons AND I WHANT TO KNOW IS BEAT THANG ALL THAT TEY SAY IT IS IM LOOKING TO GET THAT OR THE NATIVE INTRUMENTS MACHINE I DONT KNOW THE ONE TO GET NEED HELP I GUESS IM A OLD MPC HEAD? SOME ONE HELP PEACE
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saintjoe Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 4:35 pm
whasup teck…nah you can’t use this with Reason, you need a vst host like flstudio, ableton, sonar, cubase, reaper, etc.
Maschine is dope, I love it and I’m an old mpc head…I also plan on rockin with the beat thang hardware once it drops…I think they are two different tools, one you can take with you the other requires the computer.
if you’re trying to decide between Maschine and beat thang virtual it depends on what you want to do. The prices for btv is definitely attractive, but Maschine has that hands on feel that many hardware cats like myself crave.
I have both, and use them for different reasons, btv gives me a different vibe than when working in other apps. That said…I don’t think anything on the market at the moment is really touching Maschine.
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February 1st, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Good looking tool….Need it for Mac though.
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saintjoe Reply:
February 1st, 2010 at 5:35 pm
There’s definitely been a few people asking for a Mac version lol
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February 3rd, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Thanks for droppin this review.I am gonna check out the demo.
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saintjoe Reply:
February 3rd, 2010 at 4:26 pm
no doubt man, it’s pretty dope.
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February 5th, 2010 at 3:10 am
is it standalone??
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DAVID Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 3:11 am
oh..nevermind..it`s vst..thanks anyway..better try it.
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saintjoe Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 8:58 am
yeah vst only, good stuff.
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February 6th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Most def, I’m downloading the demo now!
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saintjoe Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
no doubt
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February 6th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
AHHH
Windows only?
Could I use it in the Kore player?
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saintjoe Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
kore player only loads kore soundpacks, the full version of kore 2 can load vsts, not sure if it will load this one on a mac or not.
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February 7th, 2010 at 1:20 am
looks like that might be dope have to check it out thanks for the info. Hey have you done a BPM review yet.
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saintjoe Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 11:53 am
This joint is pretty dope.
I haven’t reviewed BPM yet, I plan to eventually.
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February 7th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
You’ve definitely got me interested. The question is, why not just use Live’s Drum Racks?
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saintjoe Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
No doubt…I do use drum racks, but have you ever tried to quickly layer a sound in lives drum racks? It’s not as quick as this, they layers aren’t setup the same. If you just drag a sound onto another it will replace it.
That’s why i think this one is simple but useful. It would be dope if drum racks worked the same way, because they are pretty useful already.
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Xichael Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
If you alt+drag a sample to a pad it gets layered. One of Live’s many modifier key tricks.
Think I might pick up Poise for my adventures in other DAWs though.
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saintjoe Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
oh snap!!! lol, thanks yo lol…I never knew that at all! Gonna have to try it out man! lol
good stuff
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saintjoe Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 12:05 am
Tried it out, it works pretty coo…it’s still alot of steps involved to get in and tweak your sounds. You gotta alt + drag, then open the device chains, not bad…but definitely not as quick and simple as Poise. But it’s def good to know that tip for ableton, may have to do a video on it.
I just like how you can just drag stuff into poise pretty much without even thinking about it or having to remember any keystrokes to do it, and it automatically layers it for you. The settings for each layer and everything is all right up front, no menus to expand or anything.
It doesn’t do anything revolutionary, it just does something we love, in a simple way.
drum racks are still dope tho in their own way, you can do some freaky stuff with em.
thanks for the response yo, gonna have to explore some more.
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February 13th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Whats up bro? Is there going to be a Mac version?
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saintjoe Reply:
February 13th, 2010 at 9:08 pm
not that I know of, only vst at this point.
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February 23rd, 2010 at 10:18 am
What is the difference between the demo version and the full version.. The demo version looks complete to me..
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saintjoe Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:25 am
I think it’s just time limited or something, but it’s the full thing. I can’t remember what the difference was, I’m sure it was something like time or how long you could use it.
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March 1st, 2010 at 4:15 pm
This is the truth man!!!!I just bought it a week or so ago and i been on it real heavy.Thanks for putting everybody up on it Joe.Plugin of the year!!!!
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saintjoe Reply:
March 1st, 2010 at 4:28 pm
No doubt man! glad u like it, it’s a dope plugin for sure!
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