While the first SDX had a more general approach, the “Origin” volume looks to the past. What is your connection to the hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late 1960s through to the 1980s?
Like so many others, I was also fed with Beatles, Sabbath and Purple at young age, which lead me to Kiss, Maiden, Mötley and so on.

Aside from recording these SDXs, you have completed tons of album sessions in the 33 studio. To you, what makes the room so stand-out for drums?
It includes pretty much all you need – a quick response at the same time as it’s big and has balanced frequencies. You can really get a lot out of this live room, all different kind of flavors. That is partly why we included so many options in terms of room mics in both SDX projects.

Before making this library, you spent a ton of time researching and picking apart old records for traces of how they recorded back in the day. What did you learn in the process?
I’ve learned a lot while making both of the libraries, but especially during the latest one. Instead of just listing to these old records I’d heard a thousand times, I focused completely on technical aspects – how the records were recorded, mixed, saturated, etc. One of the key things I found out is the high midrange and where the low end is cut – and cymbals are there for a reason! Back then, drums were presented as one instrument, not 25 separate pieces eq:ed to something beyond their original tone. Seeing as we recorded a gazillion channels, I know I might sound like a hypocrite – but having all of these options don’t mean you have to use them all at once. They are there to give you creative freedom.

You truly did an amazing library of presets covering a staggering wealth of different drum mixes. What was your thought going in?
The whole idea was to make users’ lives easier (including my own). It’s pretty amazing to just hit a button and you have the sound of one of your favorite albums, right? I mean it doesn’t stop there – imagine starting with the sound of an older AC/DC album and modernize that one with a hair more low end and compression and it’ll fit any modern metal if that’s what you’re into. This library is so versatile, you could truly dig into ANY style of music with this SDX.

Looking back on both of these SDX projects, which kit out of the bunch is your favorite and why?
Such a boring answer, but I love them all! If I really have to pick one, I’d say the Vintage Vantage Kit because it has such a broad range.

While the first SDX had a more general approach, the “Origin” volume looks to the past. What is your connection to the hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late 1960s through to the 1980s?
I was born in 1981, so unfortunately there’s a lot of that era that I missed… But my parents, and more specifically my mom, was a prog rock fan and listened to a lot of Kansas and Deep Purple, so I’m pretty sure this is what got me drawn to my music tastes later in life. I also had a period where I only listened to The Beatles for a while. I always loved the organic sounds of all these records, which is something that we lost a little bit nowadays, so hopefully a sample library like this one will help recreate these amazing atmospheres!

The 33 drum room obviously sounds amazing. When recording drums, how much does the room factor into the sound, feedback and overall vibe to you as a drummer?
It’s actually hard to know exactly how the room sounds while playing the drums, without having some microphones feedback. I mean, obviously you hear the actual room while standing in it, but it doesn’t mean that a microphone will “hear” it the same way. However, for me at least, the sound I hear from the actual drum combined with the room will automatically push me to play a certain way, both in the attack and the weight I put in the instrument. It’s hard to describe and it’s mostly subconscious, but the feedback of the room will absolutely make me play one way or another!

If the first volume had some massive kits, this one has two virtual behemoths with 13 toms! While we all love drum sets, how does a drummer even manage that many toms? Have you ever played kits that big in a real-life scenario?
This was absolutely amazing and almost intimidating! The 13 tom kits were way too big to play without spinning around on the drum chair, but man, I felt like being a spaceship pilot! I only got to play them while sound checking them before sampling unfortunately, but it felt incredible. Maybe I’ll give a raise to my drum tech and I’ll bring one of these on tour some day…

When sampling, many drummers say they learn a lot about the physics of drums, their own technique and overall how much the actual hitting of the drum plays into the final sound. What is your takeaway from sampling?
I learned a lot about focus, meditation and almost being in trance while sampling. It’s all about getting the best possible sound out of an instrument, which is not something many drummers think about while playing nowadays. Sometimes you have to wait for a whole minute to play the next hit, especially on a ride that rings forever. When it’s stopped ringing, you play again with the same attack, on the same spot and then repeat that for a bunch of times – until starting the entire process over again just slightly softer. And so you continue until you play the softest possible. I guess that after doing all this sampling, I got to learn even more how the drums respond to a certain way of hitting. I’m trying to actively think about it while playing and recording.

Having sampled 12 kits, countless snares, cymbals and more in completely outrageous detail, are you burnt out? Done? Never sampling a drum again?
I would say yes again in the blink of an eye! Working with Daniel and Fredrik is an incredible experience, I have been listening to both their work since I was a teenager and just the fact that they called me is extremely humbling and soul warming.