Cloudrum is a VST sampler that emulates playback of a tongue drum. To a very good standard I might add. By clicking the image of the tongue drum you will trigger the actual notes that are playable on the original tongue drum. What’s great about this sampler VST is that you essentially gain control over two mic positions. Both the mono centre mic and the stereo side mics. A synth layer has been added which you have volume control of. The synth layer works well with the tongue drum recordings. In the video below you can hear how each sound sums together to create one sound. Overall the sound and feel of this VST sampler is great. Well worth downloading for free.
Cloudrum includes both a reverb and delay which can be edited by clicking the D and R buttons in the master section. By Clicking D you will open the delay parameters and by clicking R you will open the reverb parameters. Personally I would prefer to use my own reverb and delay of my choosing within my DAW but the option is there if you wish to keep all your sound design in one program.
Located on the right of the VST sampler you will find various gain controls which can be used to control the mic volume, stereo sides mic, synth layer volume and master volume. Each of the parameters can be muted and solo’d. Below is an ADSR which can be switched to control different parts of the tongue drums mapping. Located at the to you have various different presets to switch through. Don’t think of these too much as presets though. Think of them more as alternate patches.
Pros
- A really well sampled free tongue drum
- A lot of controllable parameters within the sampler
- Great GUI and clickable pads on tongue drum
- Built in reverb and delay
- Multiple gain controls
- Free well recorded tongue drum
Cons
- Very hard to find any, it is what it is. How can you say anything bad about a free VST instrument that works great and does exactly what it says it does.
The conclusion is….. for a free VST instrument it’s really good. One of the better tongue drums I have played with. Great usability within the VST GUI and lots of nice features to shape your sound. Overall this is a must have VST if you want a tongue drum in your library of sounds.
