TRAX Drum Machine
by Thenatan · Drum Instrument · Drum machine
Not rated yet
TRAX is a drum machine with 50 pre-mixed kits and 400+ processed samples for hip-hop, trap, R&B and EDM.
It has an 8-channel mixer, 16 stereo outputs and built-in reverb, distortion and cassette noise; it costs $50.
Best for: Drums. Genres: Hip-Hop & Trap, R&B & Soul, Electronic & EDM.
Keywords: drum machine, punchy, CPU-light, hardware emulation, 80s, modern, vintage.
What it does
TRAX is a kit-based drum machine, billed as "The Dream Drum Machine", built around samples that are already mixed and processed. It targets modern hip-hop, trap, R&B and EDM, with an interface styled after rack hardware.
- Kits: 50 pre-mixed kits with more than 400 samples, already EQ'd and treated.
- Mixer: 8 channels, each with volume, pan and pitch.
- Outputs: 16 stereo outputs for mixing each drum separately in the DAW.
- Dynamics: attack and release controls per drum.
- FX layers: four triggered layers (A, B, C, D) per channel, with hiss, noise, crackle and cassette sounds.
- Effects: built-in analog-style reverb and distortion.
- CPU: the developer stresses very low CPU use.
TRAX launched in 2019, and KVR lists version 1.0.1 (January 2019). The store mentions no demo.
When to use it
TRAX is best treated as a library of ready-to-use trap and EDM kits in a light plugin. Compared with XO and Battery 4, it has far less editing, no way to load your own samples and no sample management, but its kits sit in a mix with almost no processing. Compared with Superior Drummer 3 or Addictive Drums 2, it is a small electronic kit player, not an acoustic drum production suite. Its low CPU load and low price suit producers who want punchy, finished sounds fast.
- Best for: quick hip-hop and trap kits that need little processing.
- Genres: hip-hop, trap, R&B and EDM.
- Look elsewhere if: you want deep editing, your own samples or mixing sounds across kits; Battery 4 or XO are better.
- Tip: Computer Music found it works best used as a sample library rather than a tweakable instrument.
What producers say
Computer Music saw it as a solid, punchy kit library held back by a rough interface.
- Computer Music (via MusicRadar, 2019) called it "a solid package with a huge library", praising the punchy, mix-ready trap and EDM kits and the noise layering.
- Criticisms: the same review found the interface rough and the modulation section confusing, disliked that kits are named only "Kit 1-50", and noted you cannot mix sounds between kits or set noise layer levels.
Where to buy
- Thenatan: $50
Tutorials and reviews
- Introducing the 2019 "TRAX VST"Drum Machine
- Thenatan - TRAX - Demo
- Trax Drum VST - First 20 Drum Kits Preview (Trap Beat)
- Trax VST Drum Plugin - Ableton Live Demonstration
- Introducing X25 For Our Best Selling 2019 VST "TRAX"
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