I have been an enthusiastic Steinberg / Cubase user for over two decades. Backbone has also fascinated me from the start.

The main purpose of Steinberg Backbone is to produce percussion and drum sounds in a unique new way.

You can decompose samples into tonal and noise elements and edit them separately from each other. Use re-synthesize to manipulate samples that are completely free and flexible.

The 8 slots invite you to interconnect samples with their tonal & noise elements creatively. Each slot can be changed intuitively with impressive options (re-synth, pitch, filter, amp, and useful effects).

Among the layers are the incredibly special resynthesis module and an integrated filter. With the help of this module, you can alter the style of the sample’s tonal or noise component and decide whether you want to hear the tonal or noise part.

In addition to the resynthesis module, Backbone includes an offline decompose processor that performs a comparable job. It is separating the tone and noise components of a layer’s sample. These fresh audio files have been allocated to the backbone layers. The resynthesis module of a layer does not have as much control over the process as the deconstruct processor. You can easily mix and match the components of several source samples by fine-tuning the sound’s component balance with this module. I then like to export the newly created samples in order to either continue working with the WAV files directly in Cubase or to continue working on them in, for example, Groove Agent or Xfer Nerve.

The DrumGAN is a significant new feature included in the free version 1.5 release. And I can tell you right now that this new function is very unique! This new AI-powered tool operates offline on the layer that is now selected. It makes use of a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) and was created by Sony Computer Science Laboratories. Many cymbal samples, snares, and kicks have been used to train it. This special tool may produce entirely new sounds in addition to altering and reinterpreting preexisting samples. And in stunning quality, at that.

Here is an interesting Video how to work with Backbone.

It’s also quite simple to use. Simply inform DrumGAN if you wish to generate a new sound or analyze the present layer. After that, all you have to do is adjust the sound’s characteristics with one of the three sliders (kick, snare, or cymbal). This way of working allows you to retain the characteristics of a sample and yet create completely new and somewhat similar sounds. Simply turn the sliders and you get different tonal and dynamic properties.

I’ve always been a favorite of Happy Accidents and so I’m really excited about this new feature. Although the results have less and less to do with the original sample the further you move the slider to the right, some of the sounds produced here are simply amazing. You can make drums or drum kits that fit together really fast and easily with a little trial and error, whereas other ways would take a lot longer. To recreate a similar sound, just drag and drop a sample into Backbone and move some sliders. Yes, it’s a straightforward yet fantastic workflow that saves a ton of time!

I am really impressed by what is now possible with the new AI function. Of course, the whole thing doesn’t happen in real-time, but you’re rewarded with samples that really fit together. And that’s exactly what every producer wants. When you consider how many hours you often spend in your own library looking for drums that perfectly match each other, Backbone is the answer!

I’m a big fan of this kind of stuff, and I believe that the musical world needs more instruments like this one that allows you to create various sound variations by adding chord progressions, samples, or guitar hooks. After that, the results are entered into the sampler to produce a playable multi-sample instrument. Here, you can find motivational and intriguing ideas that will help you think of something other than just kicks.

Since Blackbone uses only a small amount of CPU, you can easily load multiple instances and create a drum kit, for example. The export options are also really well thought out (Drag & Drop). I also think the very clever and modern-looking GUI is simply great.

Final Verdict

With Backbone Steinberg has succeeded in creating a really innovative instrument. It’s one of the most powerful creative tools and is not only suitable for drum changes. You can create drums that really match each other in terms of characteristics and that’s just brilliant. I love its ground breaking AI technology for my sound design. Highly recommended!

Visit my BLOG for other vst recommendations, production tips and more!

Cheers,
Oliver Schmitt aka Sounds of Revolution (SOR)