Punch 2: Drum Machine Plugin by Rob Papen

Punch 2 lets you import your own samples and REX files. You can map REX files or sample slices to individual pads and combine them with the internal sounds and pattern sequencer. Each pad can be processed further with filters, envelopes and routing into one of four FX modules. Rob Papen notes that granular synthesis can also be applied to REX and slice pads, which opens up options for reshaping loops beyond simple playback.

This makes Punch 2 useful for building loops from existing breaks or recorded material, as well as for layering synthesized drums with sampled sounds in the same kit.

Punch 2 includes a full Master section with EQ, a compressor, a limiter, a stereo/mono split filter and a layout mixer. These tools let you shape the combined output of the kit without leaving the plugin.

The layout mixer and master processing are useful when you want a drum kit to sit as a finished bus before it reaches your DAW's mixer.