WENDEL
The original drum samples behind Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, John Denver, Toto, Stevie Wonder & more — from the 75-pound blue box invented by Roger Nichols.
Legendary Sounds, Masterfully Revived
Exclusive Collection
This pack is bursting with over 500 rare samples that until now, have mostly resided in Roger's private collection. This is your unique chance to access a treasure trove of sounds that have defined the Wendel Jr. cartridges.
Premium Quality
Meticulously transferred from original 8-bit, 12-bit, and 16-bit Wendel samples into modern, headerless digital data formats in the 90s, each sample maintains its high-fidelity sonic signature. These aren't your ordinary, run-of-the-mill sounds!
Adapted for Modern Production
As of December 2022, these samples have been refined and tailored to seamlessly fit into your contemporary DAW environment. The early 90s PCM files have been given a fresh lease of life for today's music production demands.
Hand-Curated & Refined
Jason Levine, Roger's protégé, meticulously optimized every sample, considering factors like sample rate and byte order for perfect sound and easy track incorporation. DC offset has been meticulously corrected for each sample.
More than a machine — a piece of history.
Wendel is a 75-pound blue box, arguably the first DAW, invented by Roger Nichols in 1978 — the trailblazer of digital recording and an unrivaled engineer fondly remembered as The Immortal. These samples were recorded in the studio during the late 70s and were released to the public with the Wendel Jr. — a drum trigger still used on the road today! Seeing AI and unauthorized samplers increasingly pass off Wendel Jr. sounds as their own, we felt compelled to share the originals — untouched.
This is our tribute to the king of recording real drums and his lasting legacy. Jason Levine, Roger's protégé, has meticulously listened to and converted every sample into modern formats — preserving the warmth, the room, and the hand of the engineer.
Generations of Sound
Original photographs from Roger's personal collection.
Donald Fagen
John Denver
Toto
Heart
Duran Duran
Rosanne Cash
Stevie Wonder
From the Machine
A handful of samples from the Wendel collection.
Order the Pack
Instant digital download. Yours forever — drop into any modern DAW.
Buy the Sample Pack →Modern DAW Format
Digital Delivery
EQ Columns & Reviews by Roger 'The Immortal' Nichols
A comprehensive collection of Roger's columns and gear reviews from EQ Magazine — decades of recording wisdom from the engineer who shaped the sound of an era.
Technical Notes
Your download includes a zip file. There are over 500 one-shot WAV files (drum and percussion samples) neatly organized. Each sample is 48kHz / 24-bit, carefully converted from its original 50kHz / 16-bit raw format (some originating in 12-bit as well). Any DC offset present in the original digital transfers has been corrected for pristine fidelity and maximum amplitude.
A note from us: please don't share the zip — we know it's easy, but we really appreciate the support. We think 500+ samples that really had the love and energy put behind them that only "The Immortal" could do should be worth a lot, BUT we kept it reasonable for that reason! Thank you <3.
Mono & stereo: Most files are mono, as that's how they were originally intended. However, some samples were originally captured in stereo during recording, and so they are presented here, for the first time, in stereo versions.
One-shots & multi-samples: As Wendel was capable of digitally re-pitching (to simulate variation / alternate hits), most of the samples are individual, unique one-shots. However, Roger was never content with only having a single drum to work with. He would sample several drums (say, kick drums) from the same manufacturer in a variety of sizes and attacks. The same goes for snare drums. That said, there are several folders that contain multi-samples of the same snare/kick or hi-hat. One specific folder (Wendel Preset Snares) contains a variety of snare drums, each with multiple velocities and several articulations.
Connect
Questions, corrections, kind words, or beats made with Wendel — we want to hear them.
Digital Download · 500+ Samples
