What it does

Sitala 2 is a 16-pad drum sampler for producers who want to build kits from their own samples. It combines beat slicing, six sound-shaping controls and separate outputs for mixing individual drums in a DAW.

Build and shape a drum kit

Drop sounds onto pads, audition replacements and rearrange the kit by dragging pads into position. Play the sounds from MIDI notes or record a pattern in your DAW. Sitala keeps the drum instrument in one window, with controls for the selected pad.

Beat slicing: Detect separate hits in a drum loop and distribute them across pads. You can adjust each slice's start and end points.
Per-pad shaping: Change the envelope with Shape, add compression, tune the sample, adjust its tone, and set volume and pan.
MIDI Learn: Assign pads and controls to a controller, with chromatic, white-key and General MIDI drum mappings available.
Separate drum outputs: Send each pad to its own stereo output for individual processing in your host. REAPER can create and name the output tracks automatically.
Kit management: Save kits, browse sample folders and locate missing samples. Current REAPER integration can keep a kit's samples with the project.

Compatibility and pricing

This listing covers the paid desktop Sitala 2. The current downloads require Windows 10 or later, or macOS 10.12 or later. It runs as a standalone app and in VST, VST3 and AAX hosts, with AU on macOS. Native Apple Silicon support is available.

Sitala 1 remains free. The Linux download on the developer's site belongs to that older version. It is not a Linux release of Sitala 2. Decomposer also offers a separate iPad and iPhone app, which should be checked separately from the desktop licence.

Before choosing it

Sitala suits a compact drum-kit workflow. If you want an integrated step sequencer, extensive sample layering or a larger pad bank, compare a more elaborate drum instrument. Automatic slicing works best with clear drum transients. Dense mixes may need manual trimming. Separate outputs also require routing in the host, except where the REAPER integration handles it.

Alternatives to Sitala 2

TAL-Drum — official site: Consider it for a larger pad bank, layered samples and more detailed sample editing while keeping a drum-sampler workflow.
Speedrum 2 — official site: Consider it when you want drum sampling and slicing together with a dedicated step sequencer, sample layers and internal buses.

Product views

The hero is generated editorial artwork incorporating a genuine interface view and Decomposer's official logo. The images below come from the developer's product demo and feature illustrations. They are not evidence of a hands-on test.

Sitala interface from the official demo, showing sixteen sample pads, the waveform and six sound-shaping controls.

Official Sitala beat-slicing view showing detected hits and the selected slice in a drum-loop waveform.

See the Sitala manual and current downloads and licence information for setup and availability.

Sitala 2