Drum Plugins

[MojoHamster]

I'm looking for a decent Drum plugin with a balance of ease of use alongside customisation.

The demos of EZDrummer I've seen look good since it seems to do a little auto humanizing of its own. Seems like you could punch in a basic rhythm and it wouldn't be stale and robotic.

Obviously, I'm not swimming in cash so I'd ask the experts if there's anything cheaper or better.

My dream world would be a good plugin that did both real kit and electronic kit sounds to a high quality (I'm basically looking to ditch the hours I spend tweaking bad samples, I like to make my own patterns so prefer not to use loops)

[Rozovian]

Can't speak for EZDrummer, but its big brother Super Drummer is pretty much as you describe. Still needs some basic velocity touches for a more human performance, and you might have to look through the different notes for the right type of hit you want (basic example: hihat open/closed). Dunno how advanced EZD is, but Superior does live drums nice and easy. Figuring out how to process and mix the different mic channels of it is obviously something that takes a while to learn.

If you come across an issue of Computer Music or some similar magazine with a dvd with stuff, check if you get some free drum plugins. I saw EZDrummer on one issue's dvd (but already had Superior then so didn't bother with it).

[WillRock]

Alot of people use additive drums, such as OA, Fishy and Level 99, with pretty cool results. I use Battery for my drums now, so i'd recommend that as well.

[Rozovian]

Alot of people use additive drums, such as OA, Fishy and Level 99, with pretty cool results. I use Battery for my drums now, so i'd recommend that as well.

Will means Addictive Drums. Also, if you're thinking about getting Battery, you might as well save up for Komplete and get so much more for price not _that_ much higher.

[MojoHamster]

Many thanks for the suggestions. I quite like the hat sound in Level 99s latest WIP, some great sizzle on the open hat.

Guess I'll submerge myself in all the audible demos I can find featuring those products.

I got a Line 6 UX1 recently so I'm itching to get some good all rounding recordings going. Nice to have an interface with zero noise.

[LuIzA]

I've never used EZdrummer myself, but I use Toontrack's Superior 2.0, I know for fact it's far more custumizable than EZD, but not only it is bigger and more expensive but also a little harder to use. so if you can spend $300 and some patience, it really is head and shoulders above the ones mentioned before. on the other hand, EZX has a plethora of expansions, so lots of different kits to choose from.

personally, I don't really live Addictive Drums, the samples really sound pre-processed to me, in a way I don't really dig.

[OceansAndrew]

I also use Steven Slate's stuff a lot, which sounds really nice. It's very reasonably priced as well.

[Level 99]

Many thanks for the suggestions. I quite like the hat sound in Level 99s latest WIP, some great sizzle on the open hat.

o_o Cool!

I'm assuming you're talking about the Dire Dire Docks WIP. If so, then yes, that is Addictive drums. I found it to be a fantastic product for the money spent, even if it is somewhat limited in how it sounds. I say that only in comparison to something like Superior 2.0, which has a lot more tweakability. In my opinion, Addictive drums something that can sound great right out of the box and made even better with some tweaking. However, Superior has a lot more you can tweak about it, but you need to spend quite a bit of time experimenting to find a good sound, and if you don't know what you're doing, you could get very frustrated with it.

I'll see what kind of kit AD is on for that WIP whenever I pull up the project next.

[LuIzA]

However, Superior has a lot more you can tweak about it, but you need to spend quite a bit of time experimenting to find a good sound, and if you don't know what you're doing, you could get very frustrated with it.

Superior 2.0 does sound pretty good with zero tweaking (unlike the first Superior). but yes, that's quite true.

[Chris@MixDSP]

Slate Drums are excellent for rock style drums and many people love hooking up the edrums to trigger the drums.

For all around sounds the SD 2.0 is great and works with all the EZDrummer expansion packs. If you can hold off for a few days you can get SD for an incredible price (check our site in a day or two).

***Edit - Superior Drummer 2.0 now on sale for the month of September for only $149*** (visit our site for more details)