BFD2 vs SD 2 vs SSD 3.5 ?

A

audioholic

Member
which acoustic drum program do you recommend and why?

BFD2
Superior 2.
Steven Slate Drums


As of now I am leaning towards BFD2 as I don't like EZ drummer and wonder if just maybe some of what I don't like I will hear in Superior. I already have Addictive drums which is good, but need something else.

discuss. first hand experience of either is always a plus.
 
I have EZDrummer and my drummer has Superior. Not the same programs at all. SD is really meant to be played by a drummer. Doesn't have pattern auditioning and such. Heck, I don't think it even came with patterns. Just gobs of samples. Played via his V-Drum kit SD is definitely amazing. But without patterns it's useless to a non-drummer like me.
 
I've got EZ-Drummer, Superior Drummer and SSD.

IMHO.

Of them, SD is the bomb.

Between EZD and SD, there is very little in terms of 'quality' being shared. There is similarity in interface, but past that nothing is even at par.

SSD sound quality is really good, but the interface, IMHO, is not.
 
iaresee said:
I have EZDrummer and my drummer has Superior. Not the same programs at all. SD is really meant to be played by a drummer. Doesn't have pattern auditioning and such. Heck, I don't think it even came with patterns. Just gobs of samples. Played via his V-Drum kit SD is definitely amazing. But without patterns it's useless to a non-drummer like me.
Click to expand...

With the included EZ-Drummer Pro, the actual midi groove building setup is the same. I use it all the time.
 
I have all those plus EZd. I prefer the SD 2.0 and agree with Scott on the SSD. I think they dropped the ball on the interface.
 
iaresee said:
I have EZDrummer and my drummer has Superior. Not the same programs at all. SD is really meant to be played by a drummer. Doesn't have pattern auditioning and such. Heck, I don't think it even came with patterns. Just gobs of samples. Played via his V-Drum kit SD is definitely amazing. But without patterns it's useless to a non-drummer like me.
Click to expand...

It had built in grooves/pattern auditioning for sometime.
 

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Slate and S2 will have more of that professional "polished" sound. BFD2 is more realistic sounding than EZD. I liked it when I used it. I think I remember it being more or less on par with Addictive Drums, but it's been some time since I've used either, so I could be off. Slate's snares and kicks are great, but the cymbals sound pretty fake. I use Superior 2, and it's great.
 
Yeah

I am kinda torn. I felt like EZ drummer and most of the expansions were a bit too processed sounding, too bright and didn't sit well as compared to AD's more natural sound. I can upgrade to Superior for cheaper. BFD2 has a bigger library, and honestly, the more natural real aspect does appeal to me. Really torn. I like deep, but also really like getting a good usable sound fast. Thanks for the input, keep it coming.

Sound samples are a plus.

I do anything from commercial jingle pop, rock, metal, ambient.

you can check out my website to hear what I do

http://www.energiestudios.com then click demos
 
SD2 + the Music City SDX is awesome. Totally convincing sounds and very tweakable. I bought all the MIDI packs too - the grooves are the best I've heard - way better than GrooveMonkey.

I also have the SSD EX kits, which are very heavily processed and far less detailed than the SD ones (good kicks though). I got the set for $29 so I can't really complain. :)

audioholic said:
I felt like EZ drummer and most of the expansions were a bit too processed sounding, too bright and didn't sit well as compared to AD's more natural sound.
Click to expand...
Most of the EZ Drummer addons aren't that great, but the 'Nashville' pack is fantastic for pop and classic rock. I used it all the time before I got SD2.
 
Very cool about SD having a grooves window like EZDrummer. I've only ever seen the kit editor as it was being played by a human. I though it sounded superb. There were nuances in the sample set for different velocities that EZD definitely lacked.

Slight tangent but: where are you guys getting grooved from? I flat out suck at making my own grooves and the EZD add-ons I have didn't come with that many. Nothing worse than having a groove in your head and having to wade through the groove library and never come close.
 
javajunkie said:
iaresee said:
I have EZDrummer and my drummer has Superior. Not the same programs at all. SD is really meant to be played by a drummer. Doesn't have pattern auditioning and such. Heck, I don't think it even came with patterns. Just gobs of samples. Played via his V-Drum kit SD is definitely amazing. But without patterns it's useless to a non-drummer like me.
Click to expand...

It had built in grooves/pattern auditioning for sometime.
Click to expand...
Oooooh, that's pretty.

How easy is to put your own drum patterns together, and what does the UI look like in the "build your own pattern" areas?
 
iaresee said:
Slight tangent but: where are you guys getting grooved from? I flat out suck at making my own grooves and the EZD add-ons I have didn't come with that many.
Click to expand...
All the SDX packs come with decent grooves, but they also sell a range of grooves and fills. The Songwriters Packs are especially good - rather than 1 bar riffs they are whole sections which build very naturally, so after a couple of minutes of auditioning and dragging them in, you have a very authentic sounding drum backing track done. :cool:
 
I finally got into my new house and got the audio computer set up (Its been built for nearly a year..... shame on me) and ready to roll.

I threw Reaper on there so I have 30 days to decide if I like it and a while back I found a deal on Sweetwater for EZDrummer + the Vintage expansion for $70 so I jumped on it. Now the real issue is learning how to use all of it and making it work. I like what I've heard from EZD but as far as samples in good demos or even release ready stuff I have been VERY impressed with SD 2. Seems there is LOADS of flexibility and tons of great samples available.

I imagine it really comes down to the end user and their preferences/technical ability. Id go for SD2 myself. Once I learn how all this stuff works together thats my plan.
 
audioholic said:
which acoustic drum program do you recommend and why?

BFD2
Superior 2.
Steven Slate Drums


As of now I am leaning towards BFD2 as I don't like EZ drummer and wonder if just maybe some of what I don't like I will hear in Superior. I already have Addictive drums which is good, but need something else.

discuss. first hand experience of either is always a plus.
Click to expand...

- BFD2 is great
- Hi gain players seem to prefer Superior2

Both of these are top notch "when you are in studio",
but for fast demos it's so much easier to use loops or EZDrummer.
Most of the time I use Spectrasonics Stylus RMX with BackBeat Xpander:
http://www.spectrasonics.net/instrument ... _demos.php

;)
 
iaresee said:
Slight tangent but: where are you guys getting grooved from? I flat out suck at making my own grooves and the EZD add-ons I have didn't come with that many. Nothing worse than having a groove in your head and having to wade through the groove library and never come close.
Click to expand...

OK, I´m OT here but IMHO the days of using static midi patterns for creating drum grooves should belong to the past.
Look up Jamstix 3 by Rayzoon (www.rayzoon.com).
It creates grooves according to your specifications IN REALTIME, NON-STATIC. It even models the unique-ness of different, well- known drummers.
It´s the bomb.

It comes with it´s own library which is decent but it can subhost any premium library as well.
I use it with AD and SSD.
 
Jamsticks 3 is only PC, VSTi right now it seams. I am on a Mac running RTAS. sure you could use a vst to rtas adapter, but it looks like it won't even run on a mac yet, which is just foolish in the world of music creation.
 
audioholic said:
Jamsticks 3 is only PC, VSTi right now it seams. I am on a Mac running RTAS. sure you could use a vst to rtas adapter, but it looks like it won't even run on a mac yet, which is just foolish in the world of music creation.
Click to expand...

It´s a matter of resources. Ralph (Rayzoon) works hard on a Mac version (hopefully ready for release at the end of the year).
Jamstix3 is the only reason I have a Bootcamp partition on my Macbook Pro.
 
Doc said:
iaresee said:
Slight tangent but: where are you guys getting grooved from? I flat out suck at making my own grooves and the EZD add-ons I have didn't come with that many. Nothing worse than having a groove in your head and having to wade through the groove library and never come close.
Click to expand...

OK, I´m OT here but IMHO the days of using static midi patterns for creating drum grooves should belong to the past.
Look up Jamstix 3 by Rayzoon (http://www.rayzoon.com).
It creates grooves according to your specifications IN REALTIME, NON-STATIC. It even models the unique-ness of different, well- known drummers.
It´s the bomb.

It comes with it´s own library which is decent but it can subhost any premium library as well.
I use it with AD and SSD.
Click to expand...

Jamstix 3 w/. SD 2 is a great combination.
 
Jamstix looks pretty cool but I too am on a Mac. Have to keep my eye on that though.
 
Doc said:
iaresee said:
Slight tangent but: where are you guys getting grooved from? I flat out suck at making my own grooves and the EZD add-ons I have didn't come with that many. Nothing worse than having a groove in your head and having to wade through the groove library and never come close.
Click to expand...

OK, I´m OT here but IMHO the days of using static midi patterns for creating drum grooves should belong to the past.
Look up Jamstix 3 by Rayzoon (http://www.rayzoon.com).
It creates grooves according to your specifications IN REALTIME, NON-STATIC. It even models the unique-ness of different, well- known drummers.
It´s the bomb.

It comes with it´s own library which is decent but it can subhost any premium library as well.
I use it with AD and SSD.
Click to expand...


I worked with the demo this morning and then bought the program. Extremely impressed. I am a SD2 user, but the groove building with Jamstix3 is exceptionally intuitive, fast and sounded better in 30 minutes on something I had spent days working on.

Thanks for the tip. Awaiting my download links and license number. Very cool.
 
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