Another 100s of amen funk drums. Oh those boombap samples and some unison midi packs feeding all those arturia V colletion synths on top is the top formula for greatest hits.

 

this post made me dig into SDX, and wow, that 1176 emulation within it, SLAPS those drums.

 

Sometimes i use them too, the mixwave stuff its ok if you want to go for mix-ready presets and all that, but i think they have limits when you are looking for a more personal and unique sound. Same with GGD stuff. The other thing is that you cant alter configurations in them, you can change certain pieces of gear, but e.g if i want to have 3 different splashes in Duplantier´s kit or more toms, or add a china in Aaron Gillespie´s kit, i cant. Also, you get less built-in fx options, i mean if you work with them (i usually use external vst´s for my drum processing).

 

Yes there are not many options for tweaking drums and some of them have a signature sound for example snares in jay weinberg drums and it's not good for poeple like me.
I used GGD, Based on one time use, GGD drums sound thin.

What's your favorite drums for metal and heavy styles?

 

I dunno why we should care it. The core library offers tons of sounds and presets. That's enough though.

 

I've always thought SD3 libraries were too storage space consuming, so I never even seriously started using it. 15gb or 20gb is just about my cutoff point for any drummer plugin library or Kontakt drum library, with an exception for Duplantier II. After that, I think it is diminishing returns. A 100gb library does not sound 80gb better than one that is 20gb by the time I'm done with it. I will generally end up with my other 3rd party effects plugins on each individual drum when I am mixing anyway. I won't even go over 50gb for any Kontakt library, and those contain so many more instruments than a drums library.

 

The differences in the quality of the finished recorded tracks tells the tale about SD3 and it's libraries. If you're looking for drop-dead realism in a recorded drum track in a virtual setting it doesn't get much better than SD3, IMO. There are instances of piano libraries (and other non-percussive instruments) that unravel in the 100's of gb's that IMO don't sound any better than libs 1/3 that size. These would be legitimate causes for complaint. Drum kits are one of the most intricate and difficult things to record properly in a live studio setting. Hence the more parameters that are under user control in the virtual world, the better. Complaining about the size of the library is parochial and conveys a lack of basic understanding about how the actual process is carried out in the real world.

 

Last edited: Apr 12, 2025

I second the above statement, word for word (I'm not a drummer, but Goshdarnit do I love a good sounding drum set).

I would only add that when you have heart problems, you go to a cardiologist (or psychic...), not the GP or family doctor.

Likewise, when you want the best drum libraries, you go to a specialist (I use Addictive, BFD, and ToonTrack).

 

The entire Addictive Drums complete + application is ~10 gb. There are only about 10 BFD libraries that are over 20gb; and those just barely over. Out of how many? lol. There are 2 shared Mixwave Kontakt libraries over 20, Duplantier II and Lorna Shore/Austin Archey. GetGood, there are 2. As examples.

 

Id be shocked if that wasnt Toontracks next move. EZ Guitar seems like its probably being beta tested as we type and the next gen of EZ Bass is around the corner. I feel like the next generation of EZ softwares should have AI built in for detection and suggestion purposes.