Insane upgrade price to Superior from EZ right now, so question, can Superior...

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...read ALL my EZdrummer expansions, 100% correctly, and use all the midi files etc, as if i was using ezdrummer, ie, true 100% compatibility?

cheers and TIA, sale ends soon... I bought ez from MP for $35 from memory, and i bought some banks when audiodeluxe had their crazy sale, and right now if i put three toontrack products in cart i can basically get the upgrade for $75 and for maybe $50 more get some addons, like midi files and maybe one more ez drummer pack.

very tempting.

I am just wondering, anyone know WHY the superior drummer expansions are SO much more expensive than the ez drummer ones?

Also, would this be the only acoustic drum software i would ever need? cause ez drummer is the ONLY one i have! (and maybe superior after this topic)

or would it still benefit me to have an alternative, say bfd or something?

I am starting to branch out into sellable music, basically, for the first time, ever, i want to maybe instead of writing what pleases me, is write some stuff in a few genres that is commercially sellable. I am going to need acoustic drums for this, especially if i do a rock tune for example, or ballad.. the electronic stuff won't cut it for that.

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I'm not sure about the EZ expansion compatibility, exactly. I've bought a couple for SD2.. and they seem to work well. Apparently, with an EZ in SD2 you get more control over certain aspects of the content, than you would within EZ Drummer itself.

I believe the main reason for the cost difference between the two expansion types.. would be the amount of sampled content you get in an EZX v.s. an SDX.

The EZX's I have, have all the samples contained on just one disc each. The one SDX I have, uses 5 discs. I think this is about what you would expect from the rest of the SDX libraries. Maybe someone else can confirm this.
Last edited by progtronic on Wed Jan 23, 2013 8:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

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for the first question (about Superior being able to load EZ libraries): i believe so.
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Thanks.. yeah more control i don't mind of course, as long as it can read them properly.

I think it's probably a no brainer at this price.. and i don't see what any other library could provide that's better..

what i am trying to say is.. why have two vi's? Isn't buying another drum sampler just really buying a different interface and sounds, but the fact of all the toontrack expansions means i can have any sound i want theoretically..

like for example, is there anything that bfd can actually do that superior can't?

I think with me it's probably better to get used to the one interface and stick with it.

Plus, jamstix is on it's way to mac and i bought the platinum v2 package just before i switched to mac and have never used it, so of course will upgrade that when it's out for mac (version 4). I mean between that and toontrack, i couldn't possibly need more (ok there you go, i will have two after all lol).

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as for BFD vs Superior, it all comes down to personal preference. i have BFD myself, but i've seen Superior in action at my friends'. i much prefer BFD interface and sounds over Superior interface and sounds (aside from maybe bleeding UI - Superior's bleeds make much more sense and are far more intuitive), but maybe that's confirmation bias :-D both can do great drum tracks - it's not like my friend's drums sound any worse than mine (we both suck, so take it with a grain of salt :-D ). if you're curious about BFD but don't want the full investment, i'd suggest looking at BFD Eco - it's somewhat akin to EZDrummer in terms of being a cut-down version of the full software. All the libraries are compatible between the two so if you decide to later upgrade to full BFD, you'd have a good price (and make sure you shop around, maybe you'd find a good discount on JRRshop or something).
Last edited by Burillo on Wed Jan 23, 2013 9:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
I don't know what to write here that won't be censored, as I can only speak in profanity.

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Superior Drummer can load all EZX expansions and use all the midi files. I'm running a mix of EZX and SDX kits and they all work flawlessly. I still own EZdrummer, but never use it now that I have Superior. SDXs are higher quality (quality is maybe not the right word) samples and are not processed or at least not processed as much. They take a little bit more effort to get the sound you want, but they're much more versatile and sound great. The Superior Drummer interface is easy to grasp.

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Sure i thought of that, but there are so many killer specials on that that i'd absolutely wait.. i mean right now i think expansions are half price, but there are sometimes specials of bfd eco at $29, so why pay 99.

even bfd full was on special for like 149 or less at a dealer.

fxpansion seems to do specials often and drastic ones (i got synth squad for 80 odd bucks from jrr, and it's normally 249 and ALOT of people paid 249 for it), so it's a case of wait, and use what i have now.

But i am sure bfd eco will go on sale when the expansions are full price! lol.

maybe i should just buy 2 expansions now before the sale ends, cause i suspect the eco library is very small, and just hunt for a good price on eco and take my time.

Could anyone recommend, especially users of toontrack, their favourite SUPERIOR expansions (and bfd users too, please feel free to contribute!)

I am making pop/rock, and will delve into rnb as well. I will of course still make my tarnce from time to time as that is what gives me pleasure (and also writing ambient new agey stuff, and then turning that into a dance/tarnce mix afterwards!)

The EZ xpansions i currently have are: electronic, claustrophobic, metal machine :grin:, the classic, number one hits.

Now i know that covers a lot of ground but i also read that superior sets are a lot drier so we can use our own processing where as EZ expansions are heavily pre mastered, so

to get the Audio deluxe special i need three toontrack products in cart. Obviously, superior upgrade, i'll choose a midi pack for EZ keys, and one best "all round" expansion for superior. So this is what i am really needing advice on, recommendations for a top superior add on.

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Shangsean wrote:Superior Drummer can load all EZX expansions and use all the midi files. I'm running a mix of EZX and SDX kits and they all work flawlessly. I still own EZdrummer, but never use it now that I have Superior. SDXs are higher quality (quality is maybe not the right word) samples and are not processed or at least not processed as much. They take a little bit more effort to get the sound you want, but they're much more versatile and sound great. The Superior Drummer interface is easy to grasp.
ahh we were typing same time, so what i had previously read was true, superior more suited to us putting out own effects. that suite me BETTER.. i am not the "ezmix" type of guy.

So yeah, superior expansion recommendations would be terrific, and thank you as a user of both for answering my question perfectly!

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i've seen the "Custom & Vintage" SDX in action - i liked it a lot. i believe they have audio demos on their website, no?
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of course but i always go to KVR for opinions first, i trust you guys!

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Hi Theo,

Yes - Superior works with all the (EZDrummer) EZX's and MIDI files.

The difference between SDX (for Superior) and EZX is that the SDX are 24 bit, *lots* bigger (so more rr samples and more articulations etc), and they are pretty much unprocessed - as mentioned already. This makes them completely flexible.

I'm gonna go with Burillo and say my favourite SDX is the C&V one. It's the "driest" of them all ie it doesn't have as many "ambient" (room) mics as some of the others - but I love the kits. Check them out on the TT site.

"Metal Foundry" is also great for rock drums (don't let the name put you off, it's just unprocessed drums) and you can do bigger kits with it (get plenty of RAM).

Mind you - that's the thing with Superior - you can mix and match pieces from the different SDX and EZX packs. As long as you don't worry about the mixed "room" files (just keep everything reasonably dry and use your own "room" reverb. Or knock yourself out and check out their video that shows how to fake room ambiences from one SDX into another) you can add as many pieces to any kit as you like. Then you get complete control over the MIDI and can even stack sounds or use one eg for vol 0-64 and another for 65-127 - there are lots of possibilities.

I don't know any other products -but Superior is certainly great :wink:
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I own Metal Foundry SDX and Metalheads, Drumkit from Hell, Electronic and Classic EZXs.

Metal Foundry is a huge collection. I think there are about 7 kits with pretty good variety. It's very raw/clean and crisp. I would definitely get Drumkit from Hell, not so much for the drums (nothing wrong with them, but covered in Metal Foundry, etc.), but it includes a lot of midi grooves, a lot more than the other expansions I've bought and it's very useful stuff. I've used Metalheads the least and the midi isn't the most extensive. The included kit is also very good in Superior Drummer and there is some included midi, but I use the midi that comes with Drumkit from Hell the most by far.

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Yup, SD is EZD on steroids.
It can read, play, etc. all the EZDrummer expansions ... plus it can do a lot more.

What makes SD win against all other drum samplers every time for me, are the articulations. The snare for examples has right hand & left hand samples (they can alter automatically), you can play one note and produce a flam, another note to make a rim-shot, the next one will initiate a roll, one more will make a rough... and that's just the snare.
Having so many articulations gives you unequaled power to sculpt something that sounds realistic, when done right, much more than EZDrummer or XLN etc. could.

The others will work just fine for Pop and Rock, okay, but they're slow and lazy playing styles. Bring some speed and variations in there, looking at Jazz and Metal, that's where they all fail - except for SD.

Also a big plus: all the samples are provided "clean", unprocessed. So they sound just like out of the console. If they don't thump, snap, "ROCK" or simply work out ... you know you're doing something wrong.

You can use the SD-integrated mixer to pre-bus the mics and control the bleed of the drums to the various microphones. I for example like strong Kick and Snare on the Room mics, but no Brass and little Kick/Snare on the Tom mics.

If you have several expansions, no matter if EZX or SDX, you can mix drums between them using the X-Drum feature. I admit, it's a bit of a hassle, but once you figure it out, you can have the Brass from the Avatar, the Kick and Toms from Metal Foundry, that great snare from Metal Machine, and the cutesy Cowbell that comes in one of the others ... all set up to play as one kit.

I could go into much more details here, but I'm simply too lazy to write about them all. ^^ Big thumbs up for SD from me, I've been through a lot of others (Slate 3+4, NI, XLN, Battery, ...) and when it comes to modern metal -but still somewhat realistic sounds with all sorts of articulations- SD is the clear winner. In my opinion.
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it's true that BFD doesn't have left/right hand articulations, but that's because there's no discernible differences between them, aside from playing at slightly lower velocities. all the articulations are still there, especially if you take some of the extensions such as Jazz&Funk - there's rods, mallets, sticks and brushes, all in different articulations such as rimshots, drags etc. BFD is really great in that aspect as well, especially combined with Jamstix. IOW, the praise the previous poster has for SD applies to BFD as well. keeping it fair & balanced!
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Burillo wrote:IOW, the praise the previous poster has for SD applies to BFD as well. keeping it fair & balanced!
To keep it fair and balanced: I have never gotten into BFD, so I can't comment on that. SD was cheaper. ;)
I don't work here, I just feed the trolls.
My sales thread @ Market Place
My website with lots of free stuff:
Sampled drums and instruments | Clipping plugin | Shure SRH840 EQ correction presets | SFZ syntax mode for Coda2

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