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Toontrack Music - Superior Drummer

19 members are watching Superior Drummer for news
Details
Software: Superior Drummer
Developer: Toontrack Music
Primary Type: Drum Kits / Loops
Price (MSRP): $349 / €249 / £189
Instrument(s): VSTAudio Unit
 VersionAvail?
Windows 2.0 Released
Mac OS XMac OS X Universal Binary 2.0 Released

Copy Protection: Serial Number
Average User Rating: Average rating - 8.938

User Installable
Resources
Receptor - The Ultimate Synth & Sampler Module
Related software [list them]
Superior Drummer
Superior Drummer

Superior Drummer 2.0 "The New York Studio Legacy Series" is a complete overhaul of the original dfh Superior engine but Toontrack have made painstakingly sure to lose nothing of the sound quality, attention to detail and musicality that has made the Toontrack Music drum sampler line what it is.

Superior Drummer 2.0 has been re-developed for optimized use with e-drums with more effective use of sample layers and much improved loading times. It includes custom MIDI played by Nir Z accessed through the all new customized MIDI engine and arranger - EZplayer pro; it features stand-alone capacity through Toontrack solo.

The new interface is reminiscent of EZdrummer with its simple handling and layout but gives its user layer upon layer of in depth features to create the ultimate drum track.

The all new construction window offers features such as:

  • ADSR.
  • X-pads - Load instruments from any Toontrack library to add positions or to double instruments on the position of your choice.
  • The ability to read and combine all dfh Superior and EZdrummer sound libraries.

The all new internal mixer features bussing capabilities and several built-in FX from UK-based software developer Sonalksis:

  • 5 Band EQ
  • Highpass and Lowpass filter
  • Gate
  • Compressor
  • Transient

The Sessions

Superior Drummer 2.0 "The New York Studio Legacy Series" was recorded by Pat Thrall, Neil Dorfsman and Nir Z at Hit Factory, Avatar Studios and Allaire studios, NY. Pat Thrall, Neil Dorfsman and Nir Z have between them over the past three decades worked with artists as diverse as Meatloaf, Celine Dion, Nick Lachey, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, Beyoncé, Björk, Kiss, Joss Stone, Genesis, John Mayer and Chris Cornell.

Vol. 1
This first release contains the Superior Drummer 2.0 sampler engine and Vol.1 of the "New York Studio Legacy Series". Vol.1 contains extensive recordings from Avatar Studios in New York.

Vol. 2
The second release, Vol.2 of the "New York Studio Legacy Series", is planned for Q1 2009 and will complement these recordings with sessions from the legendary Hit Factory and Allaire studios in New York city and upstate New York.

User Reviews for Superior Drummer

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By JamieSkeen
On 14th November 2006
Version: 1.5.6

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JamieSkeen


2 of 2 people found
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In one word WOW!! I have owned DFH 2(east west) for all most 2 years and have put off getting superior for one reason or another, but i wish i would have got this much, much sooner. For real acoustic drum sounds I don't think you can do any better than this.I have heard alot of other drum samplers and some have cool features but in terms of sound and control this is the best I have ever heard. The level of realism is unmatched, this is the way drums are meant to sound. All of the snares are incredible, even the room ambience sounds great and the hi-hats have so many variations you can always get the attack you need. My only gripe is the construction area is too specific, for example you have like 6 ride cymbal slots and only certain ride cymbals can be in certain slots personally i never use more than two at a time. Some times sampled drums even though sounding great don't always set in the mix well the drums in this collection are very easy to mix and the room mic almost erases the need for reverb for most tracks.Pick this up, you will be happy you did
 
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By daviencrow
On 28th June 2005
Version: latest

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6 of 6 people found
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Before I begin my review let me tell you a little bit about what I use and compare this too. I own (legit) BFD , BFD XFL , Battery 2 , Drumkit From Hell 2 (with the NI Sampler) , and Drumkit From Hell Superior (which I got at the upgrade price). I also own numerous Reason Refills and Sample Packs from various places. So as you can see I have a good standpoint to give my opinions. Just so you know (because I will refer to performance) My computer is a Dual 3.20 Pentium Xeon (the newer ones) with Hyper Threading , 2 GB of DDR2 RAM , 400GB HD SATA , 250GB usb 2.0 HD , 80 GB usb 2.0 HD , M-Audio Delta 1010 , Creative soundblaster augidy 2 ZS , Cooling System , and I regularly keep all the drives defragged via Diskeeper.

The Pros:
DFHS is unbeatable Library (matched only by BFD XFL) all around for people who want organic sounding , un-processed , drum samples and a professional sounding "drummer" at their finger tips. The program is well suited for all types of Metal , Rock , Punk , and related genres and I'm sure other people would find it VERY usefull as well because of the vast collection of drums and cymbals (at very well selected sizes). It is by far the BEST drum library for I have ever heard for the respective styles. It is well worth the money.

The Cons: My first beef with the program is you actually have to physically drag and drop the library from 4 double sided DVDs & 1 regular DVD. Not only that but it takes HOURS. Though the library is "superior" the plguins that accompany the program are VERY Hard to understand , hard to use , and even on my system the sounds drop out where as no other plugin on my system does so. It may my settings with the program becayse honestly they are hard to understand. Another beef is the poor excuse for midi's that comes with the program. The keymaps for DFHS are also very unfriendly to somone with a keyboard instead of a V-Kit or Sample Pad !! And the GM setting takes away functionality. You can edit your own keymaps but I absolutely hate how the feature is set up.

DFHS V.S. BFD & BFD XFL:

BFD surpasses DFHS in sound quality in a minute insignificant way but DFHS gives more versatility. DFHS allows such advantages as having a much larger drum kit and other forms of percussion that BFD and XFL do not provide. They both have great emulation of a real drummer's behaviour however BFD's interface is WAY EASIER TO USE and eats up way less memory. ALSO NOTE THAT DFHS can be loaded into BFD using BFD From Hell , a free program provided by Fxpansion. I do not know all of the advantages off hand , the first I would assume would be the various hits are mapped better and on the same key at diff velocities (unlike in DFHS) , and a superior interface to use the DFHS library in. The big disadvantage however is going back to the limited number of simeltaneous drums BFD allows compared to DFHS.

DFHS V.S Battery 2:
DFHS is superior in every aspect if your looking for unprocessed sounds. If your a newbie , dont want to mix your drum sounds , want to use a variety of samples in other formats etc.. Battery 2 is the way to go. DFHS is more suited for real drum sounds and emulating a real drummer where as Battey 2 is essentially just an expensive (but well worth it) sampler with a nice library.
 
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