I'ma buyin' Superior Drummer 3, should I wait for Black Friday?

[Mind Riot]

I've seen some discussion going around that SD3 virtually never goes on sale. My interest in it is fairly recent, so I don't know the history.

What say the forum? Is it worth waiting or should I just buy it now?

Thank you all for any insight.

[Kinh]

Why'dyo wan-ta buy it?

[noiseboyuk]

I’d wait for some kind of sale or deal. I can’t recall SD3 itself being discounted (to this point) but there’s often deals bundling with SDXs etc.

Now, let’s all sit back and watch the thread gracefully move towards “why do you want SD3, XYZ is miles better”.

[Jkist]

Yeah SD3 itself doesnt ever seem to go on sale, but you never know. The SDXs and midi packs do go on sale. The only Black Friday deal I've seen was you buy SD3 at full price and you get a free SDX.

For the record, I am actually selling a few SDXs at a discounted price. This isn't the thread for sales, but if you're interested, you can DM me.

Also SD3 is immensely capable and deep. The GetGood drum stuff sounds awesome out of the box, but they are kind of made into a certain sound and taste, and it can be tricky to get them to sound like anything else. SD3 gives you clay, high quality clay, but you are the one that molds it into whatever it needs to be.

But it is absolutely professional quality. Plini did his entire first album using it. Check out this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBztSKccrDE

Sounds pretty incredible IMO.

[BBFG#]

Definitely wait for a sale. Make sure you're signed up to the major online retailers for email alerts.
I got a great deal from Time & Space on it, but there's been major changes on how many of the overseas companies are allowed to sell to the states now. So double check your cart and if they add shipping. And watch the secondhand market here as well. I've seen it go for decent enough prices. (Sold mine, but think it's still a good product.)

[Mind Riot]

Why'dyo wan-ta buy it?

I've used Addictive Drums 1 and 2 extensively and SSD 5.5 quite a bit as well, and I haven't been able to get things the way I want them and I'm tired of fighting my software. Slate's cymbals mostly suck, so right now I'm duplicating my MIDI track so I can run SSD drums on one track and AD2's cymbals on the other. And I've only found about four snares in SSD that I really like; I don't know why but Slate just really seems to love snares that sound like big wet cardboard boxes because 98% of his snares are like that. Whole thing's way too much of a pain in the ass for what's supposed to be an enjoyable and fulfilling passion.

I want to get my hands on the best sounding drum samples available with the most flexible mixing options, and onboard effects tailored to work with the drum samples would be nice too. I liked working with the effects in AD 1 and 2; it was nice not having to route everything out into my DAW.

I don't care about or need grooves or songwriting assistants. I'm an experienced drummer playing my parts on an e-drum kit and recording the MIDI, then using that performance captured in the MIDI to trigger the drum samples. So a lot of what SD3 has to offer is nothing to me, but that's the same with any other drum software.

If it has the best sounding samples and the mixing is flexible (though I've heard you need to do a pretty dumb workaround just to move a cymbal from one side of a kit to the other) and the effects are good I should be a happy guy.

What would also make me happy is to know how the HELL do I multi-quote people on this god damned forum?!

[Mind Riot]

Yeah SD3 itself doesnt ever seem to go on sale, but you never know. The SDXs and midi packs do go on sale. The only Black Friday deal I've seen was you buy SD3 at full price and you get a free SDX.

For the record, I am actually selling a few SDXs at a discounted price. This isn't the thread for sales, but if you're interested, you can DM me.

Also SD3 is immensely capable and deep.

But it is absolutely professional quality. Plini did his entire first album using it. Check out this song:

Sounds pretty incredible IMO.

It sounds like a professionally produced drum track, which is exactly what it should sound like.

I suppose I'll wait if it's really the course of wisdom, but it'll be hard. I bought a nice 500gb SSD just for SD3's samples that'll just have to sit there for a month. I can install it and everything, but still, it'll just be sitting there.

I did some reading and found out that Thomann usually had the best price for this sort of thing, so I checked and sure enough, they're selling the full version for $349 (for serial and download). If you want the box it's two dollars more, but they state that there's no data carrier with the box, so you still have to download the massive 230gb sample library. You'd just have the pretty box with the serial number inside to put on your shelf. Bit of a bummer since installing from discs could be done in minutes, but that's the way things are done these days.

Ever see SD3 go for less than $349 during a sale? I'd rather pay $349 for the core library than pay $400 for it and an SDX. This will easily be the most expensive piece of software I have ever bought, by a long way.

Any recommendations on SDXs in case I do run into some deal where I get one for free? I'm a I guess I'd say hard rock kinda guy. I'm a metal guy too but like metal from twenty five years ago. The stuff they're all pumping out these days is way more extreme than what I'm interested in, and in general I think the production on them, including the drums, sounds like shit. I like a big, powerful sounding rock kit with character and balance.

Anyway, I'm rambling now. Again, thanks for any help or insight you'd be so kind as to share.

[Mind Riot]

Definitely wait for a sale. Make sure you're signed up to the major online retailers for email alerts.
I got a great deal from Time & Space on it, but there's been major changes on how many of the overseas companies are allowed to sell to the states now. So double check your cart and if they add shipping. And watch the secondhand market here as well. I've seen it go for decent enough prices. (Sold mine, but think it's still a good product.)

It'd be pretty weird for them to add shipping. I've only seen it offered as a serial number and download now.

I've got my eye on KVR's classifieds, even started a WTB thread there for it.

I'm only signed up for Plugin Boutique, and they send so many e-mails on deals I might unsubscribe. But on the day of Black Friday and that weekend leading to Cyber Monday I'll make the rounds and check all the usual stores. I wonder if Thomann would offer an even bigger discount than what they're already doing as a standard price for SD3; they've got it set at $349 already, which is a significant discount.

Seriously, if somebody could tell me how to multi-quote here I'll be embarrassed that I don't remember how but also grateful.

[soulata]

Yeah!

I'm waiting for a better price to upgrade EZ2 to SD3.

Hansa and Decades SDX expansions sound ace.

Btw, EZ has some really good sounding ones, too. Ash Soan ones plus the new songwriter one, man...

k

[Daimonicon]

Yeah SD3 itself doesnt ever seem to go on sale, but you never know. The SDXs and midi packs do go on sale. The only Black Friday deal I've seen was you buy SD3 at full price and you get a free SDX.

For the record, I am actually selling a few SDXs at a discounted price. This isn't the thread for sales, but if you're interested, you can DM me.

Also SD3 is immensely capable and deep.

But it is absolutely professional quality. Plini did his entire first album using it. Check out this song:

Sounds pretty incredible IMO.

It sounds like a professionally produced drum track, which is exactly what it should sound like.

I suppose I'll wait if it's really the course of wisdom, but it'll be hard. I bought a nice 500gb SSD just for SD3's samples that'll just have to sit there for a month. I can install it and everything, but still, it'll just be sitting there.

I did some reading and found out that Thomann usually had the best price for this sort of thing, so I checked and sure enough, they're selling the full version for $349 (for serial and download). If you want the box it's two dollars more, but they state that there's no data carrier with the box, so you still have to download the massive 230gb sample library. You'd just have the pretty box with the serial number inside to put on your shelf. Bit of a bummer since installing from discs could be done in minutes, but that's the way things are done these days.

Ever see SD3 go for less than $349 during a sale? I'd rather pay $349 for the core library than pay $400 for it and an SDX. This will easily be the most expensive piece of software I have ever bought, by a long way.

Any recommendations on SDXs in case I do run into some deal where I get one for free? I'm a I guess I'd say hard rock kinda guy. I'm a metal guy too but like metal from twenty five years ago. The stuff they're all pumping out these days is way more extreme than what I'm interested in, and in general I think the production on them, including the drums, sounds like shit. I like a big, powerful sounding rock kit with character and balance.

Anyway, I'm rambling now. Again, thanks for any help or insight you'd be so kind as to share.

I've been a SD user since the first version came out. With SD3 you have enough of drums. If I didn't already have a few other SDX I would probably never bought them after SD3. Oh and I'm like you a hard rock-metal guy who neither can't stand the new all sound the same metal records and so full of triggered drums that sound the same.

[Jkist]

I would definitely give the GetGood drums stuff a listen. For rock and metal, their stuff is astoundingly good for the price. They are cheap too. The One Kit Wonder stuff if you don't want to dive too much into spending hours and hours mixing drums. Or you could do Modern and Massive if you want to process them yourself. For outright rock, I often just use GGD, even though I own SD3, because GGD is just so easy to get to sound good in a mix. SD3 is far, far more versatile and capable. But GGD is pretty incredible for the price.

[briefcasemanx]

I think on BF sometimes there's a deal to get a free sdx. Which is great because there's a good chance you're going to want the Field of Rock and/or Drums of Hansa sdx's. Those 2 sound FAR beyond any other drum libraries I've ever heard.

Edit: just listened to GGD "modern and massive" YouTube demo. That one actually does sound pretty good specifically for hard rock/metal style drums if the promo video is anything to go by. Didn't care for the "one kit wonder" promo sounds though, compared to SD3 stuff

[BBFG#]

Definitely wait for a sale. Make sure you're signed up to the major online retailers for email alerts.
I got a great deal from Time & Space on it, but there's been major changes on how many of the overseas companies are allowed to sell to the states now. So double check your cart and if they add shipping. And watch the secondhand market here as well. I've seen it go for decent enough prices. (Sold mine, but think it's still a good product.)

It'd be pretty weird for them to add shipping. I've only seen it offered as a serial number and download now.

I've got my eye on KVR's classifieds, even started a WTB thread there for it.

I'm only signed up for Plugin Boutique, and they send so many e-mails on deals I might unsubscribe. But on the day of Black Friday and that weekend leading to Cyber Monday I'll make the rounds and check all the usual stores. I wonder if Thomann would offer an even bigger discount than what they're already doing as a standard price for SD3; they've got it set at $349 already, which is a significant discount.

Seriously, if somebody could tell me how to multi-quote here I'll be embarrassed that I don't remember how but also grateful.

When I bought it, it was a boxed version, but the shipping was free and there was no tax/vat or shipping. And it only showed up on an email for a very short period. Most of their email is Kontakt library based and they do SPAM like most, but not as bad as PIB. But those sporadic "grab this now" deals kind of make it worth it.

After Brexit though, I did notice a required change in policy and some things could no longer be shipped or even sold to the states. I found it interesting that during the times I was buying often from them that I got better deals from them than the stores in my own country. And the lawmakers became aware of that and endeavored to put a stop to it. Still, some things slip through.
Another dealer along those lines has been "Best Service".
Sign up before BF, than unsubscribe in the new year (I used to wait until after NAMM, but the pandemic has modified that too.)

[Mind Riot]

I would definitely give the GetGood drums stuff a listen. For rock and metal, their stuff is astoundingly good for the price. They are cheap too. The One Kit Wonder stuff if you don't want to dive too much into spending hours and hours mixing drums. Or you could do Modern and Massive if you want to process them yourself. For outright rock, I often just use GGD, even though I own SD3, because GGD is just so easy to get to sound good in a mix. SD3 is far, far more versatile and capable. But GGD is pretty incredible for the price.

GGD has given me pause. I heard Invasion and it sounded really impressive, plus it had several snares and kick drums that kind of brought things down so it wasn't always so over the top. Somebody's selling their license on the forums here, I've got a PM sent off to them but I haven't heard anything back. Modern and Massive sounded great, but I don't know if it's as versatile.

If I run across a decent price for a second hand license for several libraries in their stable I might bite whether or not I end up getting SD3.

[Mind Riot]

I think on BF sometimes there's a deal to get a free sdx. Which is great because there's a good chance you're going to want the Field of Rock and/or Drums of Hansa sdx's. Those 2 sound FAR beyond any other drum libraries I've ever heard.

Edit: just listened to GGD "modern and massive" YouTube demo. That one actually does sound pretty good specifically for hard rock/metal style drums if the promo video is anything to go by. Didn't care for the "one kit wonder" promo sounds though, compared to SD3 stuff

What's BF?

[EDIT] Nevermind, I'm a clueless idiot. I thought you guys were talking about a plugin store and I was wracking my brain trying to think of one that had the initials BF.