How many virtual drumkits do you have and actually use?

[DJ Warmonger]

I've got about 5 favourites from Battery 4 I use over and over. Actually they cover different styles already.

[EnGee]

NI Drumlab

This one... Is actually brilliant!

Really?! I didn't like it at all! It sounds harsh and unbalanced to me. I don't know! I don't like it.

Add Glitchmachines Subvert to it, it will feel better

I don't have to! I already have what I like

[morelia]

I have:
SD3 ***
EZD3 **
AD2 *
BFD3
Kontakt (DrumDrops, GGD)
Modo
Naughty Seal Audio *
Joe Barresi Evil Drums *
Gretsch Rock Legends Kit - PSCWK
SSD5 **
Space Cabin Audio
Ugritone
MT Power Drumkit *

The asterisks indicate what is used the most.

[Rabid]

My greedy little mind tells me that I need a big variety of kits and sounds so I can be sure to have the perfect sound for any situation. Standing back and looking at my results, it is obvious that the most important part of my drum setup is the drum machine that I choose. Right now I am most efficient with XO. Not because of that pretty cloud of dots representing samples. I like it because it is simple to create patterns and easy to drag MIDI or audio loops from XO into my DAW.

I started out as a drummer in bands. One drum set for all songs. Not sure why the computer makes me think I need so many virtual kits.

[chk071]

3 million.

[AsgardBS]

0, I don't use drum.

However, I do have some percussion ensemble from BBCSO and Audio Imperia Nucleus, some nice timpani

[JohnPativens]

Thanks for all your replies!
Yes, I forgot I also have a never installed Groove Agent included in Cubase Pro and some Reaktor drum synths like Polyplex.

If we exclude samplers/synths more specific for beat programming, I think the only reason for having a large collection of acoustic drumkits can be the baked in sound you get with them (drummer who recorded samples and grooves, recording room, recording engineers) more than the kit itself. That's only if you want something quick and ready for any style.

[noiseboyuk]

If we exclude samplers/synths more specific for beat programming, I think the only reason for having a large collection of acoustic drumkits can be the baked in sound you get with them (drummer who recorded samples and grooves, recording room, recording engineers) more than the kit itself. That's only if you want something quick and ready for any style.

The Toontrack expansions (and other similar companies) are a combination of all the things you’ve said, AND the drums and drummer themselves. It’s the combination of the lot. You can use stuff recorded for a different purpose and have fun re-purposing it of course, but in general you will get better results from a product that is designed for a particular genre that you’re working in, recorded and played by people who are experts in that field. It’s not just for speed, though unquestionably that’s a factor.

[ghost863boy]

I have WAY too many drums and drum samples. I started out my collection around 1998 downloading samples anywhere I could find online for free and have since amassed an unruly behemoth that I could never explore fully. Last I checked my drum sample folder contained over 1,000,000 one shot samples I have collected since I started. I also have EZD, SD, BFD, Jamstix, and about 25 other drum vsti lying around. I have just recently purchased XLN XO and am in the process of importing my sample folder into it and I will then use one of my virtual drummers to drive midi to it so that I can have the ability to change kits in XO randomly on the fly. So far it is working out better than I ever hoped. I no longer feel overwhelmed when deciding to start on a new drum track. Before I was frozen from sheer overabundance of choices. Now I just worry about the pattern and know I can switch the complete sound and vibe of the track just by hitting the random kit button in XO. I'm loving it.

[JohnPativens]

If we exclude samplers/synths more specific for beat programming, I think the only reason for having a large collection of acoustic drumkits can be the baked in sound you get with them (drummer who recorded samples and grooves, recording room, recording engineers) more than the kit itself. That's only if you want something quick and ready for any style.

The Toontrack expansions (and other similar companies) are a combination of all the things you’ve said, AND the drums and drummer themselves. It’s the combination of the lot. You can use stuff recorded for a different purpose and have fun re-purposing it of course, but in general you will get better results from a product that is designed for a particular genre that you’re working in, recorded and played by people who are experts in that field. It’s not just for speed, though unquestionably that’s a factor.

I love the Toontrack environment but, especially with their raw SDX samples, as long as the kits have similar specs, i find they can sound alike once mixed and processed. I can make Metal Foundry (which is super raw) sound like Avatar or other SDXs if I want.

Drums is a different beast to emulate than let's say an orchestra. One might need four virtual symphonic orchestras, a few chamber ensembles, and few soloist also, all of them will have some specific sets of articulations. One just can't do everything with one single software orchestra.

With drums, top drum romplers all have the same detailed articulations with multisamples. I bought Metal Foundry at release because I needed toms smaller than the usual 12 inches and special cymbals I can use for any kind of music, I don't think it has a "metal" taylored sound, unless you use the included mixer presets.

[noiseboyuk]

I love the Toontrack environment but, especially with their raw SDX samples, as long as the kits have similar specs, i find they can sound alike once mixed and processed. I can make Metal Foundry (which is super raw) sound like Avatar or other SDXs if I want.

Sure you can, and I do it all the time too. But if I want to sound like 60s soul, I’d get a better result from an expansion recorded, played and designed in a 60s soul environment. You can do it without using a lot of other kit, quite fun to do as well, but it likely won’t be quite as good.

[morelia]

It's been a long time coming but these days I open SD3, load The Progressive Foundry, load Forrester's Kit preset and tweak from there. I often change out a few individual kit pieces by the end of a mix. It's great to have something I am happy to start with though.

[Unaspected]

Have BFD 1.5 and all the Komplete kits but only use Abbey Road 60s Drummer.

All the kits seem to be very polished sounding whilst lacking in alternate layers. I've been considering hiring out a rehearsal studio and recording one there for myself. One of my old haunts is still going and if they're still using the same cymbals, they should be beyond recognition by now. Just scrap metal.

The snare drums also used to have a nice layer of skunk all around the rim. Like green grouting. Nothing like a skunky snare adding that extra sizzle.

If I were in the market for new drum software: The Blues EZX sounds like a really nice kit - especially love that suitcase. Soniccouture's Moonkits also sounds good.

[JohnPativens]

I love the Toontrack environment but, especially with their raw SDX samples, as long as the kits have similar specs, i find they can sound alike once mixed and processed. I can make Metal Foundry (which is super raw) sound like Avatar or other SDXs if I want.

Sure you can, and I do it all the time too. But if I want to sound like 60s soul, I’d get a better result from an expansion recorded, played and designed in a 60s soul environment. You can do it without using a lot of other kit, quite fun to do as well, but it likely won’t be quite as good.

Absolutely, the one you mentioned is one of those cases where's way better using a specific drumkit taylored for that sound (like a vintage Gretsch kit), mostly because is impossible to obtain that vibe from a modern drumset. I'm not that much into the "one drum expansion for each genre" thing though, whereas most of them will overlap anyway.

...but only use Abbey Road 60s Drummer.

That's a very underrated piece of software!

[BONES]

My greedy little mind tells me that I need a big variety of kits and sounds so I can be sure to have the perfect sound for any situation.

I find that a distraction. I've stopped using Battery for precisely that reason - too much choice! It makes it hard to find the thing you want/need.

Anyhoo, we used to use Orion's DrumRack with samples we had collected ourselves but we moved to Battery when we ditched Orion, so that's what you hear on our last album. But since then I have gotten totally on board with Ujam's drums and I use those for pretty much everything these days, with a bit of cinematic assistance from the free version of Ferrum.

I own VD-Heavy, VD-Phat, BM-Void, BM-Nemesis, BM-Berserk, BM-Vice and a couple of others I got for free (BM-Dope, BM-Hustle, BM-Eden). The ones I paid for all get some use, although BM-Vice and BM-Berserk are probably my favourites. I don't use the preset patterns, it's usually just as easy to make your own. I do all of the processing in the instrument and only take a stereo out into the mix.