Best Acoustic Drum VST Plugin?

[jamcat]

MODO drums, not for me. The drums sounds kind of ok but the hi hats are really limited in articulations. It's like opened or closed and maybe something else.

Incorrect, sir. You control the hi-hat pedal with CC. You get fully open, fully closed, and near infinite variations between. You can play with either tip or shank, or you can just open and close the hat with just the pedal.

This is the problem when people install a plugin and play with it for 5 minutes to make a snap judgement without even bothering to read the manual.

[Aloysius]

If you have Kontakt, give the free Redpack Drums RCS Essentials demo a try.

I keep being tempted by BFD when I see it come up for sale, but it seems like a lot of users (specifically Mac) are having nothing but problems these days.

I got so much free stuff from Red Pack Drums, I felt obliged to purchase something from them. I ended up picking Red Pack Drums - Blackout Snare Collection for Kontakt. It's on sale for €17.97, plus they already gave me a 15% coupon which made it even cheaper. I'm very happy with the Blackout Snare Collection. Great to find a new (to me) company doing great stuff.

Mac users have problems with everything. They pick a wonky platform and then complain about being the victim.

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[musicdoc]

You are right about the hi hat having more articulations, but the drums still sound pretty bad compared to most stuff by Toontracks and XLN. I've tried it multiple times thinking I'm missing something but MODO drums definitely a miss for me. MODO Bass and Organ quite good. But drums -nah. Not horrible, certainly usable if I have nothing else but not for me.

[donkey tugger]

Does anyone have any examples they've done with MODO drums in a real world (i.e. actual song) context?

Wasn't very impressed with the various IK demo things, but then again I seldom am with these type of things, invariably consisting as they do of some massively overproduced metel, or jaaaath-funk, or some shite.

[MACMUTSCHELLER]

I just bought Beau Burchell Drums from Room Sound. I think they are really awesome sounding, (pretty) deep sampled. Especially great for heavier rock/punk but they do sound great in every genre i´ve tried them so far.

[sjm]

Does anyone have any examples they've done with MODO drums in a real world (i.e. actual song) context?

I've used it in a track that is very WIP-y and not something I want to share publicly. There's also the caveat that I wasn't going for "authentic acoustic kit sound played by an actual drummer" in the track, but more a "sampled drum loop vibe". I had whipped something up with FPC as a placeholder and wanted something with a little more vibe, and tried MODO Drum in the track. I liked the results and got good feedback in general regarding the drums from various internet randos.

Wasn't very impressed with the various IK demo things, but then again I seldom am with these type of things, invariably consisting as they do of some massively overproduced metel, or jaaaath-funk, or some shite.

However, it was also - for want of a better genre description - "trip metal". So I'm not sure how useful this information is. I've also used it once or twice for very quick mock-ups on stuff other people have done where I thought their drums could be a lot better.

It's gets a tentative thumbs up from me, but I haven't really used it enough to be a trustworthy source. I do intend to put it through its paces in an actual "indie rokk song" of the type you are more likely to be producing yourself, but that's for when I can actually be arsed. So I'll get back to you in 2030.

[an-electric-heart]

I have a lot of drum samplers (Superior, Slate, Modo Drums, All the the Kontakt libraries included in Komplete), but recently I'm actually really liking the Ugritone kits. They're geared towards metal and alternative music, but they're great. They're regularly on sale for $10 (or as low as $5 occasionally). If you join the mailing list they'll sporadically send you deals. The cheaper kits don't have the deepest sampling, each kit is normally only 300MB to 500MB, but they still really just work for me. They're not Kontakt or anything, they have their own sampler... Just something to consider and libraries I think everyone should have considering how cheap they are.
https://ugritone.com/collections/heavy- ... st-plugins

[fedexnman]

That's hilarious .... Some times small kits that are 300mb and 500mb are some of the best and easiest stuff to use ... Less is more ... Comes to mind .

[donkey tugger]

I do intend to put it through its paces in an actual "indie rokk song" of the type you are more likely to be producing yourself, but that's for when I can actually be arsed. So I'll get back to you in 2030.

I only do the disco 'ouse now.

Cheers for the info, and crack on with the writing!

[voidhead23]

Best is awfully subjective and depends on what you're most interested in. What i look for in a library or program is a really deep sampling process (lots of velocities and round-robins), loads of articulations, either organic or processed-but-in-a-weird-way sound and a pretty simple interface without overwhelming me with options. Oh...and an option to turn the snare wires off! Seriously...there are only a few libraries that do this, frustratingly, even when you get to Superior Drummer.

GGD recently knocked it out of the park with their Benny Greb library...almost 30 gigs and TONS of articulations per piece. You can even strike the cymbal stands! Such a great library and very tastefully processed, but also very specific in its sound. I find it almost impossible to work when i need the drums to be big and powerful. Tight and focused they can do, even in heavier genres.

https://www.getgooddrums.com/products/b ... ature-pack

Overall, i think Roomsound is the company to watch. They have a focus on more indie/heavy producers and natural drum tones, with an incredibly deep sampling process. Their kits sound the most natural and human to me when i program them, and they have a decent number of articulations (like rideable crashes and lots of snare options). The two Kurt Ballou libraries are my favorites. However, they lack tom rim clicks and only two libraries (Blasting Room and Kurt Ballou Vol 1) have any off-snare samples.

https://www.roomsound.com

It's hard to beat EZDrummer, though. It allows you to get away from Kontakt, mix and match pieces from different libraries, and the songwriting tools are invaluable for jamming and also finding beats when you don't have specific ideas in your head for a part. No other company is really doing this and Toontrack is just killing it here. Super useful. My favorite libraries are the new Post Metal, Alt-Rock, Metalheads (sans the wretched snare) and Prog, but even the stock sounds are just killer. However, again, articulations vary wildly. Very few off-snare options, no rideable crashes, and only the stock library has tom rim clicks (i've found).

[zerocrossing]

I don’t know if it’s the best, but I get really good results from Addictive Drums.

[jamcat]

You are right about the hi hat having more articulations, but the drums still sound pretty bad compared to most stuff by Toontracks and XLN. I've tried it multiple times thinking I'm missing something but MODO drums definitely a miss for me. MODO Bass and Organ quite good. But drums -nah. Not horrible, certainly usable if I have nothing else but not for me.

Avoid the MODO DRUM presets. Route each drum "mic" to its own channel in your DAW's mixer (individual close mics, overheads, room mics). Turn off any snare buzz and ALL effects in MODO DRUM's mixer. There are so many different kit tones you can get just from mixing different ratios of close, overheads, and room.

You can't listen to the JAZZY kit or the STUDIO kit totally clean, and still honestly say those don't sound just as good and just as detailed and realistic as any sampled kit out there.

You might not like all of the kits in MODO DRUM, but one you didn't initially like may end up being the perfect kit for a track.

[Scotty]

I use Addictive Drums and Slate SD5 the most in my tracks. I hire professional drummers as needed and like to work in the midi domain. I can always find something inspiring in those. I tend to use Modo Drums with my TD30 KV kit when I am practicing or generating guide tracks. I’ve never been able to get the Kontakt drummers to properly trigger with the Roland or Alesis kits I own or have owned. BFD 3 is too tweaky for me , I own it and rarely use it. That is on me though.

Addictive Drums 3 would be welcomed with longer cymbal decays and more independent mixing control of the ride in particular. There hasn’t been a new kit for Addictive Drum 2 in a long while. I am hoping they are working on an upgrade.

I don’t know if it’s the best, but I get really good results from Addictive Drums.

[dickiefunk]

Addictive Drums 3 would be welcomed with longer cymbal decays and more independent mixing control of the ride in particular. There hasn’t been a new kit for Addictive Drum 2 in a long while. I am hoping they are working on an upgrade.

I don’t know if it’s the best, but I get really good results from Addictive Drums.

Yes I really hope there will be an Addictive Drums 3. Whilst AD2 is my most used drum vst, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

[zerocrossing]

I'm listening to A Portrait Of The Donkey As An Old Man as we speak and digging on Way Shape or Form. Quite a haunting track because it's reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's Here Comes The Flood, one of my favourite songs of all time.

Here Comes The Flood is one of the best songs of all times.