BFD3 drum software - Thoughts?

nightlight · Nov 23rd 2013

I was pleasantly horrified to see that FXPansion had released a new version of its BFD drum suite and I am mighty tempted to spring for one. I'm currently using Toontrack Superior Drummer 2.0 and while it's an excellent piece of software, I have the feeling that everything is "tweaked" to fit specific kinds of mixes, whereas I think BFD has a more unpolished sound that lends itself better to the kind of music I'm writing and recording. And the cymbals sound miles better, judging by the clips I listened to.

Anyone have any hands on experience with BFD3? Would I be better off waiting for Superior 3.0? Is there some other software I should evaluate instead?

Ingolf · Nov 23rd 2013

I don't have any experience with BFD but I've been using Superior for a long time, since V1 and using a lot of expansion packs.
I don't think that Superior is/sounds polished at all. It has to be treated like any recorded drums, incl. compression and EQ, which is a good thing.

djemass · Nov 23rd 2013

My fav is steven slate drums. The Dream theater pack is awesome, even if I prefer changing the snare by a more open one like Snare 5

dvp · Nov 24th 2013

I used to drum before i played guitar and in my studio i used a td12 with VST's for the sound.
I had SD2 and SL, but the ones i used the most and that no one ever mentioned was ocean way drums.

http://www.oceanwaydrums.net/

They for me have the most natural sound of them all. SD2 is amazing for easy mixes, but if you like to tweak try OWD.

Ingolf · Nov 24th 2013

Boy, they're not cheap! But interesting!

Ingolf · Nov 24th 2013

Erm, calculating, actually not more pricey than SD... Sorry for the derail...

dvp · Nov 24th 2013

I bought them with a group buy from the Vdrum forum a while back, so they where allot cheaper.
But the sounds are so good. Very natural.

Lokasenna · Nov 24th 2013

A couple of weeks ago most of the music sites had great deals on all of the Toontrack EZDrummer stuff - I picked up EZD and their Metal Machine pack (recorded by Andy Sneap and John Tempesta) for about $150. Between those and Jamstix, I'm pretty happy.

It really depends on what kind of music you're doing, though, and whether you want to program the drums yourself, use loops, or have something like Jamstix/Addictive Drums "play" them for you.

londonjeepster · Nov 24th 2013

i havent found any cymbals which i think are better than the ones in the ez drummer basic rock/pop kit,and i have tried out a lot of cymbals.in fact that whole basic kit is incredibly useable for just about any style of music. however its not for folk who like to get in and tweak drumsounds extensively. and maybe the kicks are the weakest aspect but they are ok.

Grooguit · Nov 27th 2013

Sweetwater.com is currently selling all the expansion packs for the EZ drummer line for $39 a piece, which is like half off. I think the SD line is discounted big as well

Ingolf · Nov 27th 2013

Thanks.

webdiver · Nov 27th 2013

Quote from londonjeepster

i havent found any cymbals which i think are better than the ones in the ez drummer basic rock/pop kit,and i have tried out a lot of cymbals.in fact that whole basic kit is incredibly useable for just about any style of music. however its not for folk who like to get in and tweak drumsounds extensively. and maybe the kicks are the weakest aspect but they are ok.

+1

Once in a while they have special offers. Got several expansion packs for 39 EUR each (or less).

nightlight · Nov 27th 2013

A lot of stores have the EZDrummer expansions for $39 right now and SDXes for Superior are discounted to $79. You can also pick up SD2 for $179. No discount on BFD3 right now, sadly, but you can pick up BFD Eco for $29 in some places.

mDan · Nov 27th 2013

Quote from djemass

My fav is steven slate drums. The Dream theater pack is awesome, even if I prefer changing the snare by a more open one like Snare 5

+1. SSD ftw!

Ingolf · Nov 27th 2013

I have SSD as well. Still prefer Superior at the moment.

tylerhb · Nov 27th 2013

I think that i have tested nearly every bigger drum library since BFD1 and its expansions. Concerning realism and "in the room" sound i would still think that this one is the ultimate if you want pure realism with edrums, like 127 sample layers and other insane stuff. But it´s more suitable for jazz and traditional rock stuff.

Superior2 on the other hand does not feel so "real" to me but clearly has better presets if you are aiming for heavier stuff.

For metal stuff i really liked Ezdrummer metal machine best, but it clearly lacks the detail and sounds a little too static.

I also have Slate 3.5 but for some reason i do not like the interface and configuration. I also have the impression they put emphasis on the wrong details here. Though the basic sounds are very good you only get like 4 sample layers for the snare, and the gog files were a total fail.

BFD2 and Addictive Drums were just not my taste concerning the sound.

Right now, i am using Superior2 with a lot of post processing on the individual outputs. But i´ll have a look into BFD3 too.

nightlight · Nov 27th 2013

Quote from dvp

I used to drum before i played guitar and in my studio i used a td12 with VST's for the sound.
I had SD2 and SL, but the ones i used the most and that no one ever mentioned was ocean way drums.

http://www.oceanwaydrums.net/

They for me have the most natural sound of them all. SD2 is amazing for easy mixes, but if you like to tweak try OWD.

Display More

I play drums too, I have an Alesis DM10 and those Zildjian Gen-16 cymbals.

I think SD2 is amazing for easy mixes too, but my sound is slightly more on the dirty side, atypical in the conventional metal mixes you hear nowadays. That's why I'm so interested in trying out BFD3, though the cash is a big consideration. Spent a lot of money on SD2 + The Metal Foundry already, jeez, I feel stupid not downloading like so many people, but I know it's the right thing to do

dvp · Nov 28th 2013

I bought OWD because of a group buy. Bought EZdrummer and SD2, but only one pack. Could not afford to buy BFD3 so i never tried it or the others like SSD.
Its al so damn expensif

Now i play guitars and it just got worse

yarzo · Nov 29th 2013

Not sure if you guys noticed the Black Friday specials....EZ Drummer is $29.99 at Sweetwater. They also have bundles where you get EZ Drummer + 6 Sound Libraries for $149. Good deals
EZ Drummer - Sweetwater

Hugo · Dec 1st 2013

Quote from nightlight

I play drums too, I have an Alesis DM10 and those Zildjian Gen-16 cymbals.

I think SD2 is amazing for easy mixes too, but my sound is slightly more on the dirty side, atypical in the conventional metal mixes you hear nowadays. That's why I'm so interested in trying out BFD3, though the cash is a big consideration. Spent a lot of money on SD2 + The Metal Foundry already, jeez, I feel stupid not downloading like so many people, but I know it's the right thing to do

Quote from dvp

I bought OWD because of a group buy. Bought EZdrummer and SD2, but only one pack. Could not afford to buy BFD3 so i never tried it or the others like SSD.
Its al so damn expensif

Now i play guitars and it just got worse

I play e-drums too, actually V-drums, TD-11KV. I started a year plus ago. Now I suck playing both instruments

Quote from yarzo

Not sure if you guys noticed the Black Friday specials....EZ Drummer is $29.99 at Sweetwater. They also have bundles where you get EZ Drummer + 6 Sound Libraries for $149. Good deals
EZ Drummer - Sweetwater

Thanks yarzo! I got one of those

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