Addictive Drums Metal Ad Pak, Diabolic Midi Pak, Latin Afro Midi Pak Review:

Metal Ad Pak…Crunching metal sound just like the big boys…

Sound sets are expertly created from a Ludwig Classic Maple Drumkit.

XLN Audio’s description:

With thunderous toms, a heavy kick drum, a sharp but balanced snare drum and vicious Zildjian cymbals this kit really delivers in any kind of style in metal. The 18 piece drum kit was hand picked and tuned by Ross Robinson for the recording sessions. Listen to the audio demos and watch the videos to experience its wrath!
Presets

The Metal ADpak includes 30+ mix presets tweaked by professional metal producers and musicians such as Roberto Laghi and Björn Gelotte (In Flames), David E.K. (Fuge), Martin Preikschas and many others. The different presets all have different characteristics: big, small, close, wide, heavy and light.

Trig Sounds:

A special feature in this ADpak is the new trig sounds for the kick and the snare. Four different trig sounds are included to give your sound that extra edge and attack in your mix. Watch this video to listen to the sounds.

Diabolic Midi Pak…Get the metal grooves of one of the most powerful drummers around.

XLN Audio’s description:

Daniel Erlandsson from Arch Enemy was brought in to record the MIDI Pak: Diabolic, featuring a wide range of metal styles and grooves in different tempos and variations. Daniel’s power and impeccable groove is widely recognized- and now you can use him in your music any time!

Latin Afro Midi Pak…Latin/Afro groove machine that includes some of the most popular styles: Samba, Salsa and more.

XLN Audio’s description:

The Latin Afro MIDI Pak is a unique mix of the rhythms of Latin America and the Afro Beat culture. Included are 220 live recorded MIDI grooves in both 6/8 and 4/4 time signatures, in different feels, tempos and lengths.

Recorded by groove expert Måns Block (Damn, Timbuktu, Amanda Jenssen etc), these MIDI grooves and beats range from Samba and Salsa to Songo and Afro Funk.

Rating:

Metal Ad Pak:
XLN Audio has done it again. This Metal Ad Pak will surely bring a smile to your face when you light it up. The drums are indescribably powerful and sound just like the real thing…better, really, because they’ve been masterfully mixed and have just the right mixture of punch and dynamics. I’ve been a fan of XLN Audio’s products for a while now for their ease of use, ease of setup…it’s basically plug and play and this Ad Pak is no different. The price is unbelievable for all you get. The pak includes a wide variety of recorded variations…And, they’ve made it easy for you to modify the sounds to your own liking as well. I see many hours of enjoyably music making with this Pak!

Diabolic Midi Pak:
Immersive Metal grooves will make your hair stand on edge. Masterfully created by Daniel Erlandsson (Arch Enemy, In Flames, Eucharist). Add these high energy grooves to your music…or do what I do and study them for your own drum playing. There’s nothing better than hearing then doing.

Latin Afro Midi Pak:
Grooves that will make you move…Again, besides just sticking them into my own music creations. I use them as a study guide. Beautiful, masterful grooves by drummer Måns Block (Damn, Timbuktu, Amanda Jenssen etc).

I couldn’t be happier with these products. This is top of the line stuff guaranteed to deliver the sounds you’re looking for for your next project.

Toontrack Superior Drums 2.0®, Jazz EZX®, Metalheads EZX® and Latin Percussion EZX®…everything you need to complete your own professional drum studio

Amazing, clean and beautiful drum sound samples…check, complete instrument sound adjustability…check, full mic adjustability…check, ability to set sensitivity to match your playing style…check. Toontrack has created a highly professional-grade studio drumming software package that will make electronic drum playing a pure joy.

Superior Drums 2.0® (From Toontrack.com’s site):

Superior Drummer 2.0® is the professional drum sampler flagship from Toontrack Music.

With its excellent sounding sample-engine, its phenomenal realistic room sounds and its unrivaled extensive feature-list, it truly sets the industry standard in contemporary digital drum production.

20 GB of excellent drum sounds for professional music-production. Recorded with extensive and adjustable microphone-bleed and the unique room sound of legendary recording studio Avatar New York.

Check it out here:
Superior Drummer 2.0®

Jazz EZX® (From Toontrack.com’s site):

Throughout our history of creating sample libraries and instruments, we have strived to both innovate and preserve in all areas of performance, engineering, and genre.
In creating this library we went to new and unheard of levels of dynamic. The recordings feature layered sampling with numerous mic stems fronted by recording chains we had previously only dreamt of.

In the fall of 07, we began the Jazz with Futureman at the impeccable Blackbird Studios. His passion and knowledge of Jazz history met with a relentlessly energetic and musical approach to single note striking that left the Toontrack crew in utter disbelief.

Roy hears every single hit and swirl recorded as part of a larger whole, as part of a musical sequence rather than as solitary, monotonous hit. The results are samples that strike with intensity and force lending unique scope and musicality to these recordings.

The recordings for the Jazz EZX® set a benchmark for how sampling percussive instruments, and musical instruments in general, will be done in the future.

Toontrack Music has had the privilege to capture the magic of Futureman. His touch, his heart, his philosophy and his unique approach to his craft in this Jazz EZX®. The story of jazz drums has a new chapter.

Check it out here:
Jazz EZX®

Latin Percussion EZX® (From Toontrack.com’s site):

The Latin Percussion EZX® for EZdrummer® contains the percussion sounds from the revolutionary, award winning pro drum sampler, dfh Superior(legacy product) from Toontrack® Music. The EZX® includes MIDI files that will add that extra groove on top of your steady drumtrack.

Check it out here:
Latin Percussion EZX®

Metalheads EZX® (From Toontrack.com’s site):

Two Incredible drum sets, assembled and recorded to metal perfection, ready to bring your metal productions to the next level. And, for the first time in Toontrack history, we’ve included Separate mix channels in the EZdrummer mixer, containing kick and snare drum samples designed by Daniel Bergstrand, that augment these already amazingly recorded drums.

Check it out here:
Metalheads EZX®

Take a look at these Toontrack products in action:

Rating:

Alright…After installing, mapping to my Alesis DM10 studio drums and playing around with this software…I have to say this is one killer drum sound set that’s a must buy for the serious recording professional down to the hobbyist. The sounds are amazing, the adjustability and customization options are almost endless to provide just the right sound you’re looking for.

First things first:

I cannot emphasize this enough: READ the manual fully that comes with this software first and foremost. Don’t just hook up your drums and try to go for it…There’s a lot to this program. You can tell they’ve created this not only for the musician, but for studio engineers…It’s technical and can take a little time to map it with your drum set (more on mapping with an Alesis DM10 brain below). But once you get it set up it’s truly amazing drum software.

Mapping my drumset

It took me some time to get it mapped correctly as the Alesis DM10 Studio kit doesn’t have after touch and some things just didn’t seem to jive right off. If you own an Alesis kit with the DM10 Drum brain, your going to have to do some additional steps below to get your Hi-hat and Ride cymbal and crash choke set up correctly…of course, after reading your manual.

I spent a lot of time looking for the information contained in the following links. They are invaluable for getting your Alesis kit set up:

Hi-hat triggering set up with Superior Drummer for Alesis DM10 Studio kit–Post #2:
Hi-hat set up

Cymbal choking set up with Superior Drummer for Alesis DM10 Studio kit–Post #3:
Cymbal choking set up

General Midi Mapping numbers set up with Superior Drummer for Alesis DM10 Studio: – I had to manually assign the ride bell and ride bow area with the corresponding midi values
General midi mapping for DM10

Get everything mapped to your drums, create your kit, set sensitivity levels for each pad (Ultra cool feature to match your playing style), choose your mic options and SAVE your different settings. You can easily pull them up again with any new project.

Ok, I got through the mapping, built my drum kits and tweaked my sound and mics…now it’s time to play

It’s going to bring a smile to your face…I guarantee it. The sounds from these different sound sets we’re truly amazing. They’re crisp and sound better than the real thing! What’s cool is with all the adjustability, you can really create your “own sound.” Sensitivity is incredible…from the softest buzz roll to pounding hit, the dynamics were incredible. Overall, I’m very pleased with these drum sample sets. Set up was a little difficult, but once I overcame some of that learning curve and learned some alternatives to set it up with my kit, I found this to be some of the best drum sampler software out there.

Requirements:
PC:
Windows XP SP3 or newer, 2 GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon processor with 1 GB RAM (multi-core CPU with 2 GB RAM or more recommended)

Mac:
Mac OS 10.4.11 or higher, 2 GHz G5 with 1 GB RAM (multi-core CPU with 2 GB RAM or more recommended)

4GB free hard disc space, DVD drive (25GB free hard disc space, Sequencer application and professional soundcard MIDI controller such as keyboard, drum pads or electronic drum kit recommended)

Pintech Dingbat Tubular Pad

The Pintech Dingbat Tubular Pad takes up less room than a couple of pairs of drumsticks and sounds like anything your trigger module can come up with. Rugged construction, 9″ playing surface, excellent tracking and response. Compatible with all popular trigger modules. Mounts easily. Lifetime warranty.

Pintech Dingbat Tubular Pad Features:

Compact 9″ playing surface with realistic rebound-smaller version available as well!
Tough construction
Perfect tracking

Rating:
For all you electric drummers: Need a closed hi-hat while playing your double bass and want to have the ability to switch back to your regular hi-hat? Is your snare drum only 2 zone? While playing jazz you’re going to want to have your standard head and rimshot assigned to your snare for accenting…but, how do you get a sidestick for those softer grooves? Need more options like assigning an alternate snare drum or other effect while playing drum-and-bass? Look no further, the Dingbat by Pintech is here…

All I have to say is this electric drum pad is sweet…innovation at its finest. It fits into places on your electric kit boldly where no other electric drum pad has ever gone. And it’s half the price of a normal drum pad. You can mount it almost anywhere on your kit with the provided mounting system. Sensitivity and tracking are excellent. One thing, you’ll need to purchase a 1/4″ patch cord that you can find at any local Radioshack for hooking it into your drum brain-they’re cheap and easy to find. It takes a little innovation and trial and error to get it positioned in tighter areas (I mounted mine right behind the snare), but once you do, it opens up a whole world of opportunities. Definitely need to check this cool piece of drum equipment out!

Roland TD-4KX2-S V-Compact Series Drum Set

The most affordable series from the V-Drums family has undergone a number of upgrades and refinements, including a new Kick Pad and V-Cymbals. With its improved playability, this kit will help you maximize your performance and practice time. You’ll get better faster with the built-in Coach and Quick Rec/Play function, and the mesh snare and tom heads as well as the cloth-based kick pad will give you an accurate feel for when you use your hard-earned skills to play an acoustic kit.

Roland TD-4KX2-S V-Compact Series Drum Set Features:

* Mesh heads for snare and toms (PDX-8, PDX-6)
* Natural swing motion and playing feel with new V-Cymbals (CY-12C, CY-13R)
* Three-way triggering for ride (CY-13R)
* Great feel and reliable playability with new mechanics and a cloth-based kick drum head (KD-9)

Includes:
* (1) TD-4 Percussion Sound Module with multi-pin cable harness and module mount
* (2) PDX-8 Mesh Pads (Snare, Tom 3)
* (2) PDX-6 Mesh Pads (Tom 1, Tom2)
* (1) KD-9 Kick Trigger Pad
* (1) CY-12C V-Cymbal Pad
* (1) CY-13R V- Cymbal Pad
* (1) CY-5 V-Cymbal Pad
* (1) FD-8 Hi-Hat Control Pedal
* (1) Drum rack
* (1) DW throne
* (1) DW kick pedal
* Clamps and arms for both the pads and cymbals

Rating:
Awesome, affordable electronic drum kit. Roland’s new version of V-series drums, the TD-4, is absolutely stunning. The sounds are amazing and it’s built with Roland quality. Compact to fit into tight spaces or studios. Definitely an electronic drum set to be checked out.

Yamaha Yamaha Rock Tour 4-Piece Drum Shell Pack with Matching Snare Drum

Designed from the ground up as affordable, high-quality Yamaha drums with an edgy look.
This Yamaha Rock Tour 4-Piece Drum Shell Pack includes a 22″ x 18″ R-Version kick drum, 12″ x 8″ rack tom, 16″ x 15″ floor tom, and a 14″ x 6″ matching snare drum.

Big Leaf Mahogany Drum Shells
Known for its great beauty and durability, big leaf mahogany has been used for centuries to craft high-quality wood products. The wood delivers a rich and warm mid-low range tone with a short, natural decay. These Yamaha drums also use 100% reforested environmentally controlled material.

R-Version Kick Drum
For drummers that prefer an open, fat sound Yamaha’s “R-Version” kick drum shells are designed with no tom mounts to maximize the drum shell’s tone potential.

YESS!
The tom drum shell is equipped with Yamaha’s original YESS mount, which minimizes mount-to-shell contact—to enhance the Yamaha drum’s resonance, increase dynamic range, and produce longer sustain.

Floor Tom Legs
Large vertical floor tom brackets are fitted for drummers who play with intensity.

Kickin’ Front Head
The kick drum head is emblazoned with a prominently positioned Yamaha logo mark that looks sharp and is easy to spot even when the Yamaha drums are positioned at the back of the stage.

Pinstripe Drumheads
Tom and floor toms are fitted with Remo Pinstripe Heads for massive punishment and durability.

If you have your sights set on becoming a rock drummer, it’s important that the drums you are playing will help you reach your goal. The Yamaha Rock Tour Series drums that comprise this drum shell pack are the perfect choice, delivering a solid, powerful sound with sharp attack that will cut through and get you noticed. Hardware and tom drums offer quality inherited from Yamaha’s high-end kits, and the sets provide excellent durability and performance.

Cymbals and hardware not included.

Yamaha Yamaha Rock Tour 4-Piece Drum Shell Pack with Matching Snare Drum Features:
Yamaha Drum Shell Pack
22″ x 18″ R-Version kick drum
12″ x 8″ rack tom
16″ x 15″ floor tom
14″ x 6″ Rock Tour snare

6 plies of Big Leaf Mahogany
2 plies of ash
100% reforested environmentally controlled material
R-Version kick drum shell designed with no tom mounts to maximize tone potential
Tom shell equipped with Yamaha’s original YESS mount, which minimizes mount-to-shell contact
Tour Custom-style chrome lugs
Large vertical floor tom brackets
Large Yamaha logo on kick drum head
Tom and floor toms fitted with Remo Pinstripe Heads
Remo Ambassador head on snare
These Yamaha drums can withstand a rigorous touring schedule and still provide unmatched tone when in the recording studio.

Rating:
Awesome quality. Killer looks. Yamaha name. Comes standard with Remo pinstripe heads…This is one great drum set at a great price. The edgy looks are beautifully crafted on this cutting edge Yamaha drum set. Solid, powerful sound for rock drummers.