Steven Slate Drums 4.0 vs Addicdtive Drums?

[dino321]

Does anyone have both to compare? I have SSD 3.5 and it serves well for a certain king of mix but I use Addictive Drums for a very natural, mildly processed kit sound. Any informed opinions are welcome.

[WarrenBeat]

Originally Posted by dino321

Does anyone have both to compare? I have SSD 3.5 and it serves well for a certain king of mix but I use Addictive Drums for a very natural, mildly processed kit sound. Any informed opinions are welcome.

SSD 4.0 includes the Deluxe kits (unprocessed) which sound very very good. IMO Addictive Drums room sounds like crap

[valjean24601]

Originally Posted by WarrenBeat

SSD 4.0 includes the Deluxe kits (unprocessed) which sound very very good. IMO Addictive Drums room sounds like crap

I'd agree with this, if the room sounds in addictive were better then I think it'd be my go to product for drums but the rooms are nasty and to my ears make everything sound trashy. I also think addictive plays better on my Roland TD-6, particularly the hi hats but I tend to use SSD4 because the captured ambiences are far more realistic and natural sounding.


Cheers, Mark.

[Mikereardon]

I've always preferred AD..
Can't say why, just found it easier to get just the right kit sound for what I needed. Never let me down with my td-12

[Clonkified]

I would recommend SSD 4.0 - even though I love AD and often use it for writing. In SSD, they just have a TON of samples, which really gives you a lot of options. I never liked the snares in AD, but SSD has a ton that are fantastic IMO.

[drumster]

This is not even remotely a fair fight. I remember being pretty impressed with Addictive Drums back in 2007 when I bought it, but Slate 4.0 blows it away completely. IMO, SSD 4.0 is the best drum sample library I've ever used and triggers from my Roland TD-8 better than anything else.

[manowar84]

IMHO best drum samples are Superior Drummer (Especially for Metal with metal foundry). I have SSD EX 3.5 and I tried AD, I like SSD snare's and kicks (I don't like toms and crash), AD sounds to me too fake, I don't like it.
I play with an Alesis DM10 Studio kit.

[Peevy2000]

Addictive Drums & SSD 4.0 Platinum are round the same price, but AD has only 3 kits. SSD4 has 100 kits. My friend had AD & I always liked the sound of it solo but could never get it to fit in a mix, then I got SSD3.5 & it was just WOW. SSD3.5 required very little tweaking to sit in a mix, the only real let down was the cymbals just weren't too great.

SSD4 is even more WOW & this time the cymbals definitely don't let it down. I was going through the Deluxe Indie kits today & I couldn't believe how warm, rounded & crisp they sound. Lots of choice with Platinum (Rock, Metal, Indie, Country, Funk Jazz, Reggae & even Electro Kits) with out the need to spend more on Expansion packs.

Does SSD4 beat AD where it matters? IMHO most definitely.

[shanabit]

1. SSD4 room sound is better
2. SSD4 samples themselves are better
3. AD support kills SSD
4. AD is stable, SSD4, not so much

[thedigitalgod]

Originally Posted by shanabit

1. SSD4 room sound is better
2. SSD4 samples themselves are better
3. AD support kills SSD
4. AD is stable, SSD4, not so much

+1

on sound alone, its not a fair fight.

[6strings]

Originally Posted by Mikereardon

I've always preferred AD..
Can't say why, just found it easier to get just the right kit sound for what I needed. Never let me down with my td-12

I think that's why AD is so popular. It's ready to go and easy to get a large variety of production-quality sounds quick with the presets. Clearly tailored more for composers and songwriters.

And yes, great support, too.

[dino321]

I agree 100% about the AD room. I never use it. I never used the rooms in SSD 3.5 either even though they are far better.

Good point about the number of kits but I don't think SSD 4.0 actually has 100 full kits. I think it has 100 presets made from various kits. If you count that way AD has probably 100 also. I haven't seen where Steven has said how many actual kits ere sampled. BUT, having said that I'm pretty sure SSD 4.0 has way more than 3 full kits that were sampled. Correct me if I have this wrong.

As far as stability, yeah SSD 4.0 is really 1.o so I expect it to have issues.

Soooo... what really seems to have sold me is ... today I sent the Deluxe solo kit demos form the SSD web site through my PA. I do a classic rock show with backing tracks. OMG! I'd probably use them with no addition processing. Totally blew me away.

[cavern]

As far as the stability of SSD 4.0 it seems incredibly stable considering how many copies seem to have been sold since late december and the fact that its a new player.
Its unfortunate that shanabit has had nothing but trouble but apart from him and one other person who said the gui dragged a bit when moving,there haven't been many complaints and i've checked other forums as well.
Most complaints were from the first few nights with the licences.
There were more issues with the RME UFX wich i bought last month at first,midi issues.front usb recording not quite ready but don't get me wrong,RME is the king of stability(they had corrective updates almost emmediatly) and i have no complaints.Just saying,SSD4 has a pretty good track record so far.
Most of the complaints revolve around the player not being complex enough yet mixer wise/routing/mapping and perhaps a bit big.
The sound though,the best i've heard so far.
Smokin job by the slate people.IMO

[Ivorydom]

I really believe SSD4 win on this one.
However, to add to what caver said, I think there are some rough edges in SSD4 that need to be taken care of, but since it is a fairly new product it's acceptable for now:

Dedicated Crash cymbal fader in the mixer
Drum maps
Midi grooves (the ones supplied are very few compared to other drum libraries.

My 2 cents

[Sotsirc]

Is it just me or does AD sound kinda thin and metallic, regardless of kit?

[Peevy2000]

Originally Posted by dino321

I agree 100% about the AD room. I never use it. I never used the rooms in SSD 3.5 either even though they are far better.

Good point about the number of kits but I don't think SSD 4.0 actually has 100 full kits. I think it has 100 presets made from various kits. If you count that way AD has probably 100 also. I haven't seen where Steven has said how many actual kits ere sampled. BUT, having said that I'm pretty sure SSD 4.0 has way more than 3 full kits that were sampled. Correct me if I have this wrong.

As far as stability, yeah SSD 4.0 is really 1.o so I expect it to have issues.

Soooo... what really seems to have sold me is ... today I sent the Deluxe solo kit demos form the SSD web site through my PA. I do a classic rock show with backing tracks. OMG! I'd probably use them with no addition processing. Totally blew me away.

Your right but I think there's something like 50 kicks, 66 snare & a lot of tom set samples in SSD4. Not just as many cymbals but the important thing is that this time the cymbals sound great.

There's still a few kinks to iron out but this is still a pre-release version & I'm sure this'll be sorted soon.

Originally Posted by Sotsirc

Is it just me or does AD sound kinda thin and metallic, regardless of kit?

I actually think AD plays nice solo & responds pretty well to a vdrum kit but very thin & lacking punch in a mix

[TeraBrite]

Originally Posted by dino321

Does anyone have both to compare? I have SSD 3.5 and it serves well for a certain king of mix but I use Addictive Drums for a very natural, mildly processed kit sound. Any informed opinions are welcome.

I used to have both, now I only have SSD 3.5 installed. It's been a while, but to me AD had an almost annoying sound to them that tended to stand out in the mix way too much. The only good result I got out of AD was I think the one kit that was intended to sound electronic, I don't remember what it was but it sounded cool for what we were doing at the time. SSD just sounds good on anything for me.

[dino321]

Originally Posted by TeraBrite

I used to have both, now I only have SSD 3.5 installed. It's been a while, but to me AD had an almost annoying sound to them that tended to stand out in the mix way too much. The only good result I got out of AD was I think the one kit that was intended to sound electronic, I don't remember what it was but it sounded cool for what we were doing at the time. SSD just sounds good on anything for me.

I found that it's the room mic that sounds annoying. I always turned it off. I have SSD 3.5 but it's the unprocessed kits I really need now. I ordered it this afternoon.

[gmontano]

+1 on SSD 4 for the sound. I had AD and sold it as to me it sounded terrible next to BFD2 and SD 2. I got SSD 4.0 and it sounds really good, much much better than AD. AD has a more polished interface and probably works better with vdrums. I can't get an answer from support or anywhere re: my mapping questions. It really is a 1.0 product, but the mapping documention just isn't there where AD has a bunch of presets that just work.

[ShadowAMD]

The true question would be SSD 4.0 Vs. Superior drummer.. Doesn't matter to me because I will soon have both..

But let it begin.

[gmontano]

I personally don't like the SD 2.0 interface, but SD 2.0 is pretty mature and has a ton of features, a better mixer, better mapping, hihat transmuting (if you use vdrums or some sort of controller). SSD 4.0 gives a lot more bang for the buck kits wise across many genres. For that alone it is worth it.

Hopefully they will add global i/o maps and global routing maps, because while it is scaled down, the work flow dies when you change a kit.

I just hope they keep developing it. To me it seems like the slate stuff gets a bunch of development up front and in the first couple of months after release and then nothing as they work on other projects.

Despite my minor grumblings, I'm glad I got SSD 4.0.

[anna_britbass88]

I'm leaning SSD but does it come lots of midi grooves?

[cavern]

Originally Posted by anna_britbass88

I'm leaning SSD but does it come lots of midi grooves?

No,not yet but apparently its coming in the next update as per steven's comments in the other SSD4.0 thread.

[anna_britbass88]

thank you cavern, I guess SSD has two downloadable libraries for now and groove monkey looks like a resource.

[Ivorydom]

Originally Posted by anna_britbass88

thank you cavern, I guess SSD has two downloadable libraries for now and groove monkey looks like a resource.

If you are going to use third party grooves for the time being, or grooves that apply to the old SSD 3.5 mapping, make sure that you create a drum map in SSD4 that is the same with the SSD3.5 drum map. Otherwise your grooves will sound funny Now, Steven has already said that compatibility and GM mappings will be available in the next update as well but until then you have to create your own.

[ShadowAMD]

Originally Posted by Ivorydom

If you are going to use third party grooves for the time being, or grooves that apply to the old SSD 3.5 mapping, make sure that you create a drum map in SSD4 that is the same with the SSD3.5 drum map. Otherwise your grooves will sound funny Now, Steven has already said that compatibility and GM mappings will be available in the next update as well but until then you have to create your own.

You should be able to program your midi tracks, for e.g. in Guitar pro and drop it on the DAW track for SSD to play right?

Been a while since I had SSD.. I also only kept it a day or two

[ivansc]

Originally Posted by Mikereardon

I've always preferred AD..
Can't say why, just found it easier to get just the right kit sound for what I needed. Never let me down with my td-12

But there again you CANT have "always" preferred AD over SSD4 can you, as it SSD4 so new.?
Do you own both?
Have you actually tried both in a real-life situation?

I've got (among others) SSD4 but don't have AD, so I too am curious to hear from people who actually own and have experience using both.

[ivansc]

Originally Posted by thedigitalgod

1. SSD4 room sound is better
2. SSD4 samples themselves are better
3. AD support kills SSD
4. AD is stable, SSD4, not so much
__________________+1

on sound alone, its not a fair fight.

As a new owner of SSD4, I would be interested to know what instability issues you have? The LE version is running just fine for me so far....

[Red 7]

I like AD very much but cymbals sound so harsh that it's really hard to use it. SSD are good but never exciting for me.

[rksguit]

SSD4's cymbals are amazing,kills any other software drum cymbal articulations by quite away.

I just copied my EZ midi paterns into X1's browser folders,and it plays/sounds,so much better it's scary.