Best Free Drum Plugins For Electronic Drums

In this video I test out four free drum plugins with my electronic drum set. We'll cover which you should pass on, and which ones are worth your time!
Drumset 4:
www.rayzoon.com/
Drumset 3:
www.powerdrumkit.com/
Drumset 2:
theperfectdrums.com/pdplayer
Drumset 1:
stevenslatedrums.com/ssd5/
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:05 Drum Plugin 4
3:07 Drum Plugin 3
5:15 Drum Plugin 2
8:58 Drum Plugin 1
10:58 Combining Two Plugins Together
11:44 A Free-ish DAW And Tutorial

[@65Drums]

BTW, I own a copy of Reaper, I just didn't put in the key before filming this video. Support the makers of the software you use long term :)

[@forg8769]

alright! shot justin, you're the bro.

[@awcartermedia]

I searched for hours to find something like this, and I should have known you would have what I was looking for! Trying to record some demos and I didn't want to pay for all the big name samples. Superior Drummer 2 (I bought a long time ago) was giving me issues so this got me going! Thank you so much.

[@aaronramireztenorio8751]

This guy make the most perfect video flow I have ever seen in drum videos!!!

[@itdiary-7078]

Dude you are my HERO! You like the only one who explained all this stuff for us beginners I didnt find any other video with this clear explanation!!!! Respect 10000 times!

[@jellydonutdrummer]

Great video Justin, thanks! Starting a side project soon and I'll be using software like this all the time. This will get me up and going!

[@moondrums]

I always enjoy your videos. Very indepth and helpful. You do a great job.

[@or1227]

Your drumming was awesome! Thanks for your video

[@kevinbothwell8425]

Your playing has come a long way. Kudos!

[@bobbyjones2112]

I was thinking the same thing holy cow!

[@jerbear7952]

Sure has

[@ishraqsadin6626]

You’re really helpful! Love your videos♥️

[@65Drums]

Glad to know the videos are useful!

[@davepoulsen-bi9un]

Nice video thanks Justin I have learned a lot from this video more than any other !! and i appreciate the way you plainly explain everything and you're a awesome drummer look forward to watching more of your videos you have a new subscriber !! have a great day my new friend

[@bobbyjones2112]

That little solo you did it the beginning was wicked!

[@pablo1981mza]

Tu canal es excelente! lo descubrí hace poco Saludos de Argentina!

[@TurboTylerIX]

Very thorough, super helpful!

[@willyrusli]

Helpful! Thank you so much 🙏🏽

[@drakezimmerman4054]

I had no idea what a daw was haha. And I downloaded a few of these drum plug ins before seeing this. And was worried because I have a kid 2012 MacBook Pro. You answered so many questions! Thank you!

[@salthedrummer1]

wow your drumming has really improved big time. great job as always...

[@Jeffertoya]

This is a very useful video. Well done and thanks!

[@miker5233]

Justin your drums sound excellent thank you for the video

[@GoOKuSj33]

I've been using SSD5F for a while now, definitely my favorite.

[@marvinh.8840]

My fav is MT Power Drum Kit 2. Because it's the only one free version of Drum Plug-In which offers so many options than no other one.

[@adammammana367]

Whoa this is the first time I’ve heard/seen you play. Bad ass. Full Pro.

[@Excaidus-Metal]

Great sounding drums!

[@danmayo9182]

Thanks Justin - great stuff! I particularly appreciate how you went over the setup in Reaper at the end. One "issue" I encountered with SSD being strictly a DAW plugin was: if you want cymbal chokes, you apparently need to configure those yourself in the DAW (I believe this would involve honoring aftertouch events for Roland modules). I think that HH foot splashes require similar handling? Would love it if you could do a video on that. Thanks again!

[@LDdrums20]

Yep find out this today trying ssd. There is a guy I've seen around youtube that did fix it but I think he charges for the map files or something

[@symbolic_913]

Your set up are pretty much goals for me. you should make a 2021 tour of your current set up.

[@federicopinto2341]

Thank you for this video and for the video of 2017, I really find them helpfull!!

[@demonicsweaters]

Great vid Justin!

[@ramongoroth]

Another great informative video

[@essenter4222]

Nice video, worth knowing that quite good free plugins exist

[@setondrums]

The VST drum kit that came with the DAW Cakewalk by Bandlabs sounds really good too. I think when Cakewalk was Sonar and partly owned by Roland it was an experiment by Ocean Way?, Only drawback is you don't have all the controls like Steven Slate 5.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Those are free plugins you can run on any DAW.

[@PhireXZ]

I played around with these programs for ages and had mixed results depending on configuration. Usually mapping, hh response, other annoying stuff. Installed SD3 today and I'm never turning back. These plug-ins did me great for years though.

[@badproductions1685]

Very good video as always. ;)

[@chrisdowswell]

That opening..... SWEET!!!

[@itz_vortex7341]

Justin I hope you know how awesome you are. U been helping me for years lol

[@bearpitrock]

I upgraded To SSD5.5 premium on a Black Friday deal last year for £45. It goes on sale regularly. It's not as good as SD but I've just finished an enrltire album with it and I'm happy.

[@jerrygamez5723]

Thank you for this video

[@Saty3535]

This fellow is doing god's work out here

[@RafitaPapita2099]

downloading jamstix for the lols, i remember this software from waaaaaay back in the day surprised its still around!

[@AnimeShhiinBlender69]

awesome drum set

[@marksimpson1991]

great video!

[@CaffeinatedFrostbite]

i came here from your last one. i was going to ask if you tried reaper. guess this answered that. thanks man. ganna make my future alesis surge not sounds like garbage

[@nedalrabadi1]

Thanks man

[@66meikou]

Justin, I have a dtxtreme II mash up kit. Way more inputs than the module knows what to do with. I find the module a bit of an arse to change things. I'm prepared to buy a used mac or pc laptop and but the drum soft. This kit is mainly used by my son. I'm looking to upgrade to the efnote 3x to keep for myself. Do you have opinions on laptops and what paid for drum interface to buy?

[@shawnyoung1668]

Thanks for bringing it around to the one you are actually selling...

[@joelhammond2842]

Hi Justin where is your Roland TD-30K is it possible to make a video of it because it’s a long time a go and I am about to purchase a used TD-30 in the future thanks

[@davepoulsen-bi9un]

Hi i really enjoy enjoy your videos, you have helped me so much so I downloaded this Steven slate free version I have a question my e drum kit is the Alesis Nitro mess kit I'm running Windows 10 using Reaper as my software, everything is working fine through the software I just have one issue in the Steven slate drum set you see on the computer screen the small symbol just above the high hat is coming out as a splash symbol I do not like the sound trying to change it to a crash symbol I've tried the mapping with no success just shows a message you want to cancel mapping I can't do anything unless I close it. So I'm not sure how to change this symbol sound when I hit my crash symbol on my kit it gives the sound of a splash so I just want to change that to a crash what is the easiest way to do that thanks hope you can give me some suggestions keep up the good work.

[@PEP.]

Amazing Video!

[@65Drums]

Thanks!

[@matthewkitchens5796]

Love what u do brugh

[@65Drums]

Thanks dude!

[@stacycopas1055]

Thanks for the info. I wonder why more software producers and e-drum manufacturers don’t partner up and release drums with this kind of stuff built in? Seems like it would be a win for both, and a big win for the consumer.

[@drftr6073]

because e drums apparently need to sound like ass to turn a profit somehow.

[@Spladoinkal]

Prolly not cost effective. The plugin companies prolly charge too much per sound

[@alfsmith4936]

It takes too much memory and space to make a good sound cheap. It doesn't for midi out. 😉

[@GoOKuSj33]

That's what I'm talking about, 🆓 stuff i like!

[@miguelresurreccion6496]

Hey,can these plugins work on aroma dtx 15s? If not is there any alternative working plugins for the Dtx 15? Thank you!

[@xPoisonDashx]

Ok so now a tutorial on how to combine the two that you combined cause they sound awesome and roomie

[@TheFrancoprincipe]

Hey Justin hope you can assist. I have a vintage TD7 which I want to use with some vst. I've looked around for the driver you mentioned but I can't locate one. Does that mean I can't use Steve Slater Drums? Garageband sees my kit so I thought I would be about to use proper software with my kit?

[@truthseeker5216]

Nice playing, we'll done. (to me) all of those snare drums sounded heavily compressed? The 1st two that you demo'd sounded like they needed a bit of treble and they would probably sound better. The last one deffinately sounded clearer due to the presence /treble being more prominent. (To me) a laptop is too cumbersome, I use an iPad mini 2 and use Barbaxdrums (paid) and Drum Session (also paid) , both sound very "live" to me, although most of the kits on Drum Session have a bit too much reverb for my liking, but there are a couple of kits that are a bit drier. Also, if you get the right iPad holder, it mounts directly onto the kit, which to me is a game changer. No DAW necessary and zero noticeable latency. Your vdos are very well produced and well done. I should think though, that a TD 30 (considering what they cost) shouldn't even need software, but it's still fun to mess around with the different options out there.

[@jrwahlmeier]

Does it matter what edrum kit I use if I just want to record with it. It seems that I can save a lot of money by buying a cheap edrum kit for recording in Cubase, but I am wondering if there are any downsides to this other than less trigger points.

[@rameshkumar3903]

Great Artist Amezing Playing super

[@scottyg5403]

As far as the DAW and plug in is it the same process with Superior drummer?

[@russellwyse1895]

I would love to see a review on modo drums. They give one free kit to mess with and then charge for the other kits. But I'm not sure if it is worth the investment.

[@Aldertonartco]

Hey justin. I been watching your channel for a while. I have a cheap millenium hi hat (I think its an MPS-850 or 750 - the one that doesnt look like the vh11 or goedrum hi hat controller). Anyway, I thought either I was setting the height waay too high or the hi hat stand is much shorter than acoustic hi hat stands iv used. I was just checking out this vieo and noticed your hi hat is basically right at the top of the stand as well. Do e drum manufacturers of e hi hats make their stands shorter to save money on extra metal? Its reallyu annoying because I have realised I doi tend to have my hi hat pretty hi up. I was thinking I could just replace the rod, but honestly where the whole thing was so cheap, the stands pretty rubbish. Have you ever noticed this as well or is it just me? Thanks

[@viktor2915]

Look up monster drums if you havent. Its free and sounds just as good as Steven Slate. I havent tryed all of the kits, but the metal kits is pretty much allready mixed and are studio quality.

[@bitispt]

I'm thinking about buying the Fame DD-6600 E-Drum Set, what do you think of him? I'm a beginner but I'm looking for a drum set that will last me a few years and works well.

[@mapex311]

14:55 ok so after you load the plugin, how do you assign each plugin drum sound with the electronic drum you're hitting? Can't imagine it's all automatic..

[@RubenDelight]

Did they change the free trial? It says on the Reaper website it's only a 60 day free trial. Or do only certain functions become disabled after 60 days?

[@rafalvarezsevilla]

Drum Mic'a is also a very good free option!

[@Evocati-Augusti]

do you have to do anything special to map the Surge to SSD5 in FLS 20?

[@brettt1268]

Thank you

[@DuayneHoward]

I just wanna know how to connect my SD 1250 to my Sonar Artist [pre BandLab)

[@UtwoBed]

Unfortunately the free version of SSD5 is no longer available, I can't find it on the site.

[@Codyeye]

Dude, I need some help if you read this. I picked up EZdrummer 3 today. I am connected to windows via USB. It is not sending the Midi back to the 1250 and I have to plug my headphones into my PC to get sound. Triggering all works fine it just wont play the sound through the sd1250 module so I cant adjust levels or mix in my music to play with. Could you please explain how to fix this issue or how you're set up? Thank you for your content. I am using my wife's crappy dell and using direct sound can get 1.5ms and it still sucks and is notably late.

[@raindogred]

Wondering if theres any drum vsti’s that do electronic sounds. My roland td1 has some nice electronic sounds like joy division..but can only audio via a headphone jack. there must be free vsti that non drummers use that can be triggered via a midi instrument such as a keyboard. I just don’t know what they are...anyone?

[@BearTechNation]

Great video! What are your best paid for options? If you have done this video already, please link me!

[@vladimirackermann6182]

Perfect Drums are best!

[@amandadockery24]

Are there any E-Drum plugins for the tablet and phone

[@G.B_M135i]

To use own sounds in perfect drum player do I need the full version?

[@punkyguy]

Great video as always. Do you have any suggestions for apps to measure your timing? I'd love to be able to play some grooves/fills and then look back on a grid and see how close to the 1/8th or 1/16th note your strikes are. I can't seem to find any dedicated apps to do it (closest is Melodics) but I'm wondering if there's a DAW that can do that perhaps? Thanks!

[@bostongunther8151]

Ableton has a midi capture. It records everything you play on a midi device (e-kit, keyboard, drum pad, etc). It's primary purpose is to play something you want looped but it can show you how close your timing is as well.

[@punkyguy]

@@bostongunther8151 ill check it out, thanks!

[@sailomawia3835]

Can anyone tell me.. Can we export 1 file to load/import using sd caed for v drum td17

[@darkslide6459]

Where we can find this setting vor td30 in windows?

[@bobbyjones2112]

You should do a review of the Neil Peart software made for sample tank. I would like to get that one, but I’d like to see somebody review it. Preferably you..lol Good review on this though!

[@MM-ig1iv]

For real.. like can you put them samples in your drum module? Change your snare and Toms to his? That would be awesome!

[@venteach.6289]

Can I do this with a Roland td-1k module?

[@ThomasECahill]

Great video! is there anyway you can show how you layered or used both the Slate free and the Perfect drums? I'm not understanding how you did it, Thanks!

[@65Drums]

I just had both plugins running at the same time. Nothing fancy. And inside of either plug in, I would raise or lower the volume of the sounds I wanted to hear

[@ThomasECahill]

@@65Drums Thanks for the reply, Love you channel.

[@tsitour]

Do you need a premium sound card to run those plug ins, or I can use my above average laptop?

[@chrisswing2294]

does anyone have a lyxjam working with reaper? i legit cant find a driver for it anywhere

[@marvinanner1048]

How do you get the Drumset 1 for free? It says it costs 79$.

[@jdnmusic5808]

I downloaded the perfect drums plug in but it’s not showing up on my daw

[@dannyx.m]

You should check out the ML Soundlabs Drum Plugin and give your thoughts!

[@robonoskiRST]

HI JUSTIN, I Just wanted to play after 40 plus years.. i don't logistically have ability for full acoustic Drum Kit. Thanks to your inspiring vids.and wisdom and knowledge , and your skill level , it is just killer. I decided to try electronic drum pads. I am ready to start. I just ordered the Alesis Sample Pad Pro and it should be here in the next few days. I was hoping to get your direction on what website or where to start getting sample tracks . loops ,wavs. etc. Thank you very much sir Robbie

[@drumrizzer]

My drum band (Aroma) doesnt have a driver for me to download

[@gatherstudio5219]

MT Power drumkit is free and it has a killer snare sound IMO. Kenny gioa did a video on it , The cymbals not so great

[@christph3118]

Do all of these require Windows or Mac?

[@6SOULDEW]

but how do you set them up

[@pauldrumstimelessmusic1069]

Good rundown Justin. I think what e drummers really need is a Vst module like the Pearl Mimic pro with software from Toontrack, Addictive drums and other Vst companies at a sub $1000 price tag. Having one module with Vst sounds would be so simple for gigging drummers and eliminate the need for a laptop and DAW to use software. The Pearl mimc is great but at almost $3000 is cost prohibitive for most drummers. I remember Kat percussion showed a prototype Addictive drums stand alone module at NAMM in 2014 but nothing came of it. This is long overdue in my opinion.

[@Tammadrummer1337]

Would this work with a TD4 module? I don't see drivers but it does have a MIDI out.

[@W00PIE]

It should work, yes.

[@xxkrisxx5134]

Is there going to be a review on the new Millenium MPS-1000?

[@65Drums]

Nope, music stores in my country don't sell it

[@Aldertonartco]

oh also the drums in logic are more than acceptable for some styles of music. definitely not all but some

[@MichaelSasser]

Pretty good for free! What do you personally use? Even if not free.

[@65Drums]

I use Superior Drummer 3 at the moment

[@darkslide6459]

Can you pleas made a video how to use it on windows? Hahah

[@eren_dammit983]

Hi, great video! One question: in order to use these plugins, do I need a soundcard or I have just to plug the jacks in the laptop and the drum kit and it's done?

[@cjleongson]

Add the modo drums next vid!

[@slappymcslapster8845]

Before I spend 15 minutes watching this (after watching at least 20 other videos on supposedly how to make all of this happen) does he actually explain how to set up the settings in order for this to work or is this just reviewing four different plugins? I'm tired of watching video after video and no closer to getting my e-drums to work with my laptop to trigger my own sounds.

[@TechTraction]

Great video (as always). Am I right in saying that drum plugins (free or premium) can make the sounds in your e-drum head unit irrelevant? At least in the case where all you want to do is record drums in a DAW. If that is the use-case I'm after, then the most important part of an e-drum kit is the drum heads and their triggers. Thoughts/comments?

[@manoloherrera]

@fartpoobox ohyeah I'd say yes, but it depends on the module. I have an Alesis Nitro mesh kit and use Addictive drums 2, waaaaay better sounds than any of the ones in the module. So depends on the module you have available.

[@TechTraction]

@fartpoobox ohyeah Thanks for the response. What about commercial plugin sounds? Free plugins are free sometimes for a quality reason (obviously not always), but if you're willing to pay for higher quality plugin sounds are you over coming the potential barrier imposed by a less than ideal e-drum head unit? I guess my implied question is this...when shopping for an e-drum kit, is it more important to focus on the heads and trigger quality knowing I can always get better sounds with a plugin if needed? Thanks again for the feedback.

[@LohJiaHung]

@@TechTraction Sometimes you don't wanna have to start up a computer to just get playing. But yes if you are willing to pay (or obtain through other means) for premium software like Superior Drummer or Addictive Drums then it renders the included sounds obsolete

[@eDrumsandVSTs]

Whether the stock module sounds are better than these free VSTs is very just opinion. I think Slate's free option is better than most stock module sounds....and addictive is right up there, too. Plus you get a ton of customizability with addictive and the other VSTs.

[@Fireworkfoxxvinyer]

Any of these work with pro tools first