Expansions packs for Superior Drummer 3 I recommend to buy

[@bopkins14]

Enable bleed on all tracks and your core library truly comes alive!

[@lazuraspit]

Completely agree with the Death and Darkness library. I bought it about a month ago after watching your review. It’s also now my core library, only I tend to favor the Darkness kit. I make slower more dark sounding metal music, and the darkness kit fits the mood perfectly. I also agree it sounds better using just the core sounds with no processing. I will add whatever is needed in the mix. I just recently found your channel, and have found some very useful tips. Your video on making midi grooves sound human, was exactly what I looking for. Thanks for the content it’s very helpful.

[@MikeLuke]

Thanks ever so much for your kind words, Dave. Really appreciate it. 🙏

[@spkldgecko]

Superior Drummer is such a powerful product that with a little effort, you can basically stack drums, compress, eq, delay, mic up, bleed, mix, etc etc etc to your heart's content and make the basic kits sound exactly the way you need them to. I did buy the legacy of rock expansion pack and it does give you some extra options but, in retrospect, I probably should have spent more time in the mixer part of it before buying anything else.

[@steph3571]

Totally agree with you for the number one. I play and record drum covers, and own several SDX: - N.Y Avatar SDX - The Progressive Foundry SDX - The Metal Foundry SDX - The Metal Machinery SDX - Death & Darkness SDX - and the SD3 core library SDX But The Death SDX is my favorite and a must have in my opinion as well. The blue Yamaha Recording Custom 1990's is my default kit for my opening sessions and the one I use most of the time.

[@MikeLuke]

Thanks for your comment. Well, as drummers we know that a 1990s Yamaha RC will always work, don’t we? 😀

[@steph3571]

@@MikeLuke absolutly !

[@NoiserToo]

Thank you Mike, for sharing your opinions and expertise!

[@artwerkmedia8616]

Have to agree with Rooms of hansa. I own about 15 libraries but that one is my favorite. I do wish it had a few more hats and cymbals but that’s ok.

[@artwerkmedia8616]

And other favorite is the Roots sticks. Very versatile also.

[@HeadacheCentral]

After a recommendation from a friend I decided to get myself the "Progressive Foundry" SDX and goddamn, is it easy to get a good classic heavy metal tone out of it even with just the raw sounds and very little FX work. The depth in the sampling of the kicks isn't quite there, but the snares and toms and cymbals are just very lively in the best of ways.

[@morgan3149]

In the beginning, I had and still have a great time using the death expansion from the Death & Darkness expansion pack, the Gretsch Kit with the Sonor snare were my go-to-go kit for everything I wanted to record. The sound is nearly right out of the box, some processing on EQs in the high frequencies (adding some dbs) was what I needed. Now, with some experiences, I am definitely more into the Darkness one. It has more raw kits that requires some times to find the right tone. I use a mix of "Rimefire and "For Helvede" presets with some of my EQ preferences that take some time to adjust. The kits are great especially the Pearl one with the amazing Pearl Sensitone snare ! The Death kits are more "round", heavy and massive, don't get me wrong, they are amazing but I am much into sharp, raw and natural sounding drum sound. The Death one is much more processed, cymbals are very bright, less crack and overtones details with less differences in snares strokes (the snare sounds quite the """same""" at any velocity, not enough differences for me, for example) ect... Darkness has less directs mics but for example, I added and routed another splash channel to pan the right and left splashes as I wanted. You can do this for every cymbals, routing a cymbal to a new overhead channel and/or muting it in the original one if needed. And the Darkness ambiances mics are far more interesting than in the Death one. If you want something quite right when loading, try the Death one. If you have some patience and want to try something more specific, try the Darkness one. So right now, it's my Pearl kit that is my favorite ! I am using the Rooms Of Hansa when I want to pick and choose some specific instruments, snares and hi-hat for instance. I have the Metal Foundry and NY vol. 3 expansions but, according to me, they are obsolete when you have the D&D for SD3 with separate rimshots and center/off-center/Edge/rim only ect... articulations and around 20 articulations for hit-hat ! I just wish they add a "Latin-cuban drums" SDX one, the EZX version has some very nice drums (and surprise ! it's Pearl one's), better than some SDX expansions. I think it could have been awesome, for Rock, Fusion and Metal too !

[@MikeLuke]

Thanks for your great comment! Don’t get me wrong here, the Darkness SDX is for sure a great sounding library. The purpose of this video was more like showing some expansions that contribute the best (in my humble opinion) to the core library of SD3. For instance, I do adore the Ludwig Classic Maple Kick drum in the „Darkness SDX“ as it has the Perfect balance of smack and that low end „oomph“. I know about how to route cymbals to different sides, even though I don’t use it very often.

[@morgan3149]

@@MikeLuke Oh yes your video is great and a very good "guide" for what to buy or where to start when you just buy SD3 and want to add something to your library. It's your previous videos that decides me to buy SD3 in the first place :) And the cymbals routing, I read a lot of comments in the Toontrack forum and some videos arguing about how disappointing it is to not having more directs mics for cymbals, when you can just create your own channel to separate each and every cymbals you want, it's just a trick ^^ Thanks a lot again for your video, I am looking forward your next work ! :)

[@mfournier01]

Thanks for this Mike! I understand what you mean about having the D&D sounds unprocessed and their versatility. Having the ability to tweak the sounds to your likeness when starting with the best instruments is like having the best black coffee and letting you add your own cream and/or sweetener. There's something for everyone and it will always be basically great from the start. Now I'll need to ask for D&D expansion for Father's Day Haha!

[@MikeLuke]

What a great analogy, Mike. I have to remember that - haha. ;) But yeah, the D&D is almost tailor-made for you and your playing style. And as you are a great father, chances are high they‘ll get you a copy of this SDX. 😎

[@anthonyb924]

Hey Mike great video! I LOVE death & darkness, my default project is the Yamaha recording custom with the Tama bell brass, the way this SDX gels with my TD30 is perfect. Also love made of metal, as far as metal machine goes I don’t like the snares as the higher velocities (anything over about 115) triggers a rimshot and it sounds very choked, made of metal are nice open snares. I would like to get rooms of hansa but death & darkness has plenty to keep me interested for a long time yet.

[@MikeLuke]

Hey Anthony, thanks for your comment and always good to see you on my channel. The Tama Bell Brass is great, too. I use the 1980s version, it has a bit more depth and warmth. Agree on your thoughts about the Metal Machine. Just like I said in this video, this EZX is ridicolously overprocessed and I wouldn't use it on its own but just for enhancing existing sound to add punchy. Well, Rooms of Hansa is a different beast. It's very unique by any means. Do you NEED it? Well, no. But I tell you, once you own it, you won't want to live without it anymore. ;)

[@jgdigi]

Hi Mike, Great video! I totally agree with your #2 & #1 Picks! I bought both Hansa & Death/Darkness expansions while putting my V drum kit together just before the pandemic. I use those libraries all the time. They’re the most versatile & using the Roland TD27 as a controller has made using electronic drums terrific. I’ve been using electronic drums for 3 decades & by having the sounds & the articulations of the drums are amazing. Thank you for verifying my feelings towards this. I can’t wait to see your other videos!

[@jasonward2681]

Hey Mike - agree the Death & Hansa SDXs are great - thanks for the tip - purchased on your recommendation! My go-to core library for some time has been the Progressive Foundry SDX. I find it very versatile for many genres just like the Death SDX. Funny thing I have found with all these libraries is that I will always tend to settle on one kit within each library as a favourite, like the Pearl Masters in the Prog Foundry or the RC in the Death SDX. It's like the one that just sounds right to me and I always gravitate back to. I just find it such a privilege to have Toontrack do all the hard work and for a couple of hundred bucks we can have access to such amazing tools to pick and choose from. As a home studio musician and non-drummer, I would never have been exposed to such a variety of drums and sounds and been able to understand what works for me. Really educational. Toontrack's stuff keeps getting better and better... I can't wait to see what they have planned for the future.

[@MikeLuke]

Hey Jason, thanks for your comment. I actually thought of putting the Progressive Foundry on that list because of the reasons you've mentioned. It's similar versatile just like the Death & Darkness and suits more genres than "only" Progressive Rock. I have my favorite kits in every expansion as well and I am so picky that I barely mix drum sets, because I want a sound from ONE brand. I prefer the DW Collectors in the Prog Foundry and also the RC in the Death SDX. Maybe that's worth a video ... showing my favorite kits per library? :)

[@robs-on-drums488]

Pearl Masters ProgF: Best Kit! 👌🏻

[@MartinvonBargen]

Good to see you posting content again. There's some Urlaubsgeld burning a hole in my pocket from 20.06. Hansa is looking likely as I've already got D&D.

[@MikeLuke]

They should call it „drum library Geld“ 😁

[@Holtenstein]

I've been using the Death and Darkness packs since they came out. I was previously using the Metal foundry kits from SD2. We use this for Live and practice as well as recording with a custom hybrid E kit. The D&D pack made our last drummer completely give up paying to record acoustic drums in the studio. Very happy with these newer SD3 libraries. I do have some of the EZX metal and the Electronic expansions too. Although my band is in the Metal genre we do like to blend in a bit of 808 kick at times.

[@eDrumsInANutshell]

Yeah! My words! Why should I pay a lot of money, for a record session of a - in my case - crappy drums set in a junk studio with a no name engineer. Sorry. But it is what is! As a hobby or semi pro musician you will never ever get a better drum sound as those Toontrack samples! Dude, we bought a Thomann Millenium MPS-850 as a toy for the kids ... and know after Daddy connecting that ekit to the PC and testet EZDrummer2 ... Wooow. Xmas 2019 was like a musical enlightenment. I grabbed several MIDI controller and know I ended up doing some live looping stuff in Ableton Live! I really love that MIDI crap! Look at that: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TqBAVu8AxazconI1tfRxOe6jgGDTy1W9?usp=sharing My latest captures are several 3 zone Lemon cymbals and that 12" tom pad. I use a DIY drum tec style snare, Hall sensor hihat controller and those low-priced Millenium MPS-850 pads, which are actually Alesis/Medeli/FAME pad. But there are doing so well. You see I am lost!!! Gear addicted ... I even got a MIDI footcontroller. I desired such a thing since I have seen my guitar player using that thing to switch his effects. Hahaha! Oh, btw... those pads are connected to Audiofront eDrumin4 and eDrumIn10 trigger2MIDI interfaces. You should definitely check these out.

[@JoshCameron]

Great Video Mike! Great to see more vids from you!

[@MikeLuke]

Cheers mate. Sometimes I feel like those one-trick-ponys that just talk about Apple products - just with a fraction of their subscribers. ;);)

[@JoshCameron]

Hahahaha! That’s not the case at all! No one else knows Superior Drummer the way you know do 🙌🏻

[@Kentavious444]

I don't have enough room on my C-drive for Rooms of Hansa. If I install it on another drive what would I need to do within SD3 for it to be accessible?

[@djrbfmbfm-woa]

hello mike, thx for all your wonderfull videos on SD3. j.

[@djrbfmbfm-woa]

OMG, thx, mike. just purchased SD3. and loving it. have all the other brands. i do like slate. but these are a f8ckin' trip. eventually, I'll get the lot. any ones of them I should avoid spending money on, plz let me know. cheers and thx for your videos. j.

[@gregwilliams2764]

I like my custom shop ezx unipolar cymbals, I have kicks and snaresezx which is gtreat for stacking. Love orchestral percussion. Fantastic! Independent SDX also has great sounds.lm having Sweetwater build me a creation station computer with great specs and they are now loading all the new Latin summer breeze ezx. Including Cuban ezKeys and midi plus ezx expansion with a Cuban set including timbales. Can’t wait to hear it. Then getting funkmasterezx and midi and ezKeys midi. Got ez bass on it too. I have a lot more but these are my favorites. I want hip hop soon. I want to do some old songs like “ low rider” by War.Good to see you Mike. I’m trying to get as many libraries as you!

[@pauldncn1]

Mike new to superior drummer and found your videos very helpful thank you for the great tutorials

[@MikeLuke]

Thank you Paul

[@matthewmessner1105]

Death and Darkness for sure. But I am eyeing up the new Fields of Rock, the one genre I can't get D and D to jive with is Grunge and Post Rock

[@jeromeclatot1769]

Thank you this really helpful do you think that there are newer versions you would recommend? If I had one to purchase and why I do mainly rock hard rock. Thank you

[@MikeLuke]

The „Fields of Rock“ and the „Stories SDX“ both sound like proper rock sample libraries. In the end, it’ll be more about the performance and the mix, though.

[@jeromeclatot1769]

What about the death and darkness is not it a little more metal or hard rock? If I had one to own not sure yet

[@MikeLuke]

@jeromeclatot1769 It’s probably more on the heavy side of things. But again, don’t overthink stuff or let yourself be mislead by the names of those expansion packs. It’s just drums after all, even when it’s called „Jazz“ or „Pop“. The way how you play (or program) them and how you mix them makes 90% of the sound after all. If you are not into mixing, you can also use the expansions for EZDrummer (the „EZX“ packs) as they are always pre-processed and they also work within Superior Drummer. And usually cheaper. ;) I always recommend spending some time on Toontrack‘s website, walk through every product page as they have tons of audio examples and always listing the gear and drums they used, this will give a a nice starting point.

[@jeromeclatot1769]

Thank you very much, I do love mixing drums I used to record them myself a lot. So for me it was making more sense to purchase more raw data rather than processed to shape the sound I wanted. My drum to go kit was a DW collector. With 8-9mics with one under the snare. Not having neither a drum kit nor a drummer I thought I would give this a try.

[@djabthrash]

18:00 sounds killer ! With a lot of room in the mix, it would almost sound like Nirvana's "in utero".

[@jimmytaberner5187]

Hi there... Thank you for the video. I'm just taking the plunge with superior drummer 3 and I'm purchasing the bundle with 2 SDX extension packs so this was very informative. Are you still of the opinion that these are your 2 preferred choices, please or have you new preferences since the making of this video? Have you had chance to demo the 'Hitmaker' pack yet please? Jim.

[@photographerjonathan]

looking into electronic drums. I just heard about Superior 3, so am I right to assume that these sounds can be used with Logic Pro X and triggered with a Roland or Pearl electronic drum set ?

[@MikeLuke]

Yes, exactly.

[@eDrumsInANutshell]

@@MikeLuke That's right! And it's stunning. I use EZDrummer2 with two eDrumIn devices from Audiofront and Millenium/Alesis/ATV pads. I will check out this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGi1pIuagZuIb6c and will decide to crossgrade...

[@darrinwilson8484]

I cant recommend Rooms of Hansa and Hitmaker enough. Finally drummers are getting some parity with guitar players who can instantly dial up a universe of great sounds.

[@stevemcnamara2584]

I don't get people's complaint about the Core library -- the presets are pretty varied, there are a lot of drums to choose from, and there are many ways to customize right out of the box. This is not to knock the expansions , I own several, mostly because they were on sale, and are fun to have more options. But to anyone who is thinking of buying SD3, the core library is great for many projects.

[@MikeLuke]

I do agree, Steve. I love using the core library and I think it's a powerful one. But I know from a lot of users that they struggle finding the right sound with the core library.

[@rhythmantic]

Thank you Mike for the overview and review of these expansion packs. I don't have any of the EZX and may consider it due to your extension knowledge explaining why these packs are so good. The Hip-Hop pack is a good choice because of all of the percussion instruments of which I'm lacking.

[@MikeLuke]

Hey Sal, as you play in churches the HipHop EZX might work great when using a sample pad like Roland‘s SPD-SX and then assign some percussion sounds to it. Just to add some nice accents every now and then. In general EZX are always a sweet alternative for drummers, whether for playing live or just for practicing. Cheaper to buy, they don’t need much RAM on your computer (so they load very quickly) and as they are slightly pre-processed they sound very good. And using them within SD3 gives you the full flexibility of all the features within SD3.

[@rhythmantic]

Mike Luke Thank you Mike for the additional info. I do have a Roland Octapad that’s not in use and the HipHop expansion would be an ideal software to trigger.

[@rhythmantic]

Mike Luke Hey speaking of percussion I just received a Toontrack memo advertising a new release: Latin Cuban Percussion for $89.

[@dmitrii4799]

Is there a library with lower hat highs ? More like a can sound

[@Beethovan]

Great video review!

[@kcbrutality5271]

Mike Luke does the the death expansion have only different drum sets or does it also have additional groove loops ???

[@MikeLuke]

Every expansion you buy comes with additional grooves.

[@klausagerbo7213]

Mike, have you ever shared your favorite Death preset that you’re talking about here, with the Yamaha Recording Custom drums, the Ludwig Black Beauty snare and the Meinl cymbals? I would love to have that as my opening preset as well. Love the maple heaven preset you did with the DW’s but would really like to hear this preset also... Thank you so much for your hard work, which helps so many of us drummers who are not mixing engineers. :-)

[@MikeLuke]

Hi Klaus, thanks for the kind words. Well, to be honest, I never made a preset with those instruments in SD3. I just use them as my starting point, because I usually mix everything in my DAW of choice. Maybe I should consider to make some official „Mike Luke preset packs“ 😎

[@klausagerbo7213]

@@MikeLuke so you just use the default Yamaha kit and add the Ludwig snare?

[@MikeLuke]

Exactly, plus the Meinl Byzance as crashes and the 15“ Zildjian Dry Hats. I found that this combination works best for me for recording purposes. In a studio Setup, most engineers prefer less harsh or bright cymbals as well as round and warm drum tones. Hence that combination.

[@BleedingCrypto]

Great work. Hello. Do you have any reviews for the Jazz/Brush Expansion? Thank you

[@stonelark]

Very useful video. Appreciated.

[@MikeLuke]

Cheers John! 🙏

[@justin1603]

18:17 i know every sdx but at this point i "only" have and use the sd3 core libary, death& darkness and hansa sdx for me the perfect set up :)

[@MikeLuke]

Well, actually you don’t need more. Even with the core library you could cover all genres. Every additional expansion is just to add a certain color or a very specific sound. It’s about options :)

[@CubiBenitez]

ssd vs sd3....which do u prefer??..ive been recording with ssd, but a guess sd3 is better...

[@theguitargarden9525]

Great videos, I love SD3. How come my screen doest look like yours though? yours sits in a while room and mine is super tight screen? I only have the core and some midi expansions. is the the reason? Love the videos man and thanks

[@MikeLuke]

Hard to tell from a distance. Always make sure you update your software regularly using the Toontrack product manager. You can expand the screen in the bottom right corner and usually the size adapts accordingly

[@deeseen3495]

Great Stuff man!

[@ThePanchomack]

Legacy of Rock wasn't rolled out by that time. Guess the Chance would have been good to make into the recommendation Video ;

[@MikeLuke]

Yes, for sure.

[@ChristopherSmithNYC]

That Yamaha bass drum is heavenly.

[@MikeLuke]

Agreed.

[@justsomerandomguyman]

It's funny that you say you didn't like the Metal Machinery SDX, because that one is made by Andy Sneap and many, many people consider Andy Sneap to be the very best metal producer of all-time. Most of his mixes are praised by pretty much all other modern metal producers, including the people involved in the Made of Metal expansion. Many people love the Metal Machinery SDX and Metal Machine EZX. I do agree with you that Death and Darkness (specifically, Death) is great though. Sean Reinert's playing helps a lot too. (RIP)

[@gregthegroove]

Damn. That death SXD sounds TIGHT! I hear they’re gonna update the Pearl Mimic Pro module to mix in those SSD OG one shot snare samples. Caught that vid of yours too

[@rockinrobin8821]

Hey Mike which library would you recommend for late 60s early 70s soul sound think Booker T and the MG, Aretha Franklin style? I've been thinkin the Southern Soul might be the ticket but this is an older one and the latest 3 seem much better. Maybe the Decades with the 70s damped kit? Thanks !

[@MikeLuke]

The Decades will do the job for sure. You might want to check the "Indiependent SDX" on Toontrack's website. This expansion contains some great Gretsch & Sonor drums from the 60s, very warm yet punchy sounding. The Southern Soul is worth buying anyway. When it's on sale, you shouldn't hesitate. I often tend to start with an SDX first though as it gives me more options to shape the sound I am after.

[@ngavengmirimai310]

Hey Mike, Great video. Out of those four rooms of Hansa, which one is your favourite?

[@MikeLuke]

Hard to tell. If I had to pick one, I’d probably go for the „Live room“ as it’s the most versatile for me.

[@michaeljordan1351]

Hey Mike love the video! What would you recommend for R&B?

[@deepakchoppa2912]

I was going to ask the exact same question.

[@MikeLuke]

Well, for R&B you could use the Hip Hop EZX as well. Alternatively, you wanna check the „Southern Soul EZX“ or the „Indiependent SDX“ as it contains some nice fat and warm sounding snares which you often need for R&B. In general, a genre is often rather determined by the groove that’s been played than the drum sound itself - at least in my experience.

[@deepakchoppa2912]

@@MikeLuke Excellent advice. Thanks!

[@learnngwell]

Take my money! (Just kidding; I’m not producing anything recently, but plan on some co-projects with my son after he gets married at the end of the month.) Hope you’re well, Mike. Best wishes.

[@MikeLuke]

Your son gets married? Is it the cute little one on your profile pic? Well, if so, he’s starting very early I guess. 😉

[@MikaelMaatta]

so i got the Superior drummer 3 and just added on the Metal Foundry, if using a drumset from lets say Metal Foundry, but then want a special cymbal from the regular superior drummer 3, how do i choose that??is that possible? Thanks You

[@MikeLuke]

Yes, this is doable. Just use the „Add instrument“ feature. You’ll find great videos about how to do this on Toontrack‘s website.

[@MikaelMaatta]

@@MikeLuke thank you, and great videos and content

[@987productions]

Thanks Mike, enjoying your channel, keep up the good work!! Just bought SD3, and am looking at The Progressive Foundry SDX, as I am mostly making prog rock/metal, kinda going for that Danny Carey sound. Would you still recommend the Death & Darkness SDX over the Prog foundry SDX? p.s. would be col to see how you tackle odd time signatures within SD3 as there is not much on YT or the net about it. Cheers mate!

[@MikeLuke]

I don’t recommend any SDX over another, because that would be misleading. You can get a sound like this with both SDX, I guess. Keep in mind that there are so many variables that contribute to a sound that it’s almost impossible to say: „Take library X and you get sound Y“. The drums themselves, the heads, the tuning, the mics, the pre-amps, the console, the gear they used for the mixing ... you name it. Danny Carey plays a gigantic kit, but keep in mind that drums (in general) are professionally mixed always in context of the song. Even on Tool‘s latest album you’ll hear that Danny‘s drums don’t sound the same on every track. As an engineer, you change the processing of drums depending what’s going on in the track. Which means: Even if I knew what the engineer of Tool did on the drums in terms of processing, chances are high I still won’t achieve that sound, no matter which SDX I pick.

[@987productions]

@@MikeLuke thanks Mike, yeah that makes sense. I understand that all these things (mic pres, skins etc) make a huge differenece in the sound of the drums and that each song needs to be mixed differently depending on what's going on with the rest of the song and that there is definately not a one size fits all kit or SDX that will work. I think Joe Barresi does a masterful job mixing the band!! I do like his appraoch!! I'm not trying to to replicate Danny's sound perfectly, just trying to get in the ballpark, as it were. Thanks for the reply and clarification, much appreciated!!! I guess I will wait for the SDX sales and just play around with the SD3 kits for now ;) Leaning towards the Death & Darkness SDX atm, ( the Yamaha kit and the Sonor [danny uses Sonar] kits sound great from your other video!) but might grab the Prog Foundry too \m/ Is there an SDX or EZX that has Tablas and other more percussive drums? I checked out the Orchestral SDX which sounds amazing!

[@MikeLuke]

@@987productions I think you cannot go wrong with the "Death & Darkness", it's so versatile and you actually get two libraries in one, so it's a steal. Don't expect this SDX to go on sale too soon though - usually Toontrack never put their latest SDX on sale that early. The Orchestral SDX is gigantic in sounds, without a doubt. But I think a bit overkill if you just need some percussive stuff. Their latest EZX (Latin Drums) has some nice percussive instruments. The "Alt-Rock EZX" (produced by Steve Albini) has two timpanis and even the "Pop/Rock EZX" comes with some additionel instruments. What I'd recommend is going to Toontrack's website, take a cup of coffee and click through their list of expansions - usually they provide all details and instruments included on their respective product pages.

[@987productions]

@@MikeLuke sure seems to be the way to go! oh, ok thanks for the heads up on that! means I don't have to wait for the sale ;) haha maybe I'll wait for the orchestral SDX to go on sale, otherwise, I know what I'll be doing tonight, checking out all those packs! cheers Mike!!

[@MarianoGabrielConti]

9:45 awesome, thanks.

[@BobSchoepenjr]

Superior Drummer Ambassador 👉🏼Mr Mike Luke

[@boogybass]

Do you still recommend Death and Darkness as the best expansion pack here in 2021.

[@MikeLuke]

Yes, without a doubt. Depends on your style and preferences of course, but there’s no genre which cannot be covered by this pack. It’s way more versatile than its name might suggest.

[@boogybass]

@@MikeLuke Thanks Mike, it means a lot hearing it from you.

[@boogybass]

@@MikeLuke As a bass player, who plays jazz, funk, blues, country, pop, rock, reggae, and heavy metal since the 70’s, finding just one expansion pack is nearly impossible, so I’m probably asking too much of just one expansion pack.

[@MikeLuke]

Got it. Well, the core library is often overlooked - you can pretty much cover all styles here. The „Death & Darkness“ will do its job here, even though it sounds more on the polished, modern side. You could also have a look on „Decades“ SDX by the legendary Al Schmitt - you won’t find a better expansion for jazz, pop and big band at least (please note that the „Death & Darkness“ doesn’t have any brushes included which you sometimes need for jazz). Additionally, you might consider buying two or three expansion pack for EZDrummer2 - the EZX expansions - instead, as they are a) cheaper, b) sounding great and c) they work perfectly in SD3.

[@boogybass]

@@MikeLuke Thanks, ya because I own EZDrummer 2 as well. I might do that too. I have the Jazz, Nashville and Rock for EX Drummer 2 already.

[@richmerlino6480]

Thx homie

[@michelegaleazzi6354]

In what SD3 expansion could I find a drum sound similar to that of POLICE? Thanks in advance!

[@djabthrash]

i know it's SD2 and not SD3, but the NY vol 2 SDX ("the hit factory" kit most precisely) sounds Steward Copelandish af

[@michelegaleazzi6354]

@@djabthrash You're right!! Thanks so much!

[@MikeLuke]

Agreed.

[@shiftgears211]

Love using “rock foundry” and Bob rock’s studio preset. We’re just 2 guys playing guitar and it feels like old school rock drums right out of the gate. Check out SoundCloud “Day One (Jeff McNab and Dallas Brown)” to hear what we’re getting with stock sounds from SD3. I’d put a link up but you tube doesn’t like to display those on other peoples feeds lol But I will definitely check out death and darkness now!

[@MikeLuke]

Checked the songs on SoundCloud, they sound great. And a clear proof how punchy and good he core library of SD3 can sound. Great job!

[@shiftgears211]

Mike Luke Thx Mike! Just a couple guitar players messing around, don’t think it would be possible without SD3 really, and of course people like you who do videos on SD3 really help us use the program better.

[@UPPERKELLER]

How do i open ezx libs with sd3? It doesnt work for me to and the libs

[@MikeLuke]

You need to allocate the library path within Superior Drummer. After re-opening SD3, they will show up.

[@UPPERKELLER]

@@MikeLuke it says no library Fond even if i open folders manually 🤔

[@UPPERKELLER]

Any ideas? Btw thanx for your great videos

[@MikeLuke]

Go to "Settings", then "Libraries/Paths", then click on "Add Library Path" and chose the path your EZXs are saved on your computer. Then it should work.

[@UPPERKELLER]

@@MikeLuke yes but thats not working. Thanx anyway

[@iansargison585]

can't decide between decades or rooms of hansa - best value anyone?

[@MikeLuke]

Hard to tell as it heavily depends on your needs. Two different SDX. Decades is a more round and versatile library with a slight tendency to jazz, swing, pop and maybe hard rock. Hansa is all about the different rooms and the sonic character they provide. You can go from super dry and tight to big and larger than life. Sounds are pre-processed and more mix ready in Hansa, but overall less options in instruments.

[@iansargison585]

Mike Luke That’s really helpful - thanks for your reply - your channel has great content - keep it up 👌

[@warthogstudios9784]

Anyone else trying to get the mark off the screen..

[@seanmiller7889]

Spent 15 minutes trying to clean the spot on my cell phone.

[@GILLISH]

1st of all Superior Drummer 3 has no funk if they did you would see the names of drummer like Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey, Greg Errico, Clyde Austin Stubblefield I could go on let me add 1 more michael bland

[@DerrickBigWalker]

Actually they do in EZdrummer with some of the names that you mentioned. Still my go to for The Funk in EZdrummer is Kick & Snares there is a lot of kits in it. I'm sure you will find one or more of them Sufficiently Funked-up. I'm thinking of upgrading to superior drummer this video helped a lot but I'm still not sure which the best is for funk either. I'm mostly upgrading for the control, I'm very happy with the drums in Kick & Snares.

[@aeiplanner]

I'd probably buy the last one if not for the name and image of satan and his mother.

[@jlopez4342]

I am not bald and toothless

[@caseycbenn]

Oof, you weren't kidding, that Death and Darkness setup.... I'd just add a pinch more air 3k -5k to give the snare a little more breathing frequency... but its such a great foundation. Thanks for the lead on that. I've been using Addictive Drums 2 with the Black Velvet for a while now... but now I will be getting Superior Drummer just to test this Death and Darkness kit. 🤟🤟kzbin.infogaming/emoji/7ff574f2/emoji_u1f91f.png

[@mediacousticsmultimedia7359]

Cold there ? No heater in your room ? Or why are you wearing that wooly hat ? - Really, some kinds of fashion are really rediculous...🤣

[@MikeLuke]

Yeah, cannot afford a heater. Hence I trying to earn some extra cash with KZbin.