SD3 allows us to ‘cheat the system’ somewhat so that one can achieve great-sounding drums with relatively low effort. Unfortunately, most of us can’t record an acoustic kit at home the neighbors would kill us and the sound quality wouldn’t be that great anyway. In terms of recording, an electric kit coupled with SD3 could be the best option for many drummers. It doesn’t hurt to enjoy some pro-quality samples while you practice, either: a great-sounding kit is fun to play, and this inspires regular practice. Hook one up and record into your DAW, or-if you’re gigging-improve your kit’s live sound.

But, of course, these are broad categories rather than hard-and-fast rules.įirst and foremost, SD3 is compatible with every MIDI-friendly electric kit. There are a whole host of ways to use Superior Drummer 3 enough to cater to drummers and non-drummers alike. I’ll start with some options for drummers, and, in the next section, I’ll cover user options for non-drummers. If that’s not enough for you, you can purchase a wide variety of expansion packs to broaden your creative horizons, featuring new recording spaces, reverbs, and other add-ons. It also includes three hundred and fifty electronic sounds and thirty-five mixer presets, sculpted by some of the best producers in the world. The core SD3 library contains seven preset kits, sixteen kick drums, and twenty-five snare drums. It took me a couple of days and an external hard drive, but I eventually crossed the finish line! This library is absolutely vast. It contains over 230GB of drums, drum kits, drum rooms, mixer settings, grooves, kit presets, fills, and more. My first impression of SD3 started before I’d even started to download it.

Superior Drummer 3 is Toontrack’s flagship drum library. Everything was recorded by George Massenburg (Toto Earth, Wind and Fire Billy Joel) at Galaxy Studios in Belgium-reportedly one of the quietest recording studios in the world – in eleven-channel surround sound.

Toontrack superior drummer reviews