Toontrack
Toontrack’s Superior Drummer 2.0 has got to be the best and probably the most user friendly drum plug-in available on the market. And the authentic drum and cymbal sounds-makes this one heck of a drum kit plug-in worth owning. You can also expand SD2.0’s sound library with different MIDI packs available from Toontrack. What I love about SD2.0, it has many different features, sounds and percussive tones that help you achieve your best when putting together a song. Now this is what I call comprehensive. We’ll go into more detail a little later into how easy it is to use different MIDI files within SD2.0.

With its sample library consisting of 20 gigs of pure percussive sound, you will not be limited to what you can write as only your imaginative mind will define your limitations with SD2.0. You can choose to install only 4 gigs of drum and cymbal sounds, but 20 gigs gives you even more creative power and songwriting versatility than you could ever fathom. Superior Drummer 2.0’s 20-gigabyte sound sample library consist of the New York Avatar Studio Session 1 drums, and you’ve at your disposal more drum sounds you can handle.

One of the nifty features I found useful was the ability to create your kit and save it as a customized preset, which you can use anytime with the load project option. All of this takes place under the “Load/Save” menu. This feature is surely a time saver.
The construct window is one of the core elements of SD2.0 as this is where you can assemble your dream drum kit. Just like its younger sibling EZ Drummer, the drums and cymbals have a pull down menu whereby different sized and sounding drums and cymbals can be selected to suit your tastes. The mixer features busing capabilities as well as 5 high quality effects as in a 5 band EQ, Highpass and Lowpass filter, Gate, Compressor and Transient. Having tried all five of these effects, I was in total awe… with what I was able to do with my songwriting creativity.

The Grooves feature is very useful as well, especially if you’re into creating a drum track on a fly. You can utilize this useful feature from SD2.0’s internal MIDI player engine, which is loaded with many different drum grooves. You just have to drag the (groove), sample file and drop it into your host plug-in.
Advanced features such as Mapping, Bounce and Settings give you even more control over your creativity. However, the features mentioned to take a little learning and experimenting with, so spend some quality time with them and in no time you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how these features will make your music shine. If you’re already familiar with the above-mentioned features from other music production plug-ins, then this should be a breeze, as the principles of use remain the same. Under the Settings tool, you’re able to change the plug-in’s operational preferences, plus being able to point sound paths towards your MIDI sound libraries.
On SD2.0’s interface window you will find useful windows as “Memory & Status”, which indicates the use of the system’s resources when loading presets and customized drum kits.
And The EZ Mixer is a noteworthy tool to have at your disposal with its many mixing options. You can choose from four available options, namely: All Mixer, Mics (Ezdrummer Style), Bleed Usage and Bleed Level/Phase. All of these with the exception of (Mics, which you can add presets from Ezdrummer if you’ve got it or your own presets), give you enough presets to manipulate your kit’s sounds and resonance. It’s a great feature for those with very indiscriminating tastes in sound and drum sound variation. You can also choose a different-sounding microphone from this area as well…

You’re also given Master Volume, Voice & Layer, Envelope, Pitch and Humanize controls here too. Along with many of these great features the user can also change the drum articulation’s velocity control, which is very handy when the hardness or softness of the hit has to be controlled to achieve a more desired sound level.

Everything from the setup of my personalized kit to the selection of different drum and cymbals made for a truly interactive experience. The percussive sounds and tones on SD2.0 are realistic and give you total control over the greatest detail within your music ever possible. When humans can’t cut it in the spectrum of vast drum tones and styles, just look for SD2.0 as this plug-in is a musician’s dream come true.
Check out www.toontrack.com for more product information, pricing and availability.
Sarjoo Devani