# A guide for Superior Drummer 2.0



## Kurkkuviipale

*Introduction*
This is an overall guide to use Superior Drummer 2.0. In this guide I and hopefully many others will give their knowledge and experience to all less and more experienced SD2.0 users.

*Getting started*
I'll be working on this guide as objective as I can so that peoples drums don't start to sound like mine do. First of all I'll be using The Metal Foundry default kit. Toms and kick are Tomas Haake Custom SQ2 toms, snare is Sonor Artist Series 6''x14''. Cymbals are Sabian HHX Stage set and as ride I use Morgan Ågren Custom Ride and AAXtreme China.

*Don't copy!*
All the drums behave differently when you apply plugins on them, but the thing to remember is that all the samples in SD2.0 are good enough to get the job done and you will surely find the best drumsound to your taste. It's really just a matter of patience and testing.

Here's a song we did with our band a while ago. It should give you a picture of what will it sound like in the mix. Anyway, It's an old one so there are some details that doesn't sound good, but still gives you a picture: Kurkkuviipale - TMB6 - SoundCloud

*The first steps - Setting velocities*
I made a little clip with the default setting so you have something to compare at: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11989434/Superior Clip 1.0.mp3

Now before you start thinking, "why doesn't my Metal Foundry sounding the same", the first thing you should check out is the MIDI velocities. That's a key thing on mixing drums. They are most of the times kept on 127 when dealing with Superior Drummer, though for example I keep my snare on 120-125 to remove that *clunch* from it.

*Inside the SD2.0 UI*
I'll be giving you some tips to get the sounding like you want it. The tips are all *inside* the user interface of SD2.0 so the chances are limited. I'll get later to "multiout" and more complex ways to edit the drums, but IMO it's better to start off with the basics.
*Overheads*
So back to business. The clip sounds really dry as you can hear. What to do when the drums are dry? You work on the overheads! Overheads are the mics that mic the overall sound of the set. They are placed on top of the drum set and capture mostly the snare and the cymbals. Open up the "Mixer" tab on your Superior Drummer VST window. Add a transient and a compressor to the "OH" track. I'm not going to give you any more hints on that. Work on the "OH" track now, mess with the parameters, you WILL get used to it. Practice is the key.

Overheads could use some EQ too, but I'll get back to that later!

So now that you've got the overall image they way you like it you can get more deeper to the details.

*Snare*
Snare. There's a million ways you could set it up. I can't really go in details, but a good way to start of is almost always to EQ. After EQ you can either go to transient or compressor or anything. I go for transient. I suggest to use a compressor on the last link to give it a less body and get it sounding on the about same volume.

*Kick*
This is a matter of EQ and compressing. Maybe a little trans, but EQ and compressing should do the trick. Again: Play with the parameters. Practice IS the key!

*Multiout*
Now this is the point where your drums start sound like you want them to sound. Ok, the SD2.0 has inbuilt plugins and you can get it sounding OK, but to get the most out of this wonderful plugin, you've got to master this.

Here's a clip I made *quickly* using the 'multiout' feature: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11989434/Superior Clip 2.0.mp3 . The toms may suck and such, but you can hear the difference

The point in 'multiout' feature is to send all the tracks in the Superior Drummer 2 to separate tracks in you DAW. After that... you have all the power to make ANYTHING, I mean ANYTHING to them. Activating the 'multiout' feature differs from what DAW you're using, but there are many guides to that, so I'm not typing it out.

*Using the compressor... With care!*
So now that you have all the separate tracks on separate tracks, you want to go to the insert spot in your DAW. This will be the place you'll be spending your next five hours of editing drum sound. Just kidding, add a little compressor to about everything, especially on *kick and snare and overheads* Now that you have them compressed... It's time to play with the parameters! Compressor can be a cruel factor in your drums and on the other hand it might open the drums up just so that they sound exactly you like them to sound.

Kick and snare can have a bigger ratio. I usually keep them above 3:1 and less than 10:1. Basically, more ratio = less body, less ratio = more body. Many metal bands want to compress the shit out of the kick, so if you are one of them go ahead! My personal target is to get all of them sounding tight, yet fat. It's hard to achieve, and I don't even think that it is the usual way to tweak them. Create your own sound!

After compressing the kick, think of the optimal snare sound you want. Is it fat? Yes: Put a little less ratio, (add reverb, but i'll get to that later) and EQ to your taste at mid-frequencies. No: Compress the fuck out of it. Ratio up, no reverb, EQ on high-freq.

Overheads. Adding compressor to these bring up the cymbals. In a good way. Use about 2:1 ratio, maybe less and set the volume to liking. Remember to keep brakes especially when dealing with high frequencies as cymbals. Your cymbals might sound kewl when they're really high, but you might as well find out the next day that they actually suck really bad. So keep 5 minute brakes so that your ears get neutralized. A good way also is to listen to some commercial music. That's probably the way you want them to hear.

*Reverbing and FX-Channel*
This had a huge impact on my drum sound when I first discovered it. It's a editing/mixing technique that gives you the possibility to maintain the original sound (for ex. snare) and add an FX (for ex. a reverb) to it. I'm not going to the details of creating this track, but your DAW should have a track type of "FX-Channel" or something. After creating it, apply your reverb or anything to it and go to your drums (again, for ex. snare) track -> send -> choose your fx channel.

*Snare reverbing*
This will at the same time blend and pop your snare up. It'll make it fatter. The point is to add reverb to your FX Channel and send your snare to that channel. I usually use a room reverb, but many use for example plate and such. The reverb can be really high on volume, as it really will blend to mix really nice. My example about this is Lamb Of God's 'Walk With Me In Hell'. First listen to the original track, and after that check out how the drums are done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGUb_oFcf8I&feature=related

Pretty roomy, huh? Now again, don't copy. Make your own sound.

*Parallel compression*

This is a way to maintain the original drum track and at the same time get the compressed fatter one on top of it. It works exactly like reverbing on fx channel. Just change the reverb to a compressor. Now you have the compressed and the uncompressed sound in the mix. Again, play with the parameters, keep brakes and it'll be freaking cool!

A word about toms: I'm not a master myself either. I give you what I know. Now I ask you to do the same! Many people have asked for that *thuggy* metal tom sound and if you know how to get that sound, be my guest to tell it to others. (And please in this thread, )

What i've done to the toms on the mix I poster here, is EQ, compression, gate, and some reverbing so if you like it, follow my lead. I don't like them too much.

*Afterwords*
Now here's something to start with this thread! I'll be adding anything that comes to my mind. Next that I could be adding would be about various tone changing effects, (check Porcupine Tree for those) filters, distortion, anything.

*Don't forget to contribute your own stuff!*

*Tips & Tricks:*
*budule*: Adding a 'rimshot' (40 on drum midi mapping, usually named "electric snare") on top of your usual snare gives a nice woody feel and gives you more opportunities on accenting your snare on the mix!


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## paintkilz

im looking forward to this thread, as ive mainly used EZD, but have been dabbling with SD2. i think so far SD2 sounds better, but EZD is just loads easier to use so far.


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## Kurkkuviipale

Bumping this up due to big time changes and adds.


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## Tritono

Kurkkuvilpale Thank you!

Yeah, this thread is very interesting. Excellent iniciative. Keep'em coming!

Talking about velocities, what velocities do you use for the other pieces of the kit? just for having an external refference.

I have many questions but I will ask as the thread develops to keep the order.



PD: I realize that you put more information. I can see that you are a good teacher, you are very welcome!


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## Kurkkuviipale

I usually write up my grooves in the drum editor or guitar pro 5 and after the writing process I just brutally get them to 127. Ghost notes and snare as exception.

Oh and this too! This is a thing that adds the groove to the machine:
When the drums hit cymbals in tempo remember to add notes in "between the metronome clicks". Many non-drummer writers type grooves out so that the cymbals (for ex. hi hat) in the same tempo as metronome does, but every drummer knows that you actually hit the cymbals double the speed. It's just that the hits that are between the "metronome" hits are a lot lower on volume.

Ghost notes on snare gives a bit to that feeling also! Remember, you are trying to simulate a human, not a machine.


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## paintkilz

you write the midi tracks in gp5 then import them? or did i misunderstand?


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## warped

I have a couple of very noobish questions:

I used to use Cubase 4.0 with EZ Drummer and found it quite easy to use a Drum Map, arrange each piece of the drum kit in a logical way and program drum beats this way (I never used any of the pre-arranged patterns - I always programmed the entire drum track by clicking each individual drum hit exactly where I wanted it, then copying and pasting sections that repeated).

My laptop got stolen so I am setting up from scratch again and want to use Pro Tools & SD2.0. Apparently Pro Tools has no Drum Map capabilities - and I don' t like the idea of working from the 'piano roll' view. Does SD2.0 have a drum editor which would let me program drums, save a midi track which I could use as the drum beat (and still edit on the fly in pro-tools using piano roll editor?

Could I program a drum beat using Cubase with the Drum Map, save the midi file and import it into pro-tools?

I'm interested to find how people create drum beats from scratch..

Thanks!


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## Leec

warped said:


> Does SD2.0 have a drum editor which would let me program drums, save a midi track which I could use as the drum beat (and still edit on the fly in pro-tools using piano roll editor?



Nope. But you could import MIDI from the Groove library and edit them in the piano roll. Still sucks, but it's better than doing it all in that shitty piano roll view.



warped said:


> Could I program a drum beat using Cubase with the Drum Map, save the midi file and import it into pro-tools?



Sure, and that's how I'd do it. I sold my Mbox and PT because of the no drum maps thing. 

And to the OP, cool thread, and cool of you to spend time doing it.


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## Kurkkuviipale

paintkilz said:


> you write the midi tracks in gp5 then import them? or did i misunderstand?



Yes, I write the drum grooves on GP5, delete all the other tracks -> Import to midi -> export in DAW.


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## K-Roll

but you'll probably get the whole midi mapping mixed up writing it in GP5 and exporting to the DAW right? cause when i tried it then e.g: it did not play the cowbell as it was meant to be but lets say a crash cymbal


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## Kurkkuviipale

SD2.0 has some ethnic percussions changed to different cymbals and stuff, but for example the kick, snare, toms and cymbals used in GP should be good!


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## ristoCoC

Kurkkuviipale said:


> SD2.0 has some ethnic percussions changed to different cymbals and stuff, but for example the kick, snare, toms and cymbals used in GP should be good!



Which one do you use, acoustic or electric snare?


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## Tree

For some reason 36 (acoustic I think) only goes to the right kick in SD, and 35 to the left

I suggest using 36 though.IIRC the 35 kick comes out really weak sounding in comparison to the other


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## Kurkkuviipale

Well i don't know about midi mapping really much, but my snare is acoustic and i type it as 38. Bass for me is 36. Cymbals are on 49 and 57.

I think that these are the keys for superior drummer. You all have GP 5 or not?

Have it or not.
Kick = 35 (left) 36 (right)
Snare: 38 (acoustic) 40 (something related to rimshot)
Toms: 50, 48, 47, 45, 43, 41
Crashes: 57, 49
China: 52
Ride: 51 and 59 IIRC
Hi-Hat: 44 (Pedal), 46 (Open) 42 (Closed)


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## Deadnightshade

Kurkkuviipale said:


> Well i don't know about midi mapping really much, but my snare is acoustic and i type it as 38. Bass for me is 36. Cymbals are on 49 and 57.
> 
> I think that these are the keys for superior drummer. You all have GP 5 or not?
> 
> Have it or not.
> Kick = 35 (left) 36 (right)
> Snare: 38 (acoustic) 40 (something related to rimshot)
> Toms: 50, 48, 47, 45, 43, 41
> Crashes: 57, 49
> China: 52
> Ride: 51 and 59 IIRC
> Hi-Hat: 44 (Pedal), 46 (Open) 42 (Closed)



The snares 38 and 40 when imported to SD are just a different note..I'm used to 40 at GP5 but i just changed the note to what it is if you use 38.Also for the kick,correct me if i'm wrong,but you don't have to use 35 and 36 alternatively i just tick "alternate" and it works during playback.


Nice guide man thanks a lot!!!!


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## Kurkkuviipale

No problem dude, and I think you're right about the keys... Did the list just to clarify!


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## Deadnightshade

Kurkkuviipale said:


> No problem dude, and I think you're right about the keys... Did the list just to clarify!



Do you happen to have a GM map with extra hit articulations?You know like hitting on the tip of the hi hat etc..


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## manana

in avatar kick, i belive the 35 is the map to another mic and not the regular kick outs. If you need help writing a guide for MF, you can always pm me. Ill be happy to help anyone out. Look in my sig and tell me if my skills are worthy haha.


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## Tritono

Hey everybody,

This goes very interesting. I have a couple of questions and I need to get answers before this thread grow infinitely. Here we go.

1) Im using Pro Tools recently. I like the Daw but write and edit drums patterns in the piano roll is some difficult but I thought it was for my inexperience. What you mean when you say "Apparently Pro Tools has no Drum Map capabilities"? I used Cubase but never programmed a drum in it because I was using Ezdrummer/DKFH with Guitar Pro. What is the diference about the midi editing in Cubase vs Pro Tools?

2) How and where (in GP?, in the Daw?, in the Superior plugin?) you can tick Alternate to get an alternatively sound between the 35 and 36 during playback as Deadnightshade mentioned?

3) The snare selection note depends of the guitar afination/song key in any way?. I noted that in Superior you can get various snare notes. Is a matter of taste or you need to have your snare tuned considering the pitch of the instruments tuning, the pitch of the song or something?

Thank you in advance


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## loktide

interesting guide man 

unfortunately, you stop right before the step where i'm currently stuck: how to treat the different mic's coming from the snare, BD, toms and room, and how to use mic bleeding properly 

that shit is straight overwhelming and confusing for me being used to addictive drums


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## Kurkkuviipale

manana said:


> in avatar kick, i belive the 35 is the map to another mic and not the regular kick outs. If you need help writing a guide for MF, you can always pm me. Ill be happy to help anyone out. Look in my sig and tell me if my skills are worthy haha.



Don't know about the kick thing, but if you want to offer help, post your tip/anything in this thread and I'll add it to the guide and will add you to credits.



Tritono said:


> Hey everybody,
> 
> This goes very interesting. I have a couple of questions and I need to get answers before this thread grow infinitely. Here we go.
> 
> 1) Im using Pro Tools recently. I like the Daw but write and edit drums patterns in the piano roll is some difficult but I thought it was for my inexperience. What you mean when you say "Apparently Pro Tools has no Drum Map capabilities"? I used Cubase but never programmed a drum in it because I was using Ezdrummer/DKFH with Guitar Pro. What is the diference about the midi editing in Cubase vs Pro Tools?
> 
> 2) How and where (in GP?, in the Daw?, in the Superior plugin?) you can tick Alternate to get an alternatively sound between the 35 and 36 during playback as Deadnightshade mentioned?
> 
> 3) The snare selection note depends of the guitar afination/song key in any way?. I noted that in Superior you can get various snare notes. Is a matter of taste or you need to have your snare tuned considering the pitch of the instruments tuning, the pitch of the song or something?
> 
> Thank you in advance



1) Pro Tools lacks (AFAIK) the "Drum Editor" -feature that for example Cubase has, so that you have to edit everything by the piano roll, which for me would be a pain in the ass.

2) The 'alternate' button was actually new to me also! http://kuvaton.com/k/rSl.png here's a picture where it is located.

3) The snare pitch can be changed (like any other drums' pitch can) via the SD interface. This doesn't mean that you should and yes, it's only to your taste. Of course you can try to experiment with it and it's a perfect tool to get it a little more out from the guitar frequencies the snare sometimes competes with.

Anyway if you mean the "Key" -spot in the "Instrument" section (found on the lower right corner of the plugin screen) you're in a wrong track. With the "Key" -parameter you can change the key your instrument (for ex. snare) obeys in your midi mapping. If you don't know where you should use it, leave it be. It doesn't have anything to do with the pitch.

And thanks for the belief to my guide!



loktide said:


> interesting guide man
> 
> unfortunately, you stop right before the step where i'm currently stuck: how to treat the different mic's coming from the snare, BD, toms and room, and how to use mic bleeding properly
> 
> that shit is straight overwhelming and confusing for me being used to addictive drums



Mic treatment is all made from the mixer screen. Bleeding is done from that screen too. I use factory settings on bleed and levels, I just compress the shit out of the drums I need to. Anyway, I could do a good section on bleed usage to the guide!

But anyway, if you want your drums to sound realistic, then bleeding shouldn't be eliminated, just tweaked to liking.


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## Tritono

Bump for this great thread.

Im cosidering to start editing my drums in Guitar Pro again. Guitar Pro seems the most easy and effective way to get the most of the work done. What do you think about?

Please keep posting information. Kurkkuviipale dont forget to keep this thread alive! is a very good idea, plus I know that in this forum there are a huge number of Superior users that know alot. If you all share some tips with us, this thread will be epic and a gift for the new generations come on!


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## Kurkkuviipale

Hey, dude thanks for the belief! I'm not bumping this just because... well bumping your own thread too much is not cool. 

Anyway, personally I like dealing with Guitar Pro. Mostly because I'm damn fast due to a years of practicing. However, I only do the body for the track in guitar pro and continue my job in Cubase. It's the most time saving deal for me!

Tritono or anyone: Give me some specific information about what you'd like to know. I know a lot of stuff about these things (goddamn, I'm a drummer why wouldn't i?) and would really like to share my info for you ss.org! It's just that if you don't need the information, why would I share it?

BTW, anyone here has tried dealing with SD2.0 drums using this guide? I'd love to hear results and give some criticism about them!

I uploaded a new mix from an old track a minute ago to soundcloud. It has really tweaked up drums, so I'll share it with you too (not self-promoting or anything, ehmmm...): Kurkkuviipale - TMB NEW - SoundCloud


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## budule

quick tip :in the midi editor, copy the snare and paste on the other value

F.E : if your snare is on 38, copy and paste on 40 ; you'll have more "plah"

so>>> 40+38 for rythm and slow fills and 38 only for fast fills


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## Kurkkuviipale

I rephrased it and added it to the guide. Thanks!


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## Splees

I could probably work on a Logic and possibly Pro Tools specific guide later this week.


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## leandroab

Regarding toms, just compress and EQ it. It sounded like wet ass before, sounds way better now...


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## Kurkkuviipale

So do I put it like this:
"Don't use straight reverbing on toms. It makes them sound wet and lose the attack they usually lack. Only use slight reverb on FX-channel if needed."


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## Triple7

Gonna bump this back up to the front, as I am programming drums right now and could use the tips!

Once you get the drums to sound the way you want it, is there anyway to save the settings so if you are working on a group of songs the drums sound the same?


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## Kurkkuviipale

Well if there is, I haven't found the perfect solution for it.

In Superior Drummer 2 you can save your preset, but the multi-out bus tracks' FX are not saved. What I do is that I have one good flexible preset in SD2.0 and when mixing a new song I either copy the drums from an old song or create perfectly new ones. That's a good way to improve your drum sound.

If anyone here has the knowledge to save ALL the multi-out bus tracks' FX's please share the info!


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## Kurkkuviipale

Edit: accidentally pressed quote instead of edit... (in the op)

Anyway, BUMP.

Edit 2: why am i not able to edit my own post? (original one)

I did this anyway:

*Envelope Shaper*
Envelope shaper is a good plug-in for fast, easy and yet impactive drum programming. You can basically change anything in your drum (snare, kick, toms, etc) from attack, to release.

Superior Drummer 2 has it's own envelope shaper, but I found it pretty un-effective for metal drum programming so I used Cubase's own plug-in.

Just remember to use it with care so your sound doesn't get too unrealistic, because that's basically what you do not want (Unless you're dealing with extreme speed death metal. In that case you shouldn't be using sd2.0 anyway, but a tincan and a shure sm57.)


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## Metalus

Any chance you could talk about how to best use X-drums and midi nodes? I would love to mix and match parts from both NY Avatar and Metal Foundry. I also heard that with midi-nodes you can trigger multiple drums from a single key. You can set a velocity-dependent crossover between two snares so that you get the ghost notes from one and the harder hits from another all from a single key. Nolly told me of this awesome tidbit 

Any chance you could explain these 2 things in more detail?


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## Kurkkuviipale

Well, I don't use the Avatar kit at all. If someone more experienced here could tell it, it'd be appreciated, tho I can assure you that the Metal Foundry kit is more than enough to get the sound wanted!


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## BobSmoke

Really useful post dude! Thanks!


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## Dea7h

Kurkkuviipale said:


> Well if there is, I haven't found the perfect solution for it.
> 
> In Superior Drummer 2 you can save your preset, but the multi-out bus tracks' FX are not saved. What I do is that I have one good flexible preset in SD2.0 and when mixing a new song I either copy the drums from an old song or create perfectly new ones. That's a good way to improve your drum sound.
> 
> If anyone here has the knowledge to save ALL the multi-out bus tracks' FX's please share the info!



Try creating a new blank project with your SD2.0 settings then save it as Template.cpr for exemple.
It should do the job.


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## Prydogga

Metalus said:


> Any chance you could talk about how to best use X-drums and midi nodes? I would love to mix and match parts from both NY Avatar and Metal Foundry. I also heard that with midi-nodes you can trigger multiple drums from a single key. You can set a velocity-dependent crossover between two snares so that you get the ghost notes from one and the harder hits from another all from a single key. Nolly told me of this awesome tidbit
> 
> Any chance you could explain these 2 things in more detail?



There's a couple of videos on Toontrack.com that show how to use the X drum stuff, it's pretty cool, and it explains it well, adding the ambient mic of one snare to be triggered with the main snare to get more depth and stuff like that. Definitely check it out.


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## bleed2510

Hey, I was trying to program drums for a metal song of mine using this guide. And I just wanted some feedback on what the track is lacking. 

Also, I wanted to know how to get that punch from the china. And i'm not using Metal Foundry.

http://soundcloud.com/ramaswamyanish/drums-sample-1


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## Metalus

Prydogga said:


> There's a couple of videos on Toontrack.com that show how to use the X drum stuff, it's pretty cool, and it explains it well, adding the ambient mic of one snare to be triggered with the main snare to get more depth and stuff like that. Definitely check it out.



Anyway you could link me to the video?


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## bleed2510

Edit : Sorry about that link. It's this one:

God Particle - Drums Sample - SoundCloud


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## Kairos

bleed2510 said:


> Edit : Sorry about that link. It's this one:
> 
> God Particle - Drums Sample - SoundCloud



Hey, man. The kick sounds kind of flabby. I don't really know much about eq, but I usually boost some bass frequencies, and add a few db in the 8-10k range for a nice click. I also take out some mids, depending on the mix. Try recording some guitar parts, and even a bass part if you can, and you'll have a really good template to practice mixing.

One you do that, then set the eq to flat and boost one frequency at a time, and set it back to flat. Once you know what each frequency does to the sound, change two bands and see how it sounds. Continue this with more bands until you like the way it sounds


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## Variant

> The point in 'multiout' feature is to send all the tracks in the Superior Drummer 2 to separate tracks in you DAW. After that... you have all the power to make ANYTHING, I mean ANYTHING to them. Activating the 'multiout' feature differs from what DAW you're using, but there are many guides to that, so I'm not typing it out.



Honestly, this is _*THE*_ most important thing, IMHO, that one needs to do with S2.0. While transient designers, cutoffs, etc. can be applied in the Toontrack mixer, sub-bus your groups (kick, snare, toms, ride, crash, overheads, room) to your DAW, and handle them there, and even bus them down to more pertinent buses (like verb, and group compression) before going to the master.


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## Leec

Using X-drums:

First off, make sure you're looking at the Construct window in Superior. In the almost-top right corner you should see a a small dropdown menu with 'X-drum' written in it. Click this and choose New.
A kick drum should appear to the right of your kit. Hopefully there should be a blue glow around this new kick drum, but if not, right-click on it. This will allow you to change the drum, set its output, etc.

Ok, to the right of the new kickdrum you should see X-drum control window. The top line should say 'X-drum 1'. Beneath that is a drop down allowing you to choose the library you're getting your new X-drum from. In my case, I own many Toontrack products, so I can choose to get the X-drums from EZD, EZD DFH, DFHS, NY Avatar or TMF. So I'll go ahead and choose the Avatar library. 

Beneath this is the Microphone Assignment button. This section allows you to specify which mics will pick up the new drum. I'd recommend leaving this for now. Come back to mess with it later if you feel like it, but it's not important to getting the X-drums working.

Next we see the Tools, Kick and Midi dropdowns. Kick is the most important, but here's a quick look at what the others do:

Tools allows you to change the beater type (if you're adding a new kick), stick type (if you're adding a new snare, cymbal or tom), and turn the snare wires on or off on the (if you've added a snare). 
Midi gives you the option to trigger this new X-drum through its default key or secondary key notes. Don't really need to worry about this as we'll cover it in Mapping. Suffice to say, this dropdown gives you some quick options.

Now the Kick dropdown is where you get to choose what type of drum you're adding. Clicking it should show you every type of drum available in the library you chose. Try changing it from Kick to Snare. You'll notice the kick (the one with the blue glow) to the right of your kit now changes to a snare.
Ok, so no we've added a snare, we want to choose a particular snare. The snare with the blue glow will behave just like all the other kit parts in the construct window. You should see a little arrow on it that lists all the snares available in that library. Choose the one you want, and that's it for this bit. If you just wanted to add an extra kit piece, you've done it. You just need to assign it to an empty note. Just look through your drum map to find either an empty note or a duplicated note (there are usually several notes assigned to each articulation, so you should run out). In the bottom right corner should be the section labelled Instrument. The field Key should be empty. Just type in the note you want to assign this articulation to and hit Enter, and you're done. 

Read on if you want to have multiple snares (or any drum for that matter) firing at once.

Mapping multiple drums to notes:

Ok, now we've added the type of X-drum we want, and we've chosen a specific snare. Now we want to layer that snare, so that when a normal snare hit occurs, both the main kit's snare and this new X-drum snare sound out. Click the Mapping tab near the top of S2.0.

First off, let's find out which note my main kit's 'center snare hit' is mapped to. To do this, right-click on the main snare. The keyboard diagram at the bottom will show you which notes are associated with the snare drum. On the far right should be a list of articulations for that drum (in my case, centre, edge, rimshot, sidestick, rim-only, muted, etc.). The currently selected articulation (the center hit) will be shown in orange, and the others in blue. The coloured keys on the keyboard diagram correspond to this. So I can now see that my center articulation on the snare is mapped to D1 on the keyboard. 

Now I to get the main kit's center hit AND my new X-drum's center hit triggered by hitting D1. Right-click on your X-drum. On the far right in the list of articulations, using the left mouse button, grab the Center articulation and drag that onto D1 on the keyboard diagram. You'll now get a warning telling you that the note you selected is already assigned to another drum. It will give you three options: cancel, replace, join. Since we want to keep the original snare hit, we'll click 'join'. 

And that's it! You've layered up two snare center hits on to one note. Go ahead and hit D1 on the keyboard diagram to hear the results. Clicking on the individual X-drum or main kit snare in the contruction window won't allow you to hear both together, so don't panic if that happens. To hear them both, you have to press D1 (either on the keyboard diagram, on your real MIDI keyboard if you're using one, or on D1 in the piano roll).

Whew! I think that just about covers it. I hope this makes sense. I've just started messing around with layering drums and I'm really enjoying it. I was considering buying SSD for the snares, but I think I'll get by quite nicely by layering up drums this way 

I'll post another time and cover how to set it so that notes below a certain threshold come from one snare, and hits above a certain threshold come from another. But for now, this should get you started on layering up goodness.


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## Kurkkuviipale

Awesome... truly awesome!

No-one forgets to add a biiiiig + to Leecs reputation!

Thank you.


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## bleed2510

Kairos said:


> Hey, man. The kick sounds kind of flabby. I don't really know much about eq, but I usually boost some bass frequencies, and add a few db in the 8-10k range for a nice click. I also take out some mids, depending on the mix. Try recording some guitar parts, and even a bass part if you can, and you'll have a really good template to practice mixing.
> 
> One you do that, then set the eq to flat and boost one frequency at a time, and set it back to flat. Once you know what each frequency does to the sound, change two bands and see how it sounds. Continue this with more bands until you like the way it sounds



Yeah man. Will try it out soon . Appreciate the tip.


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## Kurkkuviipale

I'd suggest to compress the overheads. The cymbals sound too far away.


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## Kairos

bleed2510 said:


> Yeah man. Will try it out soon . Appreciate the tip.



No problem. Also try what Kurkk said with the compression, the cymbals are at a good level, but they sound a bit distant. I would change the snare a bit, but that's personal preference. A fantastic plugin for snare is CamelPhat,CamelCrusher - Distortion, Compressor, Filter - Free VST plugin & Audio Unit, the free version is to the right of the page. It works great for me


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## harmoniousjim

thanks for this man! it really helped me as i just got superior and needed a starting point for mixing with it


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## ShreddingDragon

Thanks for the guide, Kurkku!

Something that has been bothering me for a good while:

1) What should I do to make the ride bell sound more prominent, louder, harder? I've tried moving the midi notes around, looking for a better sample, but there really aren't any in either NY Avatar nor Drumkit From Hell that I've found.

2) Any good hi-hat mixing tips? Something to make them less hissy and abrasive, and to have longer sustain on opened hits, like they naturally have. I happen to love the hat sound on the Liquid Tension Experiment albums, for example  (Also, the ride is pretty good for my taste on those too)


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## Leper

*bump*

Any tips regarding ShreddingDragon's questions?


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## Kurkkuviipale

ShreddingDragon said:


> Thanks for the guide, Kurkku!
> 
> Something that has been bothering me for a good while:
> 
> 1) What should I do to make the ride bell sound more prominent, louder, harder? I've tried moving the midi notes around, looking for a better sample, but there really aren't any in either NY Avatar nor Drumkit From Hell that I've found.
> 
> 2) Any good hi-hat mixing tips? Something to make them less hissy and abrasive, and to have longer sustain on opened hits, like they naturally have. I happen to love the hat sound on the Liquid Tension Experiment albums, for example  (Also, the ride is pretty good for my taste on those too)



Oh yea I typed the answer for this someday, but for some reason it didn't get to the board...

1) Try Sabian HHX Dry Ride for loud and dry bell. I myself also pitched the bell just a little (0:00.5) to pop it up a little. Rest is just compression and remember that you can use the 12dB headroom in its entirety, the sound won't change from that. (I'm ofcourse speaking of the ride cymbal individual level meter) A little boost on the very high end of the overheads may have a huge impact on the sound.

2) Remember to use the "Open 4" or "Open 5" samples from the library.

I personally like the 13 inch hat the most as it has this tamed high-end you speak of. If you want LTE sound, you should use it, or the 14 inch one.

Don't be afraid of slamming hi-hats with compression. Use your ears. I'm no compression expert, but I've personally gotten best results with high amount of compressing. However, in DT or LTE the drums are not that compressed afterall, so you might want to be careful with that.


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## Hzanco

I've been tinkering with SD2 for a bit, and haven't yet found out how to create midi maps with a MIDI keyboard, or a virtual MIDI keyboard like the one that comes with Reaper.

Is it possible to create a midi map in SD2 or Reaper? Or do I have to use an external program (and what would that program be)? Either way, I'd really like to be able to record drum tracks by playing the keys on my computer keyboard.

Anyone who can help...


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## in-pursuit

you can make a midi map in reaper by selecting the track clicking the insert tab at the top of the screen and selecting "new midi item". 

I have a question regarding the post on the previous page about triggering multiple kit articulations with a single midi note. I tried to change the trigger key of my snare center to the same as the rimshot but when I do it automatically changes it to a different key without asking me anything. Is there a way around this?


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## Kurkkuviipale

Hzanco said:


> I've been tinkering with SD2 for a bit, and haven't yet found out how to create midi maps with a MIDI keyboard, or a virtual MIDI keyboard like the one that comes with Reaper.
> 
> Is it possible to create a midi map in SD2 or Reaper? Or do I have to use an external program (and what would that program be)? Either way, I'd really like to be able to record drum tracks by playing the keys on my computer keyboard.
> 
> Anyone who can help...



It's not about reaper, but about SD2. You can change your midi keys in SD2.0 so that you can play with a midi keyboard.



in-pursuit said:


> you can make a midi map in reaper by selecting the track clicking the insert tab at the top of the screen and selecting "new midi item".
> 
> I have a question regarding the post on the previous page about triggering multiple kit articulations with a single midi note. I tried to change the trigger key of my snare center to the same as the rimshot but when I do it automatically changes it to a different key without asking me anything. Is there a way around this?



I have not found a way to do this, I'm not sure if SD2.0 has this feature. I'm thinking that you could do this internally in your DAW by setting MIDI so, that you're playing two separate notes when you press one key. It's just up to DAW if that is possible or not.


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## isispelican

how do i send all the tracks in Superior Drummer to separate tracks in cubase 5? thanks


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## fleshwoodsteel

^ This is exactly what I'm researching now as well. Here's where I'm stuck:
1. I opened the VST Instrument panel and found the button (the open box looking icon just to the right of the "e" symbol) and armed every output available. 
2. These "outputs" showed up in the Cubase session and in SD2.0
3. I selected the multiple-out in the routing from the mixer view
4. The drums all were sent to different outputs, and I could see them in the SD2.0 mixer view
5. I could not hear them, and could not figure out how to assign the "outs" in SD2.0 to the appropriate track in Cubase. For example, the kicks were routed to out1, as this is the normal stereo out that all the drums are routed to as a default, and I could still hear them, but none of the others.

I've spent 3 days trying to figure this out in the studio and online. Help!


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## fps

Read through this and couldn't help thinking "wow, so this is rock and roll now" 

Still needs must, great info for when I shut myself up from all humans and try and create something totally by myself.


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## niffnoff

fleshwoodsteel said:


> ^ This is exactly what I'm researching now as well. Here's where I'm stuck:
> 1. I opened the VST Instrument panel and found the button (the open box looking icon just to the right of the "e" symbol) and armed every output available.
> 2. These "outputs" showed up in the Cubase session and in SD2.0
> 3. I selected the multiple-out in the routing from the mixer view
> 4. The drums all were sent to different outputs, and I could see them in the SD2.0 mixer view
> 5. I could not hear them, and could not figure out how to assign the "outs" in SD2.0 to the appropriate track in Cubase. For example, the kicks were routed to out1, as this is the normal stereo out that all the drums are routed to as a default, and I could still hear them, but none of the others.
> 
> I've spent 3 days trying to figure this out in the studio and online. Help!




You may of figured by now but in cubase if you go to "Devices" > Vst Programs, there is an icon like this [-> next to the name of the VST instrument activate all outputs. LE DUN!


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## isispelican

niffnoff said:


> You may of figured by now but in cubase if you go to "Devices" > Vst Programs, there is an icon like this [-> next to the name of the VST instrument activate all outputs. LE DUN!


thanks so much!


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## fleshwoodsteel

I appreciate the help. This may not be the right answer, but what I did was to insert a MIDI track, copied and pasted the MIDI from the SD track, and then route the MIDI output to the now multiout SD track. Now each of the groups I assigned in SD and routed to the different outs actually play in those channels. That's a pretty crappy explanation, I know, but that's how I got it to work.


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## USMarine75

But now I won't have a reason for my music to suck... oh wait, nope, still do.


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## Kurkkuviipale

USMarine75 said:


> But now I won't have a reason for my music to suck... oh wait, nope, still do.



This whole thread is so outdated so you might not have learned much. I'll be sure to post an updated version if I ever have time.


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## fleshwoodsteel

I wasn't sure if my questions needed to get posted in the SD sticky or here. Thanks for the info and I'll definitely look forward to any updates.


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## refried bean

Hey guys, I know this is reviving an older thread but I had a question regarding your snare/kicks and how you're compressing/eqing them.


Basically there are 3 "mic" sounds for each drum I was talking about. Say for snare. Do you go about Compressing/eqing/limiting each of these tracks? After this do you send all three to its own AUX track to compress/limit even further? Or, do you leave it as just the 3 tracks by themselves with individual mixing?


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## Kurkkuviipale

I use the multi-out function and send all snare top mic's to one channel and snare bot mic to one channel. For kick I have only one channel. After that I compress them individually.

All channels are sent to one bus channel which is compressed. The bus channel is sent to master channel (naturally) which is also compressed so drums are actually going through three channels with compression.


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## illimmigrant

Kurkkuviipale said:


> I use the multi-out function and send all snare top mic's to one channel and snare bot mic to one channel. For kick I have only one channel. After that I compress them individually.
> 
> All channels are sent to one bus channel which is compressed. The bus channel is sent to master channel (naturally) which is also compressed so drums are actually going through three channels with compression.


 

+1 ^
This is how I separate my signals as well. Glad to know at least I'm doing something right .

I'm curious about mic bleed levels. Joel, do you use the full bleed "out of the box" settings, or do you take stuff out here and there?
My drums tend to sound very tight. As if there was no air and no room even when using reverbs. The other thing is my snare begins to sound even worse as I raise the level in my master output using compression and limiting. Not sure if it has to do with my eq techniques, my compression or all of the above .


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## Kurkkuviipale

Well there are some factors that I think of when it comes to bleeds.

First of all I like to have a pretty dry overhead channel so no kick (none) and slim to none snare. This is mostly because I compress the shit out of my overheads and snare would be a big problem when doing that.

Anyway, if I feel that my snare is a little too thick or not long enough, I add some bleed to overheads and especially ambient mics. Ambients don't get a lot of treatment since the traditional use is to get a solid, gluing sound of the whole drumkit. However, kick drum never gets to the ambient mic's and I might drain some snare as well.

Toms are usually @ half on overheads and ambients. Overheads get a little less than half of toms and ambients get a little more than half. As I sidenote, I sometimes even use reverb on ambience mic so get some dreaminess to the sound.

If it's too tight, boost ambience mic. You might also want to compress it too. 

Hope this helps.


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## illimmigrant

Kurkkuviipale said:


> Well there are some factors that I think of when it comes to bleeds.
> 
> First of all I like to have a pretty dry overhead channel so no kick (none) and slim to none snare. This is mostly because I compress the shit out of my overheads and snare would be a big problem when doing that.
> 
> Anyway, if I feel that my snare is a little too thick or not long enough, I add some bleed to overheads and especially ambient mics. Ambients don't get a lot of treatment since the traditional use is to get a solid, gluing sound of the whole drumkit. However, kick drum never gets to the ambient mic's and I might drain some snare as well.
> 
> Toms are usually @ half on overheads and ambients. Overheads get a little less than half of toms and ambients get a little more than half. As I sidenote, I sometimes even use reverb on ambience mic so get some dreaminess to the sound.
> 
> If it's too tight, boost ambience mic. You might also want to compress it too.
> 
> Hope this helps.


 
Thanks a bunch man. Tried some of that out and it's worked well for the snare and for adding some air and room to the mix. Hopefully I'll have something decent enough to post up soon. My toms still sound kinda bland, but I'll mess with those these weekend.

Thanks again for the tips


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## bigswifty

kurkkuviipale,

gotta thank you man! for this thread, and the 11 minute epic in your signature that I have once since listened to and now re-descovered. it's been a nice listen for the last 11 minutes 

i am going to pick up my copy of S2.0 tomorrow, going to have some fun with it


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## szoke

Hi, 

I want to create a drum system which will be used for only live application. 

I have: 
* Roland TD10 brain + alesis surge cynbals + DDrum triggered Pearl acoustic drum kit. 
* Latest version PC with Win7 64 bit 8GB 1600Mhz RAM, AMD (6th core) CPU. 
(I have not purchased the software and the sound card yet.) 

My questions: 
Useing SD2 during live situation do I need a high level quality sound card (like focusrite saphire) or only a cheap solution (like integrated sound card on the motherboard) is enough. (I will not use this system for recording.) Do I need to also install the toontrack solo product? 

Thanks,
Szoke


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## Winspear

^ You don't need an interface, no. You will need some way to input the MIDI but I presume you have that sorted via usb. What about the cymbals though? I'm not knowledgable in triggering. 

The output quality to your speakers may be _very slightly _affected by the lack of quality DA (digital>analogue) conversion that you would get with a decent interface. But I really wouldn't worry about it at all.

You don't need toontrack solo if you are using a DAW.


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## Enselmis

A tip from me is automation. One thing to notice about your Walk With Me In Hell example is that at the end of the chorus the ridiculously huge reverb on the snare actually disappears. It creates a textural contrast between the bigger, wider parts of the song and the tighter, more focused parts. This can be applied all over the place, for example bringing up the volume of the overheads in the chorus, or adding a sidechain somewhere to be turned on and off based on what you're going for at each part of the tune. Kicks also really benefit from automation.

Great guide thus far! What kind of settings would you typically use with the transient designer on different parts of the kit? I've never been entirely sure how to go about using that particular effect.


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## szoke

EtherealEntity,

Thanks for your quick response. 

*Connection:*
*Version A:* If the onboard sound card is enough:
TD10 drum module linked to the computer' onboard sound card via MIDI cable.

*Version B:* If external/professional sound card needed:
TD10 drum module linked to the sound card via MIDI cable and the external sound card is lineked to the computer via USB/Firewire cable.

The Toontrack webpage mentioned that "4GB free hard disc space, DVD drive (25GB free hard disc space, Sequencer application and professional soundcard MIDI controller such as keyboard, drum pads or electronic drum kit recommended)". 

So what does professional soundcard means? I do not want to use my kits for recording. Only live gig what I want with no latency. 

I have E-Cymbals (Alesis Surge), so its a triggered cymbal.

Szoke
Peter


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