Best Drum Vst For Rock

XLN Audio Addictive Drums 2: Creative Collection Review. XLN Audio Addictive Drums 2 is the perfect drum library VST. It offers an incredible acoustic drum library that is packed with realistic and natural. This plugin holds the tenth position in the list of best drum VST plugins at the moment when I am writing this article. According to the color of the sound, this instrument is more suitable for pop, rock, and ballad music. The downloadable file size is 1.83 GB which is lightweight comparing to other drum VST. They can be used to bolster a drum section on a rock track or to support the melody in a pop mix. Producers of all genres should have a go-to drum VST in their toolbox. Now we’re going to go over some of the top drum VSTs currently available so you can get an idea which one might work best for your mixing needs. The 12 Best Drum Plugins. MT Power Drum Kit 2. MT Power Drum Kit 2 isn’t just a plugin for drums. In addition to top notch drum sounds that cut through any mix, it also has a fully pre-programmed groove library. It’s wicked for composing your own patterns, or stringing together grooves for the drum accompaniment you need. Download it here for free.

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Our adventures in investigating the large world of virtual instruments doesn’t stop, and today we’ve gathered quite a few of our favorite drums VST to recommend our readers. The days of drum machines are unfortunately dwindling fast (well, for some at least — we still have ours!). And for many with home studios, grabbing an actual drum set and setting up a professional microphone system to capture the sounds optimally isn’t the easiest thing to do in the world. Therefore, the advancements of virtual instruments, especially in the drums category is where it’s at. If you do want some free plugins, check out our free drum VST article. Otherwise, let’s get into our favorite picks of the best drums virtual instrument plugins in the market today.

The Best Drums VST

Toontrack EZdrummer 2

To start off our list here today, EZdrummer 2 has been designed specifically to strictly the creation of drum tracks. Being one of the best drum VST plugins out right in our opinion, it features a total of 5 complete kits and a number of extra instrument choices. All these sounds have been broadly categorized into two distinct libraries; one ‘Vintage’ and one ‘Modern’ setup. The ‘Vintage’ library comprises of some nice old-school sounds such as Ludwig kits that were recorded using the REDD 51 drum set. On the other hand, the ‘Modern’ library constitutes of a variety of drum selections from Ludwig, Tama, Brady, Yamaha, and Gretsch, all of which were recorded using the Neve 88R console.

As for the presets, EZdrummer by Toontrack has a set effect chain presets and unique mixers for the vintage as well as modern setups. Its effect engine is centered on the wide array of effects that are featured in their EXmix 2 by Toontrack. Both libraries include a number of setting including reverb, EQs, delay, and compressors. All in all the total package to be the best drums virtual instrument, and we highly recommend this to many.

XLN Audio Addictive Drums 2

From Pop to Rock, Electronic, Indie, and Jazz, Addictive Drums 2 has the right system to inspire your musical creations. Out the box, this virtual instrument features three distinct drum kits two of which are XLN Audio’s highly acclaimed Fairfax kits. There are 130 presets included in the package ranging from radio-ready, highly polished, distorted, and super-clean. What’s more, their ‘Core MIDI Library’ has in excess of 5,000 highly motivating grooves as well as beats to help you create whatever style fits you the most.

More importantly, this drum virtual instrument is designed to create clear and open drum sounds with a plethora of sound-shaping options. Combined, these features go a long way in making XLN Addictive Drums 2 one of the best drum VST models in the current market in our opinion.

Steven Slate Drums 5 Blackbird Studios Drum Expansion

The beloved SSD 5 dates back to 2014 when Chris Tyrell, lead drummer for popular band Lady Antebellum, recorded various drum sounds in Blackbird’s classic A and D rooms. The recorded sounds were added on to the previously established ‘Trigger’ and ‘Steven Slate Drums Virtual Instrument’. To this end, the reason why it is regarded as one of the best drum virtual instruments is due to its extensive libraries that contain a wide range of classic drum kits that have dominated the drum scene for the past 5 decades.

Generally, the package includes 4 SSD only crashes, 6 Kick Drum samples, 7 Tom sets, 2 SSD only Hi-Hats, 10 snare samples and a single SSD ride. As usual, Steven Slate got it absolutely right with this expansion.

FXpansion BFD3

Just as the name suggests, FXpansion BFD3 is an upgrade of their original virtual drum system. A lot of reviews identify this version as highly impressive given its numerous pros as opposed to its cons. Some of the primary advantages of using this set are the fact that it is highly editable, offers solid editable performance, a ‘Groove Editor’ which contains rudiments, and great dynamics, EQ and effects. More importantly, it’s kits have been structured to sound very realistic allowing users to come up with powerful, live-sounding articulations.

Also, the BFD3 features modeling of resonance or swells. On the flipside, this VST falls short of being the very best drum virtual instrument simply due to the lack of audio triggering. Otherwise if that’s something you don’t need, we’re fine here. Compared to the BFD2, the BFD3 is leaner and comprises of an additional 5 drum kits making it a total of 118.

Hydrogen

In as far as free drum VSTs are concerned, Hydrogen is somewhere at the top of the list given that it is one of the best drumming virtual instruments of today as an entire drum machine. This powerful virtual machine is an open source kind of software that is available on all major platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux and the software is entirely based on an Intel platform. One of its primary features is its solid GUI which is contains all essential elements and is quite simple to use.

It has a total of four windows with ‘Pattern Editor, ‘Mixer, ‘Pattern Editor’, and ‘Song Editor’. More important, it contains no frills. Hydrogen‘s samples are even more impressive as they are designed to help users create solid drum articulations, all with no cost.This is more than a VST but definitely worth recommending to you all.

Spitfire LABS Drum kits

Spitfire LABS has been on the forefront of sound production ever since the 70’s. With the Spitfire LABS ‘Everything’ drum kits, users get access and choices to every Spitfire product ever released. To a great extent, this plugin qualifies as one of the best drum virtual instruments due to its vast collection of inspiring sounds. Not to mention it’s completely free! It features at the very least 2.5 terabytes of powerful sounds developed by some of the best composers in the globe as well as creative tweaking tools. However, its system requirements are quite discouraging for most users.

The system has to run on a Kontakt platform and requires 5355 GB of disk space for installation purposes. What’s more, its download size is also quite big with up to 3511.5 GB of downloadable content. Some of the samples featured include Albion II Iceni, BT Phobos, the British Drama Toolkit, Edna Earth, and the Aluphone.

Toontrack Superior Drummer 3

Superior Drummer 3 VST is another one of the best drum VSTs developed by this music sound powerhouse, Toontrack. It’s superiority over modern drum plugins is attributed to its gigantic library that features raw sounds, streamlined workflow, and impressive design. Combined, these features make it possible for music enthusiasts to create and control a wide range of sound options. Flexibility is a key trait of this plugin as its package include up to 35 sound processing effects, 7 kits, 16 kits, 25 snares, and 230 GB worth of raw drum samples.

In total, this virtual instrument houses 350 electronic drum sounds. Other notable features include 44.1 kHz/24 bit sound samples, 11 channels surround systems, a mixture of both classic as well as vintage classic drum sounds, inbuilt MIDI editor, and a reliable GUI that includes ‘Tap2Find’, ‘Song Track’, and ‘Edit Play Style’ tabs.

MT Power Drum Kit 2

What makes the MT Power Drum Kit 2 another solid choice? It is basically well known for its high quality, realistic, and powerful acoustic drum sounds. These kits are best suited for metal, pop and rock productions. Also, it allows for heightened flexibility as users can choose from several assorted rhythms that have been included in the ‘Groove Library’.

It also has a number of innovative functions including reliable hi-hat cymbals, crash, and ride that are useful in all velocities. Another one of our favorite picks as the best drums virtual instrument here, albeit pretty standard when compared to the others.

SONiVOX Tony Coleman Drums

As detailed in its slogan, the Tony Coleman Drums are more than mere beats. With this drums VST, one can easily add drumming magic to their creations without the need for an actual drum set. This particular plugin is ranked among the best drum virtual instruments ever made largely due to its enhanced flexibility. One is in a position to adapt drum strikes to all projects by means of the VST’s powerful mixer and editing capabilities.

All it takes is for users to adjust the EQ, filter, pitch or envelope. Moreover, SONiVOX Tony Coleman has a more contemporary feel which makes it perfectly suited for new-age studio setups or those wanting that particular sound.

Heavyocity DM-307

The DM-307 by Heavyocity comprises of a stylized troupe of live percussion, analog drum machines, and modular synth drums. It’s extensive library is made up of 1500 presets and 3600 sounds, all tailored to allow users come up with good quality hip-hop, electronic, cinematic, or industrial articulations. Additionally, there are 300 signature multis, thus, making it possible for users to utilize numerous tweaks to sharpen their beats.

Noteworthy, the DM-307 includes 8 patterns with the ability to be programmed, 5 voice drum machines, and 3 effects levels. With all these unique features and up to 180 Groove presets, it is easy to see why this plugin is ranked among the best drum VSTs or today.

Finding the Best Drum Virtual Instrument Plug-Ins

The decades old art of drum synthesis and sampling has gone through intense transformation over the years with music enthusiasts in pursuit of sound perfection. Traditionally, the use of these plugins was synonymous with electronic sounds. However, a series of gradual enhancements have seen these virtual instruments get immersed in all genres in the music industry. As such, electronic drumming has become an integral part of music production with producers and as well as DJ’s from pop and electronic music using this tool. Ideally, the goal is to cut down costs by using by using these electronic VSTs in place of a human drummer.

Their use has become so rampant that traditional drum systems are no longer as common as they once were. Most individuals prefer using the modern drum machines given that they are cheaper and much more convenient. What’s more, the current market offers an extensive variety of drum software. From virtual studio acoustic drum kits to samplers, all-in-one plugins, iconic vintage instruments, and step sequencers. As such, above is a list of the best drum VST models of today we hope has helped you pick one (or three!) that best suits you and your style.

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Have you ever wondered if you could create drum patterns yourself without scrolling through thousands of sample libraries? Yh!

With the advent of different drum VST plugins, it is possible to create percussion sounds, drum beats, rhythms, and even patterns without the need of buying any audio samples.

Basically, you would have different stock samples (Kick, Hats, Snare, Claps, Bongos and so on) in the drum VST plugin, and with that, it is possible to program your own rhythms and beats. Most of the time, I program my own loops and I export each and every loop created, this way, I can reuse it easily without opening my drum vst plugin every time plus this also saves your CPU load

That out of the way, let us look at some of the best free drum VST plugins for your music production toolbox.

Let’s dive in…

1.) Manda Audio – MTPower DrumKit 2

MT Power Drum Kit is a free drum sampler by Manda Audio that offers powerful, high-quality sounds of a real acoustic drum kit, one of the good thing about this free sampler is that samples have been specially recorded and carefully processed to make them suitable across genre of music such as pop, rock, metal music and more.

One of the tip I would give anyone utilizing this Drum VST is to carefully play with the varied collection of samples, and you could either save a preset of the one you like or if you are like me, you would render the collections you want, that way it would be reusable across multiple projects without pulling an instance of MT Power Drum Kit every time you wanna work on a project.

Another good thing about this plugin is that the samples are well compressed and Equalized to make them glue to your mix, moreover, you can choose from thousands of assorted rhythms in the comprehensive Groove Library and compose your own drum accompaniment. In particular, the innovative functions for creating fills generate very smooth and realistic drum tracks.

Lastly, On the right-hand side, you can listen to demo tracks to hear what you can make with it.

Video Walk-Through:

System Requirements:

PC: Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP
Mac: OS X 10.5 or higher, Intel processor
Linux: Wine + VST bridge

2.) Audiosonic – DigiDrum Pro

DigiDrum looks a bit hard on the eye but it is more powerful than you thought, it contains a five-part drum and percussion VST plugin suitable for a diverse range of genres be it Afro beats, House Music, Pop and more.

I’ll say this again, the interface isn’t really intuitive but otherwise, it is packed with loads of sound editing parameters that can be processed as you see fit. I should also mention that you can use the Velocity section to give the sample some cool vibes.

Features:

5 separate DigiDrum parts with 5 user definable audio outputs
27 classic drum and percussion waveforms
User wave file import
Parts can easily be layered to create even more complex sounds
easy sound preview ensures intuitive preset programming
A Versatile filter setup capable of many different timbres
Velocity modulation of the amp, pitch, and filter to ‘humanize’ the feel of the beat
Full VST automation of every sound editing controls

Video Walk-Through:

3.) TromineGT

Tromine GT is a TR-808-style analog drum synthesizer. It features:

16 Analog drum synthesizers: Bass drum, Snare drum, Low tom / Low Conga, Mid tom / Mid conga, High tom / High tom, Claves, Rimshot, Maracas, Handclap, Cowbell, Crash cymbal, Closed hi-hat, Open hi-hat.
9 outputs.
MIDI CC support.
Automation support.

Video Walk-Through

4.) DrumTroop

DrumTROOP is a drum kit rompler coming with 20 free drum kits. It features:

20 free drum kits.
128 triggers on every kit.
16 outputs.
Universal drum placement on the first 8 pads.
Vol, Pan, Attack, Release per pad.

Video Walk-Through:

Download Win 32 VST / WIN 64 VST / Mac OSX VST / Mac AU

5.) Ugritone – Anarchy Drums

Anarchy Drums is a virtual drum sample library or an instrument that emulates the sound of the 1990’s California Punk. It was recorded with a handful of mics at a DIY environment on tape. According to Ugritone:

The idea was to capture nothing but the drums, the room and the preamp.We left the tweaking to a bare minimum so you could tweak more, or not tweak at all (insert a famous punk band name here, ha) Relive the golden days of never-ending skate parks with Anarchy Drums.

Video Walk-Through:

Download Ugritone – Anarchy Drums

6.) Rhytmus

If you’ve used an old rhythm machine before then you should definitely love this plugin, it is based on an old rhythm machine and features ten buttons. Each individual button can play two different rhythm sections, so basically you can play 20 different rhythmic loops such as samba, mambo, tango, waltz, rumba, tango, bossa, rock, etc.

Drum Machine Vst

When you click “open”, you can change the tune, volume, pan of each rhythm component such as snare, bongo, cowbell, hi-hat, etc. That’s not all – you can mix these rhythmic sections with Tambourine, Guiro, Quijada sounds.

7.) Junn

Junn is the virtual Linn drum machine and is only supports VST

8.) Arex2011

AREX 2011 is a free VSTi drum module based on a hardware drum machine from the early ’80s.

Features:

16 pads.
29 embedded drum samples of RX11.
12 individual/group outputs.
Individual volume, pan, accent.
Assignable MIDI note within 36 – 99 range.
VST automation.
MIDI automation of essential controls.
Assignable MIDI CC#.
16 part multi-timbral MIDI Outflow.
It can be used as a MIDI control surface of sorts.
Bundled with RX11 MIDI swing templates and 55 demonstration patterns.

System Requirements:

Windows XP SP2 and higher

9.) Lel UDS Drums

LEL UDS Drums is a free VSTi by Softrave that has 140 stunning samples of the famous vintage analog drum module Lel UDS. One thing I love about this plugin is the option to filter the high frequency of any bank and to also mix sounds to create the sample I want.

Best Drum Sampler Vst

The idea behind this is to put all analog sounds together to save time for creativity and to have easy access to the best selection of LEL sounds, essential for techno production.

What really makes this instrument different from just samples is that you can tune individual analog drift to every snare. That makes snare lines less mechanical/repetitive and makes it more analog.