Superior Drummer 3

oddly arranged fascia of SD2; now we have our
menus and tabs (Drums, Grooves, Mixer and
Tracker) along the top, all instrument editing
controls in a single contextual panel on the right
hand side, and the new sequencing tools at the
bottom. The main drum kit display has never
looked better, either, with every kit piece
represented by its own photorealistic graphic. It
all makes for an attractive, welcoming
environment that newcomers and those
upgrading from EZdrummer 2 will ind much
more approachable and intuitive than previous
versions. Indeed, EZdrummer 2 has clearly
exerted a profound inluence, but SD3 has its
own visual identity – a sophisticated grey, Logic
Pro kind of look that we fully approve of. The
whole thing is freely resizable, too, with internal
elements (text and controls) scalable from
70250%, and all four tabbed sections able to be
popped out into their own windows.
Kit and caboodle
The centrepiece of Superior Drummer 3 is its
massive core library of multisampled drums and
cymbals recorded by the legendary George
Massenburg in true 11-channel surround (see
boxout). Size-wise, SD3 blows SD2’s 20GB library
out of the water with 230GB of recordings
downloaded in ive separate bundles – the
surround channels (which are very usable as
additional ambience channels for stereo mixes)
add up to almost 100GB alone.
Like SD2, as well as the kits in the core library,
SD3 can also load any installed SDX and EZX
add-ons. Unlike SD2, though, individual kit
pieces can now be mixed up as you see it across
all libraries. This has to be done via the new
search engine, rather than the right-click menu,
but that’s not a great chore, and the search
Toontrack
Superior Drummer 3
Nine years in the making, the third incarnation of
EZdrummer’s bigger, badder brother doesn’t miss a beat
“SD3 marks a
revolutionary leap
forward. It is, in a
word, magniicent”
When Toontrack launched Superior
Drummer 2 (9/10,
130) in 2008, it set the
benchmark for what a heavyweight drum kit
ROMpler could be in terms of realism, lexibility
and general excellence. Since then, however, not
only has it been surpassed in several areas by
arch rival FXpansion BFD3 (10/10,
199), but
it’s also seen Toontrack’s own development
spotlight sighted squarely on their much
cheaper, more accessible ‘prosumer’ alternative,
EZdrummer 2 (10/10,
205).
The long-awaited arrival of Superior
Drummer 3 is big news, then, particularly for the
loyal SD2 user, who’s been overlooking the
increasingly apparent shortcomings and UI
niggles of their beloved virtual drums suite with
commendable patience. That patience has been
generously rewarded, as SD3 marks a genuinely
revolutionary leap forward for the platform. It is,
in a word, magniicent.
Looks matter
Superior Drummer 3 (VST/AU/AAX/standalone)
makes an immediately positive impression with
its gorgeous GUI. Gone is the skeumorphic,
MIXER
Mix your drum kit
and apply effects
PITCH FX
Apply a pitch
envelope with up
to eight nodes
GROOVES
Search and filter SD3’s
well-stocked library of
MIDI grooves
EXTRA
INSTRUMENTS
Add hand percussion
and external samples
to your kit
TUNING
SD3 has separate
tuning algorithms
for Drums and
Cymbals
TRACKER
SD3 includes an incredible
drum replacer!
SONG TRACK
Arrange
MIDI clips
into songs and
variations
DRUM KIT
Visually accurate, interactive
representation of your SD3 kit
HI-HAT CC EDIT
Map your hi-hat
pedal CC to varying
degrees of openness
VELOCITY PAD
Ctrl-Alt-click
anywhere to call up
this handy velocity-
aware trigger pad
STACK
SD3 lets you layer
drums and
external samples
£305
90 / COMPUTER MUSIC November 2017
> reviews / toontrack superior drummer 3
EDITOR’S CHOICE
CMU249.rev_sd3.indd 90 19/09/2017 15:20