Rayzoon Technologies LLC

[Jason]

hi. i've got Jamstix and might be interested in buying another drum module to use with Jamstix and i don't really know much about them other than some editorial reviews.

i'm considering Battery, DFH and BFD.

anyone with Jamstix experience that can personally recommend a particular module?

i play heavy rock/metal with an interest in some industrial. but primarily heavy-guitar based music.

and please keep in mind that besides sound quality and value, user-friendliness is a BIG deal to me as i'm not the most intuitive guy when it comes to software.

thanks kindly.

Jason

[andrewwright67]

BFD

It's so good now with BFD 1.5 adding another 9 slots for any kit piece you want, damping, create your own ouput config - send bleed to different outputs (using the matrix output page)

I'd highly recommend getting XFL and 8 bit Kit too

Plus soon there will be a new expansion pack

The sound is real and amazing

Get it!!

[Ralph [RZ]]

Another vote for BFD, especially if you are into heavy stuff.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

[ProfRhino]

Hi Jason,
really tough decision. Those are all great libraries, but quite different in sound and approach.
First let me tell you that JS's internal sounds are actually quite good imho, if you use them with individual outputs and some external processing you can get really fine results. And there are rumours of a sound expansion pack coming soon, maybe you'll want to wait how that turns out ?
This would probably be the cheapest and most user friendly option, and you've got to learn a thing or two about drum processing anyway, no matter what library you choose.
Battery 2 is very easy to use since 90% of the processing can be done in the plugin and saved with the kit (a big advantage). It offers very fine envelopes for each pad (gating +), compression and EQ plus a lot more.
The downside is that, at least to my ears, the included library can't compete with DFHS or BFD, you might want to get the old DFH Multiformat kit to load in B2 for metal drums.
B2 is the most flexible of the options, since you can load, modify and even combine almost any sample format, it's not limited to it's supplied samples like the others.
And it certainly is the least demanding as far as CPU and RAM goes, especially considering the already built-in processing.
DFHS is a completely different beast, rather steep learning curve and not exactly intuitive to use. Very high RAM requirements (though there is a free update scheduled for September which will "improve this in a revolutionary way").
Soundwise it is arguably the best (not only) for metal styles, listen to some user demos @ the Toontrack forums. Incredibly realistic, with lots of different articulations per drum. But don't expect pro results out of the box, it's very much up to the skills of the user and the (external) processing how it sounds.
Another bonus is the included fine percussion library.
C&V is my personal favorite atm, but it might not be for you since it's leaning towards "vintage" drum sounds, you probably will prefer DFHS for your style.
As a very happy owner of JS, B2 and Toontrack's DFHS and C&V I have to say that all have got their own strengths and weaknesses, the Toontrack libraries get the most use here, followed by JS's internal sounds. BFD is nice, too, but I personally prefer Toontrack's stuff, so maybe somebody else can tell you more details about BFD.
YMMV, of course.
Sorry for the long post, hope this helps your decision a bit.
Cheers, Rhino

[Doc]

I second everything Prof. Rhino said. I´m using JS, B2, DFHS (not the C&V).
B2 I almost don´t use anymore, though it´s very intuitive.
I jam with JS and work it out with DFHS.

[GuruOne]

BFD XFL Tama is all u need to ROCK

Rich

[darcyb62]

I just use the internal kits... Haven't found a need/desire to look for anything else.
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darcyb62

[Jason]

thanks for all the thoughtfull replies, guys.

i probably -- no, definately -- have to get deep with Jamstix (just started; bought it months ago but a baby and new job made me shelve it till now). it would be great if the Jamstix sounds did the job.

but while they sound very real, i'm not sure they're exactly the sound i want for my style of music. i have no clue how much i can affect them with processing, but i imagine, you're always "stuck" with the root sound and you can make tweaks but fundamentally you've got what you've got.

perhaps i'm dead wrong.

i'm trying to learn Cubase as well as Jamstix and being a new family man doesn't give me hours a day to do so. but slowly but surely i'm getting more and more confident.

thanks again.

Jason

[Ralph [RZ]]

[Jason]

sounds great, Ralph. perhaps i'm best served (and my family-man budget) by exploring your exceptional (and very nicely priced!) software first before dropping a few hundred on something i may not need.

while i know drumming to a degree (from a guitar-player's POV) i don't know kit construction; what does a birch kit sound like, genre-wise?

for example, would it give, say, a classic rock sound?

thanks for the lightning-fast reply (i'm constantly amazed by your tremendous level of support).

Jason

[Ralph [RZ]]

[ProfRhino]

Jason,
as far as processing goes you can find tons of useful info in the Toontrack forums and probably also in the Fxpansion forums (BFD). Also on the Waves website there are some good general tips for EQ and compression http://www.waves.com/content.asp?id=174 .
Don't take any settings literally but try to understand what others try to achieve with a certain plugin and which parameters are responsible for what effect. It doesn't even matter much if you don't own that specific plugin they are talking about, take a similar one and try to use the general idea for your own situation. The Cubase EQ actually is quite usable (though not high end), same goes for the VST dynamics.
Keep on learning, it won't be an overnight success, but little by little ...
I know what I'm talking about, I had to start learning about drumsounds almost from scratch when I bought DFHS, it takes some time !
JS's sounds are way easier to handle.
Have fun,
Rhino

[GuruOne]

Ok, from your follow-up, I assume you are having trouble linking drums make/model to that "sound" you are after.

Two things, first identify the drummer for the pieces of music you like. Research the web to find the models/make they use. Often they endorse these very publicly for a little extra $$$$ on the side.

Second, drums are processed to the ying-yang esp. in Rock. The bigger the better, usually. That means heavy compression on the kick and snare. I use PSP Audioware stuff (it adds nice colour too). BUT, if you want a clean compression, then definitely use Waves L3.

Also, as Ralph says, the ambient sound is VERY important. Again, in rock, this is usually upped to create that BIG/LIVE sound. Like big guitar, a bigger room sound with a VERY quick release helps a lot and doesn't murk up your mix.

Remember, experiment and play. There are some long-used conventions, but at the end of the day, rules are meant to be broken, esp. in Rock

Rich



ps. If you research, you will find tonnes of guys using TAMA to Rock

[ProfRhino]

FYI - Update :

http://www.toontrack.com/news.shtml

sounds more than cool !

Cheers, Rhino

[chardin]

I like the internal sounds since I've discovered the Output tab