Superior Drummer 2.0 users - worth the upgrade from EZ?

This is a hard call. The short answer might very well be, no. If you use a multitrack feed from EZD into Sonar, and use your own outboard plugs (like your UADs) on individual drum tracks you may not find Superior 2.0 that beneficial. I have to admit that I didn't (and, still. sometimes don't). If, however, we launched an all-out surprise attack right now on the Russkies we stand a darn good chance of catchin' em with their pants down...no...wait...er...if, however, you like to preview your midi files and have the ability to load whichever you want from several different drum sources...OR...you want one single interface (with it's own plugs...which are very good) to load and run all your EZXs from...even mix and matching from different ones in the same kit...then Superior is the only way to go. I still find myself using EZD for alot of stuff. But I would not be without the flexability that Superior 2.0 gives me when It's really important and I don't let myself be the lazy assed bum I truly am. YMMV.

BTW My ol pal
I put the drums all to one buss and really slam them with the Fairchild. I try to get that needle kicking 3-5 db and usually set the gain up on 8, so I have to throttle back the outputs. I love whatever it is that the Fairchild does to drums - reals or ezs.

my ol pal
one thing you and i share for shure is the jones for gear.

I have been using Superior now for a couple of months. It is a great-sounding set of drums with a powerful set of tools, and it creates very realistic-sounding performances. However, it's also a much more complex instrument than EZD--to take one relatively simple example, in order to get the most out of Superior, you need to know something about mixing room ambience. Superior also puts a much bigger load on your system in terms of memory, CPU, etc. My desktop machine has 3 GB of memory, and Superior takes up 580 MB of that when it loads.

If you use EZD's full set of outputs, and follow some of the tips in this Forum from guys like middleman, you can get very solid performances out of EZD as well--not quite as detailed as Superior, but plenty good enough for most stuff, and with less effort and knowledge required. EZD really is E-Z. When I'm in a hurry--which is most of the time--I can count on EZD to produce a solid drum track fast.

If you're mixing percussion sets and instruments from different sources, then you might want to consider EZPlayer Pro on its own. But at $49 for EZPlayer standalone, you might think it wiser to buy the full upgrade to Superior.

Bottom Line: I wouldn't buy Superior unless you're ready to spend some time learning how to operate it effectively.

I discuss these issues at greater length in my review of Superior at traxmusic.org.

Regards, lightninrick

ORIGINAL: space_cowboy

How does S2 stack out? Is it able to use the sounds from the EZ packs?

Thanks

Yes.

Regards, lightninrick

They made me buy it ^^^^^^^^

I have both... my 2 cents...

SD2 can give you much more natural drums sounds than EZ. Besides most EZ kits being moderately processed, SD2 supports positional sensing on the snare (for kits built for it like Avatar), gives you control of the envelop for chokes, more extensive control over bleeds, and various other features that can support a more natural sound. OTOH, if you are mainly mixing pop music, this extra "tweakability" might just be an extra headache with little payoff.

IMO EZ is easier to use, but not a whole lot, since you don't have to tweak the details if you don't want to.

If you're a Microsoft guy, use EZ; if you're more of a Linux guy, use SD2. :-)

Wookie
There is a simple solution but it requires moving to the US.

You just get a political appointment - you get away without paying taxes - it is like making 30-50% more money. Voila - Instant Raise!