You can buy AD2 expansion packs without owning AD2... Nothing to stop you! : )

The licensed products that I have are...
XLN Online Installer
AD2
Fairfax Vol 1
AD1
Modern Jazz Sticks (AD1)

It's ok, Alex. I'm pretty sure I got what I paid for. I just don't think AD is for me.
 
Tonight, I spent a very happy hour with Session Drummer. Session Drummer with some midi clips from Groove Monkee and I'm a happy boy.
http://stabilitynetwork.blob.core.windows.net/g-tunes/20140701_SessDrumJam.mp3
This recording is a one take wonder where I used the Zeta2, Rapture, my GR20 for bass, and my guitar direct into TH2. I stepped on the hold button on the synth holding both Rapture and Zeta as well as the bass. I had my foot on the volume pedal on the synth which also controlled Zeta and Rapture. What you hear is what I heard while playing.
 
I think getting to really know drum synths may be for some time in my future, but not now. I find it too frustrating. This time I was disappointed by what I got for my money.
 
I'm really a guitarist. I just like to plug in and play. With Session Drummer, I've got years worth of Track Templates I can pull into a project and then just grab a clip to play along with. I can use the midi clips. I can import samples. I can use ALL the FX I have in Sonar (pretty awesome imho).
 
AD seems like pre mixed and EQ'd drum kits. IDK even how to send every piece out to its own track. Looks like they all get mixed within AD. It's like the 'Easy' button mix for drums.
 
Seems silly, but I think AD is just one of the new things that I'm not so sure is actually a better thing. At least for me and my workflow.
 
Recent favorite purchases from Cakewalk include Glabanum Piscus for Rapture and The Syntorial Software. Those are things I felt were totally things I was happy I bought. Oh, and my shirt. My kid wears hers all the time and says thank you!

mettelus
You can buy AD2 expansion packs without owning AD2... Nothing to stop you! : )

Are you sure about this?  I checked MyProducts on XLN's website last night and all the new AD2 packs were grayed out.  I assumed this was because I haven't upgraded to AD2.

gswitz
Abb, ad is having a deal where you get a stripped ad2 with a drum kit. If you qualify as an owner of ad1. Read the details carefully. Like for 80 usd you get just the kit. For one hundred you get all your ad1Content upgraded. I paid eighty thinking I was getting the hundred value.

Thanks gswitz -- I'm aware of the deal you mentioned.  What I was asking is if you could use AD2 packs with AD1.  That's how I interpreted mettelus' comment: "You can buy AD2 expansion packs without owning AD2..."  I didn't think this was possible.

Edit: So THIS is where this damned post ended up. Disregard... this was supposed to be in the Softube thread which is now dead. Leaving it here in case it gets bumped then I might repost it in the correct place. Sorry.
 
As much as I like the Sat Knob I will say this. It does get pretty useless after a ridiculously low point (I'd say aft 10-11 o'clock and even there it's hitting an extreme).
 
I am not sure what hardware they were trying model but I wish that what happens to the signal below about 9 o'clock would continue on above the point... just more of it. Instead after you push it past a certain boundary it doesn't sound like a quality tube getting is hum on... it sounds like a tube about to blow.
 
And I have blown my share of tubes to know what that sounds like. It is possible though that I am simply feeding it material that is too aggressive for it. If it was some gentle, quiet ambient sound then maybe it wouldn't break up so badly thus allowing me to crank it up a little more.
 
I do not know but perhaps I'll experiment with it.
 
 

twaddle

So personally I would rather upgrade from Eco to BFD2 (if I can still find a boxed upgrade somewhere) and still have access to my Platinum Samples packs as opposed to upgrading to AD2.

Hey Beepster
 
Just so you know, you can now upgrade directly to BFD3 from BFD Eco in case that's why you're thinking of upgrading to BFD2. Having said that if you can find BFD2 at a good price you'll have 10 extra kits.
They are extracts of the same kits you have in BFD Eco so you'll have an idea of how they sound already.
 
Steve

This is a late reply but wanted to thank you for the info (and say hi). I am glad that they are now allowing an upgrade from Eco (seemed a little crummy but I guess they saw the error in their ways). Still though I have been hell bent on getting BFD2 for a while and I've already done the research on it. It's what I want and I'm assuming if I can still find a boxed upgrade (or perhaps just the full version) somewhere it would still be cheaper than upgrading to 3 which is kind of way out of my price range.
 
Eco does a heckuva a lot for me and now that I have Addictive Drums (and still obviously have Session Drummer with the sweet sounding Andy John's and Rock Legends kits) I do have some pretty good sounds and they play pretty smoothly with my controller. I also have the Rock legends Kit for BFD (I forget how the heck I got that one but it was free I think) which is an awesome punky/rock sound and covers most of my needs AND on top of that I have one of the Zildjian Z-Pack thingies (which I got for $20 unbelievably).
 
So I am certainly not lacking for good drum sounds. BFD 2 would obviously have a ton more sound options and I'm assuming more sticks and variations (useful to me) BUT my main interest is the extra kit piece slots and routing options. I can force BFD Eco to output a full kit to my liking with each piece getting it's own track but it requires multiple bounces and screwing around which is time consuming. If I can avoid that AND get more articulations AND sounds then awesome but $300+ is a little too much just to save some time and have some sounds I may or may not use and/or could recreate in other ways and/or simply write differently without sacrificing too much of a track's integrity.
 
Anyway... good to see you post, man. Haven't seen you for a while. Hope you've been well. Cheers.

I have the Jazz Brushes pack for AD and it is truly amazing.
 
Here is an example using AD1. I have another one I did a while ago there somewhere. It's an VH track from Diver Down called, "Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now". I used the brushes pak for that as well from AD1. Don't mind my less than awful vocals.
 
Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now This was a long time ago.