Hello everyone!
I just purchased the addictive drums 2 pack where you get 3 adpaks and 3 midipaks and I am trying to figure out what to get. I know it depends on what styles you like, but it seems like either way there will be some midipaks that will be better than others. I like pop/alternative rock such as fall out boy, my chemical romance, etc but I am also looking for some harder rock beats as well. I like a lot of different styles but that is what I think I want first.
So far I have the Fairview 1 kit and black velvet. For kits I was thinking about maybe also getting vintage dry but also thought maybe the real machines could be cool if wanted to add some 808s or some cool effects.
My biggest concern is the midipacks. I want the ones with the most usuable variations. So far I got the American rock pack but I am pretty disappointed with it. All the beats are relatively similar and there aren't many of them. Some one's I was considering were the vintage dry midipak seems to have some variation, rock n roll, the loud songs, heavy rock songs, writer's block, alternative rock. There are just too many choices (not a bad thing) and the demos in AD2 don't give you enough to really make a good choice. I don't want to end up with something like the American rock pack again. I am also considering the real machines midipak of I get the real machines kit (how does it sound with acoutstic kits?).
Thanks guys! I know there are other threads on this but they seem to be more about the kits rather than the midipaks. Also, any recommendations for which three extra kit pieces to choose from?

Thanks!

I like Writer's Block - lot's of fill variations, intros, bridges, etc.  For basic beats I love the Funk'd Up midi pak - its flexible, sounds "human" and overall just what I was looking for.  There are so many funk variations in rock today that its easy to apply them in a number of situations - I'm not writing anything close to funk but love "funky" beats.  Using them with Black Velvet moves them right into that harder prog rock realm.  The fills in that pak are good, too.  The Alternative Rock package is probably second in pecking order for me as far as straight beats go.  For straight rock, I really like the Retro songs pak.  The only one I don't have is the newish Heavy Beats and Songs.  Demos sound interesting, though...

Failed to mention the Core midi files that come standard with AD2.  Tons of stuff in there across all genres.

june61944
I like Writer's Block - lot's of fill variations, intros, bridges, etc.  For basic beats I love the Funk'd Up midi pak - its flexible, sounds "human" and overall just what I was looking for.  There are so many funk variations in rock today that its easy to apply them in a number of situations - I'm not writing anything close to funk but love "funky" beats.  Using them with Black Velvet moves them right into that harder prog rock realm.  The fills in that pak are good, too.  The Alternative Rock package is probably second in pecking order for me as far as straight beats go.  For straight rock, I really like the Retro songs pak.  The only one I don't have is the newish Heavy Beats and Songs.  Demos sound interesting, though...

Thanks a lot! So which paks do you think have the best fills? How do you like the Dry Beasts pak or the Loud Pak or the RocknRoll pak? Hmm Funk'd up does seem interesting...
How does Reel Machines pak sound on acoustic drums? Which kits do you own? 

Heavy, Dry, and Loud MIDIPaks are all good, because they all have beats and songs.  Plenty of variations.  I also have Funk'd Up, Alternative Rock, and Percussion Beats.  Funk'd up is really good!  I got the Dry Beats and Songs to pair with the Vintage Dry kit, and the Percussion Beats to go with the Session Percussion kit.
 
As far as kits, I have both Fairfax 1 and 2, which are both good.  I also added United Heavy and Black Velvet.
 
I think I lean towards United Heavy first if I need something loud, and Vintage Dry is versatile for just about anything, especially if you are looking for a natural sound.  The Fairfax's are somewhere in between these other two, in my opinion.  As far as Black Velvet, I tend to go to the other kits first, although I like a few sounds it has.
 
Session Percussion is always good to have, because it extends the range of your percussion setup.  The grooves in the Percussion Beats MIDIPak are great too, and are designed for that kit. 

abacab
Heavy, Dry, and Loud MIDIPaks are all good, because they all have beats and songs.  Plenty of variations.  I also have Funk'd Up, Alternative Rock, and Percussion Beats.  Funk'd up is really good!  I got the Dry Beats and Songs to pair with the Vintage Dry kit, and the Percussion Beats to go with the Session Percussion kit.
 
As far as kits, I have both Fairfax 1 and 2, which are both good.  I also added United Heavy and Black Velvet.
 
I think I lean towards United Heavy first if I need something loud, and Vintage Dry is versatile for just about anything, especially if you are looking for a natural sound.  The Fairfax's are somewhere in between these other two, in my opinion.  As far as Black Velvet, I tend to go to the other kits first, although I like a few sounds it has.
 
Session Percussion is always good to have, because it extends the range of your percussion setup.  The grooves in the Percussion Beats MIDIPak are great too, and are designed for that kit. 

Thanks a lot! So if you would only pick one between loud or heavy which would you choose? Also what about Dry vs Funk's up?

XLN recommends Loud Beats and Songs to accompany Black Velvet.  All the patterns are Rock category and listed as Loud Beat xx or Loud Song xx with various tempos.  Good solid rhythms here, 20 beats plus variations, and 10 songs.
 
Heavy Beats and Songs is recommended for the United Heavy kit.  It has a greater variety of Rock sub-genres in 20 beats plus variations, a separate group of fills, and 8 songs.
 
Dry covers a lot of categories, from Pop Rock, Dance, Soul, Funk, Retro Pop.  20 beats plus variations, 10 songs.
 
Funk'd Up has a shedload of funky beats and grooves, and fills.  Good stuff.
 
Get em all! 

As far as American Rock is concerned, I find it has a lot of similar patterns as you have noted, but so does Loud Beats.  They are useful if you like that style.
 
As for variety, I found that Alternative Rock, Heavy Beats, Dry Beats, Funk'd Up, and Percussion Beats have the most among the paks I have so far.  Enough to keep me occupied! 
 

abacab
As far as American Rock is concerned, I find it has a lot of similar patterns as you have noted, but so does Loud Beats.  They are useful if you like that style.
 
As for variety, I found that Alternative Rock, Heavy Beats, Dry Beats, Funk'd Up, and Percussion Beats have the most among the paks I have so far.  Enough to keep me occupied! 
 

Haha thanks! So I got heavy beats and songs, loud beats, and dry songs . I do like them all I think the heavy beats and the United heavy kit are definitely my favorite so far. How does the rock n roll pak compare to these? Or possibly even the metal ones

Double post