mudgel
If you want to use Virtual drums as if you recorded all the tracks yourself then Superior Drummer 2 from Toontrack. Or BFD3.
If you want the sounds without all the work then use EZDrummer 2 also from Toontrack.

Edited for twaddle.

For me it's BFD 3. Extremely powerful, but plenty of presets if you don't want to tweak...

smallstonefan
For me it's BFD 3. Extremely powerful, but plenty of presets if you don't want to tweak...

Actually, that is an often overlooked aspect of Superior Drummer. Not only does each kit come with at least a few to several presets, they also offer (for purchase) some Producer Presets for most of their kits. There are currently 19 producer presets.
 
I'll agree the interface is getting long in the tooth and an SD3 will be welcomed by me.

bapu

mudgel
If you want to use Virtual drums as if you recorded all the tracks yourself then Superior Drummer 2 from Toontrack. Or BFD3.
If you want the sounds without all the work then use BFD Eco also from FXpansion.

Edited for twaddle.

 
You missed a bit, but I appreciate the thought
 
Steve

AD2 is brilliant for quick and easy, and to be honest, I've got it set up with separate outputs as a track template and that's why I use it. I've owned BFD3 for years, but despite asking for help on this lovely forum, I still don't know how to set up the separate outputs in Sonar, so it is gathering cobwebs.

A massive thing in AD2's favour is the ability to audition different patterns without actually loading anything into your project.

Marshall
I've owned BFD3 for years, but despite asking for help on this lovely forum, I still don't know how to set up the separate outputs in Sonar, so it is gathering cobwebs.

What help exactly do you need setting up the BFD3 outputs Marshall?
There are various ways routing to sonar which will vary according to how you prefer to mix but there are a couple of, "auto" routing configurations you can run from within the BFD3 mixer.
 
Glad to help if I can.
 
Steve

Marshall's recent thread about BFD3 is http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3611556. Maybe it would be a better place to discuss breaking out BFD3 into separate tracks. At least it would give you a better idea of what has already been discussed and avoid hijacking this thread.

Thanks Scook, I did just search through his posts and found it.
 
Cheers
 
Steve

Most drum libraries fall into one of two categories: do-it-yourself or ready-to-wear. Superior Drummer is in the former, BFD the latter. Neither category is better at all things. Superior can give you exactly the sound you're after, but it'll make you work for it. BFD takes less effort, but unless you have the budget for lots of expansions you may sometimes find yourself settling for "close enough".
 
As a longtime Superior Drummer user, I have learned how to get good results with it. However, it's still a bit of a PIA due to its philosophy of modeling real-world drum mixing. I don't have any additional kits for it because they're pricey, so if I need an alternate snare, for example, I turn to Kontakt libraries. (There are many inexpensive drum samples out there, both full kits and individual drums from the likes of Drumwerks for 4 to 20 dollars). Many users would find my approach archaic, klunky and obtuse, especially if they have no experience mixing real drums. It works for me, though.
 
But if I was looking to add a Category 2 turnkey drum library, I'd seriously consider Steven Slate Drums. Although not as tweakable as Superior, it's one of the easiest libraries to quickly and effortlessly get good results with. Plus at $149 it's a steal - less than the price of one Superior Drummer expansion - and you get 100 kits. 

I have Superior Drummer 1.6 and it's a lot to work with. Love the percussion add-on which adds some hand percussion, so no faked flam or crescendos need to be used.