X3 BFD3 Users

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bitSync
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2014/07/28 07:40:39 (permalink)

X3 BFD3 Users

Anybody using BFD3 with X3?  How do you like it?  Is it as well integrated to the DAW as the Session Drummer 3 that comes with X3?  Can you easily drag patterns to tracks, etc.?  I've watched some of the BFD videos and I'm impressed so far with the sound of the kits and the patterns available.  Any users with first hand BFD3 experience here?  Thanks!

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    mmorgan
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/28 07:57:08 (permalink)
    I was/am a relative noob to BFD3 but I think it integrates quite well with X3. BFD is very deep and offers an awful lot of flexibility that i don't recall in SD (not that SD is bad, it's not). But that means a fairly large learning curve.
     
    Given the size of BFD I'm not sure that they offer a demo, my guess is not, but if they did I would recommend trying that. 
     
    Regards,


    Mike

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    #2
    Leadfoot
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/28 08:07:51 (permalink)
    I have BFD3 and X3, and I can tell you, BFD3 is amazing. It works flawlessly in X3. Be prepared for a learning curve though. As mmorgan said, it's VERY deep. There's a lot you can do with it. There IS a demo, by the way. Try it out!
    #3
    Sidroe
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/28 08:46:16 (permalink)
    I only have BFD Eco and I only use it in the studio occasionally. It seems to be very CPU hungry and takes a long time to load all the kit pieces. Time is not an issue in the studio but if I tried to use it live there would be a long wait between songs. I am a Superior Drummer guy. For live work by eliminating cymbals or kit pieces I don't need for a particular song, I have almost seemless performances back to back. As soon as the song loads, it plays. I also have Addictive 2 and it has become very CPU hungry as well. I have Battery 3 but it is only 16 bit and I have moved up to an all 64 bit format.
    I only wish that these drum programs would allow you to load multi-velocity samples of our own. I have all these custom kits for Battery 3 that are just laying around gathering dust. I just don't feel the need to move on up to Battery 4 now with all these other drum romplers running around.

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    #4
    John
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/28 16:59:24 (permalink)
    BFD3 is the best drum VST you can get. One of its major abilities is it makes drum maps automatically. This is a very helpful feature. 
     
    Yes it is deep and versatile but it is not particularity difficult to learn or figure out.  Its features are excellent and it sounds are unsurpassed.   I highly recommend it.

    Best
    John
    #5
    shmuelyosef
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/28 20:02:30 (permalink)
    bitSync
    Anybody using BFD3 with X3?  How do you like it?  Is it as well integrated to the DAW as the Session Drummer 3 that comes with X3?  Can you easily drag patterns to tracks, etc.?  I've watched some of the BFD videos and I'm impressed so far with the sound of the kits and the patterns available.  Any users with first hand BFD3 experience here?  Thanks!


    What is it that you don't like about Addictive Drums? You obviously have it with Producer X3e...

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    #6
    John
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/28 21:57:20 (permalink)
    I have Battery 3 (as a replacement for DR008) I have the drums that come with Sonar. I have Addictive Drums 2 (as an upgrade). I have BFD Eco, BFD 2 and BFD 3. I use BFD 3 because it is the best sounding. It is also in my view the easiest to use in Sonar. The only thing it is missing is a Latin kit. For that I will use Battery 3. 
     
    BFD Eco is nothing like BFD3. It is a subset of BFD 2. I look at it as a upgrade to Session drummer 3. Not that they are in any way the same just the feature sets are similar. Before BFD3 I would have recommended BFD2. It was is an outstanding sounding and very useful drum sample player. But BFD3 has left it in the dust. Someone talked about loading times. BFD 3 even though its library is huge loads kits very fast. BFD2 doesn't.
     
     

    Best
    John
    #7
    millzy
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/28 22:59:45 (permalink)
     Before BFD3 I would have recommended BFD2. It was is an outstanding sounding and very useful drum sample player. But BFD3 has left it in the dust. Someone talked about loading times. BFD 3 even though its library is huge loads kits very fast. BFD2 doesn't.

     
    Interesting, I have been using BFD2 for a while now and love it. I was thinking of upgrading to 3 but read some funky reviews about its stability with some DAWS. I read there was a beta patch that seemed to help but I was unsure of its compatibility with Sonar. Good to hear all works well.

    Millzy

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    #8
    John
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/28 23:50:49 (permalink)
    From looking at the their forum it seems Logic and maybe PT 11 have problems with BFD 3. Sonar X3 does not have any problems with it as far as I can attest to. Its very stable here. 

    Best
    John
    #9
    millzy
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/29 02:32:56 (permalink)
    From looking at the their forum it seems Logic and maybe PT 11 have problems with BFD 3. Sonar X3 does not have any problems with it as far as I can attest to. Its very stable here.

     
    Yeah that's what I read. Thanks John for confirming it's stable with Sonar, good news!

    Millzy

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    #10
    Bristol_Jonesey
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/29 11:32:26 (permalink)
    Yes, I can confirm that BFD3 is totally stable here on X3e
     
     

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    Leadfoot
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/29 12:18:51 (permalink)
    Yeah, it's been rock solid since day 1 for me in X3 too.
    #12
    jimkleban
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/29 18:33:15 (permalink)
    So, PLUS 1 for BFD3... best, flexible drum VST out there (IMHO).  I have almost all of them.  Now that they added more articulations on drum hits, it is my GOTO drum VST... I especially like the GRETSCH set that comes with BFD3...
     
    ROCK solid within SONAR 3... have had ZERO issues caused by BFD3.  Just took me awhile to get used to the GUI as compared to BFD2, but that is now behind me and old history.
     
    I simply love all of the options I have using the drum samples from BFD3... I have almost all of the BFD2 add on packs (whatever they are called) and never use them, the BFD3 limited kits are so good that I don't miss having 35 different snare drum samples to choose from as I do with BFD2... as a matter of fact, I never even authorized the BFD2 kits with BFD3 (even though you can) because I don't need to.
     
    My biggest issue with BFD2 was with the limited articulations for drum hits, now that they have addressed this with BFD3, it is absolutely perfect for my acoustic drum kit tracks.
     
    Oh, did I say that I like BFD3?
     
    Jim

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    #13
    bitSync
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/29 18:52:43 (permalink)
    Thanks for all the feedback.  I downloaded the demo last night as recommended and I'm pretty impressed, and those are 16 bit samples in the demo and a pared down selection of drums and patterns.  Even so, the realism from BFD3 is making me pretty happy.  The cymbals are a knockout.  I'm going to spend some quality time with the demo and maybe pick up one of the tutorial videos.  Very reassuring news about the stability of the X3/BFD3 integrated operations.  Thanks!

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    #14
    gtgarner
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/07/29 22:56:21 (permalink)
    BFD3 (the best drumming software) married to (the best DAW) X3.   What else needs to be said?
    #15
    twaddle
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    Re: X3 BFD3 Users 2014/08/05 19:34:13 (permalink)
    Sidroe
    I only have BFD Eco and I only use it in the studio occasionally. It seems to be very CPU hungry and takes a long time to load all the kit pieces. Time is not an issue in the studio but if I tried to use it live there would be a long wait between songs.

     
    Sid, something must be very wrong somewhere if you're saying BFD Eco is CPU hungry and kits take a long time to load. My kits take less than 2 seconds to load and although I have 4GB more RAM I don't think that's making the difference. How long are we talking about here and how much CPU is BFD Eco using.
    If you're using the effects in Eco they will add to the CPU a little .
     
     
    I only wish that these drum programs would allow you to load multi-velocity samples of our own.



     
    BFD2 has always done this and obviously BFD3 does this too.
     
     
    Steve

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