Programming drum parts is what I dislike most about recording.
(the less I mess with midi the better off I am)
 
With that said one may understand why I look for the easy way out - since
it's a hobby and the sounds are probably good enough for the other junk I do...
 
I really liked what Drums On Demand did for their first 10 releases ( if I recall correctly-not at my DAW) . It was easy for me to build a song and it was 16 and 24 bit .wav files. Not as versatile as midi
so makes them a questionable investment.
( the addition of the "Browser" with the X series and being able to preview them within the project was a fantastic feature.)
 
EZDrummer seems to be the next easiest for me to build a song with tolerable results.
I like the sound of Addictive Drums-about the same or a little better than EZ but the parts provided
just aren't as good. An issue that I know can be rectified. (now I need to learn how to make drum maps)
 
Addictive Drums is new to me and with the first project I tried to use them on I got discouraged with
the selections of patterns/fills and switched to EZDrummer.
 
So...the "EZ" is my fav. for now.
 
 
 
 
 

Getting back to the original question....I'm going to chime in and say Addictive drums is way better than SessionDrummer.  Addictive Drums sound waaaay better and I really like how the song feature (midi loops) work in Addictive Drums.  The key switching system in SessionDrummer is fine, but I seem to always trigger something I do not want in the heat of the battle. When I'm ready to program drums I now grab Addictive Drums and start by auditioning the midi loops.  I drag a midi loop that gets me close into Sonar and tweak from there.  I really like the results.  
 
Addictive Drums far and away...
 
By the way,  the X3 update is really, really great.  

AD sounds more real than SD3 or Easy Drummer. In addition, more punch and less tweaking is required with AD to have something not just usable but also great!!!

pdarg
Which do you like better? Why?

 I like Addictive Drums better because their customer service is great -  ask a question, you'll have an answer the next day. Ask CW twice in December and again in January about SD ........still waiting!
 
That aside, It's better in every other way too, can't see me ever using Session Drummer.

I, too, can't really say much about either. I've always used EZDrummer. But, I admit that lately I'd like to find some new drums sounds.
 
I was looking into Session Drummer 2 and 3 and I'm really jazzed that you can create your own kits. Maybe that can be done with EZD and AD as well, but I haven't looked into it yet. SD was just the first one to pop up and say, "I can do that."
 
So, with that in mind, I guess I'll have to come down on the SD side.
 

rontarrant
I, too, can't really say much about either. I've always used EZDrummer. But, I admit that lately I'd like to find some new drums sounds.
 
I was looking into Session Drummer 2 and 3 and I'm really jazzed that you can create your own kits. Maybe that can be done with EZD and AD as well, but I haven't looked into it yet. SD was just the first one to pop up and say, "I can do that."
 
So, with that in mind, I guess I'll have to come down on the SD side.
 

You can create kits with both AD and EZdrummer as long as you're happy with a 12 piece kit and to be fair most people are. BFD3 will allow you to create up 64 piece kit, you can have up to 5 of each kit piece if you want, so you can have 5 snare, 5 hi-hats, 5 kicks and so on.
 
If you're looking for new sounds you could always check out the BFD3 Demo which you'll find on this page.
It is however a demo and so has quite a few limitations. Also BFD3 is an entirely different concept to session drummer and EZdrummer and is far far deeper so you really need to give it time and learn the program.
 
As for the OP's original question, AD is a far better drum vst than session drummer and there really is no comparison.
 
Steve

If you have X3 studio, you can upgrade to producer this month for half price, which is about the same cost as buying addictive drums alone.
 
The kits in AD are much louder and far better recorded than the ones in SD.
 

I will repeat for those new to the thread, they are two VERY different programs and find comparing them difficult as a result. AD is focused on being a reasonable fascimile of real drums, paying attention to details like mic placement. SD3 is more of a hybrid attempting to cover a lot more music genres while not excelling at any. An EDM producer might find SD3 more useful since you have more power over adding your own samples. To me it's not a question of either/or butbof which makes more sense in the situation.

Between the two, I prefer Addictive Drums. The sound is 'tighter' and it's much easier to find quick usable patterns for me. Session Drummer often sounds more like a drum machine to me and it's okay for that effect. Battery has solid sounds I like when inputing the patterns myself. I don't care for Toontack  at all. Sound is too loose for my ears and I don't care for their pricing policies to build a better kit.
So for quick patterns: Addictive Drums
For personal input play: Battery/Kontakt

I haven't used drum plugin modules due to having access to decent drum machines and hardware samplers for years, then having access to - well - a real drummer for a while.
 
But I have dug into them both recently since upgrading to X3 and getting AD with it. I have to say as a non-drummer, that I really like AD far better. My initial reasoning is/was the quality of the sounds, and how they overlap (as mentioned, firing a second hit doesn't cutoff prior hits). The sounds, to my ears (subjective, yes) are simply superior to SD. The tipping point, again to my subjective self, was the interface - the ability to move the individual kit piece mics around, as well as the sound of the room mics, the overhead mics, etc. I doubt I will ever use SD as long as I have a working copy of AD installed. Notice I did not say never - because you never know and I haven't torn into AD and worked it to its abilities 100% top to bottom as yet (and may never).