I recently upgraded to Sonar Platinum from X3.  For Addictive Drums 2, we get to choose 3 ADPaks (kits), which are listed on this page: http://www.xlnaudio.com/products/adpak   I am listening to the sound demos now, so I can get a rough idea of how the kits sound relative to each other.  I also know roughly which genres interest me.
 
However, what I don't have a sense of is how much overlap there is with some of the ADPaks with the drum kits already bundled with Sonar Platinum (e.g., Session Drummer 3, Dimension Pro) and Native Instruments Komplete (e.g., Battery 4, Studio Drummer, Abbey Road 60s and 80s, which I bought separately).
 
So my question is this:
 
Which 3 Addictive Drums 2 ADPaks would you recommend, based on sound quality and uniqueness relative to each other and to the other drum kits already included in Sonar Platinum and Native Instruments Komplete?
 
Thanks!

I cannot tell if you are just listening to the demos on their web pages or actually listening to the kits inside AD2. I would recommend the latter. All the kits play inside AD2 and may provide a better idea of what they sound like in SONAR.

It really depends on what type of music you intend to create with them/what kind of drum sounds you like.
 
If you elaborated more on that then your query would be easier to answer... but all answers would likely be highly subjective.
 
Because I do rock/metal but often dabble in more traditional styles I went with...
 
Fairfax 1 (clean, well produced kit that is good for rock but as a general up front/full bodied/punchy kit)
 
Metal (suuuuper tight and snappy kit with triggers and all the garnish you'd expect for modern and old school metal)
 
Indie (more vintage, less tight, more "swoosh" and "bomp" type sound, supposed to be for "indie" rock but can easily be used for "oldies" rock, big band, classic country, whatever you'd use an older kit/analog studio production for).
 
I REAAAAALY wanted the Jazz Brushes and Sticks combo (which are two separate ADpaks) but figured they would not provide me with enough usage for what I'm likely to make money on.
 
For the MIDIpaks I got the Metal one, the Jazz sticks one (IIRC) and the Modern Jazz one (IIRC).
 
I just wanted the most interesting and complex fills and beats I'd never be able to play or program myself so those seemed like the best options. I used to play drums at an intermediate level (but self taught... kind of a hack really but I fake it well) so the other MIDIpaks did not offer anything I could not play live on my padKontrol or program... and really Sonar comes with a buttload of the simpelr beats anyway for rock and blues and crap like that. They'd just need to be remapped to trigger AD2.
 
Cheers.

How do you listen to the ADpaks from within Addictive Drums 2?
 
Using the XLN Online Installer, it doesn't seem that I can install Addictive Drums 2 until I first select at least 1 of the 3 ADPaks, 3 MIDI packs, and/or 3 Kitpiece paks. 
 
If I install the Addictive Drums 2 demo, will that install the Addictive Drums 2 VST plugin?  Is that the same plugin as the non-demo version, but with no kits installed?  (I didn't want to install a demo if I should be installing the real thing).

As noted, highly subjective and genre dependent.  I will share my choices (I too have Komplete and Maschine, so the dilemma was somewhat similar).
 
Reel Machines - I found this useful for my more "Experimental" songs.  My favorite of the 3 so far.
Black Velvet - I wanted these for larger than life drums.  With a bit of tweaking they provide just that.
Studio pop - Is what it sounds like.  I wish I would have picked Fairfax instead, I never use this ADPAK.  This one was a mistake (my bad).
 
Good luck!

As for what genres seem most appropriate:
 
I tend to create long, rhythmic, groove-based tracks with improvisation on the top.  There's elements of jazz, reggae, and krautrock, but I also love listening to post-punk, so I'm always trying to inject a raw, rock-based feel into it as well.  Some of the biggest influences would be Fela Kuti (afrobeat), Can (krautrock), Miles Davis (jazz), and Shriekback (post-punk). 
 
I don't like purely "electronic" music very much (techno, drum-and-bass, dubstep, etc.) so I do NOT want electronic-sounding kits; I have enough of those with Battery 4 anyway.
 
Because my songs tend to be long, I love having kits with lots of drum sounds (toms, bongos, etc.) which can add variety and texture.  I prefer to use one kit per song, rather than multiple kits (a standard kit for kick/snare/hat and a percussion kit for toms/bongos/effects).  So, even if a kit sounds awesome, but doesn't have much variety, I probably won't use it.
 
As for the MIDI packs and loops and stuff, well, I almost never use other people's loops, because I like to play everything myself.  I wouldn't mind browsing some loops as a learning experience, though.  The reggae ones might be cool.  Anyway, I'm not worried about which MIDI packs I choose; it's the ADpaks which concern me most right now.
 
Does that help clarify?
 

You can mix and match kits when using AD2. So any kits you pick up you can build your own from their various kitpeices... BUT there are limits. Like you gotta replace cymbals with cymbals and toms with toms... crap like that which I think is kind of lame. You do get "perc" slots though that are a little more flexible.
 
IIRC there is an ADPak that has a bunch of "world" percussion types sounds that might suit your needs.
 
Also you get three independent kit piece options (at least I did with SPlat). So you can choose from various snares and whatnot (I picked up some nice alternate snares). There are some oddball options in those choices like a Djembe (I think) and other non standard pieces so check those out.
 
For kits that are flexible for your style you may want to look at the Prog kit (but that came with AD1 as well so if you have that it's duplication... but you HAVE to use it in AD1 unless you buy an upgrade license for all your old AD1 kits... which is annoying)... or the Black Velvet or the Fairfax 1 (or maybe 2) kit.
 
Personally I'd recommend the Fairfax 1 kit because it's likely more flexible and tight for what you want to do and there are lots of presets that mangle it sufficiently. The Fairfax 2 kit is more old school sounding (like sixties/seventies rock) so may not be as modern/flexible for your needs.
 
That would leave you with one more kit so maybe the Prog or Reel Machines. The Prog kit may just be more of the same of the Fairfax 1 though... just a little tighter but not as full sounding. Reel Machines might give you some extra industrial wackiness but IDK.
 
However I am not particularly familiar with the drum/percussion sounds of the bands you are talking about... so maybe something like the Indie kit would be more suitable which mangles up quite nicely as well. It's just not very punchy/snappy as a "real" kit.
 
 
Cheers.

Beepster said:  <<IIRC there is an ADPak that has a bunch of "world" percussion types sounds that might suit your needs.>>
 
Beepster, are you talking about the "Session Percussion" AdPak?  I haven't seen any other AdPak which has anything close to what you might consider "World" drums.  And that is extremely limited.  It only includes the following:

---

Kick: 32x20" Kolberg Percussion Concert               Extras:
Snare: 12x6" Brazilian Caixa                                 - LP Wood Block
HiHat: 14" Sabian AAX Stage                                - LP Plastic Block
Toms:                                                                   - LP Tambourine (left-right hits)
- 11" Skin on Skin Conga                                       - Brazilian Pandeiro & Kick-Snare-Hihat
- 13" Skin on Skin Conga
- 14" LP Tito Puente Timbale                                  Optional:   
- 15" LP Tito Puente Timbale                                  - Brazilian Pandeiro (can be loaded into Kick, Snare and Hihat slots)     
Cymbals:
- 8" Meinl Byzance
- 14" Zildjian A New Beat
- 16" Masterwork Custom
- 18" Zildjian K Custom Hybrid Crash
- 22" Zildjian K Vintage
 
 
If anyone knows of another AdPak or kit which has more world percussion sounds, please let me know.
 
 (EDIT:  I do see that they have a couple more foreign kit-pieces available separately:  Djembe, Sangban, Timbau - but that's it)

That is my one big complaint about Addictive Drums -- the lack of unique percussion sounds from around the world.  Everything seems to be based around a traditional rock-and-roll kit with a handful of very mildly exotic South American options thrown it. It is such a great interface otherwise and I love it.  But I would like more percussion options from Africa, the Middle East, India, the Far East, the Pacific, etc.



 

I see that Addictive Drums 1 is already installed and accessible via Sonar. 
 
When I click on the upper left, I see a menu, with an "AD" submenu.  Under that is Clean, Distorted, Electronica, etc. and below each of those is a number of presets.
 
How can I tell which kits or ADpaks are already installed for Addictive Drums 1?  Or are the ADpaks only for Addictive Drums 2?

AD1 included Drumkits. AD2 does not other than the demo. The 3 ADPaks which made up the kits included with AD1 are the Studio kits. I believe XLN will not let you purchase the Studio kits individually if you already own AD1. Instead they insist you purchase the upgrade from AD1. All the other ADPaks may be part of your Producer pack redemption.