As I consider my upgrade to Platinum Lifetime Updates, I am looking again at the options here.  I currently have X3, so I have experienced AD1, which I think is pretty decent, but I honestly still lean on my Roland TD20 with TDW20 expansion.  You would think that this would get left in the dust by a lot of the new samples and a lot of people think it does, but played and recorded right, it still stands up pretty well, especially when considering the nuances that it allows that most of the sample engines miss - anyway, I digress.
 
I'm leaning towards the Black Velvet and Fairfax Vol. 1 Paks.  Reading Beepster say that Black Velvet is much like the one we got with AD1, I'm reluctant now on that.
 
I use pretty standard studio dry, modern sounding but not over-the-top so drum sounds.  If I had acoustics, they would lean towards the sound of a versatile DW Kit, which is why I think Black Velvet as a choice.
 
So I need to be talking into or out of that and I'm trying to determine if Indie or Fairfax Vol 2 would be a better option in terms of versatility considering the first two choices.
 
While I like to have some odd sounds at my disposal, I have a ton of them in the TD20 brain and via Sample Tank 2 and Vintage Keys, so I don't really want to go with Reel Machines or the percussion set (as I have a Roland HandSonic as well, which works for what little bit of percussion I need).

@blades... You may want to actually look at the Metal kit. Once you remove the "trigger" sounds from the kit peices it's actually a nice tight and punchy kit that I personally think could do a lot more than just metal.
 
There is also the Prog kit (IIRC) which may be more what you are after. I was going to get that one but I think I figured it sounded a lot like some of the other sounds I had.
 
Also please double check AD1 to make sure I'm remembering correctly that the Black Velvet is indeed one of the kits. I may be confusing it with another one but still the BV again still sounded similar to other sounds I had already.
 
BTW... those Roland packs are supposedly top notch so I don't doubt they compete with modern sample banks. I would LOOOOVE to own some V-Drums. Way out of my price range though and I don't have anywhere to set them up. I just use my padKontrol which kind of sort of gets the job done.
 
Cheers.

Beep - long story about the affordability of the V-Drums for me.  It started with my house getting broken into and everything getting cleaned out.  Many of the things that I had replacement value insurance on, I no longer needed to replace because my new wife and I already had them in duplicate.  So, I took the reduced (depreciated) value check and bought the drums when the TD10 kit came out.  Then I added the TD20 brain, then the cymbals, then the TDW20.  So it wasn't ever much of an out of pocket thing and most of it was gifts at Christmas from that same wife :)

Blades
Beep - long story about the affordability of the V-Drums for me.  It started with my house getting broken into and everything getting cleaned out.  Many of the things that I had replacement value insurance on, I no longer needed to replace because my new wife and I already had them in duplicate.  So, I took the reduced (depreciated) value check and bought the drums when the TD10 kit came out.  Then I added the TD20 brain, then the cymbals, then the TDW20.  So it wasn't ever much of an out of pocket thing and most of it was gifts at Christmas from that same wife :)

That's pretty awesome... well except for getting robbed but seems like it turned intoa bonus.
 
If I ever get around to the V-Drum thing I'd probably have to just build it a piece at a time. I mostly need a double kick solution so AFAIK I could get the brain, a kick pad and use the double kick pedals I already own (not sure regular pedals will attach or trigger properly though). Then I'd add snare > hats > one tom > one cymbal (I think the ride has more trigger points?)...
 
As I build it I could just edit the MIDI as needed in post. Like at first all toms could be played on the snare then moved to the correct notes after. All cymbal hits played on the hats and moved after... etc.
 
Or maybe I could even figure out a way to automate predetermined note changes and program them into the project before recording. So as I play the hats or snare the notes change to the ride/crashes/toms at the parts I want. That would be kind of cool. Not sure if that's possible though.
 
/daydreaming

Beepster
@blades... You may want to actually look at the Metal kit. Once you remove the "trigger" sounds from the kit peices it's actually a nice tight and punchy kit that I personally think could do a lot more than just metal.
 
There is also the Prog kit (IIRC) which may be more what you are after. I was going to get that one but I think I figured it sounded a lot like some of the other sounds I had.
 
Also please double check AD1 to make sure I'm remembering correctly that the Black Velvet is indeed one of the kits. I may be confusing it with another one but still the BV again still sounded similar to other sounds I had already.
 

The standard AD1 kits are now the following AD2 kits:
Studio Pop
Studio Rock
Studio Prog
 

Thanks for that - I will avoid those kits then since I either have exactly them from the AD1 collection or something very similar (if there were updates when they made their way to AD2).

rlared
I highly recommend the Reel Machines.  Great electronic drum samples.

This ^^
 

My apologies. I just opened AD1 and the default kits are a Sonor, Tama, Pearl and DW (none called Black Velvet).
 
I think the reason I passed over the Black Velvet was because the samples sounded like one of those (or maybe one of the kits in my other programs) so I wanted something more distinctive/unique.
 
It just seemed like I could already do what the Black Velvet offered.
 
Also now I remember why I passed over the Prog kit. I already had it. lol... In fact that might have been the kit I figured would be one of the ones that could cover what the BV kit would do.
 

Kind of resurrecting an old thread here; hope it's ok. I just upgraded from X3d to Splat and noticed that AD2 was not even available for download in the XLN Online Installer. Then I read earlier in this thread that I have to select at least one AdPack before I can download AD2. Which brings me to my question:

I have the Indie AdPack for AD1. Would there be any reason to select it for AD2, or would I just use AD1 if I wanted those sounds? Same question for the Studio Rock/Pop/Prog packs, which I understand were the included kits in AD1. Right now I'm leaning toward Fairfax 1 and 2 along with Black Velvet, and just use AD1 when I want to use the Indie or Studio kits.

Thanks in advance!

If you take your XLN registration code for AD2 provided in your Cakewalk account, you should be able to add it to your existing XLN account just by opening up and running the XLN Online Installer. 
 
Look for the button labeled "Register Product", near the top of the XLN Online Installer.  Once registered, you should see the additional product selections you are eligible to make.  I'm fairly sure everything is cumulative, and the new choices will just be added to your existing account.