what are the best 3 AD packs/kits, that one might choose??

That is probably depends on your personal preferences, go to XLN Audio's webpage and listen to the demos. I have Fairfax 1 and it is probably my favorite right now. Black Velvet seems to be very popular. I am going to pick it up when I get Platinum along with either Fairfax 2, Metal, or Session Percussion.  (I like to add percussion though it comes out cheesy. My 8yr son likes heavy metal so I though I make a few things for him).

I am thinking about Retroplex and the two Fairfax kits (mainly because of all the favourable comments). I am not sure what this will add on top of my miriad of FXPansion and Toontrack kits, but nothing really jumped out as filling a hole. Retroplex looked just that little different.
 
I wish someone would sample Carl Palmer's steel kit (if it still exists)

musichoo
If I am correct the new sonar platinum will get you the sd2 professional package which will include 3 adpaks. But you still need to fork out another 80 in order to update your sd1 internal 3 kits (or any ad1 adpaks) into sd2 compatible drum kits. Can someone verify that?

The AD Producer Bundle kits include the AD2 engine. Which means you can sill utilise the kits without having to update to the full AD2.
 
But if you want to be able to use your old midi packs and AD1 kits, in AD2? Then you need to upgrade!

Royal Yaksman

dubdisciple
I am sure I will get the vintage dry.

The Vintage Dry is definitely one that has that little bit of magic warmth in it. Directly A/B-ing it against other options reveals its worth! Not sure if it's the kit, the rooms, the mics or XLN's dark arts? Maybe it's all of the above?... Has gotten a lot of use by me, for sure!

thanks.  i figured it was a good one based on the demos, but your confirmation helps seal the deal.

I'm thinking a Fairfax (everyone seems to like them), vintage dry (demo sounds excellent) and maybe studio prog or the reel machine.  Looking for some of solid basic drum sounds but with 3 selections one of them can be more on the esoteric side.

Bump!

I've got jazz sticks, vintage dry and Fairfax.. What next?

Thinking jazz brushes, black velvet and session percussion..

I have all of the packs and IMO, they're ALL very good.....you really can't go wrong. I like to mix/match different packs with various midi packs as well......there's a lot to work with as far as creativity is concerned.
 
Best is to listen to all the demo's and see which suits your fancy..........I couldn't make up my mind either and ended up fancying them all.  
 
Session Percussion gives a variety to the rest with some Latino/Caribbean feel.......as I wanted variety.......good stuff!! 

Yo Daddy, I didn't find the Funk pack to be punchy as I was expecting it to be, but still a good kit. Of course, it wasn't hard to make it punchy with some minor tweaking to get it where you want it to be.

BassDaddy
Thanks Mesh, just what I wanted to know. I can do that with the Funk Masters EZD kit. Ol' Skool funk is played kinda quiet and I like it punchier. I think tweak the drums and choose the right midi is the way to go.

 I also agree....I like the funk drums to be punchy and the bass to be low down & slap happy funkaaaaaaaaaay!!!  

I have a few ad packs available here... 
 
I've made a commitment to BFD so I've purged a lot of my Toontrack and AD stuff.

I added the United Pop, MJ Sticks and Black Velvet kits to my MJ Brushes, 3 Studios, VinDry, Fairfax 1, SessionPerc and Indie. Those were easy to pick. I still think I'll add the Black Oyster and Fairfax2.
 
The assortment of Kitpieces makes that pretty easy, too, especially with my Kits.
 
Where I seem to be undecided is the MidiPaks. I've listened to them all a few times and taken some notes, but last night mustn't have been the best time for that. I'll take another crack at it today. I've got Jazz Brushes, Ballads, DryBeats, Reggae, Perc, AfroLatin, Amer. Indie and Writer's blocks, so far. Jazz sticks is about all that I see as "likely".
 
On one hand it's all great stuff and so handy, but I'm wondering which is more useful to me; Songs or Beats?
I'm sure I'll sort it.
Michael

Black Velvet stands as my go-to across a number of styles; it's where I've drawn most of the shells to create the majority of my custom presets/kits.  It really is substantial.  Both Fairfax kits follow closely behind, but I'd like to mirror what Magic Russ said - the original Pop/Rock/Prog kits are quite useful and where I tend to draw most of my cymbals from.  Nice and bright Paiste high hat in the Rock AdPak.
 
I'm downloading United Pop, Retroplex, and Funk tonight with the AD2 Custom I bought over the weekend.  they all sound interesting, too.

I went back and listen to the Funk kit and Retroplex and am starting to really like them. The Funk is much punchier than I thought and will get it for sure. I didn't really want to like Retroplex but am liking it more and more.