Are VST's really any better than stock 2box sounds?

[strongleftleg]

A little background on me:
Playing a 2 box mark 2 as my main practise and live performance kit for last year or so. Have done the SD card extension mod. I play with Zildjian gen16 ride and hi-hat cymbals, mainly for the improved feel over rubber.
I am mostly happy with the stock 2box kits and sounds. I have had to really tweak some thing to get a decent sound out of a PA system composed of 2 12' tops and 18" subs. I do some basic recording with the kit, and am more happy with how it sounds recorded or through the headphone output.

I am new to the world of VST's. Before taking the plunge on say Superior Drummer 2.0 for $179 I'd like to hear from real world users what to expect. Can I really expect an improvement over the stock 2box sound without hours and hours of tweaking on the VST? Am I looking at 10% better? More or less? Is there one VST program that stands out as better than the others?

I am a Mac user if that makes any difference.

Everyones opinion is valued by me so feel free to share.....

thanks!

Aaron

[Greg the groove]

I thought I loved the stock 2box sounds until I played VST sounds from the 2box module and I was blown away by the dynamics. Crazy good. I just made two demo YouTube vids on my channel of six different VST kits. Look for them on this forum and listen and judge yourself!

[milojko]

+1 on that.
I don't use stock kits anymore ...

[Haggis-man]

+2 on that!

I got rid of all the stock sounds apart from a couple of snares and some of the toms. 99% of the sounds I use now are from BFD2, SSD4 and SD2 and they sound amazing!

BFD3 is next on the list!

[Jman]

A little background on me:
Playing a 2 box mark 2 as my main practise and live performance kit for last year or so. Have done the SD card extension mod. I play with Zildjian gen16 ride and hi-hat cymbals, mainly for the improved feel over rubber.
I am mostly happy with the stock 2box kits and sounds. I have had to really tweak some thing to get a decent sound out of a PA system composed of 2 12' tops and 18" subs. I do some basic recording with the kit, and am more happy with how it sounds recorded or through the headphone output.

I am new to the world of VST's. Before taking the plunge on say Superior Drummer 2.0 for $179 I'd like to hear from real world users what to expect. Can I really expect an improvement over the stock 2box sound without hours and hours of tweaking on the VST? Am I looking at 10% better? More or less? Is there one VST program that stands out as better than the others?

I am a Mac user if that makes any difference.

Everyones opinion is valued by me so feel free to share.....

thanks!

Aaron

I am another one that uses VST kits created for the 2Box module, almost exclusively. It is great having an open sound source module!

I am not sure if you have looked at the thread on SDSE, but that program has made the process of creating 2Box instruments and kits from VST programs almost effortless. Once installed, it is literally a one click solution. While SDSE is a PC program, it would still be possible to use it on a Mac, but would require a program like Bootcamp.... Here is the sticky thread on SDSE in case you haven't browsed it:
http://www.2box-forum.com/index.php?topic=1544.0
If you look through the Drumit Five Software thread or do a search you will find lots of discussions on what VST programs people like for building dsnds, lots of choices and opinions on that. J

[Dänoh]

Just to add to everything already said:

If you want to get your feet wet, try out a drum-vst, and convert a few .dsnds from it (no Superior Drummer 2.0 for $179 required), check out "DrumMic'a" by Sennheiser - a free vst of an acrylic kit with various microphone choices! 



HTH

[Dav3502]

Loading VST samples on your 2box makes this system untouchable in my opinion. I was very close to selling my kit because I could not get the greatest dynamics from my A to E conversion. I was going to buy a acoustic gretsch kit and forget about e kits.  I messed with it some more and then recorded a video with some Addictive Drums kits I uploaded to my module. Game changer. I do not use the stock sounds which are good but the open system of 2box makes it incredible.  I'm glad I've decided to stck with the 2box system. Jman, Gregthegrove have made some great videos with examples. I've tried and added my video of some AD kits and the last kit is the 2box beech kit which I find to be real good.

SDSE makes this process almost idiot proof. It did take me some tutoring from Lustar to get through it. Good luck.


http://youtu.be/U_KMrDgFlrU

[Greg the groove]

I really like your AD vid! Those kits sound great. I just got the HH box from JMan and will be hooking it up to use the VST HH sounds using the VH13 hat.

[Dav3502]

Thanks Greg. It's cool seeing and listening to other folks videos and hearing their set ups. Good luck with the high hat mod. Keep us posted.  I've watched your two vids several times already, enjoying it every time I hear it. Take care.

Dave

[Poonicorn]

I also would like to to here how it goes with the roland hats , as I just bought the hi hat mod and was considering using a roland vh-11 or better as a replacement.

[Jman]

Loading VST samples on your 2box makes this system untouchable in my opinion. I was very close to selling my kit because I could not get the greatest dynamics from my A to E conversion. I was going to buy a acoustic gretsch kit and forget about e kits.  I messed with it some more and then recorded a video with some Addictive Drums kits I uploaded to my module. Game changer. I do not use the stock sounds which are good but the open system of 2box makes it incredible.  I'm glad I've decided to stck with the 2box system. Jman, Gregthegrove have made some great videos with examples. I've tried and added my video of some AD kits and the last kit is the 2box beech kit which I find to be real good.

SDSE makes this process almost idiot proof. It did take me some tutoring from Lustar to get through it. Good luck.


http://youtu.be/U_KMrDgFlrU

Your kit performs very well Dave, and the sounds are great .... I think you made the right decision to hang onto it. Acoustic kits have merit, but having a kit with the 2Box open sound source is like having an infinite number of killer acoustic kits at your disposal.... J

[Greg the groove]

Agreed!

[Dänoh]

Yep!

I think Jman just has given us the nicest and single most convincing reason, why somone should consider getting himself a 2box module!

I could not have said it any better! 

[raptor]

Just to add to everything already said:

If you want to get your feet wet, try out a drum-vst, and convert a few .dsnds from it (no Superior Drummer 2.0 for $179 required), check out "DrumMic'a" by Sennheiser - a free vst of an acrylic kit with various microphone choices! 


HTH

I went over to the site just to check it out but it's all in German, I think? How do you download the program in english?

[Dänoh]

I went over to the site just to check it out but it's all in German, I think? How do you download the program in english?

I have mentioned this a few times already: By not offering a dedicated English webpage, Sennheiser is not doing itself - and the distribution of DrumMic'a - a huge favour!

Pity, they still haven't done something to solve this!


Anyway, the link to DrumMic'a is http://de-de.sennheiser.com/service-support-drummica
There should be a blue 'Download' link on the site!

HTH