Steven Slate Drums 5 - In-depth Review
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- Finally, Steven Slate Drums 5 has been released. In this in-depth review, I'll show all new features, talk about the pros and cons, show what's missing and talk briefly about the main differences to Superior Drummer 3.
Check out my other videos of Steven Slate Drums 5
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Using SSD5 in a Drum Cover of Pearl Jam: • Video
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Very nice overview Mike! Thank you! Most of the features and sounds are already in my mimic pro:-)
Thank you, Mike! This is an excellent and extremely informative review. Really appreciate it.
Thanks a lot for stopping by and watching.
Very informative! Good job!
Thanks for the good video! We REALLY needed the routing presets and the ability to select multiple mixer channels. That alone to me is worth the upgrade.
Super helpful! Thanks so much man. ...Do you know what midi preset Logic uses by default?
Late to the party, but just wanna thank you for an excellent review. You go through all important aspects.
Great review and mini-tutorial on SSD5! I own a ton of Drum VIs, including most of SD3/EZ Drummer, BFD and AD2 (also have all the NI drums which are fantastic). I agree that Slate is good for the modern rock stuff. BFD and SD3 can sound much less processed and raw and AD2 has a ton creative variety as well as super fast load times. I love it all. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for watching, David.
Wanted to mention that by default, the cymbals are mapped together when you add extra cymbals but you can assign them to their own midi notes so that they don't trigger multiple cymbals at a time.
I agree, a MIDI Learn function is in order. I find it fascinating from reading the SSD5 manual, how often Slate brags about certain features that other drum sample sw doesn't provide - I don't know if it's at all true not having researching the matter.
Slate is offering a price of $79 for users who have the previous versions until the end of November.
Hey Sal, thanks for checking out. Well, a little bit of marketing speech is part of the game, I guess. Yes, I pulled the trigger for $79, which was a no-brainer for me. Looking at the price tag, SSD5 has to be compared with EZDrummer2.
Hey Mike, great video. I am curious how SSD5 responds with edrums, mainly the hihat. Could you please tell us your experience with that? Thanks!
I didn't expect that you would buy SSD5, but a great and honest review. I already downloaded the free version but it wasn't what I hoped for. I think I gonna buy some EZX expansions or SDX this month. But thanks for this review Mike!👍😎🍺🤜
Cheers, Rob!
Great video, thanks. How can I put my SSD4 sets into SSD5 correctly? 4:17
Thanks.. Great vid :-)
Cheers!
Did you had to adjust the mini notes for your drum module, I don't have sound on 2 cymbals?
How would you say the dynamic range is, compared to EZ Drummer 2? I downloaded the SSD5 Free demo, and I found there was very little dynamic range between soft and loud hits. The soft hits are better than the loud. I found that the loud hits just sounded like the "medium" range velocity hits, just a bit louder. I'd say EZ Drummer is better at this, since the loud hits really ring out and resonate.
At 19:30 you say that the midi notes are not assigned to the slots but to the instruments, and showed that multiple cymbals were triggered by the same midi note. You can easily fix this in the Mapping section. It's called the Map Converter in SSD4 but I presume it will work the same way. In the map converter you'll see which drums are triggered by which notes. Often the same note will trigger multiple drums (like two kicks or two snares). You can easily adjust these by dragging the drums and cymbals onto different notes, whichever ones are appropriate for you.
I'm using an Alesis DM5 kit with the General Midi mapping. I have six toms so I've just added a couple of extra toms to an existing kit, tuning and panning them differently. I then went to the Map Converter to drag each tom onto its correct midi note and saved the drum map. You can set it up to work with any controller. For example I have an Akai MPD218 with 16 pads, so I've created a drum map for that too.
Thanks a lot, Paul. I think I knew how to solve that. I just thought that it’s kind of annoying that the setup with just two crash cymbals is set by default while other libraries often start with three or four right from the start at different MIDI notes.
I’m going to use them with my electronic kit. I haven’t downloaded it yet. I already paid for for a half a year so far and I haven’t even used it. 😂 I’m glad it sounds great right from the start!
Thanks for the video. Really helpful. It's currently at 59 dollars on Black Friday deal!
Good video with helpful info. There was a lot of grooves I used in SSD4 that did not transfer over to SSD5 and all expansion packs I owned in SSD4 used up another 'download' option. I would have went for SD3, but damn, that can be pricey! Anyway, how would you route your separate outs from SSD5 into your DAW? Would you use the automatic routing option within SSD5 or your own custom output? Also, is there a way to have grooves from other drum libraries (SD3, AD2, BFD3 etc.) recognized by SSD5? Cheers!
You can use both routing options, whatever you prefer. I talk about those options in my video. And yes, grooves can be used across different drum libraries. You may need to adjust some MIDI notes or load the conversion maps.
Question: I have an Akai LPD8 that i mostly use for midi drums. I haven't quite figured out how to map the correct instruments to the individual touch pads. Is that what the Midi mapping section at 17:44 is for? Can one save a preset bank for individual setups for instance? Thanks.
Hi, exactly. In the Midi mapping you see where all instruments are allocated to a certain MIDI note by default, you can load presets or create and save your own.
@@MikeLuke Thank you. You kinf of answered my question in the video right after I posted it, hehe. Thank you for a great demo of SSD5.
Hi mike I already have sd3, I really considering buying ssd5, usually in sd3 I have to adjust velocity and volume on every instrument, when I play with my td50, will ssd5 be the same will I have to make adjustments too? The other question, I see u are using reaper is there a video in how to make it work with ssd5? I have been trying to upload the free demo and no luck so far, also do I need to buy the full version of reaper? Right now I’m just using the 30 day free version of reaper, thanks great video as usual
Hi Art, thanks for watching and your comment. You don't HAVE to purchase Reaper, but I strongly recommend doing so. Reaper is based on trust, you can use the software without limitations after the first 30 days. However, those guys spend so much time and effort to constantly improve the product, so it's simply fair to pay for it. And compared to other big DAWs, Reaper is ridiculously cheap.
I am pretty sure you will have to make some adjustments in your TD-50 module, because every single player is different. But other than that, SSD5 is incredibly well balanced right from the start, so I don't think you need to tweak a lot for finding the right sound for you.
Thank you Mike, great job! I think Superior Drummer 3 is a game changer software. SSD5 sounds really good but for me SD3 has a more organic sound. I'm deciding to upgrade ssd4 to ssd5, or buy a new SDX expansion now on sale... :) Cheers from Brazil!
yo tengo Superior Drummer 3 y muchas expansiones, creo que Toontrack es lo mejor en el mercado, tiene un sonido genial y versátil.
Hi Mike..Another great review..i am thinking to try ..what about drum map..is there a short way to adjust drum map between SD3 AND SSD5?
I don't know, honestly. But I see this question a lot on the internet.
DOPE!!!
Great review. Can you use the sound library from Version 4 in the free version of 5?
I never used the free Version of SSD4. But I am pretty sure you can.
@@MikeLuke Thanks for the reply.
Hey Mike, I got my questions that were posed in your Settings video answered here, thanks.
Whatever one may say about the "sounds" of SSD5 or SSD4, as written in the comments below, this software triggers very tightly using V-Drums, where SD3 is a bit sloppy. I was working on recording drums for a project using SD3 and then I downloaded and used the SSD5 Free and I switched over to SSD5 because it triggers very tight and cleanly - in other words - it tracks with my playing very well.
Thanks for taking the time to review this software.
Haven't use the software with electronic drums yet as I don't have a module currently. But I remember that SSD4 already triggered well. The HiHat though was always better with Superior Drummer, more articulated and detailed.
I own the Mimic Pro which features the instruments of SSD5 (although not all of them are in the Mimic). I wish they would have put the same effort in making good sounding "presets/kits" like they did in the software, but I guess then the Mimic would not be on the market at this time... ;-) I'm curious if you can achieve the same good sounding presets by tweaking the instruments in the Mimic. The instruments by itself sound more "raw" in the Mimic than in the presets featured in the software. I'm also curious if Slate keeps the promise of delivering a software (for the Mimic) to build your custom drumset sound on a computer. I'm also missing all the expansions (for the Mimic) which seem to work seamlessly with the new SSD 5 version.
I also have SD3 and my personal taste is that SSD 5 sounds better. SD3 has got more options, but I definitely dig the sounds of SSD 5 a lot more.
I already bought the first two VEX packs, but I don't like them that much. They're not even close to what I hear in the presets of SSD5...@M K
So I downloaded the demo of it. I don't get it. I can't remap the drums? I have to change the midi notes in module to work? I couldn't find a way to remap the notes. Never mind hitting the drum to remap I figured that wasn't there of which Mike mentioned in this video. I have a TD-17 and a TD-9 and I must be doing something wrong?
Hello mike I finally was able to sample ezdrummer 2 the free sample , I was please with the snare sounds, after I played for two days, I went back to sd3 and truly sd3 is superior played through my td50, honestly i probably wait for sd4 lol , curious to try ssd5 too
Yeah, SD3 is amazing, without a doubt. But SSD5 works as well. You cannot go wrong with both of them, at the end it's personal preference, but I wouldn't put one over the other, to be honest.
The thing that always drove me crazy about Slate Drums is that there are no right-hand hits. It's all left-hand hits, it would appear. Also, you can't change to audience perspective from inside the plugin - you have to route out to your DAW mixer and flip everything around there.
Fortunately, you could not resist to review the new SSD5 :-) Thanks for that great video Mike, because I understood a few things with your explanations right away, which I did not realize in the somewhat strange GUI. You may have read that my first impressions after the purchase were rather negative. Completely incomprehensible, how to offer such a user interface today. Of course, it's more about the interior, of course. But even there I was disappointed at first, but after a little more testing on the weekend, I've changed my opinion.
At first, the trigger behavior surprised me positively, without any adjustments I had a similarly good behavior on my TD-11, as with the SD3. The premium sounds are a bit softer than the newer SD3 sounds, going more in the direction of older EZXs. So you automatically play a bit more forward. that suits me very well.
When mixing, I can fully agree with you, the sounds can be ntegrated very good the room sounds very well when compressed and with a little processing one can create excellent rock and pop standard sounds. I will soon give a few examples on my channel. For jazz, folk and general drum sounds with more "personality and character" SSD5 would not be my first choice. But just like you, I'm happy to serve both worlds with SD3 and SSD5. So, thanks again for this review!
I was hoping to get some feedback from you, Thomas. So, thanks for that. As I tried to mention in my video, I don't think that it's Slate's intention to meet all needs. How much do I like the option to add mic bleeding in Superior Drummer 3, to have more natural sound and vibe and character. Something that isn't possible with SSD5. But I think I'll try to make a comparison video between the both ... though I know it's going to be hard. Sound is, to some extent, rather subjective.
@@MikeLuke As you said in the video itself, a comparison between SD3 and SSD5 is certainly quite difficult. Honestly, SSD reminds me more of EZ drummer than of SD3. The reduced possibilities, the (at least partially) pre processed sounds, the favorable price + maybe even the target audience. Perhaps a comparison between these two would be even more obvious?
Did you say how to layer snares? I'm trying to figure that out like how to link them. Any help would be appreciated and great vid man
It’s fairly easy.just drag and drop into on of the open slots, that’s it. The software will automatically trigger both snares at the same time.
@@MikeLuke whaaat really? I swear I tried that and it didn't do anything ... I'll try this for sure now though. Thanks man!
I have SSD5.5 and have had issues with the Randomization of drum hits (the "intelligent playback" thing) ... I want to manually edit my velocities but I still have weird issues even when the velocity is the same for a whole bar for a Snare. There will be certain hits with more volume or Room Mic volume blend. For example: If i'm going to manually write in a drum roll that increases or decreases in volume, how can I be sure it will follow the velocities I program instead of having the "intelligent playback" do it's own thing? Thanks for the help!
I am not sure, to be honest. Steven Slate never explained this so called „Intelligent playback algorithm“. I guess it’s a randomized playback algorithm to avoid machine gun effects when programming MIDI manually. I know in Superior Drummer 3 you can disable the randomize feature to allow same hits. What I‘d try is to program consequent hits without having the same velocity. Try to use slightly different velocities (like 123, 125, 122, 126) - it adds a human feel and might prevent the software from using that „intelligent playback“.
@@MikeLuke There's a brief bit of info on it in the SSD manual. But not enough to know how to do it. I even checked my Snares. Even with different velocity settings it's doing the same weird thing. This is not happening to your drums?
@@MikeLuke FYI I emailed Slate support and they helped me figure all this out let me know if u want the info (its a bit long)
I have SSD4 and the blackbird expansion and love it...but I've seen nothing that's convinced me to pay at least $130 to upgrade both....for very slight tweaks? Can anyone speak into if the upgrade is worth it or not if I have ssd4?
If you are happy with SSD4, I wouldn't recommend going for the update - unless there's a sale promo going on. However, you don't have to pay for the update of Blackbird though. Once you buy SSD5, Blackbird (and all other expansions) work seamlessly in SSD5.
Mike Luke Thank you, this is helpful. I did not know expansions worked seamlessly in both!
Im having trouble sending the SST5 to my pro tools i dragged it but will not play can you give me advice?
I don't use Pro Tools. But you will find some videos about that online, I am pretty sure.
is it possible to sync the tempo to my Daw?
Thanks Mike for taking the time to put this review together. I will say that I am extremely disappointed in the cymbal sounds of SSD5. I recently purchased a Mimic Pro and the cymbals, especially the SSD5 versions, are my biggest criticism of it as well. The lack of smooth cymbal swells and stick tip articulations for the crashes is unacceptable in a pro-line drum module and VST. I was really hoping the cymbal library would have been bigger with a wider variety of cymbals, especially EFX type. For me, there really is nothing ground breaking in this version of SSD.
Superior Drummer 3 has a algorithm included that detects fast cymbal hits to then trigger a cymbal swell (which they sampled anyways). So no patent hurting happening here - the software just responds to fast, consecutive hits coming from the module.
I have mimic, I don't have any swell issue, they swell well and washy.
Yeah, I don’t buy the whole Roland patent thing. Slate took short cuts on the SSD5 cymbals, pure and simple. On the Mimic all the SSD5 rides have the exact same edge crash sound. There is no distinction between a 22” edge crash and a 20”, they just used the same sample.
Straight forward analyse of SSD5. I like the “marketing exposings” where you tell the truth behind specs like the number of drum sets. I personally like the simplicity of interface. What I do not like is the look of the interface itself. It looks poorly done. The font, the colours it all looks unappealing, like it was a free software. Not important for the sound, I know. But these days a plugin has to look good in my opinion.
The sound are great, I am one of the guys who love these processed sounds.
And yes, I would love to see a comparison! I have a challenge for you if you make a comparrison: Can you duplicate a SSD5 drum-set with SD3 where the viewers is not able to hear the difference? :D
Thanks a lot, Marcel. Well, usually I don't care about the look of a plugin or software. But you are right, looking at the time the people at Slate had to create something entirely new (SSD4 looks pretty much the same), it's almost irritating to see how less they actually changed.
I expected you to want the comparison video. ;) And challenge is accepted.
@@MikeLuke Could you please explain why do you need something completely new instead of proven to be easy to use and working user interface? Just because it's a new version?
Well, you have to ask Vdrum Tips, because he came up with this complain. Though I agree basically. For me it's not only about the look of a software (actually I did not complain about that fact, I just mentioned it), but the ease of use. Software developer usually take their time to enhance the look as well, there are always features that can be improved. If anything stays the same just because it works, no progress would happen.
@@MikeLuke Thanks, I see your point. Probably you just never used ssd4 any deep in real sound production, because many things were changed to speed up the workflow, including some layout things. In other words, I'm a cubase user, and reaper of version 4 and version 5 looks totally the same to me =)
I wonder if you watched my video or if you just refer to my comment here. Because yes, I used SSD4 in sound production. And yes, in my video I talked exactly about the enhanced workflow in SSD5 and even praised it - e.g. the new routing function, the option of balancing levels per instrument or adjusting faders in the mixer window simultaneously.
where is the black album presets on this? or the Dream Theater one?
I have scoured the internet for a fix, but I just cannot find it... I'm only leaving the question here because I don't know where else to go. I use Reason 11.3.9, I just bought SSD5. The free one worked fine, but the full version now freezes up Reason on load... I can't figure out why, but I'm tired of looking, and I might have to admit to myself that I paid Steven Slate $120 to never use SSD5 again. Ugh... I'm defeated..
He probably didn't show videos making these samples bc I doubt he used his modelling mics to record the samples.
Has anyone used this with the NFUZD system?
Thanks, Mike!
Sounds good but I'm almost ready to upgrade to SD3 so probably will pass SSD5 for now. One thing that keeps me from buying SD3 right now is that sometimes we need "in your face" drum sound like AD2 and this SSD5. I can't get that dry "in your face" sound from my friend's SD3. I know I'm not as experienced as you! :) I wish I could use AD2 Metal, Jazz and Fairfax ADpak's sounds but with SD3 midi management and edit possibilities...
Well Max, then you may consider to grab EZDrummer2 😉
I own Superior Drummer 2 and was interested in upgrading to Superior Drummer 3 - until I found out that they have zero upgrade pricing - I have to purchase the full version at $400 instead of getting a break as an existing customer (I'm just a hobbyist, $400 is way out of my price range). Well, I'm going to change that to "former" customer and it sounds like this may be a great alternative option.
Hi Michael, they actually had quite attractive upgrade options from the day they released SD3 (September 2017, I guess) until end of 2018. Then they stopped those offers.
@@MikeLuke Unfortunately I didn't know about it at the time, and now it's $400, which I just can't swing for a hobby :( It's a shame - almost every other software company in existence offers non-expiring upgrade pricing for their customers. There are perfectly viable alternatives out there for a hobbyist ;)
Wait for this year’s Black Friday deals. Usually SD3 drops in price then as well.
I think SSD should have the same GUI as DMG Audio plugins.
Superior Drummer 3 has a much more natural sound, you feel that they actually recorded a drum and put it at your disposal in the software. In addition, you have too many options of different drums and measures, different rooms, it is really infinite, the sound of SSD5 feels very processed, and it is much more limited.
Superior Drummer 3 tiene un sonido mucho más natural, sientes que realmente grabaron un tambor y lo pusieron a tu disposición en el software. Además, tiene demasiadas opciones de diferentes baterías y medidas, diferentes salas, es realmente infinito, el sonido del SSD5 se siente muy procesado y es mucho más limitado.
Thanks for your feedback, Byron. Interesting to see and hear how people judge here. I will certainly upload some more videos.
I feel exactly the opposite about SD3. SSD nailed it with this version and especially faster heavier fills seem a lot more natural on this one (it maybe has to do with the improved "round robin"ish algorithm).
Exactly, Superior Drummer is in itself versatile, SSD5 could be compared with EZdrummer, even so, it is still a very artificial sound.
@Marco Singer ua-cam.com/video/dwutuDqpvMQ/v-deo.html
I wonder why there is no EQ built into the mixer.
it appears there is no syncing the grooves to your DAW? - How do you sync the grooves to your DAW - that's a drag.
But I did buy it. Sounds are very cool.Much better in person than the demo videos. Much more nuanced than SSD 4.
I just can't believe I can't sync it to my DAW. What's up with that?
Steeevaan . . . . .Waaaah!
Well I have both now, SD3 is indeed nice and deep, but at the same time, too much complex for regular usage and require way more time spend and hardware to run it, I recommend only SD3 for advanced sound engineers for a great production not amatory result from average user. I found SSD5 have the right amount of tool need for faster production and pro and will works on average computer. There is no real bad on both, each have their own cons and pro.
I fully agree on your conclusion.
I don't care if they were the greatest Drum VSTi ever,I would never ever give Steven Slate another cent of my money.The guy will never admit when he's wrong,and would rather piss off hundreds of people than allow his ego to face reallity.Rule number 1 with any Steven Slate product:any problem is always the customer's fault.
Hey man, thanks for your response. I'd kindly ask you to change your comment, because no matter how disappointed you are (which is fine), but "he's getting an overhand right to the head" is not appropriate. Steven Slate is a honorable man, a fantastic engineer and has the right mindset looking at the world, he even cares for political developments. So no need to be that harsh. That doesn't affect your opinion about the company or their products. We have freedom of speech, but we shouldn't thread each other with violence. Take care, brother. ;)
the preset kids of blackbird were indeed changed...
Deluxe 2 is raw sample .Steven wrote in gear slutz forum
SSD 5 and SD 3 WHY NOT?
SSD 5 should've been SSD 4.1, not 5.0, is not worth it in any way...
It should've been a free update, not this ...
No cymbal swell really sucks! Otherwise great software...
it could be easier to switch snares
Use a microphone. Thanks.
Did you cover the dynamics, velocity, etc section, or did I miss it?
I don't think I have covered it, to be honest.