All user reviews of 4/5 for the XLN Audio Addictive Drums

XLN Audio’s Addictive Drums is very easy to use and does not take long to understand at all. I fully understood how to work this plug in within a matter of minutes. I really love all of the compression and EQ capabilities that can be done when working with each individual sound separately. I am not a huge fan of the way the drums sound as is or even the kits that first come with it. I think they could have included some better kits that have more a “jazz” sound. Some of the distorted kits are really good though if you spend the time tweaking and EQ’ing them.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I have never experienced any crashes or freezes working with Addictive Drums and it has become one of my favorite drumming plug ins over the years because I can run it many times simultaneously and not have to worry about it crashing or slowing down at all being that I like to have most of my drums on different channels and not all in the same pattern.

OVERALL OPINION

All of the basic functions of Addictive Drums are easy to work with and understand. Changing kits and adding patterns and fills is simple. I do not like most of the patterns though, and when it comes to changing patterns based on Tempo and BPM it can get really confusing because if you are in double time or regular time they patterns cannot be automatically changed you have to go in and manual move the MIDI notes which can be a daunting task. For the price that Addictive Drums cost I recommend purchasing it and getting some more kits for it based on the style of music that you are creating. Right out of the box it will have everything you need if you want to spend some time tweaking the sounds and molding them to fit your style of music but there are a lot of options to change and work with.

XLN Audio Addictive Drums is hands down the best virtual drumming program on the market today. I have been nothing but completely satisfied with everything about this plug in, everything is right in front of you not crazy menus to get what you want. It is very easy to change our kits out too, and the kits are very good all of the kits are great quality and there are even some retro kits and fun kits with weird effects on them but it all adds to your creativity.


SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

Very easy to install and authorize, you will need internet connect to authorize the program though. If you have any problems getting it set up, XLN staff is on hand to really help you in that department and they will make sure you get it up and running.


OVERALL OPINION

Overall, it’s a very powerful plug in for drums (its not stand alone, so its plug in only.) Its easy to set up in any daw or sequencing program as long as you have it in your plug in vst folder your program should recognize it. One thing that I didn’t like about this software is the full price of it was way to high for me. I feel like they could bring the price down a lot for a program that does NO synths and No sequencing. You are paying all that money just for some drum kits and drum patters and fills. Its just a little overpriced to me, but it does sound amazing and is the most realistic one that I have tried this far. I have tried several other “real” drum kits and plug ins but Addictive Drums by XLN takes the cake by far. You can even download a trial or free version from there website but keep in mind that the free version really limits you and only has one kit with no toms just a basic kick snare and a few hats and cymbals and you really cant get the full effect of the software untill you buy it. Look around online for discounts and see if you can get the price down some though.

Installation without problem.
No inconsistency.
Config without any problem.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

Not a lot of CPU and sounds loadent easily.

Config stable.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it extensively for 1 week instead of BFD.
J uses the bank's and not the patterns.

For
The sounds are good and the potato: the mediums in general are very nice but there just may be a slight lack of brightness (hh) ...
The bearings are rather realistic.

Against
A little more kits would be cool
The toms sound way
C is a very good choice

3 Drums Kits (Sonor Designer, DW Collectors, Tama Starclassic)
Inserts and Send Effects (EQ, Compressor, Distortion, Tape Saturation, Filter, Reverb, Limiter)
130+ Presets
3000+ Midi files for various genres and in different time signatures
Beat Transformer
Full E-Drum Support
General Midi Support
Mac and PC Compatible

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I use this in Logic Pro 9.
Both with a midi keyboard or a Roland TD-6 Electronic Drum Kit.

I have a Mac Pro 2.66 Quad Core with 8 GB of ram and a White Macbook with Intel Core 2 Duo Cpu with 4 GB of Ram.

The installation is really easy and the the manual is clear and precise.
Used for a couple of years, without a problem!

OVERALL OPINION

I play and produce various genres.
From electronica to heavy rock, this Virtual instrument cover a lot of ground and in a really good way!

There are also additional ADPaks that let you buy genre specific Drumkits.
These are Retro, Reel Machines, Metal, Funk, Modern Jazz Brushes, Modern Jazz Sticks.
But anyway, even with the original drumkits, you have a huge palette of sounds.
The built in midi drums files are a fantastic option. These are top notch grooves and fills, played by some great drummers and you can buy additional midi files from the XLN website and from sites like GrooveMonkee (already mapped for AD).
You can also filter these by genre and time signature.
And thanks to the new Beat Transformer (from version 1.5 - Adrenaline) you can change and alter these midi files in the plugin window, setting the speed, lenght and velocity intensity.

Both the midi files and presets are organized in a simple and intuitive way.
And I have to admit that these are the best presets ever made for a Virtual Instrument. With a few changes, they will suit your songs perfectly.

This a really funny, simple and most important, really light on the CPU Virtual Instrument. It will give you an almost instant gratification, no matter what genre you are in! A killer plugin, this is sure!!