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Toontrack release new Decades SDX and Big Band EZX in collaboration with Al Schmitt

Aside from the extra kits and so forth, can anyone confirm that the SDX includes all the "Big Band Stuff" from the EZX, which is really what I am interested in... Looking more for a load it up and forget it but if SDX offers that as well, ie: all the EZX stuff, I'll go for that one and enjoy the other kits as well..
I would say the SDX has it all plus way more.

From the TT site -

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The miking technique are spectacular on these five kits, as are the tuning, prepping, and playing.

I thought I remembered that detail of the EZX having two of the five kits, but forgot where I'd seen it and didn't trust my memory. That's a very complete yet concise reference posted above.
 
Sounds really incredible! Having that natural drum sound as a base is really great when working in the daw. And its all the iconic sounds that I love, Big Band, Rock’n Roll and Jazz with brushes. I sound like a commercial, but Toontrack is really hitting it out of the park with SD3 and the new expansions!
 
I'll probably have a bit of a wait for the serial number; I forgot that isn't an instantaneous delivery.

Hi Mark, glad you got it sorted in the end - we actually sold out of serial numbers overnight as it's been so popular so ordinarily you would have received the serial instantly. We have them back in stock now and I understand that yours has been sent to you in the last few minutes.

Enjoy! Would love to hear what you think about it :)
 
Well I was easy to move to purchase this library!! Now I need a SSD update shall I go with a 2TB or 4TB?. It has to replace a 1TB in my Blackmagic dock so I will "only" get 1 or 3 TB extra. Any recommendations!
 
Totally stoked about this expansion for SD3. Love what I'm hearing on the snares and kicks. Can't wait to download this.
 
Thanks -- I see the serial number in my mail box now, so I look forward to downloading, installing, and hopefully still having time to try it out tonight! I have 500 Gbps download speed, so maybe I won't have to let it run overnight. :)
 
FYI I am getting back-to-back reminders that my cart is about to expire, but the cart is of course empty in every browser and on every OS. So something is persisting separately from the full sequence of actions involved in a completed purchase transaction.

The download is going quickly for me, and should be finished in about a half hour, so there's a high chance I'll get to work the the new drum kits a bit tonight.

UPDATE: The install also took a while. I've run out of steam for anything requiring the level of concentration needed for comparing sounds carefully. It might be a really long time before I can get around to using this library now, as a lot of stuff just came up (I am constantly getting pulled into gigs last-minute), along with the upcoming escrow closure next week. Maybe I can sneak in some cursory review here and there though.
 
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I couldn't help but buy this. Al is a legend and the demos sounded like the most natural drums I've heard in the box yet. Downloading now, can't wait to try them out!
 
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I bought them, they are better than the demos, and the description above says it all - these sound like drums I might have recorded if I had Al's talent, a great sounding room, and killed mic locker, and a great drummer.

Just awesome!
 
I am hoping to sneak in my first hour with them today, and am excited to hear that they're even better than the demos. :)
 
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Another Toontrack Decades SDX kit in action 😎
❗Additional Tambourines + Shakers are from Orchestral Percussion SDX

 
Any new midi grooves with this library?
I haven't had much time with this fantastic SDX but there are some midi grooves under the swing category (Bernard Purdie like shuffle) that reference Steely Dan. I typically never use the included midi grooves but I could never get the dynamic articulations of the Purdie shuffle playing from my midi controller keyboard and these sound really good. This is my favorite library as I love the drier snare sounds and Al is simply brilliant. All the content is superb. Great job Al and Toontrack!!!!
 
I stayed up for two hours after my gig last night, to go through the new SFX in the context of an "islands genres" project, where I have been using Reggae EZX but always wanted a bit more detail in the sound, such as one gets from SDX packs.

For Ska and Calypso, I am finding the Ludwig Hollywood 1970's kit with towel damping, to be ideal. I tend to add Timbales in such contexts, so the damped Ludwig Supraphonic Snare is perfect as it keeps the two parts distinct, while cutting through better at the same time. The Supraphonic is my favourite snare design anyway (I like them better than the Black Beauty as I feel they're a bit more versatile across genres).

To clarify, I am using the default mix settings vs. the custom presets, and simply selecting a preferred drum kit in that menu: Tight Pop Kit.

The number of Hi-Hat articulations is insane with this library, and quite welcome! For pre-recorded MIDI, I am simply creating my own Round Robin of Open Tip variations, for example, and this is really breathing a lot more life into the parts and making them sound much more realistic. It's going to be fun to start a project from scratch, with all of those Hi-Hat articulations available right from the outset.

I won't be switching my standard Reggae or Dub material to this library though, for the simple reason that I usually need Ruff-style Rolls, which aren't one of the available articulations for the Snare Drums. No big deal; Decades SDX is a very focused library and normally those parts would be played live vs. using pre-recorded "fills" anyway. And the Rolls are excellent in this library; they simply don't serve well as Ruffs. So for Dub, I still plan to go to an SDX from the Reggae EZX, and hope to finish that evaluation tonight.

Overall, the top kit pieces are amazing, and it was quite a surprise to find how well even the 1940's cymbals work in more modern genres. I guess it all goes back to the player and the miking techniques more than anything else.
 
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This may have been covered in one of the long videos, but I can't watch those at work, and didn't see this detail in any discussions here or on GS:

Is the normal Reverb channel (not the room reverb aux) a miked chamber (a la Les Paul), or a built-in effect? I simply didn't hear any difference, even with it at max, so wasn't sure if it's a "live channel" like any mic channel, or something that has to be routed to, by the drum mics.

Over on GS, one person said that they're finding this Reverb channel far more useful and realistics than adding reverb downstream during mixing within the host DAW.

Bear in mind that I've only had a couple of hours so far, and was focusing almost exclusively on the super-dry Ludwig Hollywood kits with no custom mixer preset settings engaged. I never use those, but maybe I'll change my mind with this library, as some quick auditions indicated they are very usable and not overdone as is so often the case with presets.
 
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