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some details about the size, manufacturer, beater, damping, etc.
And when a kit piece is active, you can also modify it in the third “modelling� pane. Besides the usual pitch and trim controls, a couple of new modelling options make their debut in BFD3. One allows for very realistic tom resonance tweaking, while the second enables detailed modification of cymbal swells. BFD3’s MIDI editing pane is also redesigned, with an easy-to-use, intuitive key mapping interface that includes a robust ‘learn’ function, simple articulation mapping and the ability to create velocity splits. This was particularly useful when I tested the VST with a Zendrum.
The sounds
Of course, with the new interface, there are also new sounds.
There are several new kits, based on a DW Mardi Gras Sparkle kit, a Mapleworks Custom, a Gretsch kit, a Pork Pie set and a Ludwig Stainless Steel, with a variety of snares and cymbals thrown in. Combined with an array of presets and tunings, the stock kits are versatile enough to cover almost any genre, from delicate brushbased jazz to thumping rock and metal.
A couple of the kits are available in stick, brush and mallet versions. All are, of course, hyper-realistic, with rich layers and articulations and smooth transitions
from light to heavy hits. There are up to 80 velocity layers on the snares and 65 on the hihats, with even the kicks boasting 60 layers.
Besides the stock samples, users upgrading from BFD2 can import all of the sounds they have grown to love, with each requiring a onetime conversion on initial import – a quick and painless process.
And it’s even easy to import your own samples. I needed a tree chime, and rather than splash out on John Emrich’s percussion pack for a single sound, I found a free .wav sample, which was easy to import and tweak. Even before you get into the effects and modelling, almost all the stock sounds are gigready and most e-drummers will probably never have to venture into the tweaking panels.
One area where tweaking may be required is in the number of drums and cymbals in individual kits. While BFD3 can handle up to 64 pieces, some stock kits are quite minimalistic, but it’s easy to add drums or cymbals and, in the case of toms, to tune them to fit in with the stock set-up.
In action
The kits load relatively quickly – even when you select full-size samples, and while you can’t quite change with the speed of a module, it’s certainly possible to switch between songs, as I did at band practice.
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