Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 is a virtual instrument and drum production plug-in, which offers 230GB of raw, unprocessed drum sounds, a comprehensive library of grooves, advanced sound-replacement and augmentation tools, and a built-in mixer to route and process custom kits, all in one program. This virtual drum studio allows producers, engineers, and drummers to create drum tracks with natural timbre and tone, or build otherworldly kits with layers of sound design, all of which can be played in stereo or surround sound for a complete immersive experience.
Superior Drummer 3's library offers a comprehensive source of individually sampled acoustic drum sounds recorded by industry legend George Massenburg at Galaxy Studios in Belgium. It contains seven kits, twenty-six snares, and sixteen kicks, played with an assortment of sticks, brushes, rods, and more. All acoustic instruments are recorded in pristine 44.1 kHz/24-bit audio, with direct microphones as well as with an additional eleven separate room mics set up in a surround configuration, for playback on up to 11.1 systems. To expand the sound palette of your productions, the library also contains 350 vintage and classic drum machine sounds. You can also drag & drop your own drums or third-party samples, and save your custom drum projects for quick access.
The plug-in is equipped with a Song Track window, which allows you to effortlessly build full drum arrangements right inside the program. The advanced search function helps you find the "right" groove from more than 1600 individually played MIDI files. You can then customize your drum parts using the grid editor. The Tracker provides seamless integration of offline audio-to-MIDI conversion. It detects hits with accuracy and speed, and is ideal for replacing and augmenting drums.
Featuring 35 low-CPU effects and a library of mix-ready presets created by industry legends—Bob Rock, Andy Sneap, George Massenburg, and Richard Devine—the mixer turns each channel strip into a virtual sound processor that lets you bus, route, send, saturate, and blend your kits. The ergonomic GUI is designed to remove the separation between users and the execution of their ideas. It can be scaled to fit any screen and lets you detach windows to create your own layouts.
- 230GB of raw, unprocessed drum sounds – 44.1 kHz/24-bit resolution
- 7 kits, 26 snares, 16 kicks
- Approximately 350 vintage and classic drum machine sounds
- Recorded with eleven room microphones set up in a surround configuration, for a complete immersive experience
- Playback in stereo or in surround – up to 11-channel surround systems
- Engineered by George Massenburg
- Stack, mix, and match drum sounds – create unique hybrid kits
- Integrated offline audio-to-MIDI conversion
- 35 mixer effects
- Scalable interface with detachable windows
- Create and customize grooves with Edit Play Style, Tap2Find, Song Creator, and Song Track functions
- Built-in MIDI grid editor
- DAW automation for built-in macro controls
- Drag & drop and import functions, for your own samples or third-party samples
- Custom graphics for all included drums
- Support for keyboard shortcuts
- VST, AU, AAX, standalone operation
- Size: 230GB
- Audio: 44.1 kHz/24-bit
- Format: Stereo, surround 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 9.1, and all the way up to 11.1
- Seven kits
- Tom shell dimensions: From 6 to 20"
- Optional tool selection available on select kits and instruments (sticks, brushes, rods, felt mallets)
- Optional drum-head selection available on select kits and instruments
- Approximately 350 electronic drum sounds, sampled from vintage and classic drum machines
- 26 unique acoustic snares, 35 recorded configurations
- 16 unique acoustic kicks, 27 different recorded configurations
- Gretsch Round Badge 1960s
- Ayotte Classic
- Pearl Masterworks
- Yamaha Beech Custom
- Premier Genista Birch Original
- Ludwig '70s 3-ply Classic
- Ludwig '70s 3-ply Concert
- 5 x 14" Slingerland Radio King
- 4 X 14" 1920s Ludwig Black Beauty
- 5 X 14" Ludwig 400 Chrome-Over-Brass (Cob) 1959
- 8 x 14” Ludwig Coliseum
- 6.5 x 14” Ludwig Super-Sensitive (Mid 70s)
- 4 x 14” Gigster "Slim"
- 10 x 14” Rogers "Yorktown" Eagle Batch
- 4.5 x 10” Odery Hard Hoop Aluminium Wood
- 6 x 14” Tama Warlord Collection Masai Bubinga KGB146 (Wood)
- 2.5 x 10” Sonor Select Force Jungle
- 5 x 13” Ayotte Maple Custom Yellow
- 6 x 14” Pearl Masters Custom (Maple)
- 5.5 x 14” Ayotte Custom Maple
- 3.5 x 14” GMS Brass Piccolo
- 6.5 x 14” Noble and Cooley Zildjian Cast Bronze
- 5 x 14” Gretsch Solid Aluminium
- 4 x 14” 1920s Ludwig Black Beauty
- 6.5 x 14” Tama Bell Brass
- 7 x 14” Noble and Cooley Steambent Maple
- 5.5 x 14” Ludwig Jazz Festival
- 5 x 14” 1930s Leedy Broadway Standard Solid Mahogany
- 5.5 x 14” Yamaha Copper Nouveau
- 8 x 14” Tama Artwood Maple
- 8 x 14” Lignum Custom Pear Stave
- 8 x 14” Lignum Custom Pear Stave (with extra drum head taped to the top)
- 6 x 14” Odery Air Control Vented
- Recorded at Galaxy Studios in Belgium
- Space: 330m²
- Ceiling height: 8m
- Richly detailed acoustics with balanced reverberation
- Sennheiser e902
- Neumann U47 FETi
- Yamaha Sub Kick
- AKG D112
- Sennheiser MD 431
- Neumann KM 84 (modified by George Massenburg)
- Neumann KM 184
- Ehrlund EHR-E
- Beyerdynamic M 201 TG
- Sanken CU-44X
Mid-Field Mics
- AEA R88
- Ehrlund EHR-T
Surround Mics
- Schoeps CMC 6 MK 4
- Sanken CO-100K
- Sanken CS-1e
- 200-channel AMS Neve 88D
- API Vision Galaxy
- DAD mic preamp
- GML 8304
- Avid 192 I/O
- DAD AX32
- Recorded by audio pioneer George Massenburg
- Producer, mixer, engineered on more than four hundred records
- Inventor of the parametric EQ
- Build full drum arrangements right inside the program – mix, match, change, and rearrange grooves
- Grid editor – quickly customize beats by fine-tuning timing and velocities
- Time and tempo editor integrated in Song Track
- Edit Play Style, Tap2Find, Song Creator
- Song Track windows allow you to quickly find MIDI grooves
- Multiple song tracks
- Enhanced workflow and search functionality
- Integrated grooves and search browser
- Text search
- Drum grooves and fills inspired by a broad range of styles
- More than 1600 individually played files
- 4/4, 3/4, 6/8, 12/8, 2/4, in straight and swing feel
- Tempos ranging from 55 to 204 BPM
- Song structure categorization (intro, verse, chorus, bridge, fills, and more)
- Count-ins, snare rolls
- MIDI files specifically designed for use with brushed samples
- 35 low-footprint insert effects, making each channel strip a virtual sound processor
- Bleed: Control over each microphone bleed and instrument
- Create: From acoustic precision to elaborate sound design
- Mix: Bus, route, send, saturate, blend
- Wide range of traditional acoustic presets for each kit
- Presets for electronic, hip-hop, rock, metal, and more
- Creative sound design and hybrid-kit renditions
- Presets created by industry legends such as Bob Rock, Andy Sneap, George Massenburg, and Richard Devine
- Fat Muff
- Bitcrusher
- Distortion
- Tape Simulator
- Valve Distortion Box
Dynamics
- Transient
- Punch Exciter 361
- Punch Exciter 180
- Multiband Compressor
- Classic Compressor
- Comp 76
- Limiter Pedal
- Frequency Gate
- Compressor/Limiter
- Comp 670
Modulation
- Flanger
- Chorus
- String Machine Chorus
- Auto-Wah
- Vibrato
- Dimension T
- Phaser
- Tremolo
EQ
- Creative Filter
- EQ84
- EQ
Reverb
- 1981 Classic Reverb
- Spring Reverb
- Hall Reverb
- Room Reverb
- Inverse Reverb
- Plate Reverb
Delay
- Filter Delay
- Tape Delay
- Classic Echo
- Provides endless possibilities to replace or augment any drum performance
- Offline audio-to-MIDI conversion – Tracker quickly analyzes the source audio
- Import or manually drag and drop audio to the Tracker interface
- Fast tracking of complex drum patterns
- Edit MIDI notes individually, directly in the waveform
- Unlimited control with Find Similar, Sound Recognition Threshold, and other specially designed features
- Create tempo maps from audio with the Find Tempo feature
- Reduce bleed between different microphones to avoid false triggers
- Get experimental – import any audio file to generate original percussive rhythms
- Tweak, edit, and finalize before you export to MIDI
- Seamless integration with Superior Drummer 3
- Drum recognition based on artificial intelligence (AI)
- Machine learning based on over 1.4 million drum audio files