Addictive Drums 2: Heavy Rock Collection – Drum Presets and MIDI for Rock and Metal

Black Velvet is built around a large, polished sound. XLN Audio says the drums were captured in a gymnasium-sized recording hall while the hi-hat and cymbals were recorded in a smaller studio. Adjusting the overhead and room levels, or loading a different preset, moves the kit between tight and fat and loud and large. Automating those changes lets you shift between a tighter verse and a bigger chorus.

United Heavy takes a harder approach. Its kit uses Pork Pie USA Custom drums and a bell brass snare, recorded in United Recording Studio B in Hollywood. The Zildjian cymbal selection and a snare made from Zildjian alloy are aimed at powerful, heavy hits.

Both kits come with production-ready presets, so you can start from a finished sound and tweak it, or build a custom kit from the individual pieces.

The two MIDI packs supply the performances. Loud Beats & Songs is designed to pair with Black Velvet and includes more than 190 performances. It contains full songs divided into parts such as intro, verses and choruses, as well as individual beats with variations, which you can mix and match to arrange a new track.

Heavy Beats & Songs contains over 200 hard-hitting grooves for fast or slow rock and metal material. Both packs are meant to be played through the matching kits, so the groove and the sound come from the same source.