Is S2 really that good?

[vdrummer20]

Checked out the video for S2. Man that thing rocks. It really shows what Joe K discussed a while back about tuning the sound with different mics.
Is there a demo for S2? I just read that there seems to be a demo for BFD2 (these are different programs right? I am a bit new to the VST products).

Will I be able to use the pads connected to the TD12 via a TMC6? I am guessing the master MIDI out of the TD12 will also send the TMC6 information.


What program(s) do I need to host S2 / BFD2? I have reaper. Will that suffice? What is the best hosting program for the Roland moduals? Which integrates better with the Roland kits S2 or BFD2? I was glad to see in the S2 vidio they had a drummer set up with I think a Hart kit, meaning that this program is designed to be played in real time.

Thanks.

[Crazen]

I can only comment on S2.0 as i dont' have bfd2.

I believe BFD2 needs more system resources to run so there is noticeable latency when playing live??

S2.0 is designed to play in real time provided u have a decent computer and a low latency audio interface thingy. The Hart kit uses a Roland module (i think) so S2.0 has been designed for this.

I use S2.0 with Reaper and it works great.

My only gripe with S2.0 is that it's very complicated and you will need to spend a considerable amount of time getting aquainted with the interface to get the most out of it. I had no experience with sound recording, so i've struggled a bit with it. I also haven't been able to get my vh12 hi-hat to work either, but the problemis more my end thant the products!

[Relayer]

I believe BFD2 needs more system resources to run so there is noticeable latency when playing live??

Nope. BFD2 is just bigger. The resources required (CPU, RAM) are about the same. Remember with BFD2 you are getting 10 kits, whereas with S2 you are getting basically 1 kit with plenty of extras. Listen to the BFD2 audio demo I did - www.sph-prods.com/PorkPie.wav. It was recorded "live" in one take. I'm playing to one of those drumless tracks, and I think you'll find no trace of latency.

Steve

[vdrummer20]

Relayer, that kit sounds awesome. Live the HHT, cymbals and splash. Snare is great as well. Nice playing. Where did you get the drumless track? Can you post it?

[vdrummer20]

I found the link. This is the free drumlessons link right? Thanks. Joe K also did a nice job on that.

[Relayer]

Here's the link again just in case -

http://www.freedrumlessons.com/drum-lessons/

Scroll down to the bottom of the page - it's the Funk one. Many of the others are a bit mundane, but that one's fun to play to. Yes, Joe did a great job - I have nothing against S2, I just needed to disabuse the gentleman of his notion that BFD2 couldn't be played "live".

Steve

[vdrummer20]

Thanks! Hey so will this work with the TMC6 connected to the TD12?

[Joe_K]

Thanks! Hey so will this work with the TMC6 connected to the TD12?

Yes. The TD-12 will pass the TMC-6 data through its MIDI OUT. I do this with a TMC-6 through a TD-10.

[vdrummer20]

Thanks Joe. Is there a demo for S2? I see that BFD2 has a demo, but there seems to be some limitations. Its states it is a stand alone demo. Can I use this with my vdrums? Thanks to all.

[Joe_K]

There is not a downloadable S2.0 demo at this time.

[Relayer]

Thanks Joe. Is there a demo for S2? I see that BFD2 has a demo, but there seems to be some limitations. Its states it is a stand alone demo. Can I use this with my vdrums? Thanks to all.

I don't think there's a S2 demo. I'm not sure what the limitations the BFD2 demo has, but I'm pretty sure it's functional enough to test with your drums. The fact that it's a Standalone actually makes it easier for you to try out.

Steve

[chef boyardee]

I asked a very similar question the other day too...check out this post

http://www.vdrums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45438

Lou

[vdrummer20]

Thx. Ok, last question (for now). If I recored using S2 or the like, say using Reaper, and I notice my splash is a bit weak in the mix and the third tom is a bit loud, I can balance this after the fact right? I guess you could do that using all of the master outs of the modual as well (using the audio outs) but I just have mater L and R, but with MIDI you should have the ability to change the mix for all drums? Thanks.

[Joe_K]

Thx. Ok, last question (for now). If I recored using S2 or the like, say using Reaper, and I notice my splash is a bit weak in the mix and the third tom is a bit loud, I can balance this after the fact right? I guess you could do that using all of the master outs of the modual as well (using the audio outs) but I just have mater L and R, but with MIDI you should have the ability to change the mix for all drums? Thanks.

Yes. S2.0 (and BFD2) has a mixer for adjusting each mic channel. Technically, the splash is part of the Overhead mic channel, it doesn't have a dedicated mixer channel, but each instrument also has a volume control. (so does each articulation for each instrument ... ie; you could bring up the volume of the Ride Bow against the Ride Bell).

There is actually nothing in a module that is more granular than these plugins, that I can think of. Though panning cymbals isn't as straight forward, since this was an actual recording of a fully mic'd kit in a studio ... not just a bunch of isolated sample recordings.

[Mutnat]

Listen to the BFD2 audio demo I did - www.sph-prods.com/PorkPie.wav. It was recorded "live" in one take. I'm playing to one of those drumless tracks, and I think you'll find no trace of latency.

Steve

Wow, that sounds fantastic, Steve! Nice playing, too.