Indiependent SDX: Does it hold up?

[zboyle]

To those who have Indiependent — how does it compare to the newer SDX releases?  Namely Fields of Rock, Rooms of Hansa, Decades, Death & Darkness.  Indiependent is my favorite SDX, but considering its age (2015) I’m wondering if it’s been outclassed by the newer stuff.

The reason I love Indiependent is because it sounds so organic and “glued together” compared to the other SDX I own, namely Progressive Foundry, Roots, and NY Studios (except the Avatar room, which sounds great, but has been a little challenging to mix).  I’m very picky for natural-sounding drums with a great room sound.  Hate sterile / overly processed drums.  (My favorite preset in Indiependent is WFL Room.)

Going by this criteria, do any of the new SDX beat Indiependent?

Operating system: macOS Monterey (12)

• This post was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by zboyle.

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[Shootie]

No response to you question but some advise. This is one of the most common SDX sales. If you decide you want it and are not in a hurry, you may want to wait for a sale. I must have seen it on sale 3 times last year.

Elite Toontrack Tutorials at www.shootieschool.com.

[Jordan Chilcott]

In this case, age has no bearing on relevance. The real question is how relevant is Indiependent to you?

if you are still getting good mileage out of the SDX, then it is still good. I know that I get some great mileage out of it because of the type of kits as well as the tight ambience. For me, it’s it’s just right in the mix. The other SDXs you mentioned are great and have their purpose. However, I don’t use one at the expense of another when it comes to music.

Jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[zboyle]

If you’re still happy with Indiependent in 2022, I’m glad to hear that!  Thanks for weighing in…

To go deeper with my question — has Toontrack has noticeably *improved* their SDX recordings since Indiependent was released?  For example, browsing the forums (thegearpage.net, etc), over the past few years of posts I see some occasional complaints that “TT doesn’t get cymbals right”.  But with the most recent SDX, maybe they’ve worked out better methods?

Also, Indiependent lacks the extra articulations that now seem to be standard included SDX.  Fields of Rock 26 different hi-hat articulations, 8 ride, etc.  Indiependent doesn’t have off-center snare, just center and rimshot.  Do you find the extra articulations to be unnecessary?

If I owned the newer SDX, I could do an A/B comparison and answer this question myself…. but hopefully more experienced folks can give me their opinion first…

 

 

[Mark King]

I don’t use the old sd2 sdx’s anymore as the new ones have more articulations I can play in from edrums. This makes a huge difference to me especially with cymbals having bow,edge and tip. It all depends on how you use them and what you need. I have great recordings made with sd2 and those sdx’s but for playing now I prefer the new ones.

SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors

[kentishman]

Absolutely it does. In fact, I was stuck on a client project last week and the default kit dropped straight in after trying a ton of different sounds. Don’t get caught up on whether it’s up to scratch to the newer SDX – if the sounds are right for whatever you’re working on then it’s of value. It has a beautiful warm, fluffy tone to it that works so well.

• The post has been modified 2 times, last modified 4 years, 3 months ago by kentishman.

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