XLN Audio Black Velvet ADpak Expansion for Addictive Drums 2 Reviews

This is among my favorite Addictive kits, and I have them all. I won't make comparisons to other drum VIs, because I don't use them much, but if there's a fair knock on XLN, it's that there could be a greater variety of quality snares; for me, the kits are cohesive yet flexible, and Black Velvet is the prime example. This kit excels at producing big, warm, and smooth sounds, with a rich sustain, but can be tweaked to suit the rawest indie rock, downtempo funk or reggae. It's a great kit for contemporary country and R&B, as well, but lacks the more potent sidesticks you'll find in Addictive's newest kit. The presets do a great job of displaying this kit's amazing range. In summary, If I'd just dipped my toe in Addictive, this'd be the first Pak I'd add, though the Fairfax kits run a close second.

I'm a big fan of AD, I use it for my drum track in almost every instance, sometimes triggering it live via an electronic kit, sometimes just by using the many good midi beats from XLN, often a combination of the two. I buy every ADpak as soon as it's released -- I'm a completist like that -- and while many of them have sat languishing unused because they aren't for a style I often play (I'm looking at you, Jazz Brushes and Reel Machines), the Black Velvet has proved very useful and in fact is my default starting point now when choosing a kit for a rock song. As is often the case with ADpaks, many of the presets are too extreme and niche for my use, but there are a handful of standard type presets that work well for my songs and the kit itself sounds really good, so if you're a tweaker or like to build your own mix-and-match kits from various sets, you'll find a lot to like about the Black Velvet.