…and an example of the raw drum sound played on a Roland E-Kit:
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Sold! (For free. 
) Thanks for the link!
What’s the catch? iLok dongle-berry? No better way to get someone to use your product than give away quality FREE stuff…
If anyone finds out: can you try out SSD5 demo with SSD4 already installed? In other words, can you run both, or will SSD5 over-write SSD4 and muck things up? I have SSD4. I assume it will install separately, but knowing how it works could save a lot of time and headaches.
Also, I’m curious to hear feedback about it, as the upgrade discount is going on through the end of the month.
I only looked briefly since I’m at work, but… I thought it was FREE? 
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Well, a limited version is.
Experience a taste of SSD5 with full functionality and one incredible Deluxe 2 Kit for FREE. Not an expiring demo!
One kit is pretty minimal IMO. It’s nice that you can get that for free and keep it forever, but it’s not the full SSD5 which I’d venture is pretty incredible with plenty of bells and whistles. You know, they just want to bait you so you eventually buy it. 
Good sales technique I think. That Steven Slate is one shrewd character.
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I’m looking forward to trying it out. I have a handful of Native Instruments kits that came with Komplete Ultimate, which I like a lot. But I haven’t tried any other drum VIs.
I am thrilled to get this, even with one kit. I’ve been pondering getting SSD, this will just help me decide for sure.
I notice as I’m downloading everything that it has download links to TWO free slate packs. I’m grabbing both. I’ll figure out later which s the “best” one for tinkering.
Thanks for sharing this link, @ColdRoomStudio!
No worries - I was upgrading from SSD4 Platinum to SSD5 & I noticed the free tier on the site. I haven’t as yet finished downloading the full version of SSD5, so I can’t answer specific any questions about it… Just thought it was pretty cool that they offered a fully functioning kit with all the kit pieces as a demo. (Addictive Drums offer an unlimited time demo too, but it’s only kick, snare and hihat.)
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I’d be interested what you think after you’ve had time to play with it.
I have my path to SlatePack files on my SSD drive - C:\Users\Downloads
Would it be better to have the destination for SSD5 Library Folder in my SSD drive C:\Documents or is it fine to have the destination set to my internal HDD D:\ Documents ?
It can be wherever. I personally prefer putting my libraries on separate hard drives.
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Thanks Boz. 
As I start diving in and getting more familiar with my DAW and midi, I’m enjoying getting the feel of things. I have to figure out the correct midi mapping for my Alesis DM8 Pro. Once I get that worked out and demo a song with the free version of SSD, I’m sure I’ll invest in the full version. 
Here is an example of the raw drum sound from SSD5 Free, played on a Roland E-Kit
No iLok required for the free version.
Doesn’t over-write SSD4 - you can still use both.
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Awesome! It will be great to try it before doing an upgrade.
Any thoughts/impressions on the interface? I assume it is new or redone compared to SSD4. More features? Easy to use? I don’t know if they can improve on SSD4 - it’s pretty comprehensive - but I wouldn’t put it past Steven … he’s always pushing the boundaries.
UPDATE: I looked at the manual, the interface looks somewhat similar to SSD4 but yet redesigned, and there does seem to be a significant amount of added complexity and options. Really interesting to read how they have coded the software to work ‘intelligently’ to sound more like a “real” drummer. Kind of like “humanize” but on steroids. They now have an Installation Manager too (pretty standard these days), so there’s some steps to get this going. Slatepacks (free) are about 2GB. I have yet to install it, just getting the files downloaded and trying to understand the process better.
Niiiiice!
Somewhat related: how do you like playing MIDI drums on an E-Kit? I have been thinking about getting one at some point as a way of playing my own drum tracks. It seems like a lot more fun than writing notes into the piano roll with my mouse. I’ve also tried using drum pads, but find that the velocity sensitivity is just…not that natural. (Maybe my pads just sucked, who knows.) Anyway, just wondering if you have any thoughts here.
I know you didn’t ask me, but there are other options for “playing” electronic drums. Just listen for about 30 seconds to see…
Edit: sorry, it’s been awhile since I listened to this. Check it out at 11:40 below. Wow! 
(Apologies to all of you real drummer out there.)
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Finger Drumming is real! I’ve also considered it. Maybe I just need a better set of pads. This guy has a whole course on it!
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