AD2 KIT INSTALLATION

đŸ„ INSTALLING CUSTOM KITS IN AD2

THE PRIMARY METHOD FOR INSTALLING CUSTOM KITS IN ADDICTIVE DRUMS 2 (AD2) IS BY COPYING THE KIT FILES INTO YOUR USER PRESET FOLDER.

IN ORDER FOR THIS FOLDER TO EXIST, YOU MUST FIRST CREATE AT LEAST ONE USER PRESET:

  1. OPEN ADDICTIVE DRUMS 2
  2. LOAD ANY STOCK / FACTORY PRESET
  3. SAVE IT AS A NEW USER PRESET

ONCE THIS IS DONE, AD2 WILL AUTOMATICALLY CREATE A USER PRESET FOLDER. THIS FOLDER IS NAMED USING A RANDOM 6-DIGIT NUMBER (FOR EXAMPLE: “826354”). ALL CUSTOM KITS WILL BE STORED IN THIS FOLDER.

USER PRESET FOLDER LOCATIONS:

WINDOWS:
DOCUMENTS → ADDICTIVE DRUMS 2 → [6-DIGIT FOLDER]

MAC:
USERS → LIBRARY → APPLICATION SUPPORT → ADDICTIVE DRUMS 2 → [6-DIGIT FOLDER]

AFTER LOCATING THIS FOLDER, SIMPLY COPY AND PASTE ALL CUSTOM “.AD2” KIT FILES FROM OUR PRESET PACKS INTO IT. RESTART ADDICTIVE DRUMS 2 IF NECESSARY, AND THE KITS WILL APPEAR IN THE PRESET BROWSER.

✹INSTALLING THE CUSTOM MIDI MAPPING (.AD2MAP)

OUR AD2 PACKS INCLUDE A CUSTOM MIDI MAPPING DESIGNED FOR FINGER DRUMMING ON PIANO, CREATED BY ORENJI SOUL.

TO INSTALL THE MIDI MAPPING:

  1. DRAG AND DROP THE “.AD2MAP” FILE ANYWHERE INTO ADDICTIVE DRUMS
  2. THE MAPPING WILL LOAD AUTOMATICALLY

TO SAVE IT PERMANENTLY:

  1. CLICK THE THREE HORIZONTAL LINES IN THE TOP-RIGHT CORNER OF AD2
  2. SELECT “MIDI MAPPING”
  3. SAVE THE MAPPING AND OPTIONALLY SET IT AS YOUR DEFAULT

NOTE: THIS MIDI MAPPING IS DIFFERENT FROM THE DEFAULT AD2 MAPPING. IT REARRANGES DRUM SOUNDS ACROSS THE MIDI KEYBOARD TO OPTIMIZE PLAYABILITY FOR FINGER DRUMMING.

🚧 DISCLAIMER: IF YOU SEE “NO LICENSE” IN ANY DRUM CELL, IT MEANS YOU HAVEN’T PURCHASED OR INSTALLED THE REQUIRED XLN AUDIO EXPANSION FOR THAT SPECIFIC KIT PIECE. YOU CAN STILL LOAD THE KITS WITHOUT OWNING ALL EXPANSIONS, AND ALL CUSTOM MIXING SETTINGS WILL FUNCTION CORRECTLY. HOWEVER, YOU’LL NEED TO REPLACE ANY MISSING PIECES WITH SOUNDS YOU DO OWN—WHICH WILL OFTEN ALTER THE INTENDED CHARACTER OF THE KIT. FOR THE PRESETS TO SOUND EXACTLY AS DESIGNED, YOU’LL NEED ACCESS TO MOST IF NOT ALL AD2 EXPANSIONS. 

🌿 PEOPLE OFTEN ASK ME (ORENJI SOUL) WHICH EXPANSIONS TO PICK UP FIRST. MY USUAL RECOMMENDATIONS ARE VINTAGE DEAD, GOSPEL & HIP HOP, VINTAGE DRY, FUNK, R&B & SOUL, JAZZ STICKS, AND STUDIO ROCK. EVERY EXPANSION HAS SOMETHING UNIQUE TO OFFER—STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, AND VERY DIFFERENT FLAVORS. THERE ARE SO MANY THAT IT’S IMPRACTICAL FOR ME TO TRACK WHICH KIT PIECE COMES FROM WHICH EXPANSION WHEN BUILDING CUSTOM KITS, SO THE SIMPLEST ANSWER IS: COLLECT THEM ALL OVER TIME, AT WHATEVER PACE WORKS FOR YOU. 

🚀 IN THE ADDICTIVE DRUMS 2 PRESET BROWSER, CLICKING ON A PRESET WILL SHOW THE REQUIRED EXPANSIONS IN THE BOTTOM-RIGHT CORNER. YOU CAN ALSO PURCHASE INDIVIDUAL KIT PIECES—LIKE SNARES, KICKS, AND PERCUSSION—DIRECTLY FROM THE XLN WEBSITE FOR A LOW COST.

🌊 ADDITIONALLY, IN AD2’S MIXER VIEW, EACH DRUM CELL HAS A SMALL “L” ICON IN THE TOP-LEFT CORNER. CLICKING IT WILL DISPLAY THE EXACT KIT PIECE AND THE EXPANSION IT BELONGS TO.