I cannot get the two DD kits I have (Gretsch Round Badge Soul and 1970s Slingerland Rock) to playback without blowing up my DAW (= meter spikes in both BFD mixer and DAW tracks/busses which kill the audio). Rather extensive troubleshooting is making a really good case for it being some combination of DD in BFD. Happy to provide the details (2 different DAWs, non DD kits, etc, etc. etc.) but at this point I’m looking for…
A sonically compatible alternative, primarily the snares that came with the Gretsch kit. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. (Anyone who’s ever had to deal with “demo-itis” will understand 
) TIA.
HI SoundMILL
I either have the same problem or a similar problem using Logic and BFD. Does your BFD usually crap out on a Tom Channel? I can not predict nor can I make it happen.
It can work flawlessly for days before clipping out. Other times, it will do it several times within an hour.
When it does fail, it shuts down the audio for all programs running at the moment.
It also fails if Logic is the only program running.
I would have to run it in either stand alone mode or within Protools for at least a week to see if it’s repeatable there. But I haven’t the time for something so random.
Reloading the BFD preset seems to temporarily solve the issue.
But when it fails, it sends a spike to the speakers which scares the shit out of me.
Tired different Mac OS, tried different Logic Prefs, Tried moving content to different drives. Tried different Versions of Logic. This anomaly goes back to BFD 3.3 as well.
Every time I make a change, I think I’ve solved it, and then a day or two later - Bam! it strikes again.
Searches in the past have not revealed that anyone else even has this problem, so I haven’t pursued it.
It’s always been one (or more) of the ‘kit mic’ channels blowing up, but occasionally get a full scale spike on a ‘kit piece’ channel, always the snare for me.
I’m unable to get these to work at all as it blows up every time in pretty much the same spots (multiples for each project) when starting playback from the beginning. I can sometimes make it past these ‘landmines’ if I stop and restart playback deeper into the timeline, but of course, that’s no help with a full song export. Thought it might be some sort of MIDI buffer issue as changing that once mid-project managed to make it through a full playback, but only once…
This is what I usually get.
This one shows the same problem with a different kit but also a spike on the kit piece channel.
It is most def a combo of BFD post relaunch and DD. I’ve been able to repro the problem with multiple projects in two different DAWs on two different PCs. I managed to run at least one just fine on an older version of BFD.
Since the sound is routed back to the DAW via one of the ‘kit mic’ channels, not exactly sure what the signal flow is for these kits. And ya, it’s quite a loud pop if there’s any gain in the signal chain which might be a clue as to the root cause of the problem. I’ve completely rebuilt the preset, the project, scrubbed the MIDI, cleared out VSTs/BFD FX, reloaded samples, etc. but still a huge problem (3 full albums worth…) which is why I’m looking for an alternative.
Sent a detailed request to DAW support = sympathy note (it’s the drum vst)
Sent a detailed note to DD support = no response to date.
…
? What kits were you using that had this problem?
Yes - That’s exactly how my screen looks too. Today I ran a test in Pro Tools. I set up a loop and let it run for about an hour while I went for dinner. Came back and one of the Room mic channels was pinned just like your picture. My kit is a hybrid of a number of different kits and toms. .(Sonar Toms, Tamboura Opera Snare, Masterworks Kik etc) 16 kit pieces total
I also rebuilt my ‘kit’ after I got the latest BFD version, thinking that maybe there was some contaminants in my preset. Spent a day or so assembling it, and the same problem persists.
I guess my next test is to use a stock preset and see what happens.
Hopefully someone will chime in with a miracle cure.
My kits aren’t generally stock either, but since the DD expansions feature ‘kit mics’ vs ‘kit pieces’ I’ve tended to keep them closer to the DD presets.
Rebuilding the kit/preset and trying a full stock presets for DD kits did not solve the problem. I managed to get it to run all the way a few times by loading in a BFD kit (Jazz Noir), which is why I’m thinking it’s the combo of DD/relaunched BFD.
We’re currently on Big Sur, but the problem was also on Catalina, and most likely on High Sierra.
I guess it’s just you and me with this problem.
It’s comforting and unsettling at the same time.
Win10 here, latest, which rules out OS specific issues. I’m down to speculating it has something to do with the routing between DAW/BFD/DD and anything that could impact the RT ops or possible channel interleave mismatches? idk.
Should probably change the title of this thread or start a new one as I still need an alt to the Gretsch Round Badge kit, mostly the classic “wallet” damped snare.
Hi,
I have the 2 DD you mentioned and 7 more. Since the migration, I haven’t been able to install them. Did you use the old installers? DD say they’re finished with BFD3 and have no plans to create new installers. InMusic say they’re waiting on DD for new installers. What a drag!
Did not reinstall, just swapped in an archived sample drive. But thinking I better confirm a way forward for a new PC/Win11 build, expect a reinstall might be required. I should have the original installers on another archive.
Checked with DD as well, no response, not a good sign…
Did you have a specific problem with the installer or was it with “authorizing” them?
All 9 DD kits are authorized in the License Manager. By strange coincidence, I was finally able to install the Round Badge, Slingerland, Ludwig and Vintage Disco kits this evening. Like you, I’m putting them on a new system.
Still no luck with the Hayman, Mapex and Yamaha Hybrid.
The Round Badge is my favourite so I’m feeling a lot better.
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Good to hear, hoping whatever changed on your setup kicks in to pick up the rest of your collection. The Gretsch RB has been a good one. The Slingerland made the cut for some fairly recent work, was planning to pick up pick up more (Hayman was next on the list), but sounds like that’s no longer a possibility… 
Still looking for an alt to the GRBK in case the speed bump becomes a dead end…
The Mapex and Hayman installers are missing a file. The kits show up in the location preference/scan
but are not present in the Kit/Preset search from the
main GUI. I’m not much of a tweaker but I imagine I could reconstruct and name them to show up?
The Hayman is really greasy. I wish you could get it.
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) TIA.
