BFD Crush is an expansion pack for BFD3, BFD2, and BFD Eco featuring a detailed Crush Drums Sublime AXM kit with multiple kicks, snares, toms, Meinl cymbals, and specialty mics, tailored for rock and metal.
Kit Overview
BFD Crush is an expansion pack for BFD3, BFD2, and BFD Eco, capturing a Crush Drums Sublime AXM kit. Tuned and processed by in-house engineers, it is designed to sound aggressive and polished immediately, suiting progressive and technical rock and metal genres. The kit is played with sticks and includes a full set of Meinl Byzance cymbals, with several stacked configurations for added intensity.
The drum shells are complemented by a range of microphones chosen for heavier music. The kick drum was recorded in three variations: dampened, fully open, and without the resonant head. It was captured using the Audix D6, Sennheiser E602, and AKG D112, with an AEA R84 ribbon microphone added for a different texture. This gives you flexible tonal control over the low end.
Snare and Tom Flexibility
The kit includes three snares with eight variations, offering dampened and resonant tones as well as low and high tunings. A combination of dynamic, condenser, and ribbon microphones on the snares provides maximum flexibility in shaping the attack and body. You can choose a snare sound that cuts through dense mixes or sits back for a more natural feel.
Six toms are included: two floor toms and four rack toms. You can load a set of three lower-tuned toms or three higher-tuned toms, or load all six for a huge progressive setup. These toms share the same microphone setup as the kick drum, ensuring a consistent tone across the entire shell set. This allows you to balance the kit as a whole.
Cymbals and Extra Mics
The expansion includes ten Meinl cymbals recorded with smooth condenser microphones, providing clean and detailed cymbal sounds. Three stacked cymbal setups are also included for more aggressive, trashy effects. These cymbals are suitable for everything from subtle accents to driving crashes in heavy arrangements.
Beyond standard close mics, BFD Crush captures a tiled surface to add shimmer to the drum kit. The infamous PZM microphones from the BFD Eldorado sessions are included, producing a huge room sound that can serve as the foundation of your mix. A mono microphone positioned in front of the kit can be heavily compressed, or ‘crushed’, to fatten up productions.
Processing and Presets
The kit comes with a light amount of processing to get you started, ensuring it sounds polished without requiring extensive mixing. Ten presets are included to push the kit further, offering a range of starting points for different mix scenarios. These presets are designed to help you quickly achieve a professional sound.
The expansion is ideal for rock, metal, progressive rock, and technical metal genres. The combination of detailed drum captures, flexible microphones, and useful presets makes it a versatile tool for producers and drummers. Whether you need punchy kicks, versatile snares, or massive toms, this library provides the components to build your ideal heavy drum sound.
Key features
- Captures a Crush Drums Sublime AXM kit with sticks
- Kick drum recorded in dampened, open, and no-resonant-head variations
- Three snares with eight variations including dampened and resonant tones
- Six toms (two floor, four rack) for flexible setups
- Ten Meinl cymbals including three stacked setups
- Includes tiled surface, PZM, and mono overhead microphones
- Ten presets included; light processing applied
Best for
Best for rock, metal, progressive rock, and technical metal productions where a detailed, aggressive drum kit with flexible mic options and instant mix-ready tones is needed. Ideal for producers using BFD3, BFD2, or BFD Eco who want a heavy kit with multiple snares, toms, and cymbal stacks.