Drum VST Track Outs...how many?

Do you send each piece to a separate track OR just use the VST Mixer and send to a single stereo track? You consider each piece for the mix...but doesn't each Drum VST have all/"most of what" you need using their mixer? (BFD, Superior, SSD, etc) I assume those that send out to separate tracks, only use specific pieces for each project...their own kits, as specific presets.

It does depend on what you want to do to the sound. If it is perfect coming out of the plugin then you probably don't need to split it out. My most common reason for splitting the channels is separate processing (usu compression or sidechain stuff) or automation, which my drum software doesn't have (Superior Drummer). >

splitting out to individual tracks 

I guess my thought was that the high end drum vst's have been tracked in a state of the art studio and any processing needed to have the kit sit in the mix would be done to the stereo "stem" of the kit.

there are note-maps in the stash for most of the bigger drum romplers. That you will find pretty useful.

I use Addictive Drums. It has superb internal processing, but I still always send each part to it's own Reaper track. When I am completely solid with the parts, I render everything to audio and from then on I treat the mix as I would for real tracked drums. This helps me make decisions and move on with the project. I also use quite a bit of post tracking processing, so I need the parts on audio tracks anyway. Whatever works for you is how you should do this, though. I do the same things for my synth/keys vsti's too, it is a comfortable work-flow for my formerly all analog audio brain!

Personally, I stay within BFD2 during composition and recording to conserve overhead, then split out for mixing later. I have a large comprehensive template that I use for mixing and all I have to do is copy the midi items over and I'm off and running. The template has busses for for the different kick/snare mics and a tom buss, cymbal buss, main mix, etc.

I just watched the latest Slate video - David Bendeth...he is using hi-end studio compressors, preamps, mikes, etc (and of course, the Studio itself) to get his kits. I would have thought that the stem resulting from this kit would be the starting point to any edits.

The samples get you to the point where a good engineer in a great studio would deliver well recorded drum tracks. What the mix engineer (you) would do to them is dependent on the type of track you're working on and what sounds you're after. there are an infinite array of possibilities as far as EQ, ccomp, delay, verb... I always have to shape the stems with EQ and compression to get them to fit the track.

When I'm ready to mix I load a new instance of BFD. BTW, I don't use the sequencer in BFD at all. I don't use any of BFD's effects either. I have a template which consists of 25 tracks. I have the individual kit pieces from BFD routed to it's own track: 1. BFD Instrument Track (folder) - Pre-loaded with BFD2 routed below. 2. MIDI Track (Hidden in MCP) 3. MIDI Track (Hidden in MCP) 4. MIDI Track (Hidden in MCP) The following tracks are all hidden in TCP: 5. MAIN DRUM BUSS (it all ends up here) 6. KICK BUSS (folder) >MAIN DRUM BUSS 7. Kick In 8. Kick Out. 9. SNARE BUSS (folder) >MAIN DRUM BUSS 10. Snare Top 11. Snare Top 2 12. Snare Bottom 13. Hi Hat >MAIN DRUM BUSS 14. TOM BUSS (folder) >MAIN DRUM BUSS 15. High Tom 16. Mid Tom 17. Low Tom 18. CYMBAL BUSS (folder) >MAIN DRUM BUSS 19. Ride 1 20. Cymbal 1 21. Crash 1 22. Overheads >MAIN DRUM BUSS 23. Room >MAIN DRUM BUSS 24. Ambient >MAIN DRUM BUSS 25. BFD2 Main Outs (only used to trouble shoot)