To get a good snare sound you need to start with a good snare sound. And I know the ring you're talking about.

As sweet as BB & RB are, the drums are all on one track and that makes it a difficult job to pull one part of the kit out of the mix. Personally I'd love to be able to pull the kick and snare out a bit. Maybe even the hats. Using a multiband compressor and some judicious EQ, you can get close, but still not with the freedom you have having everything on it's own track.

Using a general midi synth like you mentioned is also just slightly better IMHO if only because of the control over the track levels, certainly not in the quality of the sound to any great degree. You would also need to be a drummer or think like one and take the time to program the midi to get a realistic sounding drum track.

Some of the sample based synths and ones with loops are going to be your best bet. Addictive Drums, Battery, Slate Drums, BFD, or Jamstix have GREAT sounding kits and some of them are automated and will create a fairly decent and believable drum track, and are drag & drop simple to use. Of course, to get the better sounds, you have to pay the price to get in the door.

I have a few sample based VST's for drums. Jamstix is one of them. You can tweek every part of the kit and even change damping and head size among the many other variables. I still tend to use RB drums because it's easier.

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www.herbhartley.com
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