Toontrack has announced the release of the much-anticipated Hitmaker SDX, an all-new expansion for Superior Drummer 3 by multiple-award-winning producer/mixer/engineer Hugh Padgham (Phil Collins, Genesis, Sting, The Police).

Featuring some of the greatest kits ever played and some of the most iconic drum machines ever created, the new SDX was recorded to analog tape making use of four legendary vintage consoles.

In this SDX, Hugh set out to create an all-encompassing source of acoustic and electronic drums inspired by not only the ’80s and ’90s eras, but also one designed to reflect some of the most known drummers and album mileposts in his body of work. All in all, six unique acoustic kits were sourced as well as a massive collection of classic vintage hardware drum machines – all captured in the breathtaking ambience of the immaculate sonic marvel that is the British Grove Studios in London, UK.

To add an ever more organic and period-correct flavor, all drums and machines were recorded to tape before converted digitally. On top of that, the machines were amped through a PA system in the same ambience as the acoustic drums and captured using a similar microphone setup. This gives you an awe-inspiring canvas of acoustic and electronic sounds that you seamlessly can blend, mix, match and surgically modify using the broad set of onboard design tools available in Superior Drummer 3. Of course, should you want Hugh’s mixes right off the bat, there is a hefty amount of his custom presets included.

The Hitmaker SDX is available to purchase for $179 USD from distributor PluginFox and at the Toontrack store.