Toontrack SDX Area 33 Orangeigin

What Toontrack SDX Area 33 Origin Is For

Toontrack SDX Area 33 Origin is an SDX expansion (drum sound library) designed to enhance Superior Drummer 3 with vintage-character drums captured in a real studio environment. It targets producers and drummers programming hard rock, classic metal, proto-metal, and old-school heavy metal tracks, as well as anyone seeking an organic, lively, and "album-ready" drum sound for modern rock productions.

The value of this library lies in offering a very broad palette, from open, thunderous, and expansive sounds to shorter, dampened, and tight textures. This allows you to adapt the same "premium vintage" aesthetic to dense arrangements (saturated guitars, aggressive bass) as well as to more spacious productions where the room's ambiance becomes a musical element in its own right.

Main Features

A "roots" collection recorded at Studio 33

For this suite, the team returned to Studio 33, Fredrik Thordendal's personal studio in Stockholm, Sweden. The SDX was produced and recorded by Fredrik Thordendal and Daniel Bergstrand, with recording engineering by Leo Margarit. The goal is clear: to go back to the origins of metal and hard rock, covering foundational decades and providing a credible sonic base for mixes ranging from classic rock to heavier forms of metal.

Two tom characters per kit: open or dampened

Each kit was captured with two tom configurations: an undamped (open) version and a dampened version. This choice radically changes the rhythmic feel and the drum's place in the mix: long sustain and "arena" breadth on one side, shorter attack and tighter control on the other. The result: you can switch from a wide, massive groove to a dry, tight performance without losing the room's coherence or the vintage signature.

A microphone architecture designed for sculpting, not just playing

Beyond classic close-miking techniques, each element (drums and cymbals) was recorded with a mono microphone and a stereo pair. This approach opens up very advanced sound design possibilities: stereo width per element, center precision, fine control of attack and body, and building a kit image that remains stable even in dense productions.

To exploit the character of Studio 33's drum rooms, the library also includes 11 additional ambient microphones (including seven in stereo), allowing configurations up to 5.1 surround. This lets you balance proximity, depth, and breadth-from intimate sound to a "large room" classic rock drum vibe.

Ready-to-mix presets and genre-inspired MIDI grooves

Area 33 Origin SDX offers numerous presets ready to be mixed for accelerated workflow: load a kit, choose a preset, and immediately get a coherent sound. Additionally, a large selection of MIDI grooves and fills typical of the style is included, individually recorded and inspired by classic hard rock and heavy metal from the 1960s to the 1980s-ideal for quickly building a demo or finalizing a complete production.

Technical specifications

Type

Full software

Downloadable

Yes

Compatibility	Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 required (the expansion does not work standalone)	Recording	close-miking technique plus extended configurations
Location	Studio 33, Stockholm, Sweden	Per element (drums and cymbals)	mono mic + stereo pair
Extensive additional options	snares, kick drums, and cymbals	Ambience	11 additional room microphones, including 7 in stereo
Toms	two configurations per kit (undamped and damped)	Surround	stereo to 5.1 configurations
Number of elements included	11 kick drums, 12 snares, 76 toms, 3 hi-hats, 24 cymbals	Product	download
Creative content	wide selection of MIDI grooves and fills inspired by classic hard rock and heavy metal (1960s to 1980s)	Activation	activation code provided on the invoice after order processing
Mix	numerous ready-to-mix presets