BFD 3.5
by BFD Drums · Drum Instrument · Acoustic drum production instrument
vst3s Score 8.5/10 · rated #8 of 10 drum instruments
A sampled acoustic drum instrument with 51 kits, 60 mix-ready preset kits, a groove editor and an internal mixer with 48 effects.
It models tom resonance, bleed and cymbal swells, and is used for realistic drum parts in rock, metal, jazz and brush styles, with detailed control over tuning, damping and microphones.
Best for: Drums. Genres: Rock & Indie, Metal, Jazz, Acoustic & Classical, Pop.
Keywords: acoustic drums, dark, resizable UI, sample-based.
What it does
BFD 3.5 is the updated third generation of BFD, the acoustic drum instrument that began at FXpansion and is now developed by inMusic. It's a free update for BFD3 owners.
- Content: 51 core kits and 60 mix-ready preset kits covering rock, metal, jazz and brush sounds.
- Realism modelling: modelled tom resonance and bleed, improved dynamics matching and cymbal swell modelling.
- Mixer and effects: an internal mixing engine with DCAM-modelled compression and filtering, and 48 effects (13 from AIR Music Tech).
- Grooves: a Groove Editor with 82 Groove Palettes, drag-and-drop groove export and multi-channel audio export.
- Interface: a revamped, scalable GUI with a new Microphone Inspector panel.
Source: BFD Drums product page
When to use it
BFD is the engineer's acoustic drum instrument: like Superior Drummer 3 it gives you raw multi-mic recordings with deep control over tuning, damping, mic placement and bleed, but at a lower price and with a broader set of kits since the 3.5 update. It sounds less finished out of the box than SSD and Addictive Drums 2; BFD rewards mixing.
- Best for: realistic acoustic drum parts where you want to mix the kit yourself, and e-kit players who want expressive cymbals and toms.
- Genres: rock and indie, metal, pop, and jazz and acoustic styles (brush kits included).
- Look elsewhere if: you want instant mix-ready sounds with little tweaking (Steven Slate Drums 5.5, Addictive Drums 2).
What producers say
The 3.5 update in March 2025 revived interest in BFD.
- Digital Drummer (2025) praised the sonic range of the 51 kits and found it "highly playable right out of the box", but disliked the library size and missing maps for newer e-kit modules.
- gearnews (2025) highlighted the scalable dark-mode UI, mix-ready presets and AIR effects.
- Drum Helper (2026 guide) singles out its tom resonance and cymbal swell modelling.
- Digital Drummer: BFD 3.5 reviewed
- gearnews: BFD 3.5
- Drum Helper: best drum VST plugins 2026
- Music Industry How To: best drum VST plugins 2026
Where to buy
- Sweetwater: $199
- Plugin Boutique: $199
- PluginFox: $199
- AudioDeluxe: $199
- BFD Drums: see store (Price not shown on the product page)
Tutorials and reviews
- BFD 3.5 Virtual Drum Software | Walkthrough
- This Drum Plugin Is Crazy (BFD 3.5)
- Boom and Bap: FXpansion BFD3 drum plugin review
- Introducing BFD 3.5
- Is BFD 3.5 WORTH $39 - EZdrummer & Addictive Drums Alternative - Pro Acoustic Drums -
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