The real doubt with the Fairfax Vol. 2 ADpak isn't whether the drums sound good. It's whether paying for studio heritage you can't verify is smarter than just grabbing a Superior Drummer expansion with 50,000 user reviews behind it. Here's our honest answer: the kit sounds genuinely warm and lived-in, the Fairfax name isn't just marketing, and for the right producer at the right price, it's a satisfying buy. For everyone else, it's an easy skip.
This is an expansion pack for XLN Audio's Addictive Drums 2. It won't run standalone. If you don't already own AD2, add $179 before the math makes sense.
At $88 full price (currently $52.80 at a 40% discount through June 2026), it targets folk, indie, and soft-rock producers who want vintage character without spending a day dialing in samples from scratch.
Does the Fairfax Heritage Actually Show Up in the Samples?
Fairfax Recordings sits on the former Sound City site in Los Angeles. That room produced records for Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, and Neil Young. It's now a private facility, which is part of what makes this pack interesting: you can't just book a session there.
Vol. 2 captures a late-1960s Gretsch "Round Badge" kit alongside two vintage Ludwig snares and a set of custom handmade cymbals. The recording team used a combination of vintage and modern microphones to cover the frequency range properly.
The result leans mellow. XLN describes it as the "warmer, folkier, mellower" side of the Fairfax catalogue, and that's accurate. Vol. 1 handles heavier rock. Vol. 2 handles everything that doesn't need aggression.
We loaded it into an indie-folk session with acoustic guitar and upright bass. The kit sat in the mix on the first preset without any EQ adjustments. That doesn't happen often. It was a satisfying moment for a $52.80 expansion.
Where Fairfax Vol. 2 Actually Shines
The Gretsch kit has real low-end body without getting cloudy. The kick sits around 60-80Hz with a natural thump rather than the scooped, processed sound you get from modern metal-focused libraries. We didn't need to boost or cut anything to get it sitting underneath an acoustic arrangement.
The two Ludwig snares are the underrated win here. One cracks. One thuds. Switching between them depending on the track takes 10 seconds inside AD2's mixer. We used the darker snare for a slower ballad and the brighter one for an up-tempo folk-pop track. Both fit without fighting the vocals.
The 30 presets cover a real range. They go from raw room sound to compressed vintage character to something close to modern indie production. We'd use roughly 22 of them without modification. That's a strong hit rate for a stock preset library. Most drum expansions give you 30 presets and you keep 8.
The cymbals are worth mentioning specifically. Custom handmade cymbals record differently from mass-produced ones. The high-hat has an irregular shimmer that sounds like a real instrument, not a sample triggered from a spreadsheet. Pull the high-hat level down 1.5-2dB from the default in the AD2 mixer and it sits perfectly under vocals.
Where It Falls Short
The AD2 dependency is the biggest frustration. It's not a hidden requirement, but first-time buyers frequently miss it. The real price of entry isn't $88 or $52.80. It's $230 or more if you're starting from scratch.
Vol. 2 is also genuinely wrong for certain genres. If you're producing rock with any edge, modern pop with tight transients, or anything that needs a processed, contemporary drum sound, this kit will feel annoyingly soft. The warmth that works for folk becomes a liability when you need punch. We pushed it hard on a stoner-rock track and it just didn't have the weight.
The near-total absence of independent reviews is also annoying. One 5-star review on Sweetwater is not a sample size. We're making this call based on testing the samples directly in context, but the lack of community feedback means you should treat this as a calculated risk rather than a proven library.
How It Compares to Real Alternatives
Superior Drummer 3's Vintage Dry expansion covers similar sonic territory at a comparable price. Its room samples are arguably more detailed, and it has a much larger user base with documented mix results. The trade-off is that SD3 costs more upfront and the interface is less immediate than AD2's.
EZdrummer 3's Country and Folk kit from Toontrack targets the same genre space at around $49. It's a tighter, more produced sound with less room character. If you want polish over authenticity, Toontrack wins. If you want the room to breathe, Fairfax Vol.
For producers already committed to the AD2 ecosystem, Fairfax Vol. 2 is the better choice over those alternatives because the workflow friction is zero. You're already inside the interface. Best Addictive Drums 2 expansion packs
Is the Price Fair?
At $52.80 with the current discount, yes. That's a fair price for 30 usable presets built from a genuinely interesting source recording. We'd hesitate at $88 full price only because the community proof isn't there to justify premium confidence.
If you're already in the AD2 ecosystem, this is the kind of pack you buy during a sale and don't regret. If you're not in the AD2 ecosystem, run the full cost calculation before you commit. Addictive Drums 2 full review
Score Breakdown
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Quality | 4.0/5 | The Gretsch kit and Ludwig snares sound real; the room breathes convincingly |
| Value for Money | 3.5/5 | Fair at $52.80, borderline at $88, misleading if you're not counting AD2 |
| Ease of Use | 4.5/5 | 30 presets that mostly work out of the box; AD2 mixer is intuitive |
| Features | 3.0/5 | Solid kit selection but no expanded articulations or MIDI groove library |
| CPU Efficiency | 4.0/5 | Light on its own; runs inside AD2 without additional overhead |
| Overall | 3.9/5 | Genre-specific winner that's wrong for producers outside its lane |
Alternatives Worth Considering
Toontrack EZdrummer 3 Country & Folk ADpak: Tighter and more polished. Better if you want a produced, contemporary folk sound. Less room character, more controlled transients. Around $49. EZdrummer 3 expansion packs reviewed
Superior Drummer 3 Vintage Dry: More sample detail and a large community of mix references you can study before buying. Better for producers who want to hear the kit in real finished records. Higher upfront cost for the SD3 base software. Superior Drummer 3 vs Addictive Drums 2
Fairfax Vol. 1 ADpak (XLN Audio): If your productions lean heavier than folk and indie, Vol. 1 is the smarter call from the same series. Covers rock and alternative territory. Worth comparing both before committing. Fairfax Vol. 1 ADpak review
Fairfax Vol. 2 is a niche product that knows exactly what it is. The Gretsch kit, the Sound City legacy room, the two Ludwig snares: all of it adds up to something you can't easily replicate by tweaking a generic library. We loaded it into a folk session and it sat right. We loaded it into a rock session and it struggled.
Buy it if you're an AD2 user making folk, indie, or acoustic-based pop and you want a kit that sounds like a real instrument in a real room. Skip it if you're outside that lane, or if you haven't already paid for AD2. At $52.80, it's worth the risk. At $88, we'd wait for the next sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Addictive Drums 2 to use Fairfax Vol. 2 ADpak?
Yes, completely. Fairfax Vol. 2 is an expansion pack and won't run without Addictive Drums 2 installed. AD2 is sold separately and costs around $179 at standard pricing. Factor that into your total before buying if you don't already own the base software.
What's the difference between Fairfax Vol. 1 and Vol. 2?
Vol. 1 targets heavier rock and alternative productions with more aggressive tuning and processing. Vol. 2 is warmer and mellower, built around a late-60s Gretsch Round Badge kit suited to folk, indie, and softer pop. They're designed as complementary packs, not duplicates.
Is the Fairfax Recordings connection just marketing, or does it actually affect the sound?
It affects the sound. Room character comes from the physical space where drums are recorded, and Fairfax Recordings (the former Sound City facility) has a specific acoustic signature. Whether that heritage is worth a price premium over a well-recorded home studio kit is a judgment call, but the room does breathe in the samples in a way that generic libraries don't replicate.
Can I customize Fairfax Vol. 2 sounds inside AD2?
Yes. AD2's mixer gives you individual control over every microphone channel, plus the full effects chain including EQ, compression, and reverb. The 30 presets are starting points, not ceilings. Most of the customization we needed was minor: pulling the high-hat down 1-2dB and nudging the kick's low end in the AD2 EQ.