Background: I've done a fair amount of recording over the past 15 years or so, primarily using live, miked-up kits and synthetic drum machines.
I also use a Drumkit From Hell (I think version 2) sample set--which is probably like ten years old at this point--mostly for demos and small soundtrack gigs.
I actually think the samples sound pretty damn good, but there's a very limited amount of velocity changes for each drum (maybe 10 at most), so everything I program is significantly lacking in terms of dynamic, human-like feel. I actually find it not difficult to play/program a more human timing dynamic, but there's always that unmistakable snare-that's-identical-every-hit thing that happens when you use limited sample sets.
These days, I'm finding that I don't have the time or resources to record real drums, which breaks my heart because I love real drummers playing real drums in a real space. If I had my way, I'd do that 100% of the time, but, unless I want to record drums for songs only once or maybe twice a year, I have to go for programming real-ish drums.
I have questions:
1. Is this a fool's errand? I accept a certain amount of artifice, I just don't want to sound cheesy. I feel like access to sample sets with broader dynamic range will help a lot, but maybe you guys know better.
2. What's out there these days, productwise? Is there something I could use in a host DAW, maybe even something with which I have direct access to the sample wavs to load into Reason and build a kit like I did with Drumkit From Hell?
3. How processor-hungry are drum soft synths with very robust sample sets?