i`m considering more and more that each note that drummer hits on a real kit is so particularly dynamic that the only best way to reproduce it authentically is to just record the drummer. To get the same out of a machine, you`d have to split every note played to it`s own track. The velocities would need to be incremental in possibly hundreths of units instead of the minimals allowed by most machines in order the replicate the varying tensions of each note. The eq would have to be individualized for each note due to velocity affecting harmonics in each tones with a resulting change in timbre. Then the placement of each note in time would have to done one note at the time for each part of the drumkit.Then you got ambience to deal with. It could take months to make it real sounding enough to even qualify, unless you had an algorithim that would skew everything well enough to faux pass it. Yep, I think also that the only true way around it is to hire or beg a drummer. Although doing a little bit of what I was talking about helps. There`s some guys that have gotten some incredible likenesses of a real kit using midi drums, I`m just not one of them.