8.5Great
Sonic Academy Kick 2 by Sonic Academy. The kick design synth for electronic music—layer click and sub with node envelopes to build custom kicks from scratch.
Plugin comparison
Sonic Academy Kick 2 vs Serum 2
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which drums to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
9.2Essential
Serum 2 is Xfer Records' wavetable synthesizer plugin with five oscillator engines, flexible effect routing, an arpeggiator, and a clip sequencer.
Score verdict
Which should you buy?
On the Dubspot Score, Serum 2 comes out ahead (9.2). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Sonic Academy Kick 2 | Serum 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $50 | $249 |
| Dubspot Score | 8.5 | 9.2 |
| Formats | VST3, AU, AAX | VST3, AU, AAX |
| Type | Kick drum synthesizer | — |
| Developer | Sonic Academy | — |
| Use | Electronic kick design | — |
| Oscillator engines | — | 5 (Wavetable, Multisample, Sample, Granular, Spectral) |
| Factory presets | — | Over 626 presets |
| Wavetables | — | 288 wavetables |
| Plugin formats | — | VST3, AU, AAX (64-bit) |
| Platforms | — | Windows 10+ and macOS High Sierra+ (Intel) / Big Sur+ (Apple Silicon) |
| Additional tools | — | Arpeggiator, clip sequencer, flexible effect routing |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.