EZKeys Country Midi collection

Hey guys, this one is worth taking a look at.  I've already got it in a demo I'm producing.  I'll probably replace it by a real keyboardist but it makes a nice placeholder to give my artist something to listen to and do a scratch (maybe finished) vocal over.

(Disclosure:  I'm a betatester for Toontracks so I somewhat have a horse in the race, but if a TT product doesn't tickle my fancy more than normal, I'll usually keep my mouth shut.)

One comment.. the Country midi audio demos seems a little lack-luster, rather plain and understated.  Still I am glad to have some more styles and grooves to adapt.

I think that, that is the dilemma for any EZkeys library.  If you get some really heavy playing with a lot of frills and licks, you end up limiting what it can be used for if you dissect the individual measures out of the grooves.

I was really campaigning for a product like this before it was released thinking it would be a breeze to come up with grooves that would work for anything.  Now that it's here, I realize that it's a lot of work to manipulate and massage the grooves into a song that is basically finished with the exception of the piano bits.  

But, it can be done to a satisfactory level.  That is, at least good enough to convey your thoughts and give a vision of where you want to  be when you get a real live keyboardist to add their ideas.



EDIT: I've since listened to the demos.   I would say that the simplicity and understated demos would be an accurate representation of the collection and probably why I like it so much.

Yeah, I forgot the golden rule of performing:  less is more.  Actually, I agree that busy parts are harder to fit into and around a mix.  The sparse and understated nature of this product is actually a strength.

Thanks for reminding me.