Gaffpro
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Toontrack Americana
I got the email in reference to Toontrack Americana....recorded in Austin, that's great.....here's what's not so great.....again Toontrack uses a guy from France or Sweden or whatever for the parts......why is there not an authentic Americana style drummer doing these...like the drummer for Chris Isaak?
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montezuma
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/09/30 15:47:41
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The drummer for Chris Isaak? He only uses one drum!
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/09/30 15:57:21
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Gaffpro
I got the email in reference to Toontrack Americana....recorded in Austin, that's great.....here's what's not so great.....again Toontrack uses a guy from France or Sweden or whatever for the parts......why is there not an authentic Americana style drummer doing these...like the drummer for Chris Isaak?
I can appreciate where you are coming from because I am very sensitive to American vs. European drummers and the way they interpret swing beats. As far as this collection goes, I don't recall the style causing me any problems. It's been a little while since we tested the midi but I recall the grooves being rather nice. IIRC, I loved the Toms a lot. Overall, it's a great sounding kit and it does have a more American flavor to it. Toontrack is really dialed in on their kits
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Mesh
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/09/30 16:11:46
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Mod Bod
Overall, it's a great sounding kit and it does have a more American flavor to it. Toontrack is really dialed in on their kits
Hi Dave, Could you please expand a bit further on this with possibly some references? Thanks,
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yorolpal
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/09/30 16:56:51
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So the two drummers that are shown on the video who are from Austin Didn't play the drums on the actual recording?
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/09/30 17:44:00
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MIDI library played by: Thomas Hedlund This is not unusual for the libraries. Usually the midi is done separately on a electronic kit when the samples are a little more sorted out.
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/09/30 18:32:09
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The sound of the kit is quite a bit more dry than the typical EZD kit. You won't get a huge room sound out of this one. There is not a huge selection of drums in this one, much like the Funkmasters EZX. It's basically a Fibes and a Ludwig kit. You get brushes and snares off samples as well as the usual sticks. You get a single ride Tom and a Floor so if you like a lot of kit pieces this one isn't for you. Two crashes and a ride as well as a novelty percussion cymbal. The sound is much like what I get when I mic up a kit except they have a bigger room. I guess I would say that this EZX has somewhat of a 70s vibe to me and that's what I was brought up on. There are sample tracks at Toontrack. There are selections without any other music so that you can hear what the kit sounds like. The midi files are long (sometimes 8 bars) so that you have some time for the groove to breathe a bit. The content is the usual fare with a nice little New Orleans tune set up. A ballad, a Push, some half time grooves, some swing grooves. Grooves are such a subjective thing but I head a lot of them that I know I can use in the future - they're not really over played, IOW. Kind of like the drummer was actually playing to a song as he was recording and not just playing whatever groove popped into his head. Hopes this helps you. EDIT: Opened the post back up and edited in Win Explorer - I'm a Firefox user (Note: Cakewalk - please get your forum software act together - this is the only forum that I have to jump through hoops in to make a simple post.)
post edited by Mod Bod - 2011/09/30 18:39:42
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/09/30 18:40:35
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BTW, the videos on the Toontrack site tell the story of the EZX better than I do. I see why they sound a lot like the drum sounds that I get.
post edited by Mod Bod - 2011/09/30 19:56:50
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yorolpal
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/09/30 21:17:37
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This might sound like a "left handed" compliment but I really like the "cardboard box" bass drum sounds.
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bitflipper
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/09/30 23:01:02
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I really like the "cardboard box" bass drum sounds.
Have you tried the Tea Towel kit from WavesFactory? It sounds authentic, like Ringo back in the day: dull and muffled. It's only ten bucks, so you may have overlooked it.
post edited by bitflipper - 2011/10/02 11:37:37
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yorolpal
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/01 10:32:04
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Thanks Bit...no, I've never heard of those guys. Very interesting...and cheap!!
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Gaffpro
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/01 12:45:00
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Mod Bod: I appreciate the explanation on this.....I love (and have) most of the Toontrack stuff.....I just don't understand why the sounds/samples are authentic and then the midis are played by someone who really has no business playing in the genre......for example....Music City USA, great job by Harry Stinson and Chuck Ainlay....why didn't Harry play the midis? He played on the EZD Nashville pack. And now the Americana....I mentioned Chris Isaak's drummer..there's a host of great Americana style drummers that could have done this....Kenny Aaronoff comes to mind.......if Toontrack came out with a Timbale pack, what would be the more authentic choice, have Tito Puente (or at this point Tito Puente Jr.) play the parts, or some guy from Europe? I'm going to guess this is a $ issue....using the European guys I guess keeps it in the family whereas it would cost Toontrack much more by actually matching the correct type of players to the samples they sell. This does not make sense to me at all...I still support Toontrack and will continue to buy their products, but I truly think they are missing the boat
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Platinum Samples
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/01 12:53:15
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Gaffpro
I got the email in reference to Toontrack Americana....recorded in Austin, that's great.....here's what's not so great.....again Toontrack uses a guy from France or Sweden or whatever for the parts......why is there not an authentic Americana style drummer doing these...like the drummer for Chris Isaak?
Well we have grooves by Steve Ferrone.. who is English (and lives in the US)... and plays for Tom Petty.... Should work great with the new EZX. http://www.platinumsample...teveFerroneGrooves.php Rail
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/01 14:06:16
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Platinum Samples
Gaffpro
I got the email in reference to Toontrack Americana....recorded in Austin, that's great.....here's what's not so great.....again Toontrack uses a guy from France or Sweden or whatever for the parts......why is there not an authentic Americana style drummer doing these...like the drummer for Chris Isaak?
Well we have grooves by Steve Ferrone.. who is English (and lives in the US)... and plays for Tom Petty.... Should work great with the new EZX.
http://www.platinumsamples.com/ps/SteveFerroneGrooves.php
Rail
I'll back up that statement too. A great groove collection in song format.
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codamedia
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/01 15:33:07
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Gaffpro
I got the email in reference to Toontrack Americana....recorded in Austin, that's great.....here's what's not so great.....again Toontrack uses a guy from France or Sweden or whatever for the parts......why is there not an authentic Americana style drummer doing these...like the drummer for Chris Isaak?
Are you saying that nobody can nail a style just because of where they live? Albert Lee is one of the most authentic country guitar players to ever live - he comes from England, not Nashville! I met a drummer at a festival in France that played the Bakersfield drum style to perfection! He came from Stockholm! Great players do not have to live in a particular area, they just need to have a passion for the style of music! Just my 2 cents 
Don't fix it in the mix ... Fix it in the take!
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/01 23:25:03
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yorolpal
This might sound like a "left handed" compliment but I really like the "cardboard box" bass drum sounds.
Yeah, I know. Maybe that's why I think they sound like something I have recorded in the past. Ludwig drums in a small dead room = cardboard.  But they're perfect for this genre.
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bitflipper
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/02 11:50:53
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Here's another bargain for Kontakt-based drums: Splitsticks from Analogue Drums. Only 15 bucks! There are only 2 toms and the cymbals aren't anything special, but the snare, kick and toms sound great. It's also a vintage 60's kit but played with HotRod sticks. These are wooden sticks that are split at the ends, allowing for a quieter, softer sound, somewhere between regular sticks and brushes. But they bounce like wooden sticks. This library sounds great for laid-back pop jazz where stock rock drums would be too forward but brushes would be too 50's lounge-sounding. I haven't tried this yet, but I'm thinking that slaving the snare from the Splitsticks kit in Superior Drummer might be just the ticket for expanding SD's palette on the cheap.
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Gaffpro
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/02 13:40:02
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codamedia
Gaffpro
I got the email in reference to Toontrack Americana....recorded in Austin, that's great.....here's what's not so great.....again Toontrack uses a guy from France or Sweden or whatever for the parts......why is there not an authentic Americana style drummer doing these...like the drummer for Chris Isaak?
Are you saying that nobody can nail a style just because of where they live? Albert Lee is one of the most authentic country guitar players to ever live - he comes from England, not Nashville! I met a drummer at a festival in France that played the Bakersfield drum style to perfection! He came from Stockholm!
Great players do not have to live in a particular area, they just need to have a passion for the style of music!
Just my 2 cents
Codamedia: Extremely familiar with Albert Lee...I get what you're saying and I don't want to turn this into a geographic issue, but I believe I have a point here....
post edited by Gaffpro - 2011/10/02 13:49:28
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Dave Modisette
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/02 14:53:43
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Like I mentioned before, the fact that the midi is created on an electric drum controller is also an issue. You have to learn to work those things - not just play them.
Chris Whitten (Drummer for Paul McCartney and the Custom & Vintage SDX) had to spend time on the electronic kit and learn how to get what he was after. It seemed to be a longer process than other libraries. Since the Custom and Vintage sample set was more or less his baby, he took the time to learn electronic drumming. I don't know that other drummers would be willing to do this or what it would cost to get them for an extended period of time to do it.
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Gaffpro
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Re:Toontrack Americana
2011/10/02 22:39:57
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Mod Bod: I get your point.....kind of like a pianist who's always played on a weighted proper keyboard going to a synth with a piano sound....
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