• Software
  • Ez Drummer 2 - Impressions? (p.13)
2014/05/09 11:52:47
cclarry
clintmartin
The "Tap to find" and "play style editor" are what makes this such a huge advancement IMO. While my little song isn't perfected yet, It sounds good, and I haven't once had to open the PRV (which I hate). The sound is a matter of taste I guess. There are a lot of ezx's to choose from and of course I can just move the midi to the drum sampler of my choice if need be. That is why I will also upgrade to AD2. I'm not a big fan of the AD presets (I hope the new ones are better), but the tools are there to create good sounds. I wish they had this stuff 20 years ago. It's a great time to be in this game.




THIS would be my major use...using the Song Editor to MIDI Constructino to create the MIDI and then move to the preferred Drum Sampler.  I do the same with EZKeys...the Chord finder/MIDI Song construction is my major use of that, then I switch to my preferred Piano...

IT IS A USEFUL TOOL....I just don't consider it "Ground Breaking".  These things could be done already...howbeit a 
bit more time in the process...it's a "facilitator" ....sound wise...as Jim said, they're not bad, but not on par with AD, SD, or BFD IMO...L,M,N,O,P....


The Graphics and interface improvements are nice...but not a prerequisite...I'd rather have "sound" over aesthetics...
But again, that's just me....YMMV, as I would expect.
2014/05/09 12:13:44
cclarry
A couple of things I would have rather seen...

Re-sizable/Scalable interface - definitely NOT necessary, but would be nice.
Better Mixer/more slots - slots not "tied" to the kit...so I could
add other pieces as needed.  Even a "Fixed" number beyond the 
normal kits that could be "assigned" would have been better, as
AD does...I guess I could just pick the "Biggest" kit and then reassign kit pieces...
But, that kind of "defeats" picking a kit and then "adding" to it...

To me, these would have been helpful improvements as well, in addition
to the new features.

Well, I won't be "rushing" to buy this...but it will be on the list...when on sale...

Just my thoughts...

I've gotta go put some sauve on these Rock welts...
2014/05/09 12:57:11
Jim Roseberry
mixmkr
but a little crescent of felt is a wonderful thing on snare drum.
Felt...what's that?  I thought it was your wallet and duct tape.



LOL!
Yeah, I like a little crescent of felt placed around the lower edge of the snare.
It's out of the way, and it doesn't kill as much resonance as using MoonGell.
The perfect balance of a natural sound and controlled resonance
2014/05/09 15:23:29
Rain
My 2 cents..
 
For my taste, when it comes to rock drums, I seem to be mostly stuck in a pre-1980 world. As I've mentioned, I was particularly anxious to hear the vintage drum kits. These days, my favorite kit is Platinum Samples' Rock Legend for BFD Eco. I'm also getting started with XLN's Indie Kit.
 
Well, those new kits really aren't that bad, but they still have that typical Toontrack "enhanced" type of sound which I always struggle with. 
 
Using BFD and Rock Legend, it's almost like my song mixes itself - my choice of guitar tones and bass tone just seem to blend in naturally, there's an effortless cohesion. With EZ however, I can't seem to get things to work together as good - it's almost as if you were trying to get the instruments on Led Zeppelin II to work with a drum sound on the Black album by Metallica.
 
As a matter of fact, first thing I do with most Toontrack drums is to run a low pass filter on everything, to get rid of some of that energy in the higher frequencies. But the end results rarely work anyway - the drums sound strangely hollow and lifeless where I'd want them to be full and hyped where I'd want less of them.
 
I often feel like the fact that the Toontrack fellows are big on Heavy Metal shows even through their non-metal stuff.
 
But I know that they do work quite well for others, just not for me.
 
 
2014/05/09 17:06:31
twaddle
Sorry to all for going off topic but I've just been checking out your tunes John
 
Really good songs, So Much Older really reminds me of an old song from my youth called Hey Little Girl,
originally recorded by the Syndicate of Sound but I preferred the version by The Banned - Hey Little Girl
 
One of my favourite Beatles tunes too
 
So what are you using for your drums ?
 
Steve
2014/05/09 22:17:29
jmain
Rain
jmain
Rain
 


Is that the upgraded Electronic EXZ?  The old one was funky but had to decipher at times.


Yes it is. Much easier to figure out.




Nice!
2014/05/10 06:16:21
rontarrant
yorolpal
Sorry to ask again but do I need to unzip the files in the install folder as well as the main download zip file...or will the installer take care of that? Which I'm assuming it does.

The general rule of thumb in situations like this: Run the installer; if you get an error, then start unzipping things.
2014/05/10 12:16:46
Jim Roseberry
Rain
As a matter of fact, first thing I do with most Toontrack drums is to run a low pass filter on everything, to get rid of some of that energy in the higher frequencies. But the end results rarely work anyway - the drums sound strangely hollow and lifeless where I'd want them to be full and hyped where I'd want less of them.
 
I often feel like the fact that the Toontrack fellows are big on Heavy Metal shows even through their non-metal stuff.
 
But I know that they do work quite well for others, just not for me.



This is exactly what I was trying to convey.
The kick drums in particular have that Metallica sound (thin with a lot of snap).
It's an aesthetic thing (just not my taste)...
 
2014/05/10 14:05:56
clintmartin
I'm still getting crashes. Re-scan doesn't work. I haven't tried a reset re-scan.
2014/05/10 14:48:21
mixmkr
Clint... did you see about setting at 44.1...then back to your preferred sample rate...or leave at 44.1?
Seems a known issue and talking about it at Toontrack too.
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