Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Todd Simpson Aug 31 2011, 06:57 AM

For those who are starting to work with EZ DRUMMER from Toon Track (Periphery did they first demos/tracks with this program and wads of folks use and keep it a secret!) Here is a video from DAVE WEINER (he plays in Steve Vai's touring band)
about building drum tracks. Enjoy!

Anybody else got some spiffy EZDrummer vids? As a guitar player, it's very handy to be able to build drum tracks without having to actually enlist a drummer each and every time.

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Aug 31 2011, 07:21 AM

i like EZ, but, for my taste it is a bit limited, i like to get the raw sounds and mix them my own way, and sometimes on EZ the sounds are already too processed.

I use BFD2 drums, with some of the best expansions out there, i recommend the evil drums and the rock drums, GREAT SOUNDS.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Aug 31 2011, 12:02 PM

This post was mostly for students who are just getting going with drum software. Once they are ready for more advanced stuff, I'd also suggest growing to BFD or doing what I did and adding DRUMS FROM HELL expansion Pack on EZ Ddrummer. It sounds MUCH better than the stock sounds. Also, EZ DRUMMER will let you send each and every drum sound to it's own track inside your DAW (like BFD and Steven Slate Drums) This is an amazing feature that lets me take the raw sounds and mix them my own way, adding fx, compression, eq, pan, side chain, etc. just like I would if mixing a real drum kit.


In addition, I"ll sometimes start with Ez Drummer/Drums from hell for the patterns and then replace ALL of the sounds with the STEVEN SLATE DRUMS module so that I can build a pattern quickly and then use SLATE for actual sounds that allows me to keep my indiidual tracks per drum sound and use the AMAZING slate samples which are IMHO simply the best available anywhere. Recorded at NRG in L.A. and used by just wads of producers/remixers. Here is a link with some sound demos.

http://stevenslatedrums.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=66

If you have not tried the slate pack it's worth a listen for your personal projects. I'd have to say they sound better than BFD for rock/heavy stuff. And best of all it runs as a KONTACK instrument!



Although, I find the BFD kits are more flexible and offer wider variety than EZ/Hell and Slate put together. I almost went with the BFD kit instead of Ez/Hell and Slate. But the fact that Toon track has so many great drummers making midi loops for them (Thomas Haake from Meshuggah among others) I just couldn't say no. Not to mention the fact that Each is pretty cheap and you can start with EZ and build your way up. But to each his own!

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Aug 31 2011, 12:34 PM

Yes, EZD is very good. Lots of people underestimate it, but in fact, I've found that the samples of the wood is actually quite defined. I use Superior Drummer 2.0 with some cool expansions, and although it has better cymbals, I personally like to use EZD for pilot projects because it's easier. After that, SD2 comes into play. They are compatible, and pretty much compatible with GM Drum map.

Posted by: dark dude Aug 31 2011, 12:48 PM

Thanks for this, Todd. Splendid tut.

Posted by: Sinisa Cekic Aug 31 2011, 01:01 PM

Yeah EZ is a great plugin !He has plenty of expansion and is relatively easy to setup decent sound.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Aug 31 2011, 02:43 PM

Well said I usually do the same. EZ is, well, Eazy! So it's quick and dirty then you can add the Drums From Hell Expansion or Switch to STEVEN SLATE DRUMS once you have your beats ready. If you guys have not tried it, the STEVEN SLATE EX plugin (runs inside of the FREE Kontact Player) Is under $100 US so way less than 100 Euro and honestly has some of the best samples I"ve ever heard. It's sounds only though, so not much MIDI, or patterns, but that's what the other plugins are for




Special thanks to DAVE WEINER who created it. He is a really nice guy and talented as heck! He plays all 7 string guitars so you gotta love that

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 31 2011, 05:28 PM

I used EZ for my lessons and song demos and it works great. It's easy and fast to use. You don't have to work too much in the mix to get a good drum sound.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Aug 31 2011, 05:52 PM

I totally agree EZD is among the best things out there

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Aug 31 2011, 05:59 PM

will check the STEVEN SLATE DRUMS, i hear everyone loves em, hope they are not too processed .

Posted by: tonymiro Aug 31 2011, 06:23 PM

We get a lot of producers who swear by Drumagog http://www.drumagog.com/ as a drum replacement software.

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Aug 31 2011, 06:35 PM

that's a crazy good plugin tony, did you tried it yourself? i'm wondering how accurate is it.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Aug 31 2011, 09:06 PM

Yes, on my first band's album, drumagog was used to add to the snare. It sounded great. I couldn't use it tho, I think professionals, people that miked & recorded lots of real drums, can use it to create something that sounds realistic.

Posted by: The Uncreator Sep 1 2011, 01:53 AM

I love SSD. All my stuff is done with them. Aside from the great sounds for just the $100 standard version, there are plenty of expansions. I also love the "hybrid" feature where you can layer 2 or more snares, kicks, or even cymbals to create some awesome sounds.

Posted by: zoom Sep 1 2011, 07:41 AM

Cool! I been thinking about getting something like this. It looks pretty easy to use. How do you buy EZdrummer. Is it a download or buy CD's?
For recording i'm using tone port ux2 and currently alberton live for recording which has midi tracks capability so I assume EZdrummer would work with this.
Just to be a pain I have a pc and also a mac but the mac is a power pc so I'm not sure which way I go in the furture if you buy cd's can it be loaded on either computer?

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Sep 1 2011, 11:45 AM

Download version is available, and it's compatible on both platforms = you get both installation files for Mac and PC.

http://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=7&gclid=CMqzlq_u-6oCFYK-zAoddxZT2w

Posted by: thefireball Sep 1 2011, 07:46 PM

I love EZdrummer and also bought the DFH expansion.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 1 2011, 08:58 PM

My buddy here who produces the indieatl.com show SWEARS by drumagog for drum replacement. He records bands live so if a mic has bleed, etc. He can swap out any drum track for a drum sample and then mix it in as if it were a real track. Switches live drums to triggered drums in a sense. Sampled/triggered. Ive sat in during sessions when he's using it but I've never actually touched it. It does look cool though. The new version is way spiff. So you could use it as a plugin replacement just the same way I've been using STEVEN SLATE DRUMS. It will swap out the drum sounds (even 8 tracks of them at a time!) with sampled kits that are just amazing from Gretch, Drum Workshop and others. The baby version is actually cheaper than SLATE which is a bit shocking! A great choice.

I hadn't considered it as a sound replacement plugin until Tony mentioned it but yeah, that's brilliant!


http://www.drumagog.com/


He also LOVES autotune but not for vocals. He uses it on Guitars! Some bands don't have perfect intonation and it can cause issues. So he sometimes whips out autotune to make the guitars play nice with each other.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 8 2011, 12:50 AM

I'm going to post this as a new topic as folks not interested in EZ drummer might not see this post. This is too good not to share!

DEAL ALERT: BFD ECO (The little Brother of the KIller BFD2 Drum Software) Is currently being offered through most outlets for $29 U.S. which is about ABOUT 30 EURO The drums sounds in this plugin are just killer. For 30 Euro, it's a No Brainer even if you have Ez Drummer already. I"ve got Steve Slate Drums EX as well and I"m getting a copy of BFD ECO before this price runs out. Here is a link to a European Online Music Vendor I found selling it at this price.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/fxpansion_eco.htm



Here is a vid demo. The drums are taken from the same samples on the higher end version that costs lots more.

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Sep 8 2011, 06:38 AM

im checking drumagog, looks interesting.

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Sep 9 2011, 03:14 PM

EZdrummer is so handy to rapidly create drum tracks. I've used it a lot. I change to Superior when doing a master track though.