EZ DRUMMER 2

[blueman]

toms don't have individual outputs so your stuck with the lot. Can't have everything

I think the mixing limitations (e.g. toms assembled as a single group) are by design; they need a reason for Superior Drummer to exist, after all TT seems to think of EZdrummer kits as primarily pre-mixed kits--the individual outs exist as an added convenience. I really think the intention is for quick assembly of drum parts and songwriting. Alas, I am lazy so I am usually willing to live with their gorgeous sounding presets as-is

Have you seen the great, in-depth tutorial (video) they put out? It's nearly 30 minutes

[hibidy]

Thanks man, I didn't see that!

[hibidy]

[noiseboyuk]

More time to play.

Not sure if....

-why you can't drag/drop midi from inside a host into ezdrummer2 This can't be right
-toms don't have individual outputs so your stuck with the lot. Can't have everything
-increments don't work in S1 (75.4 tempo won't match up. Seems to work in live though. Must play more.
-haven't figured out how to drag drop a made song (the manual just says that you can)
-as previously mentioned by someone, if you change the preset, you'll change the whole kit. I think this can be improved on to keep a snare/kick/etc

Nice stuff I just discovered

-adding the percussion is a snap and it sounds good to my ears
-changing the lead (like in the example of hat to ride) is nice. Great way to vary the beats
-great for a dingdong like me who struggles with real drum "beats"

And I'll mention again, I personally love the way it sounds. YMMV

Drag and drop to / from host working normally in Cubase 7.5.2 as a plugin. Just a thought - are you using EXD2 as a plugin or standalone? And which host?

[Tangent - one thing to remember is that by default "follow host" is checked in EZD2, so after dragging to host when you play the DAW timeline you get everything doubled up. Just uncheck the box.]

Yes, noticed the one fader for toms in the new presets. Interestingly though, you can still get back the original configuration for the original kit and expansions by looking at the EZD1 presets folder for each kit. When I think about it, with the drums pre-processed I'd pretty much always treat them as one anyway, save for panning which you can adjust balance / orientation etc.

If you were so minded, you could load up the original kit and mixer, switch out the individual toms to, say, the new modern ones and you'd have your 3 separate controls. Switching out seems to work very well, incidentally - you get the correct samples appear in the room mics, overheads etc, as well as mic bleed. Being able to change to all those subtle hi hat variations is great too. Clever stuff.

Tempo increments - yes, I agree that when running internally it can only do integers. When slaved to the DAW though it tracks anything perfectly.

Something in my ultimate wish list - just as you can undo anything in the song arranger pane, it might be a lifesaver to have a level of undo for the whole program. I can imagine working on the perfect kit and accidentally loading something that wipes it all out, unsaved.

[syncII]

Hard for me to pass comment on any differences between EZD1 and EDZ2 as only bought EZD1 a few days ago after seeing the upgrade offer. But I am having a great time with EZD2. Makes putting a drum track down an absolute breeze. And the drum samples with all the nuances is absolutely mind blowing. To me anyway.

From writing virtually nothing even remotely creative previously, I can see me becoming quite prolific with this.

Not that any of it will be any good........

[blueman]

I'm paging through the presets for the two new kits ("vintage" and "modern") now; wow! These two kits, alone, were worth the upgrade price I can mix and tweak for hours in Superior Drummer 2.0--which I own--and I don't think I can beat these sounds They can call this "entry-level" or "beginner" or whatever. Fact it, these sounds are serious business

Either this will encourage more laziness or make me more productive; most likely the former

Otoh, it may be "EZ" but I will still require some tutorial help

[Aloysius]

Already posted by blueman above and still excellent.

[blueman]

...cos they're a) played by real drummers and b) make use of the subtle variations in, say, hi hat playing that you can't get in GM.

All of our packs are now played by pro drummers...most that we're not have been replaced. For example, all rock packs including metal were played by pros.

As for hats, off the top of my head I know we now use at least 7 articulations (including tight tip, tight shank, tip, shank, several degrees of opened hats).

By "replaced" do you mean upgraded? If so, where can existing users find the updates?

[tplusj]

One thing that hasn't been paid much lip service here or in the reviews I've read is the improvements they've made to the handling of repeated hits. In March I purchased and shortly thereafter sold the Rock! EZX because (to me, at least) snare hits in quick succession sounded a little too machine gunny (gunnish?). I chalked this up to having too few round robin samples per velocity layer. After getting EZD2, however, I decided to give Rock! another chance (AudioDeluxe EZX Sale). I don't know what kind of digital voodoo is going on in the playback engine (subtle randomized filtering? modified attacks?), but wow - what a difference!

I am a longtime Addictive Drums user, and while it feels a bit like cheating on my wife, EZD2 has made me a Toontrack convert. I always felt like AD had the potential for really great sounds, but I never quite developed the knack for getting it to sit right in the mix. The EZD2 stuff is inspiring and functional right out of the box.

Final thoughts - Tap 2 Find is perfect, and the "Levee" preset is spot on. What fun!

[hibidy]

Well, that's what I thought. I was playing around with it and it's really responsive and I've had them all.

Anyways, it's already seeing action. Looking forward to the newest ezx's

[Jelly]

Upgrade ordered - thanks Uncle E for good price - the comments above beg the question - what experience are people having with their existing EZXs in EZDs - which work best or have been updated best?
Or are they less necessary now with the new improved stock kits?
Also - if the included MIDI is a bigger deal now - do any EZXs come with particularly impressive MIDI libraries?
Would be very interesting to hear existing owners' thoughts

[Monkberry]

Upgrade ordered - thanks Uncle E for good price - the comments above beg the question - what experience are people having with their existing EZXs in EZDs - which work best or have been updated best?
Or are they less necessary now with the new improved stock kits?
Also - if the included MIDI is a bigger deal now - do any EZXs come with particularly impressive MIDI libraries?
Would be very interesting to hear existing owners' thoughts

I just DL'd the upgrade and it is a huge improvement. I'm sure everyone has their preferences for favorite EZX libraries depending on genre but they all have something to offer. My faves are Nashville (because the kit sounds great and the brushes midi files are nice) and I also like some of the groove midi files from the Funkmasters EZX. I wish they could get Steve Gadd and Vinnie Colaiuta do a library. While I'm dreaming, Dennis Chambers and Bernard Purdie also.

Much of the midi libraries focus on pop/rock which makes sense as those are likely the easiest and most universal in application. You should also check out Groove Monkee additional content. I bought a Producer Bundle a few years back and some of the grooves were a nice addition.
The 2 new kits (EZ2 modern and vintage) sound great. I'm looking at adding the Classic EZX next as the kit demos sound very good. Overall, I have to say I love the layout of EZD2 but Superior 2 will not get pushed aside yet. We'll see after I spend some more time with this. Thumbs up Toontrack, pretty generous upgrade!!

[fendorst]

here's a solution to the EZD2 mixer having only one fader for all toms.

i'm not at my DAW right now so can't be 100% precise about how to navigate the menus but it's pretty easy.

set the individual volume of each tom in the "drums" view. click "drums" to see your current set. open each individual tom. right click the tom or click the little arrow to open the dialog box for each tom. in that dialog box you can choose which tom you want to use and you'll see a couple of knobs for pitch and volume. change either one or both for every tom in your kit.

important: after you adjust volume/pitch of each tom save your kit with a name you'll remember for the project you're working on. if you don't save the kit it reverts to default tom volumes next time you open EZD2.

as you continue working on the project you can change individual tom volumes as necessary any time you like. you can do the same with any/all of the drums or cymbals. when you're happy with the balance of the toms or whatever, SAVE YOUR KIT.

it's a little bit of a pain in the neck, but it works great. hope that helps.

[blueman]

Upgrade ordered - thanks Uncle E for good price - the comments above beg the question - what experience are people having with their existing EZXs in EZDs - which work best or have been updated best?
Or are they less necessary now with the new improved stock kits?
Also - if the included MIDI is a bigger deal now - do any EZXs come with particularly impressive MIDI libraries?
Would be very interesting to hear existing owners' thoughts

Funny thing: I was most impressed with the pop/rock standard kit upgrade from the first version—make sure you go to the website and get the very latest version (1.4, I think); it's a completely upgraded kit, not just an update like the others. To my ears, that kit, along with the two new kits (modern and vintage) are the where I hear the biggest improvements As for the others...I am really having fun with the new presets and enhanced mixer features; honestly, I can't imagine spending the time and tedious effort to going into Superior Drummer 2.0 when I can get such great sounds this easily. Mixing and matching other kit pieces works surprisingly well; that is, the sounds blend better than I expected. This option makes it possible to come up with original sounds, if you're concerned about using stock kits with the same presets everyone else's using

[blueman]

This option [to create hybrid kits] makes it possible to come up with original sounds, if you're concerned about using stock kits with the same presets everyone else's using

Is there a way to save the hybrid kits we create? Otherwise, how can we call them up in another session. Did I miss something, or is this even possible?