Oh and one more question...does the basic EZDrummer come with a generous set of presets or do I have to head down a huge rabbithole of expansions in order to have it be useful?
Oh and one more question...does the basic EZDrummer come with a generous set of presets or do I have to head down a huge rabbithole of expansions in order to have it be useful?
It's plenty useful without buying expensive expansions.
Early on, expansions included new genre-specific MIDI to match the style of the drums in the expansion. Later on, they released MIDI packs that included additional genre-specific MIDI, which I've bought a ton of. [Note that a few of the MIDI packs contain the same MIDI as the expansion. They are so noted.] So, you can pick up extra MIDI inexpensively without having to buy drum expansions. Of course, the MIDI is tailored to the tone of the expansion kit(s), but they're not required.
I own EZKeys, but bought Superior Drummer 2, now upgraded to SD3, instead of EZDrummer. SD3 can use EZD expansion packs, so I have bought a couple when on a nice sale (the recommended way to pick up expansions) for genres I'm interested in (Reggae, Americana). One thing to look for when buying expansions is to look for the version of EZDrummer required. The early releases for EZD1 (v1.4) are 16-bit libraries. The ezpansions that require EZD2 are 24-bit libraries.
Since even BiaB Audiophile is 16-bit, it's a wash.
Last edited by TheMaartian; 04/05/2207:16 PM.
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I am glad others weighed in on these questions and hope more more will jump in. I originally bought EZD1 and upgraded to EZ2 during sales which come along annually. Unlike BIAB which folks complain that they have to buy too much, Toontrack took a different approach. In their case you buy only the basic kits with some limited midi and then have to buy all the extra midi separately. Either way, I believe, you really need it all. So pay now or pay later.
For me, EZD2 is one of those packages you love to hate or is it, hate to love? Drums are so needed and these drums can be lovely. But too many times I have had to throw my hands up in the air and just find another way to get what I needed (RD? ). EZD1 to EZD2 was a quantum leap in features and programming. Really remarkable! But all that power is tough to tame! I found I needed to approach drums like a individual song within a song. In fact, I would spend more time on the drum track than on the entire rest of the song. I have come to belive that this is a simple fact. Unfortunately, knowing this did not make my drums sound better.
One thing I did discover, I really needed a bigger collection of drum midi then came with the default package. When I opened my wallet and bought some of the add ons (not addition drum kits, but additional drum midi), things got better.
Drums are a unique Virtual Instrument! I buy tons of VIs. Generally all play beautifully right from the start. But not drums. I have always needed to fight the drums to capture their sounds. EZDrums is no exception.
But here is the bottom line. I do believe I will drop the $79 to upgrade.
I am very tempted as I know very little about drums. But maybe that is also a good reason to pass on this offer and stay with RealDrums??? When people here ask for drum stems or individual drum parts I have no idea how I'd use such a thing. I'm kinda spoiled with BIAB delivering fully realized drum tracks for my use in songs.
Given that I have no skill or desire in configuring drums, will EZDrummer help me or should I just stick with BIAB for drums?
One tempting aspect of EZDrummer is to buy it as a bundle with the 2 modern drums EZX packs since I really want to try my hand at more modern music.
I quickly decided against their Superior Drummer because that appears to be a package that requires a ton of drums learning and configuring, something I have zero interest in.
I own EZKeys and really enjoy using it, especially the build-a-bear approach to assembling a piano track using pre-built pieces. Will EZDrummer offer this kind of hand-holding for a non-drums guy like me?
John3, Although I do not have EZDrummer I do know that it is GM compatible, thus all of BiaB's MIDI drum tracks will work with it. This opens the door to much better drum sounds then what comes with BiaB GM sets. Also you will have a lot more various drum tracks between BiaB MIDI and RDs. BiaB's drum tracks are very good.
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
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John3, Although I do not have EZDrummer I do know that it is GM compatible, thus all of BiaB's MIDI drum tracks will work with it. This opens the door to much better drum sounds then what comes with BiaB GM sets. Also you will have a lot more various drum tracks between BiaB MIDI and RDs. BiaB's drum tracks are very good.
Thanks Mario! I like the idea of additional usefulness of a purchase like this!
Wish I could tell you this is a no brainer, but I can't. It can be complex at times. It may require you to work on the drums a lot more then you really want to. You may have to spend more money down the road to pick up more midi add ons. The rewards may not justify the efforts. So you are on your own with this decision. Best I can tell you is you have to want to fuss with a lot of features. If you like to do that kinda stuff, this may be for you. This is no EZKeys... This will be more like EZBass.
But who am I to advise. I just spent $379 on a choir.
Wish I could tell you this is a no brainer, but I can't. It can be complex at times. It may require you to work on the drums a lot more then you really want to. You may have to spend more money down the road to pick up more midi add ons. The rewards may not justify the efforts. So you are on your own with this decision. Best I can tell you is you have to want to fuss with a lot of features. If you like to do that kinda stuff, this may be for you. This is no EZKeys... This will be more like EZBass.
But who am I to advise. I just spent $379 on a choir.
Dan
Thanks Dan! So, does EZDrummer come with pre-done parts for intro/verse/chorus/bridge like EZKeys? Or do I have to know where to put certain sections in a song? And where to use fills? (And, also, what are fills?!?!)
Are there similarities to Kontakt Studio Drummer (which I have not used yet)?
I also have Butch Vig Drums in Kontakt and it is quite easy to use by just dragging a desired section to my DAW. And it has 22 different drum presets each with intros, verses, choruses, bridges and fills. Is EZDrummer anything like that?
Are there similarities to Kontakt Studio Drummer (which I have not used yet)?
I also have Butch Vig Drums in Kontakt and it is quite easy to use by just dragging a desired section to my DAW. And it has 22 different drum presets each with intros, verses, choruses, bridges and fills. Is EZDrummer anything like that?
Want to save some money?
Kontakt Studio Drummer is GM compatible, thus all of your BiaB MIDI drum tracks will work with it.
Also you can map Butch Vig Drums to GM so it also can be used with BiaB MIDI drum tracks.
If you like drag and drop MIDI drum loops and want to spend a little money check out GrooveMonkee:
Thanks Dan! So, does EZDrummer come with pre-done parts for intro/verse/chorus/bridge like EZKeys? Or do I have to know where to put certain sections in a song? And where to use fills? (And, also, what are fills?!?!)
Are there similarities to Kontakt Studio Drummer (which I have not used yet)?
I also have Butch Vig Drums in Kontakt and it is quite easy to use by just dragging a desired section to my DAW. And it has 22 different drum presets each with intros, verses, choruses, bridges and fills. Is EZDrummer anything like that?
Yes EZD2 has all that and more. Use the "Song Creator", drop in a bit of midi from the library or from BIAB and it will create Intro, Verse, Pre Chorus, Chrous, Bridge, Fill, and Ending. Actually, it will create many of each so you can then mix and match. It really is a remarkable piece of software. BTW, a fill is a "lick" or "jam" used to solo the drums for a brief portion. Used for transitions. Although a whole track of Licks can sound nice...
+1 for Kontakt Studio Drummer if you are looking for good acoustic drums.
Studio drummer has 3 sampled kits: a Pearl Masters Premium Maple kit, a Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute kit and a Sonor SQ2 Drum System. It comes with large library of all kinds of genres / grooves, and you can get grooves for Studio Drummer either free or relatively inexpensive from site Mario mentioned or quite a few others.
Studio Drummer has variations / fills for each groove suitable for intro, breaks, etc. And there are many 3rd party stuff that have these sections too.... JJJ, for some reason, I thought you had Komplete? Komplete comes with S.Drummer. If you are familiar with Kontakt, you will feel right at home.
If you are in for electronic "beat" sounds, it is not for you.
Yeah I agree with Mario and Rustyspoon, the studio drums from kontact are great. I have EZDrummer but never liked the results from piecing together the intro verse stuff I prefer the BiaB midi drums. I also have a bunch of the drum kits from Presonus studio one.
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I was reading a bit this morning about compatibility with the older midi libraries from EZD2 to make sure they are compatible with EZD3, and found this in the FAQ:
"All your already installed EZXs or Toontrack MIDI packs will be accessible through EZdrummer 3. You will need to download and install updates, though."
Which is good, but I think it means libraries from other vendors, such as Groove Monkey, might not work unless Groove Monkey also does an update to support EZD3??
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). EZD1 to EZD2 was a quantum leap in features and programming. Really remarkable! But all that power is tough to tame! I found I needed to approach drums like a individual song within a song. In fact, I would spend more time on the drum track than on the entire rest of the song. I have come to belive that this is a simple fact. Unfortunately, knowing this did not make my drums sound better.
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