PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic EZDrummer 3

Announced today... Lots of buzz around this one.

https://www.toontrack.com/product/ezdrummer-3/

Upgrade from EZD2 for $79

Hey Dan, I am tempted to spend $179 now and get EZD 2 with a free upgrade to EZD 3.

Would that be a good move? I have never used any virtual drums except those in BIAB even though Kontakt has several options?

Could I continue to use BIAB to generate the drums as MIDI and then substitute the EZD?

Or, does EZD offer a bunch of preset patterns?

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?

Lots of great new features, more than expected actually. Ordered my EZD2 upgrade this morning

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.

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.

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.

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?

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:

https://groovemonkee.com/

They are having a sale right now. You can use these in place of BiaB MIDI drums or in conjunction with BiaB MIDI drums.

I have a large number of Groovemonkee MIDI drum loops and I use them quite frequently.

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.

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??

Here you go! Everything you ever wanted to know from the Bearded One himself.

Thanks Dan! I didn't get to watch the Livestream but looking forward to watching the video.

I placed my order mid way through the video. But I knew I was going to....

With all those great 'accessories' Dan, it's no wonder you're just a little concerned about disk storage space

This is why I love EZdrummer, just a short sample of a phased funk sound from EZdrummer, with the plugin directly placed in biab using biab midi drums track.

Ezdrummer phased funk style.

Guess I’m the odd man out. I’ve developed routines using RD’s (and their respective audio clip containing each component hit) that allow me to readily get what I consider to work well with our productions. Logic Pro X routines allow me to remove the snare, kick, etc., from the RD track and replace it with the same component on a different track. And a bit of comping from several RD regens give me the fills I want. It may sound convoluted but I spend a very small amount of time on the routines.

The above combined with my minimal drum knowledge and age is enough to keep me from heading down another production rabbit hole!

Bud

J/B
i'm the same. i force myself to work with the gear i have.
the problem ive got going to the next level of adding big sample libs to my rig to augment the RT's and RD's is i dont wanna spend loads of time doing downloading and installing and going thru loads of menus. cos it can chew up time. thus i'm hunting for sample libs that are easy to use/deal with. without dongle/security stuff.
one reason ive stayed with pg is the security stuff is easy to register etc etc. and fair and non intrusive.
same with reaper...it dont hassle moi.
same reason i use computer music uk plug ins in some songs...they dont hassle moi.

happiness to you both..the total talent team.
om

I understand exactly. My past experience with EZdrummer 2, just like with BIAB, was that there is a steep learning curve which is made worse if, as a hobbyist, you use this infrequently. I am sure EZDrummer 3 will be simlar. But in this case, since I have been weened on EZdrummer 2, for me I am hoping it may not be so steep. But a lot of this new tech does feel like "another production rabbit hole".

This stuff is not for everyone. But EZdrummer 2, like BIAB did things that no other product does. So the $79 upgrade to EZD3 is a no brainer for me.

om, if you want good libraries you will spend a lot of time downloading. Good libraries are a lot bigger than GM.

No matter what you get there will be a learning curve. A lot of software like Kontakt and Sampletank are very easy to use, for instance just pick a sound and let BiaB MIDI supply the notes. After that if you really need you can get into the deep part of Kontakt; I don't have much knowledge about Sampletank. Note that I rarely get into the deep parts of Kontakt.

Kontakt is very easy to activate as are most of third party libraries for it. Once activated you are finished, just like PGM.

I think you may be over reacting when thinking about good libraries. Most of them are like plug n play; that is you pick a sound and you're finished. The biggest learning curve will be learning MIDI, regardless of the library. YMMV

Today is last day to pre-purchase with the discount. Tomorrow you can download.

Here is a summary of everything known as of today... it is shorter than looking at all the many previews.

Hey Dan, got it today! Only spent a few minutes but looks amazing so far!

I agree.

By the way, this was a Q/A that I found very helpful...


Q: How do you choose the destination folder for EZDrummer 3 Library? I want to install the lib in a specific SSD (I'm on windows) and the installer doesn't ask where to copy the files.

A: EZDrummer will install into a default location first. Once that is done, open up the standalone version, select Settings in the Options menu and it has an item that shows where the MIDI and Sound libraries are located. you can open that location up directly in Windows Explorer. Close the standalone down then move the EZDrummer folder to anywhere you want. When you open the standalone up again, it will ask you to browse to the new location.

THANKS DAN!!! I could not figure out how to install it somewhere else and had to delete some apps to make room! Now I'll go back and move everything to my external drive.

How does EZD compare with Addictive Drums?

A little old, but best side by side you will fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLHcQuCgplg

Thanks Dan... Very informative video...

I don't know Addictive Drums well, but hard to imagine it would stand up well agains EZDrummer 3. EZD3 is a virtual candy store of features, graphics, whistles and bells. The large adjustable screen and incredible GUI combined with the enhanced content of midi and kits is truely impressive. Youtube is filling up with EZD3 videos. You have to see it to belive it.

However for me the final value to be proved is to use it to make music! This is always a priority for me when I get something use.

Would it still be a smart move to buy EZD2 and upgrade to ver3, or has that ship sailed?

Too late. That boat sailed on May 3rd. now you have to go straight to EZD3, but it is still on sale.

Here it is from the horses mouth. Right near the beginning he layes out all the puchase options.

https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=715169

I am enjoying EZ Drummer 3 so much! OMG what a treat it is to use a well written, fully tested piece of new music software that works as advertised!

I was able to insert all my "user midi" which includes all the Groove Monkey midi and a mountain of other web products. Sweet!

Yep! No drama. It works as promised. There almost certainly won't be an endless stream of updates fixing new features (and breaking existing ones!) I have definitely found my new drummer! And given that I already own EZ Keys I am seriously looking into their EZ Bass product as well. I feel I may just be close to having my band in a box with Toontrack!

Glad it's turning out well J3! After I had SD3 and EZKeys, I went with Ujam for Virtual Guitarist (IRON) and Virtual Bassist (ROYAL). Some of their products were out before Toontracks related stuff did. Otherwise I may have stuck with all TT too. Just a couple of other options when you're looking. Have fun playing!

Thanks Steve! I am really blown away at how good these drums sound! And how easy they are to use! They have the advantages of BIAB RealDrums for a beginner like me but they offer such deep and detailed control when you want to dive deeper!

Just got EZdrummer 3 installed, thanks for all the info, seems like a nice upgrade.

For us Reaper users:

Ctrl-Drag moves midi from EZD3 into Reaper.

But it is a two step process to go the other way: Ctrl-Alt-Drag/Drop midi/audio from Reaper to desktop then Drag/drop from desktop to EZD3.

Folks in the Reaper Forum are working on this...

By the way, who will be is the first who will try taking BIAB RDs or Audio into BandMate and tell us how it works for them?

Hey, I just noticed: Who is the first inversion of How!

Now there's a true music nerd! hehe

Ha! That was the first thing I tried! I took one of my tracks audio into BandMate and it immediately suggested drums I loved better than what I had! So far, the hardest part for me is choosing from all the cool stuff available!

Second thing I did was assemble an EZ Drummer 3 rock drum track in Reaper using the pre-built parts, export it as audio and bring it into BIAB. Then I chose a compatible rock style, threw in some classic chords, muted the RealDrums and these EZ Drums are simply AMAZING!

FYI: EZ Drummer 3 can cause Cakewalk by Bandlab to crash. The issue has been reported to ToonTrack and verified by a ToonTrack developer. ToonTrack says the issue has been identified and the fix will be in the first update. +++ EZ Drummer 3 Crashes Cakewalk +++

Treat yourself to more drum midi. GrooveMonkey is 1/2 price for another week. And right now Shootie has a special discount code for you to add for more savings at GrooveMonkey. Code is: shootie-B7QK0

Oh by the way if you don't know Shootie (and you own a toontrack product) you need to.

Thanks Dan! 1/2 price plus another 10% is an awesome deal!

I just bought EZD2, a couple of EZXs and the upgrade to EZD3 so I really don't need more MIDI drum stuff, right? Right? RIGHT?

(If you need me I'll be over at GrooveMonkee picking MIDI drums to add to my EZD3!)

I've been trying to resist for quite some time. I just received my one year pin from MIDI-holics anonymous.

Another money saving HOT TIP!

1) Go to Groove Monkee and log in
2) Add their Mega Pack to your cart
3) Close the website and wait a few hours (maybe over night)
4) Check email for a 20% code that works on the sale price!

$249.95 ----> $149.95 ----> $119.95

Cool trick. I have seen that one work before.

It just worked for me!!! I now own ALL the GrooveMonkee drums!

FYI the 20% code only works once. I checked it before sharing it here.

Ok Dan, that takes care of my drums. I just noticed my children's inheritance account still has funds so...what's next?

Thanks again to Mario for encouraging me to check out Groove Monkee! I am thrilled with my drums library now!!

I was glad that I could help. I have most of the GrooveMonkee packages.

JJJ, I am guessing that you may be set for the time being on software, so how about hardware? Maybe an 88key midi controller!

Oh snap Dan, I was just lamenting about how hard it is to use my tiny controller!

Only downside, at least with me, I can't load EZdrummer 3 vst3 directly into baib drum track, though EZdrummer 2 works fine.

Don't think biab supports vst3 as yet, maybe I'm wrong in that?

musiclover,

You are correct. The 2022 version of Band-in-a-Box for Windows presently does not support the use of VST3 effect plugins or virtual instruments. However, as you mentioned VST2 is supported.

In case you would like for BiaB to support the use of VST3s, +++ HERE +++ is a recent wishlist request to add VST3 support.

This is an example of why I rarely even bother trying anything a bit advanced with BIAB. My BIAB process: Get in, create some amazing tracks and move to my DAW the moment I am happy with the tracks. Everything you wish to do can be done in a modern DAW.

That is my workflow also.

Ditto, but you already knew that.

Wow, me too....