Looking to upgrade drums....

with industry Pro, Nick Batzdorf

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swdaze
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Looking to upgrade drums....

Post by swdaze » Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:11 pm

Hi guys, I spent a couple of days skimming the forum and found some good videos on YouTube and have settled on EZDrummer 2. I dig their song creation and search programs. Seems a little more user friendly than Addictive Drums which was the runner up. Good choice?
I looking for modern sounds/loops and ease of use. I plan on pulling the trigger Monday so if you think you have a better option I'm all ears.

Here's my other questions:

I have a basic setup, running Logic X on a MacBook, M-Audio interface and some external drives. Not super tech-y.

Can I/should I save EZD2 to an external drive? Concerned about memory and for that matter should I have Logic X on an external as well?

Geo
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Re: Looking to upgrade drums....

Post by RPaul » Sun Jul 25, 2021 5:46 pm

If it's not beyond budget considerations, I'd be inclined to suggest Toontrack's Superior Drummer 3, the "big brother"(?) of EZD2. It has the same song creation interface, and mostly the same ease of use (if you stick to the same basics), but with a lot more variety in included kits (in many genres) and significantly greater flexibility for tailoring the sound when the presets aren't quite doing what you want. You can also load any EZX (EZ Drummer add-ons for different styles) and SDX (Superior Drummer add-ons) options in SD3, whereas you can only use EZX extensions with EZD2. Both will load the various Toontrack MIDI loop add-ons. While SD3 may seem daunting compared to EZD2 from videos and features, the key is that you don't need to use all of what it can do, but it's there for those times when you need a bit more than EZD2 can provide.

FWIW, I've been using Toontrack's Superior Drummer and EZ Drummer lines since EZD1. EZD2 was a big step when it came out, but I pretty much never use EZD2 directly anymore. Rather, I load any EZD and EZX kits inside SD3. However, other than when wanting specific genre kits that come in EZD form, I'm much more likely to use SD3 built-in kits (many in multiple genres) or SDX kits for the combination of quality and flexibility.

As for other brands, I've tried quite a few, and have used a few others in the past, but, for my needs, which gross many genres, the Toontrack line really excels thanks to a combination of the song creation interface, lots of high quality loops, rhythmic searches, and being able to mix and match kits and "grooves" (i.e. the MIDI loops). There are other MIDI-based drums VSTi's out there, as well, but I'm not a fan of audio loop-based instruments due to limited potential for mixing and matching grooves and sounds.

Rick

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Re: Looking to upgrade drums....

Post by swdaze » Tue Jul 27, 2021 6:48 am

Gracias Rick!!!
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Re: Looking to upgrade drums....

Post by swdaze » Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:22 am

RPaul wrote:
Sun Jul 25, 2021 5:46 pm
If it's not beyond budget considerations, I'd be inclined to suggest Toontrack's Superior Drummer 3, the "big brother"(?) of EZD2. It has the same song creation interface, and mostly the same ease of use (if you stick to the same basics), but with a lot more variety in included kits (in many genres) and significantly greater flexibility for tailoring the sound when the presets aren't quite doing what you want. You can also load any EZX (EZ Drummer add-ons for different styles) and SDX (Superior Drummer add-ons) options in SD3, whereas you can only use EZX extensions with EZD2. Both will load the various Toontrack MIDI loop add-ons. While SD3 may seem daunting compared to EZD2 from videos and features, the key is that you don't need to use all of what it can do, but it's there for those times when you need a bit more than EZD2 can provide.

FWIW, I've been using Toontrack's Superior Drummer and EZ Drummer lines since EZD1. EZD2 was a big step when it came out, but I pretty much never use EZD2 directly anymore. Rather, I load any EZD and EZX kits inside SD3. However, other than when wanting specific genre kits that come in EZD form, I'm much more likely to use SD3 built-in kits (many in multiple genres) or SDX kits for the combination of quality and flexibility.

As for other brands, I've tried quite a few, and have used a few others in the past, but, for my needs, which gross many genres, the Toontrack line really excels thanks to a combination of the song creation interface, lots of high quality loops, rhythmic searches, and being able to mix and match kits and "grooves" (i.e. the MIDI loops). There are other MIDI-based drums VSTi's out there, as well, but I'm not a fan of audio loop-based instruments due to limited potential for mixing and matching grooves and sounds.

Rick
Just loaded in the last library thanks for the recommendation!!!
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Re: Looking to upgrade drums....

Post by swdaze » Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:26 am

UPDATE:

Settled on SD3, ended up buying a 4TB drive to house my libraries. Off on Monday so I'll drill down on it then but love the sound of the kits!!

Geo
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Re: Looking to upgrade drums....

Post by RPaul » Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:59 am

swdaze wrote:
Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:26 am
UPDATE:

Settled on SD3, ended up buying a 4TB drive to house my libraries. Off on Monday so I'll drill down on it then but love the sound of the kits!!

Geo
Cool. Enjoy!!!

Yeah, their kits are excellent. Their grooves are often great starting points for getting believable "live drums" (as well as various other styles, but getting something to feel like a real drummer tends to be more challenging than programmed styles), and the Tap2Find facility makes it a lot easier to find applicable grooves when you have an idea of what you're looking for among the large number of grooves available.

Just beware that SD3 can be a gateway drug for loads of SDX and EZX expansions, as well as additional MIDI Grooves. :D

Rick

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Re: Looking to upgrade drums....

Post by swdaze » Tue Aug 03, 2021 5:50 am

RPaul wrote:
Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:59 am
swdaze wrote:
Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:26 am
UPDATE:

Settled on SD3, ended up buying a 4TB drive to house my libraries. Off on Monday so I'll drill down on it then but love the sound of the kits!!

Geo
Cool. Enjoy!!!

Yeah, their kits are excellent. Their grooves are often great starting points for getting believable "live drums" (as well as various other styles, but getting something to feel like a real drummer tends to be more challenging than programmed styles), and the Tap2Find facility makes it a lot easier to find applicable grooves when you have an idea of what you're looking for among the large number of grooves available.

Just beware that SD3 can be a gateway drug for loads of SDX and EZX expansions, as well as additional MIDI Grooves. :D

Rick
I've already got my eye on that POP expansion winking at me from across the room!!
A square peg can be an elegant solution to a round hole

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