EZDrummer is incredibly versatile, and Superior Drummer is even better! It's not so much about what you use, but how you use it, that matters in the end. :D
Same dude! Same! Especially having a handful of the different sound packs. It’s damn good. I mean - when I was younger I fiddled with mic’ing kits and the whole shebang. Never sounded good. After years of learning why - I didn’t have a good room, I didn’t have a wall of good pre’s - I didn’t have the right snare or toms for the song - didn’t have a ton of mics to audition. Now - I don’t even bother lol it’s too much work and the world requires too quick of turn around times. This is just easier - sounds just as good. Soooo many benefits. My drummers can make a mistake and I can fix it or change a fill in an instant and not have to working about comping and phase issues. Cheers man! Good on you.
@@TheSteveKinney Yep I feel that! I got a Shure mic kit and it sounded good but not as good as it should of. Probably because we recorded it in my bedroom lol. But between the convenience and the quality of sounds, it's too good. No setup, don't have to rent out a studio space for a good sound, etc. Cheers!
100% - it’s where it’s at. My e-kit is still in storage. My brother does most of my drums, I believe he has an Alesis. Such a great method. Saves so much time!
@@TheSteveKinney And when done like this we also can change the BPM up or down if needed. I have a female jazz singer that always want to change key and tempo (even after we have settled on something, just because) and that give me the freedom to handle these things on the fly without going mental after spending hours on getting the drums right.
I used GGD MOdern and Massive. With my Alesis Strike Pro Se and record the tracks individually as an acoustic kit. And then I can transfer the files anywhere in the world. Saves time and like you said, I don’t have a great live room with tons of gear. So this made the most sense :)
I just picked up EZ Drummer 2, EZ Mix and a couple sound packs. In a perfect world, I’d have a real drummer at my disposal 24/7 who could come up with awesome shit and send me mixed sound files so I didn’t have to find practice and recording spaces, have him re-record what I didn’t like, and know how to compliment what I hear in my head. Unfortunately, I travel a lot for work, have a bunch of kids, home projects, and other things to do, so I see no problem using something like EZ Drummer to produce music I enjoy. I think that probably sums it up for a lot of people these days, and it would have been historically more prevalent if the technology had been there to make such realistic-sounding sampled percussion.
Great freaking points man!! It’s fun to get one of those electronic kits or even pads and just create what you hear in your head. I totally agree with your sentiment. Cheers!
@@TheSteveKinney thanks for the reply! Excellent video!! You hit some very valid points, especially that Kemper comparison. My best friend for the last 20+ years is a drummer and used to curse drummers who used triggers as “cheaters”… until he saw how practical they really were. You’ve earned a subscriber! Also, what kind of chair are you using at your battlestation? Looks comfy!
@@naturaljoe759 ha. Shit, it ain’t all too shabby as a chair. Love of my life got it for me for Christmas a few years back. I believe it’s one of the ergonomic models from either staples. Great to sit it, but what I find hard to deal with sometimes is the arms, they don’t get outta the way like the pro studio chairs do! Not a big deal, cause I’d never use a chair like that for tracking, but sometimes it’s nice to sit comfy and play guitar while writing. Great ergo chair though! Here is the link to it. www.staples.com/Staples-Hyken-Technical-Mesh-Task-Chair-Black/product_990119
Bottom line, only engineers/producers/musicians seem to be concerned with how songs are made and what tools are used. While it is important to strive for a quality recording, it is most definitely not a requirement to do it by some arbitrary set of rules! Great topic, glad to hear you share how you do things!
@@TheSteveKinney I just released an album, and on the CD liner notes I added "Drums and drum programming". I decided to just embrace how I did it, rather than even try to pretend my drums were real. Most listeners cannot tell or wouldn't care!
@@TheBissco right! And even the top engineers use triggers anyway lol and replace the drum sounds cause they usually don’t like them lol Kudos and great work!
I love EZ Drummer and use it all the time. The only problem I have is too many choices for grooves and sounds. I've learned to limit myself to only three kits when I start a song, otherwise I'm there all day auditioning sounds.
Totally! You gotta at least have some sort of vision in the first place - sonically speaking for what you’re creating Or if it’s exploration mode where you don’t even have a riff yet - then like you say - limiting would certainly be a great way to approach it.
@@TheSteveKinney The same with processing plug-ins. I have Logic, so you have so many great plug-ins there and I have a big UAD collection as well (not to mention some Izotope and EZ mix stuff). If you don't limit the amount of compressors, eqs, verbs, delays. etc you'll just end up getting in your own way.
@@xrandy11 I honestly never use the logic ones anymore. The UAD ones are all I use. With the exception of FabFilter pro Q3, sonarworks, & youlean loudness Meter They have different flavors of delays and reverbs - so I know exactly what to call for when I want it. The compressors are like using real world ones - so again. I know what to call for. The pres are color choices - so they are a lot more fun to choose from. But I definitely could see where things could be fatiguing!
EZ drummer is awesome. I find my best results came after I started using some of the other sound packs that they offer. Since not all drum sets are right for every song. Best, Steve
Hey congratulations, I hope your single did well. Sorry for the late question if you dont mind?. Did you have any issues with the ezdrummer samples triggering copyright issues like CZcams demonetisation etc.
Just downloading the demo now, re your video heads up. I need a simple way of getting my guitar into a mixed song track, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs. Thanks
Thanks for sharing your workflow Steve. This is my approach as well. Since I play keyboards - I would come up with a few ideas and harmonies. Then the first thing I will do is explore various beats from Midi packs in EZDrummer. EZDrummer is easy to operate.
I've been using EZdrummer for three years now, SD2 for four, SD3 since it came out, Ezbass since it was released some months ago, & yet I had forgotten that there are features in EZdrummer that I thought were only in SD3. Thanks as that may change my workflow. Thanks! I also thought the presentation was clear & uncluttered with unnecessary dialog - like you respected my time enough to make solid memorable points all the way through.
Sean - what a compliment! Thanks so much. I do my best to try to cover the nuance, but still not drone on over pointless details. Thanks for watching and the support, cheers!
Sean, are there certain applications you prefer SD2/3 for over EZD? I’m new to this whole thing and from what I could tell, SD is just a more in-depth program with more control. Thanks!
@@naturaljoe759 I see EZD as my best tool for getting a studio quality drum sound that's already prepped & mixed so that I can have a quality drum track to write a song. As you may or may not know EZD samples are ready to mix & sound great out of the box. I used to manage a large studio that did a lot of different kinds of work. When we produced a song we'd record all the guide tracks because VI's were not invented yet. With EZD you have a set of quality guide tracks that sound better faster than we could ever record them & also a lot of premade midi tracks that really groove. They are generally not quantized because they preserved the feel of the drummers groove. With Superior Drummer - first I usually do all the song writing in EZD with EZD kits & samples but I'll use midi from anywhere. Then when it's time to mix I just remove EZD plugin & replace with SD3 plugin & begin mixing with it OR I send the stems to a drummer or studio I know to have a really awesome drummer create the drum track now that the song has been written. If I'm super impressed with a song it goes to the studio. If I like it enough to publish it but not enough to send to the studio then I use SD3 to mix. A couple I've left the EZdrummer track in because it sounded the best with the song & sat better in the mix - even though I'd expected to have found a better sounding kit in SD3.
@@SeanWyseman Holy shit, that was an insanely thorough response. I’ve screenshot’d it all for my personal notes. Thank you so much for being so detailed. I won’t be making any major label grade productions but just filling out songs I hear in my head, so for now at least it seems EZD will be ample. Again, very appreciative of such an attentive response! Thanks, bro!
I think Ez drummer is a good songwriting tool but I prefer the sounds from SSD better. The cymbals sound more realistic. Like the have more samples or something like that. Great video. I'm totally in favor to this kind of production and I'm doing my first this way :)
Nice video, I was wondering if anyone else had trouble with placing the midi on an ableton midi track instead of it playing from the EZ drummer session. Is it possible to edit midi packs in the piano roll on Ableton?
I haven’t tried this in ableron - but I usually just drag the midi from the EZdrummer GUI - into the midi timeline in my DAW. usually works no problem. Let me know if this works for ya mate! Cheers!
One thing that I don't get Why would someone be disappointed to learn somebody uses Plug-ins Live or in the studio. Depending on your processing you can make the end result as big or bigger than with any other gear Fact is : you can do that even with free plug-ins - LOL And when it comes to drums, Tomas Haake from Meshuggah uses a Toontrack Plug-in for his kick drum in Live situations which makes a lot of sense, since he was part of the creation of the brand Their stuff sounds great even without any further processing - once you add your own "sauce" then the possibilities are endless
Well said. But truthfully - I think it’s just kind of a stigma. It’s like those pictures of people “in the studio” and it’s a closet LOL I mean. If it sounds great and the track is cool - no one would care, if they didn’t know. But everyone just wants to imagine great sounds come from beautiful intricate setups at a studio like blackbird with real performances and most of the time it’s just not the case.
@@TheSteveKinney They need to understand that this is 2021 - and the wonderful setup / Drums & Mics were in fact used to create those EZ Drummer / Superior Drummer libraries. Plus it means less studio time and money when the Drums are already there ready to use on your computer - as opposed to studio time being wasted on trying 152 snare drums. That's very cool - unless you're the drummer of course LOL Personally I got like 12 EZ Drummer 2 libraries and I can't get enough of using them
I’m still using EZ version 1 but do have several kits. I prefer playing actual drums, creating midi of the snare, kick and Toms - and using EZ or even Logic drum samples. This leaves real hats and cymbals. I may consider a midi pad at some point. Great video !
100% this is an awesome technique to do. It’s funny. You can actually use this technique with EZ as well. Take the midi notes from the kick and snare and add another layer of drums for triggers. Doing it with real drums too gets amazing results. Love it! Cheers!
Ez drummer 3 is by far, the best stock library of samples I’ve ever heard. Yes, they come with it, but there are a TON of additional packs that you can buy. Imho no one is doing what toontrack is doing. Best game in town.
The sound. Imho, sounds like crap. Not just the sounds, but the AI based midi loops. It’s handy for songwriting, most definitely, but it’s not good enough imho for any sort of musical release.
Hey Brotha! Thanks for the feedback on this one. glad you enjoyed the video . The track in the background is part of a demo I threw together for a client. This is just the original work I created myself. cheers brotha!
It’s pretty light. I run a number of instances at once - you want a fast drive though - so. Internal SSD for the library. The drum packs are offered on ez drummers store. They are different sounds.
Hey mate. It’s an virtual instrument. So load an instrumental track. 😎 The midi itself can be loaded within the ezdrummer plugin or you can drag and drop into your timeline. Cheers!
That's an awesome question. I think it largely depends on your influence and what kinda sound you're really going for as there are a number of options that come to mind. I like the Post Rock kit a lot. I think the new Gospel pack has tons of really cool drum sounds. Alt-Rock EZx does exactly what it sounds like. Using additional samples from the Kicks & Snares to supplement would be a great way to expand the sound palette. Side note: the hard rock one was made by bob rock - and has almost the exact sound of Metallica recreated. lol and if you like the MASSIVE drum sound of Nickelback from the Dark Horse era ... check out the Rock Solid ezx. fantastic.
@@TheSteveKinney thanks man!! Wow I did not know about bob rock producing the hard rock EXZ, I love The black album sound. I play more of a black rebel motorcycle kinda sound now but I have a thrash metal past lol. I was about to buy EZ with all these kits but the fact that the software is super old, the price has been increasing to almost double over the last 6 years with no updates , and a comment from Toontrack themselves saying this has been built on an old software architecture model which makes it impossible to scale up… I’m now looking for other options but it does sound really good
@@gonebymidnight2881 I’m sure they are about to have a new version. Probably EZdrummer 3. 🤷🏻♂️ it’s about that time. All of their latest library’s have been getting better and better. So they are certainly working on something. It’s cool and handy to have anyway. A cheap great sounding alternative is the GGD drums. One of the kits sounds reallyyyy good.
@@TheSteveKinney yea I’m sure they’re already beta testing something super cool. I guess it not the greatest timing to buy most drum plugins for that reason. But I guess they’ll give me the chance to upgrade in the future.
@@TheSteveKinney heard good things about GGD, I’m considering all options right now and going a bit nuts . I like some demos I’ve heard of Slate with the expansion packs, I love superior drummer and I’m not sure about addictive drums…
Truthfully with the ezx presets that come with them - they are already processed and sound awesome. Sometimes you might wanna do a little something extra though - like make the kick drum louder or snare crack more. Which you can. But most of the kits have awesome sounds right outta the box.
Hi nice demo thanks I'm a big fan of ezdrummer. Can ia ask you a question. Have you even hit issues with ezdrummer samples or midi grooves triggering copyright issue for example getting a CZcams video demonstration etc?
Depends on the situation. I’ll use some compression if I need to. Or eq if I need to carve something out. Most of the time - I’ll supplement the sounds.
I could definitely make a video on my workflow. I’ve been meaning to talk about ez3 But I almost feel like I’ve missed the boat ha But I could revisit it for sure.
Hi @@TheSteveKinney , you haven’t missed the boat yet 😉 Producers have covered Studio 1, Logic, Pro Tools but no one yet to publish a proper how-to content. To able to control each drum stem in Luna mixer and managing them using either API Vision Control Strip with Oxide or LA 2A and other EQs to finalize them for mix will be a huge help.
I'm thinking about getting EZ Drummer. I know it's been around for years so is it worth still buying or is there something else out there anyone here would recommend that's just as easy to use with as good or better results?
Ez drummer rules. Backwards compatibility with the older sound packs, and always putting out tons of new ones, along with great midi packs. Outside of that, a lot of people like slate drums. If you’ve got a certain sound - more towards alternative - the built in drummer sounds in logic can be cool too. Luna even has some good live kit sounds. Cheers brotha!
Ha! That’s so funny - I hear this from time to time. I just hope I can have at least some of his success! Thanks for watching and for the support! Cheers!
Hey there! It’s actually not - This one is the the “alt” rock I believe. It’s the one that they recorded and captured out in Iceland I think. If I remember - it was definitely in one of the Nordic countries. And it’s one of the best sounding/coolest sounding ones. Definitely check that one out. UK pop is fantastic too.
Hey brotha! Thanks for the kind words. In short - Nope. This is an ezx called post rock. And one of my favorites. They have another called indie x I think. Also reallyyy cool sounds there.
@@weareparkerful yeah I absolutely love post rock. And it has this awesome bit crushed thing in the background that sounds really cool too. The snares are really snappy too.
@@jeanrepal superior is pretty awesome, and insane. You’re basically getting the un edited sessions. So you get to rebuild and process the raw sounds from the get go. Steeper learning curve but better more precise results. Hope that makes sense. Cheers!
Hey Steve. Does EZ work with Luna? Although I'm trying to make my way through the learning curve for Luna, it doesn't seem to pull up anything but UAD products. As an example, my Logic Pro instruments don't show up when I launch an instrument track. I don't want to buy EZ if the same thing happens. Am I missing something? Thanks and take care.
More than likely - the logic to instruments are native to logic and do not work in other daws. Haven’t tested with PT. Now that said - EZ does work within Luna. No multi-channel instrument output yet - this hasn’t been a big deal for me anyways - as I like to bounce my Luna drums down once I find my sounds - and then I process the tracks as if they were recorded wav stems. Either way - EZ does work with Luna. Cheers Justus!
Yup! Had songs hit no. 1 on CMT Au, and no. 4 on Australian radio. Pretty grateful for it. A lot of people use samples, whether that be 808’s, shell passes with samples supplementing, or superior and ez drummer. At the end of the day - it’s how it sounds. And how it makes the listener feel. If you’re not good at paying attention to detail - you can certainly get an uncanny result with EZdrummer where it sounds kinda robotic. If you’re good at paying attention to detail - you can get sounds that are indistinguishable from a live mic’d performance.. because. Well. It is live mic’d samples. Lol Anyways. You get the idea! Thanks for watching and hopefully this inspires you to keep getting creative and making awesome tunes, cheers mate!
Superior is insane. It’s seriously damn cool if you have extensive knowledge of what kind of drum you need for a particular sound and also know how to process the sound. I love the raw unprocessed kits that they give you. Amazing stuff.
EZDrummer is incredibly versatile, and Superior Drummer is even better! It's not so much about what you use, but how you use it, that matters in the end. :D
If there was one piece of ultimate advice in music or film, this is it for sure. Pinning this one. Cheers!
That's what she said.
@@officialWWM 😭😭
I have addictive drumes 2 and started using EZ drummer 2. More than enough, but its down to me in order to get better skilled no matter what I use.
Eq, Comprsssion etc is what makes it.
That 2nd snare actually saved the groove! Good ear 🤟🏻
Thanks brotha! All those kits in that pack are awesome sounding, some definitely work better than others though, like you said.
Cheers mate!
Thank you so much for watching friends! I have some preset and midi packs in the works. Just the email list for updates here: thestevekinney.com/
EZ drummer was a game changer for me. As a song writer and self producer, this was just what I needed. I recommend it.
Same dude! Same!
Especially having a handful of the different sound packs. It’s damn good.
I mean - when I was younger I fiddled with mic’ing kits and the whole shebang. Never sounded good.
After years of learning why - I didn’t have a good room, I didn’t have a wall of good pre’s - I didn’t have the right snare or toms for the song - didn’t have a ton of mics to audition.
Now - I don’t even bother lol it’s too much work and the world requires too quick of turn around times. This is just easier - sounds just as good.
Soooo many benefits. My drummers can make a mistake and I can fix it or change a fill in an instant and not have to working about comping and phase issues.
Cheers man! Good on you.
@@TheSteveKinney Yep I feel that! I got a Shure mic kit and it sounded good but not as good as it should of. Probably because we recorded it in my bedroom lol. But between the convenience and the quality of sounds, it's too good. No setup, don't have to rent out a studio space for a good sound, etc. Cheers!
As a drummer I use Roland e-drums and use them to trigger Superior Drummer 3, then I get the best of both worlds.
100% - it’s where it’s at. My e-kit is still in storage.
My brother does most of my drums, I believe he has an Alesis.
Such a great method. Saves so much time!
@@TheSteveKinney And when done like this we also can change the BPM up or down if needed. I have a female jazz singer that always want to change key and tempo (even after we have settled on something, just because) and that give me the freedom to handle these things on the fly without going mental after spending hours on getting the drums right.
@@EirikHasselberg 😭😂... dude. Yes. You get it. Cheers mate!
I used GGD MOdern and Massive. With my Alesis Strike Pro Se and record the tracks individually as an acoustic kit. And then I can transfer the files anywhere in the world.
Saves time and like you said, I don’t have a great live room with tons of gear. So this made the most sense :)
Totally, and I’d imagine the results are great!
Awesome job, thanks for watching and your support.
Cheers,
Steve
I just picked up EZ Drummer 2, EZ Mix and a couple sound packs. In a perfect world, I’d have a real drummer at my disposal 24/7 who could come up with awesome shit and send me mixed sound files so I didn’t have to find practice and recording spaces, have him re-record what I didn’t like, and know how to compliment what I hear in my head. Unfortunately, I travel a lot for work, have a bunch of kids, home projects, and other things to do, so I see no problem using something like EZ Drummer to produce music I enjoy. I think that probably sums it up for a lot of people these days, and it would have been historically more prevalent if the technology had been there to make such realistic-sounding sampled percussion.
Great freaking points man!!
It’s fun to get one of those electronic kits or even pads and just create what you hear in your head.
I totally agree with your sentiment. Cheers!
@@TheSteveKinney thanks for the reply! Excellent video!! You hit some very valid points, especially that Kemper comparison. My best friend for the last 20+ years is a drummer and used to curse drummers who used triggers as “cheaters”… until he saw how practical they really were. You’ve earned a subscriber! Also, what kind of chair are you using at your battlestation? Looks comfy!
@@naturaljoe759 ha. Shit, it ain’t all too shabby as a chair. Love of my life got it for me for Christmas a few years back. I believe it’s one of the ergonomic models from either staples.
Great to sit it, but what I find hard to deal with sometimes is the arms, they don’t get outta the way like the pro studio chairs do!
Not a big deal, cause I’d never use a chair like that for tracking, but sometimes it’s nice to sit comfy and play guitar while writing.
Great ergo chair though!
Here is the link to it.
www.staples.com/Staples-Hyken-Technical-Mesh-Task-Chair-Black/product_990119
Bottom line, only engineers/producers/musicians seem to be concerned with how songs are made and what tools are used. While it is important to strive for a quality recording, it is most definitely not a requirement to do it by some arbitrary set of rules! Great topic, glad to hear you share how you do things!
Totally! It’s crazy that I don’t see more people who are bigger on YT share this point of view.
Anyways - glad we’re not alone! lol
Cheers!
@@TheSteveKinney I just released an album, and on the CD liner notes I added "Drums and drum programming". I decided to just embrace how I did it, rather than even try to pretend my drums were real. Most listeners cannot tell or wouldn't care!
@@TheBissco right!
And even the top engineers use triggers anyway lol and replace the drum sounds cause they usually don’t like them lol
Kudos and great work!
@CLEAN HEART exactly! Cheers!
Another great video Stephen!
Every artist and every song has an idea, and the producer's job is to capture it. {Jimmy Lovine}
Love this Momma!
I love EZ Drummer and use it all the time. The only problem I have is too many choices for grooves and sounds. I've learned to limit myself to only three kits when I start a song, otherwise I'm there all day auditioning sounds.
Totally! You gotta at least have some sort of vision in the first place - sonically speaking for what you’re creating
Or if it’s exploration mode where you don’t even have a riff yet - then like you say - limiting would certainly be a great way to approach it.
@@TheSteveKinney The same with processing plug-ins. I have Logic, so you have so many great plug-ins there and I have a big UAD collection as well (not to mention some Izotope and EZ mix stuff). If you don't limit the amount of compressors, eqs, verbs, delays. etc you'll just end up getting in your own way.
@@xrandy11 I honestly never use the logic ones anymore.
The UAD ones are all I use. With the exception of FabFilter pro Q3, sonarworks, & youlean loudness Meter
They have different flavors of delays and reverbs - so I know exactly what to call for when I want it.
The compressors are like using real world ones - so again. I know what to call for.
The pres are color choices - so they are a lot more fun to choose from.
But I definitely could see where things could be fatiguing!
@@xrandy11 great point mate!
I love EZ drummer i use for all my recordings.its awesome.
Right on mate! Its amazing!
Well done! Another great video!
Thanks babe!
Steve Thank you from France about your video 🙏😎
Cheers!!!
Very cool, thanks for another informative video.
Thanks mate!
I used Ez drummer for my latest single, and I’m really happy with the results.
EZ drummer is awesome. I find my best results came after I started using some of the other sound packs that they offer.
Since not all drum sets are right for every song.
Best,
Steve
Hey congratulations, I hope your single did well. Sorry for the late question if you dont mind?. Did you have any issues with the ezdrummer samples triggering copyright issues like CZcams demonetisation etc.
Very interesting insight, thank you! Looks like to be exactly what I was searching for.
Cheers mate! check out my other video on ez drummer that I posted recently. could be helpful too!
love the honesty
Thanks mate! No need for secrets here. My name isn’t mutt. Nor have I won a Grammy. Until I do... ha ha
Great videos as always. Thinking about getting EZ drummer. I have a great Roland V drum kit, so it makes sense I think.
Dude, 1000% worth it if you have an e-kit.
Ez3 is insane. I wanna make a video about it. Just haven’t had the chance.
Just downloading the demo now, re your video heads up. I need a simple way of getting my guitar into a mixed song track, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs. Thanks
Rock on!
very nice backgrounds 🔥
Thanks for sharing your workflow Steve. This is my approach as well. Since I play keyboards - I would come up with a few ideas and harmonies. Then the first thing I will do is explore various beats from Midi packs in EZDrummer. EZDrummer is easy to operate.
Indeed! And also - great to blend and build sounds with.
Hey Steve, love your videos bro, can you make a video on bouncing individual EZD2 tracks into Luna and Logic Pro please?
I've been using EZdrummer for three years now, SD2 for four, SD3 since it came out, Ezbass since it was released some months ago, & yet I had forgotten that there are features in EZdrummer that I thought were only in SD3. Thanks as that may change my workflow. Thanks! I also thought the presentation was clear & uncluttered with unnecessary dialog - like you respected my time enough to make solid memorable points all the way through.
Sean - what a compliment! Thanks so much.
I do my best to try to cover the nuance, but still not drone on over pointless details.
Thanks for watching and the support, cheers!
Sean, are there certain applications you prefer SD2/3 for over EZD? I’m new to this whole thing and from what I could tell, SD is just a more in-depth program with more control. Thanks!
@@TheSteveKinney Yeah I recall that video. Really well done. Do you have one on EZbass?
@@naturaljoe759 I see EZD as my best tool for getting a studio quality drum sound that's already prepped & mixed so that I can have a quality drum track to write a song. As you may or may not know EZD samples are ready to mix & sound great out of the box. I used to manage a large studio that did a lot of different kinds of work. When we produced a song we'd record all the guide tracks because VI's were not invented yet.
With EZD you have a set of quality guide tracks that sound better faster than we could ever record them & also a lot of premade midi tracks that really groove. They are generally not quantized because they preserved the feel of the drummers groove.
With Superior Drummer - first I usually do all the song writing in EZD with EZD kits & samples but I'll use midi from anywhere. Then when it's time to mix I just remove EZD plugin & replace with SD3 plugin & begin mixing with it OR I send the stems to a drummer or studio I know to have a really awesome drummer create the drum track now that the song has been written.
If I'm super impressed with a song it goes to the studio. If I like it enough to publish it but not enough to send to the studio then I use SD3 to mix. A couple I've left the EZdrummer track in because it sounded the best with the song & sat better in the mix - even though I'd expected to have found a better sounding kit in SD3.
@@SeanWyseman Holy shit, that was an insanely thorough response. I’ve screenshot’d it all for my personal notes. Thank you so much for being so detailed. I won’t be making any major label grade productions but just filling out songs I hear in my head, so for now at least it seems EZD will be ample. Again, very appreciative of such an attentive response! Thanks, bro!
I think Ez drummer is a good songwriting tool but I prefer the sounds from SSD better. The cymbals sound more realistic. Like the have more samples or something like that. Great video. I'm totally in favor to this kind of production and I'm doing my first this way :)
Right on!
Yeah I agree. I think SSD is way more advanced.
It’s crazy what someone can do these days huh!
@@TheSteveKinney it's insanity at it's best :)
Nice video, I was wondering if anyone else had trouble with placing the midi on an ableton midi track instead of it playing from the EZ drummer session. Is it possible to edit midi packs in the piano roll on Ableton?
I haven’t tried this in ableron - but I usually just drag the midi from the EZdrummer GUI - into the midi timeline in my DAW. usually works no problem.
Let me know if this works for ya mate! Cheers!
Well done, good tips
Thanks Seanie! Cheers mate!
Brutal...
🤷🏻♂️ shooting my shot. Cheers brotha!
One thing that I don't get
Why would someone be disappointed to learn somebody uses Plug-ins Live or in the studio.
Depending on your processing you can make the end result as big or bigger than with any other gear
Fact is : you can do that even with free plug-ins - LOL
And when it comes to drums, Tomas Haake from Meshuggah uses a Toontrack Plug-in for his kick drum in Live situations
which makes a lot of sense, since he was part of the creation of the brand
Their stuff sounds great even without any further processing - once you add your own "sauce" then the possibilities are endless
Well said.
But truthfully - I think it’s just kind of a stigma. It’s like those pictures of people “in the studio” and it’s a closet LOL
I mean. If it sounds great and the track is cool - no one would care, if they didn’t know.
But everyone just wants to imagine great sounds come from beautiful intricate setups at a studio like blackbird with real performances and most of the time it’s just not the case.
@@TheSteveKinney They need to understand that this is 2021 - and the wonderful setup / Drums & Mics were in fact used to create those EZ Drummer / Superior Drummer libraries. Plus it means less studio time and money when the Drums are already there ready to use on your computer - as opposed to studio time being wasted on trying 152 snare drums.
That's very cool - unless you're the drummer of course LOL
Personally I got like 12 EZ Drummer 2 libraries and I can't get enough of using them
I’m still using EZ version 1 but do have several kits. I prefer playing actual drums, creating midi of the snare, kick and Toms - and using EZ or even Logic drum samples. This leaves real hats and cymbals. I may consider a midi pad at some point. Great video !
100% this is an awesome technique to do.
It’s funny. You can actually use this technique with EZ as well. Take the midi notes from the kick and snare and add another layer of drums for triggers.
Doing it with real drums too gets amazing results. Love it!
Cheers!
Where can one get big realistic snare samples like this? Do they simply come with EZdrummer?
Ez drummer 3 is by far, the best stock library of samples I’ve ever heard.
Yes, they come with it, but there are a TON of additional packs that you can buy.
Imho no one is doing what toontrack is doing. Best game in town.
Why don't you use logic drummer?
The sound. Imho, sounds like crap.
Not just the sounds, but the AI based midi loops.
It’s handy for songwriting, most definitely, but it’s not good enough imho for any sort of musical release.
Great vid. Can someone share the title of the song in the background?
Hey Brotha! Thanks for the feedback on this one. glad you enjoyed the video .
The track in the background is part of a demo I threw together for a client. This is just the original work I created myself.
cheers brotha!
@@TheSteveKinney love the track, hope it is released soon.
Good video.
Thanks!
Do you use a midi keyboard/pad to create new ryhthm tracks or you ‘compose it’ on your DAW like Luna..?
I’ll typically use an e-kit.
However, sometimes if I don’t have that I’ll use a midi keyboard.
Hello, can you elaborate on drum packs? So after buying ez drummer you don’t get all kits and/or sounds?
How is it w CPU?
It’s pretty light. I run a number of instances at once - you want a fast drive though - so. Internal SSD for the library.
The drum packs are offered on ez drummers store. They are different sounds.
Thank you for the information and videos ☺️
So how do you get ez drummer trAck into the daw?
Hey mate.
It’s an virtual instrument. So load an instrumental track. 😎
The midi itself can be loaded within the ezdrummer plugin or you can drag and drop into your timeline.
Cheers!
Awesome video Steve, thanks. Which would be the best packs for 90s rock, garage rock and alternative rock?
That's an awesome question. I think it largely depends on your influence and what kinda sound you're really going for as there are a number of options that come to mind.
I like the Post Rock kit a lot. I think the new Gospel pack has tons of really cool drum sounds. Alt-Rock EZx does exactly what it sounds like. Using additional samples from the Kicks & Snares to supplement would be a great way to expand the sound palette.
Side note: the hard rock one was made by bob rock - and has almost the exact sound of Metallica recreated. lol and if you like the MASSIVE drum sound of Nickelback from the Dark Horse era ... check out the Rock Solid ezx. fantastic.
@@TheSteveKinney thanks man!! Wow I did not know about bob rock producing the hard rock EXZ, I love The black album sound. I play more of a black rebel motorcycle kinda sound now but I have a thrash metal past lol. I was about to buy EZ with all these kits but the fact that the software is super old, the price has been increasing to almost double over the last 6 years with no updates , and a comment from Toontrack themselves saying this has been built on an old software architecture model which makes it impossible to scale up… I’m now looking for other options but it does sound really good
@@gonebymidnight2881 I’m sure they are about to have a new version.
Probably EZdrummer 3. 🤷🏻♂️ it’s about that time.
All of their latest library’s have been getting better and better. So they are certainly working on something.
It’s cool and handy to have anyway. A cheap great sounding alternative is the GGD drums.
One of the kits sounds reallyyyy good.
@@TheSteveKinney yea I’m sure they’re already beta testing something super cool. I guess it not the greatest timing to buy most drum plugins for that reason. But I guess they’ll give me the chance to upgrade in the future.
@@TheSteveKinney heard good things about GGD, I’m considering all options right now and going a bit nuts . I like some demos I’ve heard of Slate with the expansion packs, I love superior drummer and I’m not sure about addictive drums…
Can add my own drum sounds to the software?
Haven’t attempted this yet / but I’d be willing to bet that you can.
The folders are tucked away - and almost impossible to find. But it can be done.
"You have my heart, and we'll never be worlds apart
Maybe in magazines, but you'll still be my star" :D
Thanks Pin Ball! Means the world!
the problem is the hihat
Yeah hi hat wash is a tricky one.
Do you need to process these sounds or are they pretty much mixed already?
Truthfully with the ezx presets that come with them - they are already processed and sound awesome. Sometimes you might wanna do a little something extra though - like make the kick drum louder or snare crack more. Which you can.
But most of the kits have awesome sounds right outta the box.
Steve Kinney that sounds great to me, lol!
Hi nice demo thanks I'm a big fan of ezdrummer. Can ia ask you a question. Have you even hit issues with ezdrummer samples or midi grooves triggering copyright issue for example getting a CZcams video demonstration etc?
No. There would be no reason for that.
@@TheSteveKinney thanks
2:41 is this umbrella by rihanna? :D
Ha! That’s awesome! Super similar beat - totally!
Do you use any plugins or effects for the drums? Or you use the stock sound as is? Tnx
Depends on the situation.
I’ll use some compression if I need to. Or eq if I need to carve something out.
Most of the time - I’ll supplement the sounds.
Hi Steve, are you planning to create a video on EZDrummer Multi Stem in LUNA? No one has covered it yet.
I could definitely make a video on my workflow.
I’ve been meaning to talk about ez3
But I almost feel like I’ve missed the boat ha
But I could revisit it for sure.
Hi @@TheSteveKinney , you haven’t missed the boat yet 😉 Producers have covered Studio 1, Logic, Pro Tools but no one yet to publish a proper how-to content. To able to control each drum stem in Luna mixer and managing them using either API Vision Control Strip with Oxide or LA 2A and other EQs to finalize them for mix will be a huge help.
@@NaweedQadirdotcom word! Okay! I like it.
Used it on my recent solo album- Not even gonna use a drummer for final mix now haha
For real. It’s awesome isnt it?
@@TheSteveKinney Yes it is!
I'm thinking about getting EZ Drummer. I know it's been around for years so is it worth still buying or is there something else out there anyone here would recommend that's just as easy to use with as good or better results?
Ez drummer rules. Backwards compatibility with the older sound packs, and always putting out tons of new ones, along with great midi packs.
Outside of that, a lot of people like slate drums.
If you’ve got a certain sound - more towards alternative - the built in drummer sounds in logic can be cool too.
Luna even has some good live kit sounds.
Cheers brotha!
Kvlt drums haha
dope video u kinda look like ben affleck
Ha! That’s so funny - I hear this from time to time. I just hope I can have at least some of his success!
Thanks for watching and for the support! Cheers!
Is that the ezdrummer Pop/rock kit? What’s your favorite kit to use. I’m thinking of getting that kit
Hey there! It’s actually not -
This one is the the “alt” rock I believe. It’s the one that they recorded and captured out in Iceland I think. If I remember - it was definitely in one of the Nordic countries. And it’s one of the best sounding/coolest sounding ones.
Definitely check that one out. UK pop is fantastic too.
*Post-Rock 🤘🏾
Good job dude
Is that the default kit on EZD2?
Hey brotha! Thanks for the kind words. In short - Nope.
This is an ezx called post rock. And one of my favorites. They have another called indie x I think. Also reallyyy cool sounds there.
@@TheSteveKinney cool thanks ill check out the post rock. that kick sound is really cool
@@weareparkerful yeah I absolutely love post rock.
And it has this awesome bit crushed thing in the background that sounds really cool too. The snares are really snappy too.
Does it work with Cakewalk?
Yup! EZ drummer should work in any daw that supports VST.
@@TheSteveKinney sick. I'll probably go for Superior Drummer right away then because of the grid editor and the extended library. Thanks, Steve!
@@jeanrepal superior is pretty awesome, and insane.
You’re basically getting the un edited sessions.
So you get to rebuild and process the raw sounds from the get go. Steeper learning curve but better more precise results.
Hope that makes sense. Cheers!
is this a free software or we need to purchase a license?
Hey simon! You’d need to purchase a license for EZdrummer. It’s a great piece of software for sure.
@@TheSteveKinney thank you for the recommendation Steve, nice to know
Hey Steve. Does EZ work with Luna? Although I'm trying to make my way through the learning curve for Luna, it doesn't seem to pull up anything but UAD products. As an example, my Logic Pro instruments don't show up when I launch an instrument track. I don't want to buy EZ if the same thing happens. Am I missing something? Thanks and take care.
More than likely - the logic to instruments are native to logic and do not work in other daws. Haven’t tested with PT.
Now that said - EZ does work within Luna. No multi-channel instrument output yet - this hasn’t been a big deal for me anyways - as I like to bounce my Luna drums down once I find my sounds - and then I process the tracks as if they were recorded wav stems.
Either way - EZ does work with Luna.
Cheers Justus!
is this alt rock?
Ehhhh.
Kinda?
I’m the worst with genres lol I just try to make music.
Cheers!
*Post-Rock
I produce songs with Superior Drummer. Ha!
Yup! Had songs hit no. 1 on CMT Au, and no. 4 on Australian radio. Pretty grateful for it.
A lot of people use samples, whether that be 808’s, shell passes with samples supplementing, or superior and ez drummer.
At the end of the day - it’s how it sounds. And how it makes the listener feel. If you’re not good at paying attention to detail - you can certainly get an uncanny result with EZdrummer where it sounds kinda robotic.
If you’re good at paying attention to detail - you can get sounds that are indistinguishable from a live mic’d performance.. because. Well. It is live mic’d samples. Lol
Anyways. You get the idea! Thanks for watching and hopefully this inspires you to keep getting creative and making awesome tunes, cheers mate!
I'm a drummer and i use superior drummer because i only have an electronic kit
Superior is insane.
It’s seriously damn cool if you have extensive knowledge of what kind of drum you need for a particular sound and also know how to process the sound.
I love the raw unprocessed kits that they give you. Amazing stuff.
This is just an AD
😭😂
I wish it was an ad. Then maybe I’d make money off my channel ha
ur face looks like u didnt want to make this video lol
😭😭 ha good one! I totally see it now.