EZDrummer or Superior Drummer - in terms of "ease of use"

[pure.fusion]

Hi all,

I've read around the forums. The massive thread on EZDrummer vs SD here that was great.

But I'm still lacking an understanding of the functionality of the two, specifically due to this page...

ttp://www.toontrack.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=104414&mpage=1&key=&#104414

.. where this guys mentions " if your mixing skills are not up to scratch then an EZX can come in very handy without compromising much".

I know EZ drummer and other drum software are set up for ease of use. I'd be happy to upsize to Superior Drummer for the "full sample pool" to help maximise the posibility of realistic drum sounds, but not if it requires "extra effort". I'd still want to choose a kit, choose and sound, and program.

Can anyone comment on the "mixing skills" thing? Is there something extra I have to do with Superior Drums?

Any help appreciated.

FM

[ashcat_lt]

Most of the extra features in SD are optional and don't really get in the way of basic functionality. You can just load up an EZX, select the specific sound for each drum, and go. The mixer section is a bit more complex and not quite as intuitive, but it's not unusable by any means. SD allows you to go deeper into editing individual drums, keyboard maps, and to mix and match drums from different EZX kits, but unless you purposely get into that crap it can work very much like EZD.

[Guitargodgt]

The difference between the 2 plugins from a utility point of view is pure function (ez drummer is 16 bit only, limited outputs, limited humanise function, and you can't add extra drums if you want to, no internal mixdown features, and no custom mapping all come to mind).

The difference between the 2 stock libraries is what we mean when we say if your not up for mixing go with ez. The stock library with superior is a much more natural unmixed drumset (although some really light mixing was done). Ez drummer libraries (with the exception of the country one) are all very processed and mix sounding, they are meant to sit in mixes well as is.

But yes, you can load ez drummer libraries in superior drummer. You can not load superior libraries in ez.

[Guitargodgt]

In terms of "hey I've got a song idea going and I want to drop in some drums quickly that will sound good with little or no mixing"

EZ drummer.

In terms of "hey I have a song ready to release and I want some good natural sounding drums to go over it that I will mix to taste"

Superior.

[pure.fusion]

In terms of "hey I've got a song idea going and I want to drop in some drums quickly that will sound good with little or no mixing"

EZ drummer.

In terms of "hey I have a song ready to release and I want some good natural sounding drums to go over it that I will mix to taste"

Superior.

Ooooh, we are getting close.

RE: Superior, what do you mean "Mix to taste" ? Are you saying that there *must* be some time spent to address mixing, or is this just a benefit in case you need to address sonic issues?

All my projects have evolved in the same way. Stock drums get loaded with simple indicitave patterns and specific drum parts where it will interact with the piece of music. Then towards the end, the drums are gone over thoroughly so that they sound as natural and human as the product will allow. So, now I have to address the kit mix somehow?

FM

[Guitargodgt]

Ooooh, we are getting close.

RE: Superior, what do you mean "Mix to taste" ? Are you saying that there *must* be some time spent to address mixing, or is this just a benefit in case you need to address sonic issues?

All my projects have evolved in the same way. Stock drums get loaded with simple indicitave patterns and specific drum parts where it will interact with the piece of music. Then towards the end, the drums are gone over thoroughly so that they sound as natural and human as the product will allow. So, now I have to address the kit mix somehow?

FM

I would say that you are almost always looking at mix time with superior. However, some of the mix packs aren't to bad. I thought the slate stuff was decent.

[ashcat_lt]

Don't know what you mean by "no external mixdown features". EZDrummer can and will send the individual "mics" out to separate tracks in the host. I haven't had any problem with just loading up Superior and rocking. Don't think that part of the workflow would change hardly at all.

[DavidK]

I have EZ Drummer with DFH, Nashville, Latin and Pop! expansions. The big weakness IMO are the included midi loops, they have lots of variations on the same thing and sound somewhat sterile. The Pop! expansion has the best ones I think. I have some Groove Monkee loops and they sound much better. In fact, go to their site and you can download some free ones, it's actually a pretty big set you get for free.

The other weakness is the crash cymbals- they sound harsh. I've tried various eqs and reverbs. I think the best thing is to use them sparingly.

[Guitargodgt]

Don't know what you mean by "no external mixdown features". EZDrummer can and will send the individual "mics" out to separate tracks in the host. I haven't had any problem with just loading up Superior and rocking. Don't think that part of the workflow would change hardly at all.

Yeah I said internal not external.

[pure.fusion]

... I haven't had any problem with just loading up Superior and rocking. Don't think that part of the workflow would change hardly at all.

Much thanks.

I saw the EZ drummer interface last night and it is *very* simple, but effective. I think SD is the go.

Actually, I'm seriously impressed with the sound from Toontrack.

Thanks all.