Mixing Drums with EZ Drummer/ other drum sampling programs

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Ex3vious

New member
Hello all,
I recently got the program EZ Drummer 2 and its great so far, however I have a few questions about mixing it in with all the other instruments (guitar, bass, keys, etc.)

Here is an example of a Track that was professionally produced with EZ Drummer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpWwMFXyFGc

Here is an example of a track I produced with EZ Drummer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMlCPKJRUDk

The drums in the Andy James track sound better, but I can't tell what it is that makes them better.
So my question is, after adding a drum beat made in EZ Drummer to a track is there any post production that needs to be done to the drum sound such as panning or placing effects on the individual drum instruments?

Also if any of you use a program such as EZ Drummer what else do you do to mix the drums into the song and get them to blend well with everything?
Thanks for the information.
 
My usual thought with EZD is that it should function like a good kit recorded on good mics. So you still need to mix it the way you would a real drum kit. This means you might need to compress, eq, automate, gate, etc. the drums; and you'll definitely need to compress, eq, automate, gate, etc. the rest of the mix around the drums.
 
There is a way in Cubase to split the feed of EZ drummer into 8 different outputs for each drum mic, would you recommend doing this and then applying effects on an individual basis, or do you apply the effects to the whole kit?
 
You need to send the ezdrummer mixer outputs to your DAW tracks, so you can mix using your DAW mixer.

Mix just like you're mixing your vocals, bass etc, but it would be a pain in the butt to mix inside ezdrummer's mixer...
 
Ex3vious said:
There is a way in Cubase to split the feed of EZ drummer into 8 different outputs for each drum mic, would you recommend doing this and then applying effects on an individual basis, or do you apply the effects to the whole kit?
Click to expand...

Yes, split the EZD2 outputs to your DAW separately. I don't bother with the room/ambience outputs of EZ at all, I use the same reverb as I do for the rest of the mix. I minimize the mic EQ, bleeds, and compression (not all EZD2 kits have those) as well, and do everything in the DAW, including panning. Doesn't make sense to have two mixer windows (one for drums and one for everything else).
 
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He has his kick EQ'd in the 2k range so that you can hear it on small speakers.
Parallel compression is your friend.
Possibly some tuning involved as well on the snare.
 
i think their room mics sound more real, and sit better in a mix,
than any plugin reverb you add after the fact.

you can output SUPERIOR DRUMMER as individual 24 bit wav files directly from the mixer,

and then control the amount of room bleed with an entire group of individual room mics,
all at different distances and types of mics
 
jajsound#5 said:
Recording Multiple Outputs from EZDrummer [Video]
Recording Multiple Outputs from EZDrummer [Video] | Home Studio Corner

Also check out Toontracks EZ Mix2.....YES YES....i know ! don't bash me down and come pounding on my front door with flaming torches and nail me to the cross, you Pro's and Pure Traditional Engineers...just offering some Amateur Basement/Bedroom Tips on a quick and generic mix tool ......
Click to expand...

There's really no need in resurrecting all these old EZD threads to promote your video ....
 
Something I do is sort do work backwards from time to time. Set up 2 group channels for your drums. Send your ezdrummer drums to both group channels. On one channel add a long tailed reverb but with a moderate mix level. Then slap a Compressor on it and squash the crap out of it. I mean really really squash it. On the other group channel maybe compress just a little with a slower attack and quicker release and mix the two channels to taste. This is just parallel compressing and parallel reverb but I like the feel of being able to just slide a fader to get the mix just how I like it. Then I will go on to mixing the individual drums. Backwards I know but I found it helps me get to the finished product a little faster and alot of times I find myself doing a lot less processing on the drums than I would have. As a note I usually end up with like a 80/20 mix or less on the 2 channels. Don't get to carried away with the effects. You will listen back the next day and realize it sounds lifeless and dull.
 
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