Ezdrummer 'vs Real Drummer

I've had fair results with both. However neither Superior Drummer or EZDrummer can replace a real life human person. I mean you can edit velocities and what not but you still can replace the soul. Perhaps, I'm digging to deep there. :)
 
The flip side of Ezdrummer...

I was asked to perform a few songs of mine at a private little gathering and i auditioned 5 drummers in my local area and not one of them came close to the sound i have developed for myself. And i am arrogant enough to not settle for something substandard.

Sort of another Catch22 to consider when your composing with EZD and there is a chance you may have to do a live performance at some point.

And No, i am not one of those guys what will go out with my laptop on stage and use that as my drummer. It's really lame. I know when i see a band that has drums but no drummer it isn't remotely the same. Even though they may have thought my song was good, that impression of not being a full ensemble is left with them when ever they see my name again...you know.

there is a huge difference to be a digital recorder and a digital performer in my opinion...

/End Rant
 
Atom Bomb said:
The flip side of Ezdrummer...

I was asked to perform a few songs of mine at a private little gathering and i auditioned 5 drummers in my local area and not one of them came close to the sound i have developed for myself. And i am arrogant enough to not settle for something substandard.

Sort of another Catch22 to consider when your composing with EZD and there is a chance you may have to do a live performance at some point.

And No, i am not one of those guys what will go out with my laptop on stage and use that as my drummer. It's really lame. I know when i see a band that has drums but no drummer it isn't remotely the same. Even though they may have thought my song was good, that impression of not being a full ensemble is left with them when ever they see my name again...you know.

there is a huge difference to be a digital recorder and a digital performer in my opinion...

/End Rant
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Yeah, I agree with you. Drums without a drummer in a live show is lame.

I try to write my songs so I can play them barebones on an acoustic.
 
I luckily have a live drummer - which is about the only instrument I can't really fake my way through a song on. But - my drummer is in another band so his kit stays at their practice space, I don't have room for a real kit anyway. So I picked up the Roland TD4 drum kit - the internal sounds aren't good enough to record with - but once I got EZD and combined the two it sounded awesome.

They are low enough latency that he can trigger EZD in the DAW and we run them through the PA - so we can use EZD sounds live and for recording. So we get the killer human drum beats as well as excellent drum sound without having to mic a kit. Oh and it's easy to go in an fix a screw-up or a missed cymbal hit or whatever...
 
saads said:
That, right there, is the whole issue.
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If you have a real drummer, then yeah that's the issue in a nut shell. But if the people asking these questions had real drummers, we wouldn't even be talking about EZD. Everything I'm saying to buff up EZD is coming from a guy who has no drummers to record. I'm telling the poster that the next best thing is EZD IF you dont have a real drummer. Don't pull the intended message out of context, it turns it into apples vs oranges. Of course everyone knows a real drummer is always better. If the OP has a real drummer handy all the time, then why would he ask the question?
 
soundchaser59 said:
If you have a real drummer, then yeah that's the issue in a nut shell. But if the people asking these questions had real drummers, we wouldn't even be talking about EZD. Everything I'm saying to buff up EZD is coming from a guy who has no drummers to record. I'm telling the poster that the next best thing is EZD IF you dont have a real drummer. Don't pull the intended message out of context, it turns it into apples vs oranges. Of course everyone knows a real drummer is always better. If the OP has a real drummer handy all the time, then why would he ask the question?
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You're absolutely right in every point you made. But what a boring world this would be if everyone that was asked a question answered it straight without all the nuances and differences that make for debate and different sides of the coin.
Having said that, I disagree with you. I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of people in the recording game, hobbyist and pro, that would rather have something like EZ drummer as opposed to a human drummer and an acoustic kit, even in the supposedly wonderful sounding room. This has been the state of affairs since the mid 70s when bands like Kraftwerk were pioneering industrial rhythms and Donna Summer's producer was creating beats and rhythms on synthesizers on some of her disco hits. And the invention of the drum machine was not because of a lack of real human drummers. The drummer was the norm in those days. And throughout the hip hop explosion of the 80s when sampling became de rigeur and the "R&B" strides of the 90s when on almost every album credit list was found "Drum programming by......" there was no lack of drummers. Those pros recording in pro studios with pro engineers and pro producers with access to tons of great session musicians if they wanted them chose instead to go with programmed drums. They're not even necesarilly more convenient. You've got work to do on those babies.......
But people grew to like the sound sometimes. And you can bet your shoulder blades that things that are happening within studios will sooner or later be replicated in the home recording scene.
When I listen to some of the albums I have by the likes of Seal, Erykah Badu, Des'ree, US3, Anne Nesby, Laurnea, Chante` Moore, Omar, Maxwell,Tony Rich project, D'angelo, Adrianna Evans and stuff of that ilk, the programmed drums are another sound altogether. They may be doing pretty much what real drums do but their sonicity is different and as such, real drums would actually detract from the overall result.
I think we might be surprized to discover that there are are actually people on the home recording horizon who actually do prefer the EZ drummers of this world.
 
grimtraveller said:
the programmed drums are another sound altogether. They may be doing pretty much what real drums do but their sonicity is different and as such, real drums would actually detract from the overall result.
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That's my feeling on the subject in a nutshell. There's lots of indie folk/acoustic acts out there using sampled/electronic percussion and creating great rhythms. If you are "stuck" with using "fake" drums, embrace it and see what you can make it do for your music. Sometimes the robotic feel can work to create a great contrast in an otherwise acoustic tune.
 
grimtraveller said:
the programmed drums are another sound altogether. They may be doing pretty much what real drums do but their sonicity is different and as such, real drums would actually detract from the overall result.
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You obviously rooted for the Imperial Storm Troopers to win.......and everyone knows what really happened to all those clones.
 
I find the deciding factor is the client, song and quality of the drummer / room

client = singersongwriter - 99% ezd
band / guy with a drummer he always uses - use drummer for feel

song = time signature strict - ezd
free time sig - drummer

drummer = crap - electric kit + ezdrummer + quantize like fu*k
amazing - live kit rent a room go nuts
 
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