The Everything "EZDrummer" and "Superior Drums" thread.

Cool man, thanks for the info....

Here's about what I do (if I ever get around to finishing a song...lol...I've got an "album" I've been working on for over a year now... I know, I know...things have been pretty damn crazy in my personal life the last year or so, but it's gettin' better...)..


I try to get my drums all programmed up before I record any tracks at all...Of course, I've got scratch tracks that I use as a guide, but using Jamstix, it's important to have the song mapped out before hitting record due to the little timing variations during the different song sections...

I pretty much know how my songs are gonna go, & like you, I pretty much know where there's gonna be a cymbal crash, fill, etc., but doing all this takes time, & since things have changed so much for me in the last year or so, I don't have time like I once had...

One thing that is kinda frustrating for me is getting fills to sound right in Jamstix. I mean, you can literally audition fills for hours, & not hear the same one twice using the different sliders/knobs/etc, but a lot of times, they just don't sound "right", so I'll get one that's kinda close, then tweak it in the bar editor in Jamstix (which is exactly what it says...one bar of midi, showing the hits that you can edt: delete, change sounds, change timing, velocity, it's basically a one-bar piano roll...)...

I use the multi-out thing in Reaper, & send all my kit pieces to 2-3 different 'verbs. I don't use the room/ambience in SD, because most of the time I use snares/kicks from another sampler....

All my drum tracks are in a folder, & I usually have some light compression across the drum bus/folder, plus I usually have a tape sim on there too...Some of the individual tracks have eq/compression on 'em, & some don't...Just depends on the song really...

I've been trying to get my drums "finished" like in a real studio situation on these 10-12 songs too, & being just one person, it's a lot of work, takes a lot of time. Plus, I'm really picky about my stuff, so that adds to it...

It's cool you actually use tape, I've often wondered how my stuff would sound on actual tape...Of course I use emulations, but have no idea if they're even close to the real thing...

And, I understand you not wanting to post anything up until it's finished, it's all good dude...I've posted little bits of a few of the songs I'm working on in the Tone Thread, but I try to keep mine under my hat until I get 'em done (if that ever happens...hahaha)...

Thanks for the info dude, if/when you get those songs finished, I'd really like to hear 'em, & maybe see what you've done to get there...
 
minerman said:
....if I ever get around to finishing a song...lol...I've got an "album" I've been working on for over a year now...
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You know my pain..... :D

I could probably knock out a song in a weekend or a few days if I wanted to....and it would sound pretty close to good. Most of my tape tracks can stand up as-is. I've done a couple of mixes right off the tape and as long as I track well, I can mix off the tape. I use to work that way a lot pre-DAW days.
Of course, I also work alone on everything, and it takes time. Sometimes I just get tired, and I don't feel like tracking all weekend long.

That said, I've also become quite the DAW nut, so I have all these great software tools, and I know what I want to tweak, so when the tape tracks get dumped to DAW....it can be time consuming. My goal was/is always to try and squeeze everything I can out of what I have at my disposal....and really, nothing here is rushing me to *get that song done*, so I like to work slowly. I really enjoy the process. Once the song is done...it's done.

Also, I have like 10+ songs in the works at various stages, and I tend to bounce around, as it can get tedious listening to one song over and over. Some days I feel like working on a drum track, other days I want to do some guitars...etc....so I end up with all these partially finished songs....but there's a method to my madness. :) At some point I will have a bunch all ready to be mixed, and then I will mix them one after the other and have a bunch all finished at the same time.
Maybe for another CD "album".....or maybe I just leave them as "singles" on the interwebs...?

Yeah....auditioning fills is time consuming. I do have quite the groove library, so while that helps me find what I want, it also takes time going through it, and then tweaking what I find to fit my song.
Not that I can't just manually put a fill into the editor, but I'm not a drummer...so I like to hear what real good drummers do with their fills (stuff that goes beyond the basics), and that gives me ideas for what I want to use in my grooves.
At this point, I'm quite comfy with SD...so I just work out of there to first find my drum sounds, and then to find groove/fill ideas, and then drop them into the DAW drum editor and tweak as needed for my use.
Toontrack certainly has TONS of MIDI packs, so if you're short on some particular groove style, or not sure how best to program it...grab another MIDI pack....and then audition for hours! :p
 
miroslav said:
Sometimes I just get tired, and I don't feel like tracking all weekend long.
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I hear ya dude, I drive 3 hours a day to/from work, so by the time I get in from a shift's work, I don't really feel like doing much to be honest...I'm not getting any younger either, been doing the same kind of work for almost 25 years now, & it's catching up with me...

miroslav said:
I've also become quite the DAW nut, so I have all these great software tools, and I know what I want to tweak, so when the tape tracks get dumped to DAW....it can be time consuming. My goal was/is always to try and squeeze everything I can out of what I have at my disposal....and really, nothing here is rushing me to *get that song done*, so I like to work slowly. I really enjoy the process.
Click to expand...
Yes, I love all the tools/tricks/plug-ins we have at our disposal, & I could spend a lot of my time just messing with plug-ins...lol

miroslav said:
Yeah....auditioning fills is time consuming. I do have quite the groove library, so while that helps me find what I want, it also takes time going through it, and then tweaking what I find to fit my song.
Not that I can't just manually put a fill into the editor, but I'm not a drummer...so I like to hear what real good drummers do with their fills (stuff that goes beyond the basics), and that gives me ideas for what I want to use in my grooves.
At this point, I'm quite comfy with SD...so I just work out of there to first find my drum sounds, and then to find groove/fill ideas, and then drop them into the DAW drum editor and tweak as needed for my use.
Click to expand...
I have quite a library too dude, lots of stuff, all the Toontrack expansions/kits/etc that come with different grooves, plus some of their beats/grooves they sell seperately...I've got more than I'd ever need to be honest....But again, it is time consuming trying to get a fill/accent "right", as I'm not a drummer either....

Sample-wise I've also got more than I'd probably ever need, too many to mention really...I will mention Abbey Road Drums though, to me, they're really good, a little different than the Toontrack stuff, & very CPU intense, but again, very good drum sounds (I have their 80's, Modern packs)...I tried Addictive Drums, & I just couldn't get along with 'em...Maybe it was just me, but I just never could get them to sound how I wanted...But with the Toontrack, Steven Slate, & Abbey Road Drums I have, again, I've got more than I'd ever need....until I see something else I want...lol...


miroslav said:
Toontrack certainly has TONS of MIDI packs, so if you're short on some particular groove style, or not sure how best to program it...grab another MIDI pack....and then audition for hours! :p
Click to expand...
I've got a bunch of their stuff, & I'm not trying to keep on about Jamstix, but another great thing about it is you can import any midi beat/fill/whatever into it, & have the different "drummers" play it back for you, with their style/tendencies added...IIRC, I've got about 20 different drummers for Jamstix, it comes with about 12-13, but I bought an expansion pack just so I'd have the extra drummers....

Yet another good thing about Jamstix, is if you get a fill/accent/beat/whatever you like, you can save it & add to the existing library...

Lots of ways to do the drum programming thing, I used the piano roll for a long time, but I'm getting a handle on Jamstix (finally), & I think the results are pretty good...I will say I sent a few scratch songs to the Gerg awhile back, & he told me (after I did some more tweaking/programming) they sounded pretty good, so if the Gerg approves, I'd say they sound ok....Most people wouldn't know the difference anyway, but, like my guitar tracks (I've finally switched to real amps a couple years ago), I strive to get 'em sounding the best I can....
 
minerman said:
I've got a bunch of their stuff, & I'm not trying to keep on about Jamstix....

......

...I will say I sent a few scratch songs to the Gerg awhile back, & he told me (after I did some more tweaking/programming) they sounded pretty good, so if the Gerg approves, I'd say they sound ok....Most people wouldn't know the difference anyway...
Click to expand...

Now you got my curiosity up about Jamstix and also those Abbey Road Drums...like I need more drum stuff! :facepalm: :D


Yeah, Greg has a good ear. A few years back he didn't like my drums....but I think it was more of a style thing. Back then I was still into the old-school "subdued" drum sound...more darker and behind the music rather than the modern in-your-face styles. The last few years I changed up my approach somewhat, and awhile back he heard some newer stuff I did, and while I know he's not always crazy about all my music flavors :) he didn't have anything negative to say about the drums.
You're right though....most people don't pick appart recordings like we all do here on the forums.

Anyway, I kinda' get bored doing the same stuff....so I do try anything from soft ballads to Country to Rock and Blues and even a bit of Latin flavor. I enjoy that variety, but not all my songs end up being the more typical crowd-pleaser styles. :p
 
Saying Greg has a good ear is an understatement dude...He hears things in recordings that I don't...maybe it's because I'm not listening right, or I'm going deaf from operating loud, heavy machinery in a confined space (underground)....

There's no demo for Jamstix unfortunately dude, I wanted to try it out beforehand, but went ahead & rolled the dice...While it's far from perfect, it does a pretty good job for the stuff I do...I have heard some great stuff from other people though...The Jamstix sounds themselves IMHO are lacking, but the way you can compose your drumming makes up for it...

The Abbey Road Drums 80's & Modern Drums are killer IMO, CPU heavy, but they sound pretty damn good...No demo for these either AFAIK, but I don't think you'd be disappointed with either of the libraries I have...
 
Update on updating to EZD2 = it DOES affect previously set-up projects with EZD1, but only the sounds, changing the kit to the EZD2 default. The good thing is changing sounds (different drum/cymbal, and pitch) are now easy with the EZD2 GUI. I noticed the overall volume changed on a couple of projects, too.
 
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