EZDrummer3 opinion

[PorterhouseMusic]

I haven't done it often - but it has happened.... where I start a song idea with a drum part, a groove. I love killer rhythm. So why not? It's unusual - but the rules are: there ain't no rules.

 

[Monkey Allen]

I do that a lot with SD. I will get the notes/chords (mainly chords, I'm a chords guy), rhythm, tap out the BPMs to the rhythm, then dumpster dive SD to find a beat/groove I can work with. Build everything off that. Sometimes I start out with the bass (but chords are still driving it) and work with SD.

Yeah I used to do it that way...exactly like you said...dumpster dive for midi/ beat/ groove that fits. But I found it way too frustrating. I did it A LOT like that. Many, many songs. But was rarely happy with the feel. Coz though you find something that matches...it rarely matches well enough. That's why I changed my approach to just finding a groove/ midi clip I like then writing the song/ tune FOR that.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

You think it's also a huge step up in realism from EZD/ EZD3? And what do you mean is handles subtle flam notes really well? You mean when you are playing with e-drums/ a midi drum kit? Or you mean that the included midi loops do it better?

I've used EZD, never used EZD3, but was a longtime Superior user and upgraded from 2 to 3. I also program drum MIDI by hand, creating basic loops for the various parts and then cutting them up and editing them to create basic fills.

The two areas where S3 really stepped it up over S2, IMO, is much more realistic responses out of the cymbals, particualrly on repeated hits, and with a much better ability to accurately replicate things like slight ghost notes on the snare or toms or flams, two notes hitting almost but not quite simultaneously. S2 in particular I don't recall sounding terribly lifelike if you fed it two snare hits almost on top of each other - S3 is in a different league, and it sounds like what you'd expect it to if you sat down and did that with a real drum set.

I don't know when I'm going to have the free time to load up both engines and mix down some audio, but I WILL try to get an A/B clip of a Superior 2 and Superior 3 performance of the same MIDI, when I get a chance.

EDIT - oh, but to put a finer pin on it, my hunch here is this; if EzDrummer was an attempt to make the original Superior, I think program a much more of a plug-and-play, user-friendly engine for someone who just wanted to make drum tracks and didn't care about the deep flexibility t offered, and Ez2 was based on S2... then my guess is EzD3 is probably based on the same audio engine as S3, and will probably show the same improvements on cymbals and some of the more subtle snare sounds, just without all the deep-level ability to mix and match kits, decided what bleeds into what else, add or remove various room mics, etc etc. It's not a first-hand informed view, I;m speculating.. but it seems fair.