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

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chili
  • Start date Start date
Hey, I bought this at the $29 price,couldn't resist really.

Anyway,I saw a video demo and the guy dragged and dropped a midi file straight from the ezdrummer midi list into his sequencer,Logic, however when I try and do this in FL Studio it doesn't work.

The only way I can see to drag and drop a midi file into FL Studio is by going into the sampler which doesn't make it quite so easy to work with as if I could drop a file straight into the sequencer.

Have I missed something or is there something I could do or enable etc to be able to drag and drop an ezdrummer midi file straight into the sequencer in FL Studio?
 
Hey Chilli! Maybe the thread title oughta be changed to something like "EZDrummer Super Thread" or whatever, since it's become such a monster.

Just a suggestion.
 
Friday said:
Hey, I bought this at the $29 price,couldn't resist really.

Anyway,I saw a video demo and the guy dragged and dropped a midi file straight from the ezdrummer midi list into his sequencer,Logic, however when I try and do this in FL Studio it doesn't work.

The only way I can see to drag and drop a midi file into FL Studio is by going into the sampler which doesn't make it quite so easy to work with as if I could drop a file straight into the sequencer.

Have I missed something or is there something I could do or enable etc to be able to drag and drop an ezdrummer midi file straight into the sequencer in FL Studio?
Click to expand...

You have to check which DAW programs are supported by Drag n Drop, not all do. Toontrack has them listed on their website somewhere. I'm willing to bet FL is not supported.

elbandito said:
Hey Chilli! Maybe the thread title oughta be changed to something like "EZDrummer Super Thread" or whatever, since it's become such a monster.

Just a suggestion.
Click to expand...

Yeah, actually, that's a pretty good suggestion. I don't want to claim to be an EZD expert, or an expert at anything, but if I can help people with EZD, then this thread can serve that purpose.

And besides, that weekend has long since past!!

Cool mang, rep points to you!!
 
Still at $29 on ebay Audio Deluxe shop or was yesterday anyway,thanks Chili I'll go check on the toontrack site now.
 
Well it says drag and drop is supported for FL on the toontrack site so further investigation is required on my part by the looks of things.
:)
 
Friday said:
Well it says drag and drop is supported for FL on the toontrack site so further investigation is required on my part by the looks of things.
:)
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it's an FL thing because it doesn't really make a difference to EZD how the files are handled. Sorry, I've got no experience with FL.
 
Thanks for your input,I'm just trying to figure out if it can be done.
:)

I can drag and drop them onto the sampler then paint them into the sequencer but that means I have to open another sampler for every fill or variation.
It's not far off being able to do it,maybe it needs Imageline to do an update to make that possible or it could be I'm missing putting a tick in a box or enabling something somewhere but it's a bit frustrating because it would be a whole lot easier if I could just drop the files on to the sequencer but that's how it goes with stuff isn't it?


Maybe I'll give it a try in Reaper instead.
 
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Drag n drops in Sonar X1 sequencer w/no problems.
 
Yeah,I'm just stuck on using FL because that's the first one I tried,maybe it's time to switch DAW's now.

I think I'll try Reaper.
 
Friday, Fruity Loops is a sampler more than a DAW - it's not really designed for EZDrummer.

The room mic DOES suck, huh? :laughings: I thought it was just me who hated it.

Greg, I don't know if you're already doing this or not, but I've found the fastest way to make scratch drum tracks in Reaper is to create a new midi item of maybe 2-4 measures, sequence your basic drum groove there, and then drag it out to loop it for the duration of the song. You can use different loops for verses, choruses, and bridges, and for a pretty minimal investment of time quickly lay out a servicable drum track. Then it's just a matter of going in and making liberal use of the "split" function to allow you the ability to edit little chunks of your drums to program fills - that takes forever, but you can get a drum outline that's pretty serviceable for demos very quickly. And I agree - it's an awesome songwriting tool even if you're already a drummer with a kit. For those of us without access to real drums, it's a godsend.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Friday, Fruity Loops is a sampler more than a DAW - it's not really designed for EZDrummer.

The room mic DOES suck, huh? :laughings: I thought it was just me who hated it.

Greg, I don't know if you're already doing this or not, but I've found the fastest way to make scratch drum tracks in Reaper is to create a new midi item of maybe 2-4 measures, sequence your basic drum groove there, and then drag it out to loop it for the duration of the song. You can use different loops for verses, choruses, and bridges, and for a pretty minimal investment of time quickly lay out a servicable drum track. Then it's just a matter of going in and making liberal use of the "split" function to allow you the ability to edit little chunks of your drums to program fills - that takes forever, but you can get a drum outline that's pretty serviceable for demos very quickly. And I agree - it's an awesome songwriting tool even if you're already a drummer with a kit. For those of us without access to real drums, it's a godsend.
Click to expand...

Never thought of that. Good tip. Thanks. :)
 
I picked up Superior Drummer on Sweetwater's $99 cross-grade deal for EZD a few days ago...so I have both now.
Spent a little time with SD, and I it's quite a major step up from the basic EZD package! You can really adjust a lot with SD and do all kinds of kit combinations. :cool:
I've already set up a basic "template kit" with SD and Samplitude drum editor...that way I can pull that up with a mouse click and use it to lay out drum patterns and audition new drum sounds. I doubt I will use the EZD player for anything anymore, other than its core packs via SD, and I have 3 new EZD packs on their way...so it's cool that the two programs are "merged" and SD lets you mix-n-match as you like.

The room mics in SD are better sounding, but I will still only use them for jamming/laying out stuff...and not for actual recoding of final tracks. There are also a LOT of ambiance/room mic files in SD (like 15 GB worth)...all kinds of mic distances, combinations and bleed options, so there might be some usable room sounds in there, but I didn't bother to install all those yet and just went with the 5GB basic installation of sounds which only include some room mics and bleed options. Still, the bleed options are many, so you can really tweak the kit sound almost any way you like.

Then there's the individual drum velocity/pitch/envelope settings in SD, and also the ability to start with a "packaged" kit and then add individual drums (x-drums) from other libraries, and position them where you like...etc.
There sure are a LOT of options in SD....maybe too many :D.....but you really can tweak the kits to your liking.

The only thing I wish for is the ability to change the OH mic configurations and positions beyond L/R...and I don't think it's possible (unless it's somewhere in that extra 15GB worth of stuff). So you can only increase/decrease their L/R spread, which can change the sound/size of the kit quite a lot, but I'm not sure how they were actually positioned front/back during sampling or what OH configuration was used (XY...MS....etc?), though I haven't even read through the whole manual, so maybe they tell you that somewhere.

Anyway...I really like making the move to SD from EZD, which I thought was OK for basic stuff, but it's not anywhere near as flexible as SD in letting you get away from that "sampled/sequenced" vibe.
I ended up with EZD, 3 additional EZD core packs, and SD....all for a total of $300.
Not bad. :)
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
...create a new midi item of maybe 2-4 measures, sequence your basic drum groove there, and then drag it out to loop it for the duration of the song....
Click to expand...


Yeah...that's usually the easiest way for me.
After I decide on the basic kick/snare/hh groove that I think will work for a song...I'll get a few 8-bar variations of it laid out and make a loop. Then I use that to review the structure of the song with...where the intro/verses/choruses/breaks/etc are...and I look at their total number of measures, and then quickly slice-n-dice up the looped grooves as needed to fit the arrangement.
I can then go back and decide where I want a fill or whatever, and make adjustments to fine tune the entire drum track.

The guys here who are drummers can make many of those decisions on the fly as they know their own songs, and they are deciding on the arrangements.
For those of us who are not playing drummers, we have to rely on some drummer's choices, and sometimes you can get a great drum track with a live drummer...but then you find out that certain drum elements are not falling exactly where you want them relative to the rest of the arrangement, so then you end up cutting the recorded drum track, which sometimes can be OK and other times not as smooth as if you could record things exactly as you want them....like a fill that isn't accenting quite right or maybe too much at some section.
So...with these drum programs...those arrangement options are much more flexible. Also, when I bring in my drummer to cut some live drum tracks, with my sampled MIDI drum tracks, I can now give home much more precise instructions about what/where I wanted him to play VS just some dull snare/kick groove or nothing more than a click and a lot of verbal instructions.
 
If I know what I'm gonna be playing, I *think* I can track a whole album's worth of real drums, and it'll sound better, in the time it takes me to "create" a comparable track for one song with ez drummer. :o :facepalm:
 
Right...you're drummer, so the drum programs might not seem like they are worth the effort, which is understandable.
I would probably feel the same way if I could play drums...though like someone mentioned, even for drummers, sometimes the programs are good for just working out stuff and doing pre-production before actual tracking.

For us non-drummers....they open up a lot of drum groove possibilities, and a lot of adjustment options all under one roof, not to mention the many different drum styles/kits/sounds available...all with just a few mouse clicks.
And if you like to mostly use one basic "drum kit" sound on most songs....which may be the case if you pretty much play one style of music most of the time....then the drum programming is way easy, 'cuz once you set up your primary kit and get familiar with drum MIDI editors and maps, it's actually pretty fast to get a song laid out.
On a good day, I am able to set up a drum track for a song in an hour or two...which I think is not much different than the time it takes to set up, tune and mic a kit, and then do a few passes.
The real effort is in the initial leaning curve of the programs and/or MIDI drum editing if you've never done it.
After that it's not all that time consuming....IMHO...and I bet drummers would even be a little better at the actual groove editing, since they know what sounds right when playing a kit....what is more "natural".
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Friday, Fruity Loops is a sampler more than a DAW - it's not really designed for EZDrummer.

I know this isn't really the right place to ask this but what would you guys recommend as the next step up from FL Studio?

Bearing in mind that I'm on a tight budget and can't just go and buy anything.
Click to expand...
 
Friday said:
I know this isn't really the right place to ask this but what would you guys recommend as the next step up from FL Studio?

Bearing in mind that I'm on a tight budget and can't just go and buy anything.
Click to expand...
REAPER. Not just because of your budget, but it does happen to be budget-friendly, too.
 
I had a look at Reaper yesterday and I couldn't even see how to import my VST's into it,I ended up un-installing it.
I guess this is how it goes with DAW's ,once you get used to one all the others appear very alien,maybe I'll have another look at reaper then,cheers.
 
Friday said:
I had a look at Reaper yesterday and I couldn't even see how to import my VST's into it,I ended up un-installing it.
I guess this is how it goes with DAW's ,once you get used to one all the others appear very alien,maybe I'll have another look at reaper then,cheers.
Click to expand...

Go back to Reaper. Switching any DAW requires a little learning/familiarity curve. Everything in Reaper is very simple, you just gotta get used to it.
 
+1 for Reaper, just like any daw, it takes a little while to learn your way around. Give it another try, & once you learn it, I think you'll like it.....

Price, ease of use, & a very low CPU hit are the reasons I like it, YMMV.....
 
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