Post-Metal EZX (Toontrack Drums)

[Orvillain]

 

[SeeD]

 

[Digital Igloo]

Stupid question: There seem to be a lot more EZ Drummer expansions than Superior Drummer expansions. Are they compatible with one another? I'm kinda over Slate Drums.

 

[DrewJD82]

Stupid question: There seem to be a lot more EZ Drummer expansions than Superior Drummer expansions. Are they compatible with one another? I'm kinda over Slate Drums.

They are, but you don’t have the same control over them as you do the SDX’s, IE- the EZX’s have the drums already EQ’d and you can’t remove it, so as long as you dig it as it is, you’re good. There’s also less mics used, so a snare from an SDX generally has 3 mics while an EZX only has 1, so only that 1 mic will get loaded into the mixer. I actually just saw how this worked last night when ‘building’ a couple new kits.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

Stupid question: There seem to be a lot more EZ Drummer expansions than Superior Drummer expansions. Are they compatible with one another? I'm kinda over Slate Drums.

EZXs can be loaded into Superior Drummer, and in some cases (e.g. the Big Stage EZX) there are more mixing options and/or seperate mics available in SD3 than in EZD3. SDXs can‘t be loaded into EZD3, though.

Overall I prefer the grid editor and general ease of use of EZD3. The Humanize function of EZD3 really makes drum programming much easier, and it hasn‘t yet made its way into SD3. I‘m not that great at mixing drums so I mostly rely on using the factory presets. Some EZX presets sound a little over the top but others are really great. I would say the same about the SDX presets, though.

 

[SeeD]

They are, but you don’t have the same control over them as you do the SDX’s, IE- the EZX’s have the drums already EQ’d and you can’t remove it, so as long as you dig it as it is, you’re good. There’s also less mics used, so a snare from an SDX generally has 3 mics while an EZX only has 1, so only that 1 mic will get loaded into the mixer. I actually just saw how this worked last night when ‘building’ a couple new kits.

This Post-Metal pack have 3 Kick mic`s and 3 Snare Mic`s using it with SD3, I got the plugins on the channels.. ( that was a suprise to me)
But i guess the older once did have a lot less. But some of the EZX pack are good

 

[DrewJD82]

This Post-Metal pack have 3 Kick mic`s and 3 Snare Mic`s using it with SD3, but no Plugins on the channels, but I can add some if I would like
But i guess the older once did have a lot less. But some of the EZX pack are good

For sure, I used them for a good 4 years and would still be using them now if they weren’t pre-EQ’d with no way to remove the existing EQ. I’m guessing whatever EZX pieces I was loading in last night just had a single mic channel each.

I should also look how those work with SD3’s room mics, Area 33 introduced several more room mics, but I’m unsure if loading an older EZX into SD3 routes it through those room mics or not. I don’t see why not as I’m assuming the room mics act basically like a reverb IR.

I intended to get some recording done last night but ended up building drum kits for 3 hours instead.

 

[la szum]

For sure, I used them for a good 4 years and would still be using them now if they weren’t pre-EQ’d with no way to remove the existing EQ. I’m guessing whatever EZX pieces I was loading in last night just had a single mic channel each.

I should also look how those work with SD3’s room mics, Area 33 introduced several more room mics, but I’m unsure if loading an older EZX into SD3 routes it through those room mics or not. I don’t see why not as I’m assuming the room mics act basically like a reverb IR.

I intended to get some recording done last night but ended up building drum kits for 3 hours instead.

Can't you just EQ them after inserting them as tracking in your DAW??

 

[DrewJD82]

Can't you just EQ them after inserting them as tracking in your DAW??

Yeah, but you can’t really bring back something that was subtracted with another EQ, so if you’ve got an already clicky kick drum and try adding mids to it, you might get somewhere with it, but I was never able to do anything with them that got me what I was going for. To be fair, I‘m more nitpicky with drum sounds than I am guitar tones. The kits as they exist in EZD sound awesome, it’s just when you want to customize them and get your own sounds that problems can pop up.

 

[la szum]

Yeah, but you can’t really bring back something that was subtracted with another EQ, so if you’ve got an already clicky kick drum and try adding mids to it, you might get somewhere with it, but I was never able to do anything with them that got me what I was going for. To be fair, I‘m more nitpicky with drum sounds than I am guitar tones. The kits as they exist in EZD sound awesome, it’s just when you want to customize them and get your own sounds that problems can pop up.

I see, Drew. If it's already baked in, like with an IR then you gonna get what yous already got.

Not to mention it could be time-consuming as F to get a parametric EQ on there and having
it look like an EKG trying to correct the "sound" of a single drum.

 

[DrewJD82]

I see, Drew. If it's already baked in, like with an IR then you gonna get what yous already got.

Not to mention it could be time-consuming as F to get a parametric EQ on there and having
it look like an EKG trying to correct the "sound" of a single drum.

Exactly!

I mean, maybe if you had the exact same signal chain they used to EQ them initially, you could get it back, but with no frame of reference you’re just shooting in the dark and hoping for the best. Hahaha it was enough for me to spend $350 in the midst of a bitchfit when I couldn’t get what I wanted out of them.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

For sure, I used them for a good 4 years and would still be using them now if they weren’t pre-EQ’d with no way to remove the existing EQ. I’m guessing whatever EZX pieces I was loading in last night just had a single mic channel each.

I should also look how those work with SD3’s room mics, Area 33 introduced several more room mics, but I’m unsure if loading an older EZX into SD3 routes it through those room mics or not. I don’t see why not as I’m assuming the room mics act basically like a reverb IR.

I intended to get some recording done last night but ended up building drum kits for 3 hours instead.

Nope, the room mics actually are sampled, just like the other channels. You won‘t get Area 33‘s room mics when loading other libraries into SD3.

All the EZXs are very different. Some offer more individual channels, others less. Some - especially older ones - have very heavy pre-processing built in, others sound more natural. I‘d say, the Colin Richardson EZX is probably the most natural sounding Metal EZX. The Duality EZXs offer a lot of individual mic channels. But IMHO most of the more recently released EZXs sound quite natural with the „Original Mix“ preset selected.

 

[DrewJD82]

Nope, the room mics actually are sampled, just like the other channels. You won‘t get Area 33‘s room mics when loading other libraries into SD3.

All the EZXs are very different. Some offer more individual channels, others less. Some - especially older ones - have very heavy pre-processing built in, others sound more natural. I‘d say, the Colin Richardson EZX is probably the most natural sounding Metal EZX. The Duality EZXs offer a lot of individual mic channels. But IMHO most of the more recently released EZXs sound quite natural with the „Original Mix“ preset selected.

Right on, I‘m not even sure if I have any non-metal EZX’s which would explain why so many of the kits I have are EQ’d to hell and back. I meant to note above, one could most likely get some good results from tweaking a more raw sounding kit. And really, that’s what I’m digging about Area 33 so much; they’re very raw sounding kits and even with their presets, they sound more like real drums than samples. The snares, however, sound like ass. I kept dragging a MIDI note up and down to find the ‘good’ snare trigger only to find it doesn’t exist in Area 33. They all sound like piccolo snares with zero body to them, just a quick note with a quick decay.

I try to get as much of the snare sound from the snare itself and then fill in the rest with reverb, but it’d be like 90% reverb if I used 33’s snares. Thankfully, I’ve already got the Black Beauty and Tama Bell Brass snares, I just stack those bastards up and bob’s my uncle.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

After a couple of days with the Area 33 SDX, I think the whole thing sounds like ass, not only the snares. I should have trusted the first impression I got when I listened to the isolated audio samples. I shouldn‘t be surprised though, because I never really liked Bergstrand‘s overly woody drum sound. Will sell this library ASAP.

IMHO the Death & Darkness SDX (and its little brother, the Death Metal EZX) is still the king of metal drums. And I also really like the Duality EZXs, as well as the very roomy and vibrant Big Stage EZX - compared to the dull „ponk“ of A33 that snare sounds like a whiplash.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Area 33 definitely has a bit of an odd sound to it, just like all the other Bergstrand libraries (OG DFHS, Metal Foundry). I think they're cool when you want something totally unique but other libraries are way way better for more typical sounds. TBF Bergstrand's productions are also pretty unique sounding, I think he just hears things a certain way and doesn't really care about conforming to any trends.

 

[SeeD]

After a couple of days with the Area 33 SDX, I think the whole thing sounds like ass, not only the snares. I should have trusted the first impression I got when I listened to the isolated audio samples. I shouldn‘t be surprised though, because I never really liked Bergstrand‘s overly woody drum sound. Will sell this library ASAP.

Death & Darkness is still the king for metal drums IMHO. And I really like the Duality EZXs, as well as the very roomy and vibey Big Stage EZX - compared to the dull „ponk“ of A33 that snare sounds like a whiplash.

Yeah `,ponk`is the right word for the snare sounds in Area 33. I struggle to fit these sounds in my mixes...hmhmmmmm
But will try stacking snares and see if that gets some omphh back in

 

[SeeD]

After a couple of days with the Area 33 SDX, I think the whole thing sounds like ass, not only the snares. I should have trusted the first impression I got when I listened to the isolated audio samples. I shouldn‘t be surprised though, because I never really liked Bergstrand‘s overly woody drum sound. Will sell this library ASAP.

Death & Darkness is still the king for metal drums IMHO. And I really like the Duality EZXs, as well as the very roomy and vibey Big Stage EZX - compared to the dull „ponk“ of A33 that snare sounds like a whiplash.

WoW ! The Death & Darkness SDX pack is right up were I like the drums. Soo many presets as well..

Were do one sell Toontrack packs ?

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

WoW ! The Death & Darkness SDX pack is right up were I like the drums. Soo many presets as well..

Were do one sell Toontrack packs ?

Unfortunately Toontrack allows license transfers no earlier than 30 days after purchase, so I'll have to wait until the end of December to get rid of the Area 33 SDX. :-(

If I were forced to sell all my drum libraries and keep only one, it would probably be EZdrummer 3 with the Death Metal EZX (or its aforementioned bigger brother SDX with SD3). Despite the name it's actually quite versatile, and the "Death Valley" preset magically fits nearly all of my Metal songs. I basically only need to adjust the level of the reverb, depending on how the vibe of the song is. That's it.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

definitely not my kind of drum sound here (its pure Meshuggah/Thordendal niche stuff), but also, IMO some Toontrack libraries sound more realistic than others (I think it depends on how the drummer who sampled the kit hits). Could just be an unflattering demo but I own most SDX's and some just sound more realistic - the hats and cymbals here especially sound pretty fake by Toontrack's standards. I'm curious to see if there is anything that would make me want to pick it up as I love some of Bergstrands work.

 

[DrewJD82]

After a couple of days with the Area 33 SDX, I think the whole thing sounds like ass, not only the snares. I should have trusted the first impression I got when I listened to the isolated audio samples. I shouldn‘t be surprised though, because I never really liked Bergstrand‘s overly woody drum sound. Will sell this library ASAP.

IMHO the Death & Darkness SDX (and its little brother, the Death Metal EZX) is still the king of metal drums. And I also really like the Duality EZXs, as well as the very roomy and vibrant Big Stage EZX - compared to the dull „ponk“ of A33 that snare sounds like a whiplash.

Hahahha I was wondering what the reaction to this would be because I can certainly see why some won't dig it. I'm doing a bit of tweaking to get these to work with what I do. They're very not-polished. They're not completely raw by any means, but this is like the trve cvlt kid's dream pack. I'm loving the toms/kicks after some tweak, mostly cleaning up the low end and in some case tuning them up a point or two. I think of SD3 and these SDX's the same way I do presets in a modeler; if I use a factory one, it's going to be tweaked to hell and back, so I don't mind putting some tweaking time into it.

The snares, though....man, I know the cannon-blast snare sound is a bit done, but you'd think they'd have at least one big sounding snare in this thing!

definitely not my kind of drum sound here (its pure Meshuggah/Thordendal niche stuff), but also, IMO some Toontrack libraries sound more realistic than others (I think it depends on how the drummer who sampled the kit hits). Could just be an unflattering demo but I own most SDX's and some just sound more realistic - the hats and cymbals here especially sound pretty fake by Toontrack's standards. I'm curious to see if there is anything that would make me want to pick it up as I love some of Bergstrands work.

If you want some raw sounding drums, this is definitely where to get them. Like I said above, I'm loving the toms/kicks and the room mics add in quite a bit of depth to things. I'm anxious to build a non-metal kit using one of these just because of those room mics. If you just rely on the presets, you might not fair so well, but if you don't mind some tweaking here and mixing up kit pieces you can get some great stuff. I dunno what's up with the snares but I really dig everything else.