EZ Drummer 2

[NekujaK]

I haven't had a chance to try exactly what you said yet, I work nights. But I'm wondering, do you have to use explode? I generally do individual drum mixing right in EZD.

I almost never use Explode. I prefer to have a single MIDI clip that contains all the drum parts. The primary reason for this is so I can easily see where all the different drum hits land relative to each other, which is useful when I want to make manual adjustments to the MIDI notes. When I use Explode, I have to work on each drum part in isolation without an overall picture of what the other drums in the kit are doing.

The one situation where Explode makes sense is if you want to use a different sound source for some of the drum parts. In that case, the individual MIDI clips could be used to drive an NNXT, Kong, Redrum, or some other device besides EZD.

In terms of mixing, you can use EZD's mixer to mix the drums, or you can route the audio from each drum to individual Reason mixer channels (see previous messages in this topic for details on how to do that). I definitely prefer the latter because it allows me to apply my favorite effects to the drums, and each drum is accessible in Reason's mixer along with the rest of the tracks in my song. From a workflow standpoint, it's better to have the entire song mixed from one location - at least for me.

But there's absolutely nothing wrong with using EZD's mixer and simply taking the stereo mix from EZD - it becomes the equivalent of using a drum loop at that point, albeit a highly configurable drum loop, which is fine. But if you want more detailed control over the drum mix and tighter integration with Reason's workflow, then you should route the audio from each drum to Reason's mixer.

Hope that helps.

[kuhliloach]

drum software "explode" button???

[sepulchre]

Finally got to try it and, I'm happy to say, it works like a charm! Thank you! Drag and drop works too though I wonder why Reason makes a new lane and creates a piano for it. Whatever, it works and I'm happy.

Thanks again,
sep

[gak]

Yeah, it's a thing that we've batch about for a long time. ID8 = hate

Ah reason, workarounds with workaround (but, really everything works )

[jayhosking]

Sorry to drag up a semi-dead thread, but it seemed better than creating a new one with the same name.

I just found out that EZ Drummer 2 has an expansion pack from Steve Albini, who is my favourite drum producer. I've never used the product before but I'm a sucker for good sounds and especially for Albini. Anybody want to comment on any of the following?

a) using EZ Drummer 2 with Reason — is it, in fact, easy? Are you recording info to Reason or to a sequencer track within EZ Drummer, etc.
b) EZ Drummer 2 in general — good sounds in the main package? Versatile product? Actually easy to use? Sequencer tracks? Etc.
c) the Steve Albini "Alt Rock" drums expansion pack — good? Actually similar to Albini's sound? Etc.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or comments!

[gak]

Finally got to try it and, I'm happy to say, it works like a charm! Thank you! Drag and drop works too though I wonder why Reason makes a new lane and creates a piano for it. Whatever, it works and I'm happy.

Thanks again,
sep

Not acceptable! I've heard something to the effect of "9.5.1" fixes this, but looks to me like it a sword in our side. No good.

PH'ds, fix NOW!

[NekujaK]

a) using EZ Drummer 2 with Reason — is it, in fact, easy? Are you recording info to Reason or to a sequencer track within EZ Drummer, etc.
b) EZ Drummer 2 in general — good sounds in the main package? Versatile product? Actually easy to use? Sequencer tracks? Etc

I'm a big EZ Drummer fan - have been using it for years and am thrilled that it's now available within Reason. EZD is extremely versatile and can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. At the easy end of the spectrum, just treat it like any other instrument in your rack. Feed it MIDI from the sequencer and wire its stereo outs to Reason's mixer. The MIDI can come from EZD's ample default collection or from any of the EZX expansions and/or MIDI packs from Toontrack, or you can use third-party MIDI, or sequence your own. If you want to get more complicated - route EZD's 16 individual drum outputs to the Reason mixer (see earlier posts on how to do that), mix and match drums from different kits, and tune the drums. And yes, EZD sounds very good. I know professional composers who use it for soundtracks and general backing tracks.

c) the Steve Albini "Alt Rock" drums expansion pack — good? Actually similar to Albini's sound? Etc

Sorry, I've got a lot of EZX expansions, but not that one. I'm sure Toontrack has audio examples on their site.

Good luck!

[gak]

I did some ...... kinda blind comparisons lately and was surprised by how good this sounded (even though I own it and endorse it)

I have no idea how to convince people it's "kosher" .... I do hate the id8 bs though. Please fix!!

[jayhosking]

I'm a big EZ Drummer fan - have been using it for years and am thrilled that it's now available within Reason. EZD is extremely versatile and can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. At the easy end of the spectrum, just treat it like any other instrument in your rack. Feed it MIDI from the sequencer and wire its stereo outs to Reason's mixer. The MIDI can come from EZD's ample default collection or from any of the EZX expansions and/or MIDI packs from Toontrack, or you can use third-party MIDI, or sequence your own. If you want to get more complicated - route EZD's 16 individual drum outputs to the Reason mixer (see earlier posts on how to do that), mix and match drums from different kits, and tune the drums. And yes, EZD sounds very good. I know professional composers who use it for soundtracks and general backing tracks.

Good luck!

This is really useful. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply!