EzMix used as VST? And opinions of their expansions?

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Pralijah
Posts: 105
Joined: 17 Feb 2017

13 Nov 2017

Been ignoring Toontrack EzMIX and EzKeys, as they seemed a bit out of place when using a DAW like Reason with it´s players and not being afraid to tweak ones own effect chains. But, as I looked at these EzMix expansion packs for good price, I saw it has also 2 for Mastering presets and many different for mixing. Have downloaded a demo version but as the EzDrummer, I find the stock presets not enough to judge the capacity of the product. The magic sits in the expansions, I guess.

And, as I started to see it more like another VST-plugin to play around with, together with other effects in Reason one already have, I am curious if anyone here already use EzMix and what the experience is. I dont believe there is an overly easy way to mix and master, one need to know what works and what sound one is after anyway. But as a tool among other tools to get quick results as a starting point. Is it a useful tool or do you regnet ever buying it at all? Any expansions better than others?

Have quite some effects already but when in a flow, it can be handy to test different presets, because sometimes it creates a sound that you did not think of was possible. So one might have it as a reference tool also, to try out what is achievable, and if wanting total control, one can dig into doing it with other effects.

I have yet not the Izotope products and although I know they are highest standard, I am now looking for a bit cheaper options until I can justify getting those. One step at the time and learning while doing. But if EzMix is rubbish even seen as a nice VST-plugin, it´s good to know.

Or will it be more useful and clever in the longer run, to invest in say "Soothe", the smart EQ that is going on sale BF for €99 (€149)?
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NekujaK
Posts: 631
Joined: 09 Oct 2016
Location: USA

13 Nov 2017

I bought EZmix and several of the expansions many years ago when working in other DAWs. I was intrigued by the overall concept, and wanted a "quick mix" solution mostly for recording singer-songwriter demos.

Fast forward to now, and I can count on one hand the times I've actually used EZmix in a project, and even then, it's only been on isolated tracks where I didn't have time to properly sculpt or fix a sound, and needed to quickly dial in something workable. Here's my quick pros/cons evaluation:

PROS
- Like the package says, it's easy. Browse for presets then tweak just two knobs. Like all Toontrack products, it's got an elegant preset browser that makes it a breeze to zero in on relevant presets
- Decent, if unspectacular, sound. Don't expect "magic"
- Lots of expansions/presets available. The signature packs from notable producers/engineers are the best value and provide a broad range of presets
- Gentle on CPU usage

CONS
- It's a little too easy in that it doesn't offer enough tweakability, which means there will be many situations where you won't be able to get the sound you want
- I found the mastering presets (including the mastering expansions) to be rather useless. For me, EZmix worked best on individual track rather than entire mixes
- The resulting sound feels "generic" to me - there's not a lot of wow factor
- It's older technology. The whole area of "smart" plugins has really started to come into its own in the last couple of years, offering improved sound, more tweakability, and better adaptability. EZmix relies on hardwired presets that don't "evaluate" or adapt to a specific musical situation.

EZmix is not a bad product, but somehow in all the years I've had it, it's never been the first, or even second, solution I reach for. However, I can wholehertedly recommend EZkeys - great pianos plus very flexible and usable performance engine. I play the piano, but often rely on EZkeys to for a polished "pro" performance, especially if I need something in a specific musical style. Great product!! But I digress...

If you're interested in EZmix-type products, you might get better results with these plugins:
- Sonible frei:raum
- Izotope Neutron
- Waves Greg Wells plugins, especially Mix Centric (my God this thing is like magic fairy dust!)
- Waves CLA signature plugins and JJP plugins
- oeksound Soothe
- Eventide EQuivocate
- HoRNet TrackShaper

Good luck!
wreaking havoc with :reason: since 2.5
:arrow: https://soundcloud.com/nekujak-donnay/sets

Pralijah
Posts: 105
Joined: 17 Feb 2017

14 Nov 2017

Thanks a lot for taking the time to write your opinions. It is really helpful as I get a better sense about it.
I am already so much down the rabbit hole with wanting to sculpt things, so there is no way back, but I also like the "simple" approach if it is crafted with enough sophistication. I had a little caution about that EzMix could become a good idea that also me don't bother using so often.

Yo´ve got good points that there are many other fast ways, I have some good effects with "one knob" philosophy, and then there are those advanced tools with "smart" functions as the Izotope products, where one can go into the details to fine-tune the presets.

What I found with EzMix demo is that I guess I might get as fast with drag and drop different effect presets and making combis/templates inside Reason. And mostly everything needs some fine adjustments to fit the particulate song. It would take time going through libraries in EzMix if getting all those libraries, and with only two knobs.

I have decided to check out other plugins instead that you listed, only a few I have read about before. Will take a demo of the EzKeys also. Have sorted the Reason Browser with many favourite categories, so workflow should get even better now.
Make music shake again!

Pralijah
Posts: 105
Joined: 17 Feb 2017

16 Nov 2017

NekujaK wrote:
13 Nov 2017
However, I can wholehertedly recommend EZkeys - great pianos plus very flexible and usable performance engine. I play the piano, but often rely on EZkeys to for a polished "pro" performance, especially if I need something in a specific musical style. Great product!!
Have taken a closer look at EZkeys. It seem to be a handy songwriting tool with all its midi-functions.
I downloaded a demo with the Studio Grand which I thought had decent demo sound. But when trial it,
it did not really bring any special sonic difference to Radical Piano in terms of detail soundwise.

So, same dilemma with these expansion packs. I only have the demo-files. It´s mainly the songwriting thing and midi library that is most interesting to me at the moment. The sounds dont feel as "wow" as their EzDrummer line.
There´s a deal where I can get 1 extra expansion free. So my wondering is which 2 is really good to start with?

The Pipe organ seems interesting when I heard some more mellow softer sound samples in the promo video.
Other that have my eye is the Vintage Upright piano. The electric pianos I think that I have some already.
Are any of them exceptionally good?

What I am after is that, it´s better to choose two that brings something interesting other than a budget grand.
If Pipe organ is good, I would also like some kind of piano as the other one. Which should I take a closer look at?

Vintage seems nice, but I guess one could make vintage sound with some effects in Reason on a cleaner one too,
or are the Vintage worth it? And the standard "Upright" maybe? How is their "Grand piano"?

Tried any of these expansions?

I am not really a piano player, but I like to feel the body of the piano resonance when pressing down a key.
Guess I will have to try to get Kontakt Alicia keys for that instead. But the songwriting tool in EzKeys seems lovely.

Any opinions may help.
Make music shake again!

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NekujaK
Posts: 631
Joined: 09 Oct 2016
Location: USA

16 Nov 2017

Pralijah wrote:
16 Nov 2017
Have taken a closer look at EZkeys. It seem to be a handy songwriting tool with all its midi-functions.
I downloaded a demo with the Studio Grand which I thought had decent demo sound. But when trial it,
it did not really bring any special sonic difference to Radical Piano in terms of detail soundwise.
...
Vintage seems nice, but I guess one could make vintage sound with some effects in Reason on a cleaner one too,
or are the Vintage worth it? And the standard "Upright" maybe? How is their "Grand piano"?
...
Tried any of these expansions?
I agree with you, the EZkeys Studio Grand is not very impressive. I own EZkeys Upright, Electric Grand, and Vintage Upright, and I think the upright pianos are particularly nice. But as you have already discovered, there are other great pianos out there not from Toontrack. For me, the real value of EZkeys is its compositional capabilities, which I think are outstanding. So very often, I will use EZkeys just to compose a MIDI piano part, then apply that MIDI sequence to a completely different piano, like Reason Pianos or Addictive Keys Studio Grand, etc.

I think a good way to approach EZkeys is just to get one EZkeys instrument and buy several of their MIDI packs. This enables you to create piano parts in lots of different musical styles, which can be used with any keyboard instrument of your choice.

It also depends on the style of music you like to make. If you're primarily into EDM or other electronic-based music, then EZkeys is probably not right for you. But if you do pop, rock, R&B, blues, etc... then EZkeys would be a good fit.
wreaking havoc with :reason: since 2.5
:arrow: https://soundcloud.com/nekujak-donnay/sets

Pralijah
Posts: 105
Joined: 17 Feb 2017

16 Nov 2017

Thanks again for helpful input. It´s what I sensed, that the songwriting and musical inspiration value is in it´s core here, and then, take it to the DAW where one can try all other sorts of samplet instruments. The midi-packs seems handy also as a letning tool, to try out different styles of playing and while doing so, also broaden ones own expression. I see the value of becoming a better home producer in general, as it is mainly through keyboard one works with virtual instruments.

I´m not an EDM-producer, even if it is nice to mix synth or bits of electronic flavours in. Often do more acoustic genres as a base, but with Reason, it can end up different when playing with effects. It is more the sampling side of electronic that I find nice, as it brings in some randomness.
That is what EzKeys might come in handy, to get some different inputs of ideas to start off with that will change along the road to something else.

Upright piano or the Vintage one, and Pipe organ, seems good enough to start with, getting into the groove with the midi-packs. Thanks!
Make music shake again!

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