EZDrummer users, which EZX's do you like

  • Thread starter Thread starter JerEvil
  • Start date Start date
JerEvil

JerEvil

Well-known member
I recently got Superior 2 and EZDrummer 2. I got the Metal Machine and Post Rock EZX's but I have a free one coming. I play anything from classic rock to black metal.

What have you guys gotten the most use out of in terms of good kits AND good midi loops included.
 
Metal Machine is one of the better ones. I love the snares in it. I've got Metal Foundry which is a SDX but it has some serious potential but you got to tweak it. Don't bother with Metal! EZX or MetalHeads EZX. There kinda lame at least to me. That's all I got which is enough to keep me busy for a while.
 
slyym":1vvaely8 said:
Metal Machine is one of the better ones. I love the snares in it. I've got Metal Foundry which is a SDX but it has some serious potential but you got to tweak it. Don't bother with Metal! EZX or MetalHeads EZX. There kinda lame at least to me. That's all I got which is enough to keep me busy for a while.
Click to expand...
Yeah I have heard that Metal! and MetalHeads were ones to skip so glad another person confirmed. I want the Progressive Foundry for sure.
 
JerEvil":3ujg04f0 said:
slyym":3ujg04f0 said:
Metal Machine is one of the better ones. I love the snares in it. I've got Metal Foundry which is a SDX but it has some serious potential but you got to tweak it. Don't bother with Metal! EZX or MetalHeads EZX. There kinda lame at least to me. That's all I got which is enough to keep me busy for a while.
Click to expand...
Yeah I have heard that Metal! and MetalHeads were ones to skip so glad another person confirmed. I want the Progressive Foundry for sure.
Click to expand...
I'm trying really hard not to buy any more right now. I want to get really good with the Metal Foundry first. Then Metal Machinery will be next for me. Its what the Metal Machine EZX was made from.
 
Made Of Metal is nice. More laid back than the other metal kits but also more natural in a way. Add some EQ to a more bare mix (lower levels in OH and room), maybe compress a bit, and it's quite cool.

Also careful how you mix the kick channels and snare channels (kick in/out mics, snare top/bottom mics).
 
JamesPeters":3befzhcg said:
Made Of Metal is nice. More laid back than the other metal kits but also more natural in a way. Add some EQ to a more bare mix (lower levels in OH and room), maybe compress a bit, and it's quite cool.

Also careful how you mix the kick channels and snare channels (kick in/out mics, snare top/bottom mics).
Click to expand...
Thanks James! I am going back and forth between Made of Metal and Big Rock. I noticed the cymbals on all the kits are REALLY loud!
 
Lol yeah with some of the kits a cymbal or two stands out like crazy. But you can lower the level. In the kit view, use the drop down arrow and there's a volume and pitch control (to the right of the kit piece selection area). Cymbals are almost always only present in the OH and room channels (no direct mics) so you'll have to balance their volume (which only feeds to those channels) with the volume of those particular channels. OH and room mic sounds are critical for getting the right drumkit feel so you don't want to remove much but you also need to control your level of cymbals in them (and/or bleed, which is available in some of the presets for adjustment). Too much OH and room and it sounds ringy and poofy for metal, but without enough it sounds really thin and weak.

I find a lot of the presets really over-produced to start with. To be fair I guess I mean they're very produced toward whatever sort of sound they were thinking but not the sound I'm thinking of. :) Using the "original mix" preset for the kit is usually the best way to hear what it sounds like the most natural way. This preset almost never has any effects in the mixer. So then it's just a matter of balancing the mix. Then you can feed that into your DAW and add whatever effects you want (on the stereo mix or individually per channel output, whatever works for you). In this way I find EZDrummer to be pretty flexible. Superior and BFD3 (and some of the better Kontakt kits like Abbey Road Modern Drummer) allow for more effects/etc. within its own routing/mixer but I'm not really that concerned with having a huge mixer built in. I'm at the point I prefer using plugins that I have in the DAW anyway. :)

I haven't heard Big Rock except from their examples but it does sound really big...maybe a bit too "rock" for what you're after, depending. Listen to their individual hit samples of kick and snare. I personally hear a kick and a snare I'd like to use but even so I'd probably be adjusting the "outer" kick mic channel lower in the mix (assuming it has one; earlier EZX sometimes didn't have as many mic channels but later ones have more of them for stuff like this. Some even have 3 kick mics and 3 snare mics.)
 
I got the Nashville pack which is a nice change up. I have the metal pack for Addictive Drums and it's a little over the top. Would like to try Made of Metal.
 
I just grabbed Made of Metal. I'll see if I can get anything tracked with it.
 
BrokenFusion":tz9q9pcf said:
I got the Nashville pack which is a nice change up. I have the metal pack for Addictive Drums and it's a little over the top. Would like to try Made of Metal.
Click to expand...

I just grabbed the Nashville and Drumkit from Hell packs.

Haven't had a ton of time to play with them, but they seem like they have a lot of options to mess around with.
 
JerEvil":2u1e52dr said:
I just grabbed Made of Metal. I'll see if I can get anything tracked with it.
Click to expand...
I hope you like it!

Maybe check this out too:

https://youtu.be/c43-nQU_RcA

In particular, about how he doesn't use highest velocity samples for most things but EQs the overall sound to be sharper (so the hits still have the proper bite for metal, but there's lots of breathing room and everything doesn't always sound ringy/boomy). Try that with the "original mix" preset as is. Plus maybe add a compressor on the output in your DAW.
 
Go with the Progressive set. That SimpleBoi Preset is amazing.
 
lowmantotempole":32bxmhjd said:
Go with the Progressive set. That SimpleBoi Preset is amazing.
Click to expand...
I'm going to grab the Progressive Foundry SDX sooner than later.
 
I like Metal Machine, Progressive, and I still think the DKFH is a classic.
 
I just bought a midi 6-pack that is out for delivery (not sure why they didn't have digital download.)

Grabbing Rhythm Sauvage, Black Metal, AOR, Metal Beats, Metal Machinery but need one more. Looking at Classic Rock Grooves
 
JerEvil":3naxqc26 said:
I just bought a midi 6-pack that is out for delivery (not sure why they didn't have digital download.)

Grabbing Rhythm Sauvage, Black Metal, AOR, Metal Beats, Metal Machinery but need one more. Looking at Classic Rock Grooves
Click to expand...

Those are great, especially if you're like me and hate programming from scratch.
 
polaris20":lmix0c3r said:
JerEvil":lmix0c3r said:
I just bought a midi 6-pack that is out for delivery (not sure why they didn't have digital download.)

Grabbing Rhythm Sauvage, Black Metal, AOR, Metal Beats, Metal Machinery but need one more. Looking at Classic Rock Grooves
Click to expand...

Those are great, especially if you're like me and hate programming from scratch.
Click to expand...
I don't hate it but I am certainly OVER it! I've done it for years and am just wanting to streamline.
 
Been using progressive foundry recently.
Very happy with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top