With Toontrack’s EZdrummer, you can create virtual kits and select a
variety of grooves that automatically match the BPM of your session.
One thing we guitar players
realize is that we can’t
always make music alone, as
much as we sometimes might
like to. We need other players—
especially drummers—to
help get us in a groove and
express our fretboard skills.
But finding those players,
gelling with them, and paying
them is a whole different
animal. With that in mind, I
came across a few cool products
recently from a company
called Toontrack that I want to
share with you.
EZdrummer is basically an
inexpensive, easy-to-use virtual
instrument and drum sequencer
for studio production. No
attitudes or loud playing here
(unless you want to turn up the
volume). It runs as a VST, AU,
and RTAS plug-in at both 32-
and 64-bit mode, and it works
on either Macintosh (OS 10.5
or higher, G5 or Intel with 512
MB of RAM) or PC platforms
(Windows XZP SP3 or newer,
Pentium or Athlon processor
with 512 MB RAM). Tech talk
aside, what makes this program
so cool is that it’s simple to
get good grooves with useable
sounds in just a few minutes.
Here’s how it works: Once
you’ve installed and authorized
the software (which can be
downloaded), you have access
to a ton of expertly performed
MIDI drum programs that
trigger drum samples recorded
by Neil Dorfsman (Kiss, Dire
Straits, Sting) at Avatar studios
in New York.
Just open the program as
an instrument in your DAW
(EZdrummer will also run as a
stand-alone application) and click
on some of the drums and cymbals
to hear the sounds. You can
play the samples from your keyboard
as well, as they are mapped
out automatically. Great—no
thinking involved. The sounds
are velocity sensitive, which
basically means samples with different
volume levels will trigger
depending on how hard or soft
you hit your keys or MIDI controller.
This helps add a “human
touch” to the overall feel.
You can change sounds
simply by clicking on the small
arrow next to each drum. For
example, with the snare, you
get 14" Rogers, 14" Rogers
Damped, 14" Slingerland, 13"
GMS Piccolo or 13" GMS
Piccolo Damped. If you don’t
like to program drum beats
(I hate doing it), just click on
the Open Grooves button and
you’ll be presented with various
MIDI grooves that automatically
lock to the tempo of your
session or sequencer. You can
choose from various types of
grooves (straight, shuffle, 4/4
with 6/8 feel, etc.) and different
parts such as fills, ballad, side
stick, and so on. Clicking the
small play arrow will start the
groove (again, at your session
tempo). If you like what you
hear, simply drag the MIDI file
into your sequencer. Press play
on your DAW and that’s it—
drums are performing.
EZdrummer also features
an intuitive mixer that lets
you control the level and
pan of each drum, as well as
the amount of overhead and
room sound. If you want
more drum sounds, Toontrack
sells inexpensive expansion
packs, including Nashville,
Metal Machine, Funkmasters,
and Latin Percussion. They
also sell MIDI packs like
Songwriter’s Drumpack, Jazz,
Blues, and so on.
Aside from using the loops
in my TV productions, I like
jamming to them. It’s a great
way to practice locking into a
real drummer’s beats. After getting
used to a groove and finding
the perfect tempo, I often
drag a few MIDI files into my
Pro Tools sequencer and eventually
write a song from them.
These drums sound damn
good and the MIDI programs
are excellent. EZdrummer is
just $179 and some of the
MIDI packs are only $29.
Can’t go wrong at those prices
for the quality of the product.
Toontrack makes another
useful product called EZmix.
At just $69, it’s a plug-in (VST,
AU, RTAS) for MAC and PC
users that delivers a variety of
mixing tools. Inserted directly
into a primary track (or an Aux
track), EZmix lets you call up
different presets for EQ, compression,
echo, distortion, and
more. You can scroll through
a variety of categories—such
as Guitar, Bass, Vocals, and
Kick—and apply them to the
track. The only controls are
three faders for shape, blend,
and level—the rest of the sonic
parameters are built into each
preset. While this may sound
limiting, that’s the point—you
don’t have to think about
tweaking. I found some really
great delays and bit-crush presets
that I would never program
on my own. They are tempomapped
to your song’s BPM
and simply work as advertised.
Both of these programs
and the associated expansion/
MIDI packs proved to me
once again that inexpensive
tools that sound great and are
inspirational to use are available
for songwriters and producers.
Most importantly, they help me
focus on playing my guitar and
not on the tech end.
Rich Tozzoli is a
Grammy-nominated
engineer and mixer who
has worked with artists
ranging from Al Di
Meola to David Bowie.
A life-long guitarist, he’s
also the author of
Pro Tools Surround
Sound Mixing and composes for the
likes of Fox NFL, Discovery Channel,
Nickelodeon, and HBO.