Feature requests: Grid Editor for EZdrummer & The Rock Foundry EZX

[sveje77]

I really like the easy to use, pre-processed and mix-ready approach of EZdrummer 2 and its EZX expansions. However, I don’t use the included MIDI grooves but prefer to program the drums myself. I use Logic Pro X as my DAW and its Step Editor and Piano Roll really are a hassle for programming drums. Is there any chance that EZdrummer will get Superior Drummer 3’s new Grid Editor in a future update/upgrade? Oh, and will there be an EZX version of Bob Rock’s The Rock Foundry SDX?

BTW, bought the Progressive EZX yesterday. Sounds amazing! 🙂

Topic

[Henrik]

We won’t comment on future release of new products. Sometimes they get delayed, changed, or similar, and if we have promised something in advance – people would get disappointed, and that’s the last thing we want!

Regarding the Grid Editor in EZdrummer 2 – this is one of the things that differentiates EZdrummer 2 from Superior Drummer 3, and what makes Superior more powerful – as it should be, so we have no plans to implement it in EZdrummer 2.

Thanks for the feedback – keep on rocking!

Henrik Ekblom - User Experience Designer
Toontrack

[sveje77]

Hey Henrik,

I can totally understand that – from a business perspective – SD3 has to have more features than EZD2. However, from a customer point of view it would absolutely make sense to have a Grid Editor in EZdrummer, because it makes programming drums so much more convenient, „EZ“ so to speak. And I always thought that convenience really is what EZD is about in comparison to all the tweaking possibilities in SD. And it would offer a great opportunity to combine Toontrack‘s MIDI grooves with the customer‘s own patterns. Right now the Grid Editor is the only feature of SD3 that I’d really want to have in comparison to EZD2, and I’m not quite sure if that single feature can justify the 269 EUR crossgrade price for me (and I would even have to buy an additional external harddrive for the huge core library, which adds to the 269 EUR crossgrade fee). Although I have to admit it’s tempting… Well, perhaps there is some hope for a Grid Editor in a future EZdrummer 3 ?! 😉

But honestly, I‘m not here to complain. I remember how I ordered the very first DFH samples when they were still distributed as wav files on a standard „home-burnt“ CD-R and I had to drag every single hit manually into Logic‘s arrange window. So relating to the above mentioned convenience EZdrummer 2 is already a huge step forwards. But a Grid Editor would make drum programming even „EZier“ – without having to deal with the wealth of professional tweaking possibilities (or requirements?) of Superior, which – to me as an amateur user – seems rather intimidating than motivating.

Cheers 🙂
Sven

1

Thanked by: pangyre

[Henrik]

Yeah, I don’t disagree with your thought here. Let’s see what our future EZ products will end up with 🙂
Ps. You don’t need the entire library for Superior Drummer 3. You can start with the basic installation, which is about 40 GB . If you later want more room and ambience mics, you can add those then!

Thanks for the feedback!

Henrik Ekblom - User Experience Designer
Toontrack

[sveje77]

Dammit, I couldn’t resist and just bought the crossgrade. 250 EUR for a Grid Editor… my wife will kill me.

[Henrik]

I can almost promise you that you’ll find more in there that’s usable, than just the grid editor!
For example the option to stack instruments, and all the effects in the mixer…
Your wife will thank you when you become a world famous musician 😀 Rock on!

Henrik Ekblom - User Experience Designer
Toontrack

[sveje77]

Henrik said: „You don’t need the entire library for Superior Drummer 3. You can start with the basic installation, which is about 40 GB . If you later want more room and ambience mics, you can add those then!“

And I can safely do without Downloads 3 and 4, if I only mix in stereo, right?

[Henrik]

Yes. The “surround packs” 3 and 4 are really more room and ambience mics, which can be used for surround mixing, but it can also (people tend to miss this information) be used just as additional room mics! It will give your drums more space and sound bigger. But start with the 2 first installation packs, and try out the others when you have time, and hard drive space 🙂

Henrik Ekblom - User Experience Designer
Toontrack

[sveje77]

Sorry to pester you with even more questions, but I have two more:
1. Do the factory/producer presets make use of the complete library (all 5 parts, incl. the surround mics) and will therefore sound different depending on how much parts I have installed or do they already sound pretty much as they should with only the basic library installed?
2. How much would an external USB 3.0 SSD affect the loading time of the presets/kits compared to the internal SSD of my iMac? I am considering to buy an external SSD for the library, but assuming that the Superior kits have a much larger file size than the ones in EZD2, I’m afraid that loading presets/kits through USB 3.0 would make clicking through the preset library much slower. How much additional loading time should I expect approximately? Are we only talking about a couple of milliseconds, a couple of seconds or more?

[sveje77]

Well, now I own SD3 for two days and I can answer the questions above myself. Yes, it takes a couple of seconds (more) to load a huge 4 GB preset (“Djent style” for example) from the external SSD, the internal SSD’s reading speed is about 4x faster. But it’s nothing that really annoys me much. And most of the factory presets make use of all parts of the library, so yes, they sound different with only the basic library installed.

And Henrik was right, I did not regret the purchase of the crossgrade. The Grid Editor is just amazing. Finally I don’t have to struggle with Logic’s piano roll and step editor anymore. Articulations can easily be changed, velocity too. Everything appears to be really well thought-out und the UI is much more user-friendly and clear than I expected. Haven’t really got my head around the mixer yet, but I’m sure I will get the hang of it. I get a little intimidated though when clicking through the presets and looking at how much was done in the mixer to get the sound. Holy crap, so many effects, so many stacked instruments, so many different routings… I guess I would never be able to get anywhere near this by myself. So yeah, I guess pre-processed samples and/or professional presets will still be my way to go. Thankfully SD3 has loads of great presets.

And again I have been overwhelmed by GAS and ordered The Rock Foundry SDX, too. That ‘tallica Black Album preset I heard in a couple of youtube clips…

[Henrik]

Nice to hear! Post your questions here, regarding the mixer and other areas that you are unsure of, and we’ll do our best to help you 🙂 There is also the manual, and many video clips on Youtube that might guide you in the right direction!

Henrik Ekblom - User Experience Designer
Toontrack

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