Upgrade to EZDRUMMER 2

[tappingtrance]

Do you get a free expansion pack if you upgrade to EZdrummer 2? I got an email that really was not clear and when I add the expansion pack it wants to charge me.

Topic

[Mark Bliss]

@tappingtrance said:

Do you get a free expansion pack if you upgrade to EZdrummer 2? I got an email that really was not clear and when I add the expansion pack it wants to charge me.

I have the same question. Advertising isnt clear. “Included with regular purchase” and “no exclusions” should mean included with upgrade I think?

[Scott]

The free EZX is only when purchasing the ‘Regular’ version of EZD2 and not the ‘upgrade’ version.

Scott Sibley - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[Najima]

The offer by mail is: “want the latest EZX included? Right now, buy EZdrummer 2 and get one (1) EZX expansion free of charge. No exclusions – choose from more than 20 titles spanning almost any genre thinkable. What’s YOUR sound? Buy one, get one free !”

I am a EZ1 user that´s why Toontrack sent that offer to me. First I was happy and thought, oh great offer, I am going to upgrade and buy and also get a free Expansion. But then I had to realize that you´d have to buy a regular Version to get a free ezx and I was pretty disappointed and wondered why Toontrack had sent that offer to me ?! It is a psychological matter: you get an offer, you like the offer and are happy, finally you are disappointed…. well whoever is responsible for this kind of promotion, he has not done a good job !

[Mark Bliss]

Yes, have to agree.
The upgrade has been tempting. The threat of the loss of the upgrade pricing has been noticed.
But lets face it, for those of us happy with EZD 1, this upgrade is pretty pricey.

The offer appears to “throw us a bone” so to speak. Put me on the fence and had me reconsidering. Might have sprung for the upgrade with the added expansion thrown in.
Nope. Fail. Offer is misleading.

And by the way, on another topic, for what its worth…….
Not everybody is into metal. Programs and promotions seem to be stuck on that. Kind of getting old and cliche.

[Jim.Marquard]

So, when will you reward faithful, return customers with a free expansion kit. Remember, we already gave you money with the purchase of the original EZDrummer so getting EZD2 at a reduced cost shouldn’t keep us from a free expansion kit. We still gave you money and ideas so give us a thank you as you do for new customers.

[Fadi]

This upgrade is really something. You bought EZDrummer 1? Too bad.

To sum up:
– You get a mild reduction on the upgrade
– This price is not reduced by one euro/dollar during sales and promos
– AND you have limited time to upgrade?

Thanks! What more can faithful customer ask for?….

[Marc-Andre Levesque]

This is a somewhat odd approach to faithful customers, upgrade or else??? And if are not a client, here is free stuff for you, but if you are an existing client … go screw yourself if you are broke right now because you won’t be able to upgrade at all since we are putting a gun on your head and discontinuing the upgrade path.

THANK YOU TOONTACK! (yes this is irony) I will not be upgrading and I will be thinking twice about giving you any money in the future.

thanks for nothing.

[Mark Bliss]

Well, I cant be too full of sour grapes, especially after catching a couple very generous Toontrack flash sales last week.

But as I wrote previously, even at the upgrade offer price, its a little hard for some to justify. And then seeing the new customer offers it really doesn’t quite sit well.

The first question is why end the upgrade pricing offer at all? That seems unusual to me.

And as I said before, if the offer of one expansion pack of our choice, or a couple midi expansion packs were thrown into the offer, similar to the new customer offers, I suspect a number of existing customers “on the fence” about upgrading, like myself……
It would push me off the fence, and it seems like the “right thing to do” in my opinion.
Show some love for your existing customer base and do it right.

[Mus21]

@Fadi said:

This upgrade is really something. You bought EZDrummer 1? Too bad.

To sum up:
– You get a mild reduction on the upgrade
– This price is not reduced by one euro/dollar during sales and promos
– AND you have limited time to upgrade?

Thanks! What more can faithful customer ask for?….

I agree the whole offer has been extremely mean-spirited for a whole year.since it was on offer – now leaves a bad taste to be forced into it.

M

[Jim.Marquard]

Folks, I would love to get the free expansion kit. Who wouldn’t? But this is not unusual. Cable and satellite T.V. companies do specials for new customers all the time. And as far as limited time on reduced pricing for upgrades this is pretty much the norm for most computer programs. I wish every company rewarded the return customer and I was not ashamed to say so in my post earlier in this thread. That being said, I don’t think Toontrack is being underhanded I just think return customers should never be taken for granted.

Now that being said, this up grade is truly awesome. I’ve been really impressed. I’ve seen some reviews complain that their could be a bit more midi tracks given so we could have more choices when building songs but with the editing capability that this program has you actually have pretty much unlimited choices and there are tons of samples with the additional midi packs.

I do have some complaints though:

The EZX expansion kits should have a bit more documentation to explain some of their features. For example, the Nashville kit has brush swirls that I have yet to figure out how to use.

You should always include a single shot of the snares and the pedaled high hat (high hat being rung by being pedaled; no sticks) as these are commonly used. Mayby these exist and I am not seeing them.

Did you completely do away with the piano keyboard edit that use to exist in the original EZDrummer? It had its place for simple editing (again for single hits here and there after a drum track had been built).

These complaints are fairly minor compared to how great the improvements are with this program. I also realize some of these complaints may be the difference between EZDrummer 2 and Superior Drummer 2. So be it.

[Ray.Oubre]

I just upgraded from EZ Drummer Lite to EZ Drummer 2 the way I read the ad I am suppose to get a expansion kit of my choice. Its said upon registering it would provide the link. I can’t figure it out? Anyone else done this?
Jim I was going to get the Nashville Kit how do you like it so far?

Edit; I just seen Scott’s reply above not available on upgrades. TOONTRACK this is very misleading!! Especially when you click on the sales link on the TOONTRACK page.
Here is a thought maybe in orange right under the EZX Free NOT AVAILABLE WITH UPGRADES.

[Mark Bliss]

Ray, that offer is for new customers, and sadly, excludes existing customers who opt to upgrade.
That is the subject being commented on in this thread. Many of us read the ad with the same thought.

And I am not Jim, but will offer my opinion on the Nashville EZX. I would rate it as “good” with one caveat.
If you want project ready drum tracks that are what I would say are “good enough” its a good expansion for you. If however, you are the kind of producer who likes to finely taylor your drum sounds to fit your projects, you may find as I did, that the samples are pretty heavily processed with what I find is often excessive amounts of reverb. I prefer working with somewhat drier drums to my tastes. Thats not to say they arent useable, just something you may want to be aware of.

And I’ll agree with all of Jim’s points. Especially the need for some improved descriptions. Many of the EZX and MIDI expansion descriptions are vague as to what exactly is included IMO.

[Ray.Oubre]

Mbliss,
Thanks for the reply and the quick review on the Nashville EZX. I was just looking for a program I could use for some demo’s when my drummer wasn’t available. It would probably do want I needed. I was going to get that one and a couple others but right now I will wait and see if I can this bad taste from my mouth from the last purchase.

[Jim.Marquard]

I’m really liking the Nashville EZX. I was hesitant to buy it because I am not a country fan but figured its namesake is basically the music capitol of the USA. Sounds are pretty decent. As mentioned above they are processed but you can play with them quite a bit in the mixer section to remove what you don’t want. It is kind of an all or nothing in terms of the fine tuning isn’t there, you buy Superior Drummer for that capability or use your recording program’s mixer capabilities to fine tune. But there is some decent playability within the mixer section if you take the time. The edit function is your best friend, though, when it comes to variation in the midi. And I love that you are not limited to an EZX drum kits in order to use the midi tracks. So, if I like the Nashville’s midi tracks but I want the Ludwig kit from the Vintage EZX I can do that. I will say, I am older (early 50s) and to me, these processed sounds are pretty much perfect for the type of music I love. They really have that old school vibe. I also do contemporary Christian music and, again, they are great for that as Nashville is home for that style of music. I also have “The Classic” and I love those sounds. I’ve used a number of programs and analog loops and I am just loving these. I am really considering Superior Drummer but hate the idea of having just upgraded a month ago to EZDrummer 2 and then going and changing again.

[Mark Bliss]

Update:
A special offer for an additional 20% off pushed me off the fence. I upgraded.
Of course the extra EZX pack included was one I already had though. So though I hate to complain, I still feel ToonTracks dropped the ball on this whole deal.
We’ll see how I feel about it after using it a while.

[Author]

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