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[Scott Eshleman]

If money is not an issue, then buy it. Definitely.
The improvements included with the new scalable interface,
the new Tracker audio decoder, the alternate MIDI song tracks
and the sheer number of drum kits and samples alone warrant it.

If money is not an issue,
consider it an investment in your craft
and a step toward future-proofing your toolkit.

[Scott Eshleman]

@Reflex_2 said:
-For MIDI beats, is it possible to use third party compatible midi beat collections that will work with EZ2?
Any in particular? Im asking in case I want to get more beyond the EZ packs.  

Yes, it is possible to use 3rd-party MIDI beat collections.
I’ve personally incorporated MIDI from Odd Grooves, Platinum Samples, Groove Monkey, and Loop Loft,
because they each offer their products in Toontrack-formatted mappings.

@Reflex_2 said:-Do all MIDI packs come in song structures?  

Not all of them come in song structures,
but the Toontrack packs generally have some kind of organization.
I can’t say that for all of the 3rd-party MIDI offerings.

[Scott Eshleman]

@thana said:
AFAIK, you can install the software without installing this library, and you could still use it just fine with everything else.

True.
It’s been so long since I’d installed or reinstalled SuperiorDrummer2 that I forgot that the base sound library is still a separate install.

@thana said:
I also find it hard to believe that Avatar, which makes up the bulk (as in >99%) of the product, is a free bonus.

As someone who’s done software development and has recorded many layers of drum samples (neither of which was for Toontrack),
I can appreciate the time, effort and knowledge that it takes to do both.
Frankly, I think that the complexity of the software alone warrants of EVERY penny of its very reasonable pricetag.
Then, let’s also consider the ongoing (FREE!!) maintenance to the software…for years beyond the original purchase.

PS. The size of the sound library files relative to the size of the software installation files is not really an accurate basis
on which to measure their dollar value…unless you are comparing (the size & number of files in) an SDX to an EZX or similar sound libraries.

[Scott Eshleman]

That’s an interesting perspective that I do not recall seeing on this forum previously.

Maybe when Toontrack initially developed SuperiorDrummer,
the Avatar sound library was built into the software at the molecular level.
This might explain why the Avatar library is not available separate from the software
…even for customers who crossgraded to SuperiorDrummer2 from EZDrummer (like me)
and wouldn’t technically need another library with which to operate SD2.

Maybe stripping the Avatar sound library from the software is not feasible.
Maybe you could consider that you are only paying for the SuperiorDrummer2 software
and getting a FREE(!!) Avatar sound library.
Or, maybe it is feasible and maybe you’ll get your wish in a future update to the product.

[Scott Eshleman]

@profirhino said:
unless you count the suggestion to reduce screen resolution to 1024×540, to be fair.
 

Firstly, I am not a Toontrack employee or paid support.
My posts on this forum are voluntary and do not reflect the position or opinions of Toontrack,
their programmers, their support or any of the other people offering support on this forum.

Secondly, as long as we’re being fair, there are AN AWFUL LOT of non-technical users throughout the Toontrack forum.
While the screen resolution workaround might be obvious, laughable or even offensive to you,
any one of these other users may want to try it out for themselves, on their primary screen or better, on a second screen.

Screen resolutions such as those are (still) standard for ‘state-of-the-art’ devices like the Slate Raven MTi.
There are more than a few programs & plugins on either of the Mac Pro systems in our studio
that are ‘unusable’ at the native resolution of their 4k monitors.
So we adjusted the screen resolution to suit our needs.

[Scott Eshleman]

@Manu_32 said:
What’s bizarre is that even the demo on the laptop on Sweetwater’s website takes up more than half the screen of the machine, while I can easily fit SIX of these windows on my screen!  

Because Sweetwater likely used a screen resolution that made it so.
Is it that hard to change the screen resolution to suit the application with which you’re working at the moment for the moment??

Attached are screenshots of SuperiorDrummer2 running in Toontrack Solo at various screen resolutions.

[Scott Eshleman]

Asked & Answered (somewhat) last month in another thread…
https://www.toontrack.com/forum/requests-and-feedback/using-pc-keyboard-in-tap-to-find-how/

[Scott Eshleman]

The ‘checkmark’ probably only indicates that the path exists, not that the path is correct for the library.
I’m not in the studio to view the settings right now, but I believe that you’ve set the path too deep.
I believe that you’ll want to reference the root folder of each library; i.e. “…/SL-Avatar/” not “…/SL-Avatar/Sounds/”

Also, your screenshot implies that you’ve used the same setting for each of the libraries.
The setting will be different and dependent upon the libraries that you’ve purchased and installed.

[Scott Eshleman]

Possible options to limit the hits inserted:
1) Use the scissor tool to isolate the bar(s)/beat(s) into which you’d like to insert the vibraslap hit(s).
The bars can be merged together again afterwards, if so desired.
or
2) Use the [Record] function of the SongTrack to record vibraslap hit(s) where you’d like them.
Quantize them if you don’t get it ‘spot on’.

[Scott Eshleman]

@dg27 said:
I will try it out again, but whenever I’ve worked in 8 bar grooves the first (lowest) number you could add has always been 8. This was in Hip-Hop and Reggae EZXs.  

Correct.
Perhaps I did not explain my findings clearly enough…
As I said in my previous post,
1st increase to a 1-bar groove yielded a single vibraslap hit on Beat 3 of that bar
1st increase to a 2-bar groove yielded 2 vibraslap hits on Beat 3 of each bar for a total of 2 vibraslap hits across the 2 bars.
…and so on that:
1st increase to a 8-bar groove yielded 8 vibraslap hits on Beat 3 of each bar for a total of 8 vibraslap hits across the 8 bars.

[Scott Eshleman]

In limited testing just now, I added a vibraslap to a few grooves using Edit Play Style (with Hip Hop EZX library loaded)…
I think that the number of vibraslap hits added upon 1st increase is related to the number of bars in the groove being edited;
i.e. 1st increase to a 1-bar groove yielded a single vibraslap hit on Beat 3 of that bar
1st increase to a 2-bar groove yielded 2 vibraslap hits on Beat 3 of each bar.
2nd increase to a 1-bar groove yielded a 2nd vibraslap hit on Beat 4 of that bar.
2nd increase to a 2-bar groove yielded a 2nd vibraslap hit on Beat 4 of each bar.

Does this coincide with your experience at all?
If not, please elaborate. Thanks.

[Scott Eshleman]

Control of virtual instruments, like EZDrummer2 is commonly done with a MIDI controller; i.e. a keyboard or percussion pad.

However, after seeing your post, I did do some research
and I found a few (albeit complicated) means of using your QWERTY keyboard as a MIDI controller:

http://www.vanilin.org/software/midikb.html

https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=136403

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?261720-Pro-Tools-10-can-I-use-pc-keyboard-for-midi-input

[Scott Eshleman]

@davidzink said:
Even half a year is too long. C’mon guys — your customers are asking for an improvement.
Anybody paying attention over there in ToonTrack Town?  

Yes. There is no doubt that they are paying attention.
They have already acknowledged this matter in numerous other threads.
It’s unlikely to be a simple fix, programming-wise.
As I understand it, interface standards for plugins did not or could not include many of the regular features of other software,
like variable window sizing, etc. While I don’t write code for plugins,
I can reasonably surmise that this issue may require a complete rewrite of the plugin.

Opinions may vary, and in my opinion only,
Toontrack shouldn’t officially announce future releases or updates until tested and ready for delivery.
Learning from the experience of companies like Slate or Metric Halo,
who had announced & have continually delayed at least one highly-anticipated product (Slate’s FG-Stress, MH’s 3D hardware card)
customers are no more forgiving on either side of a product fix or development until it’s actually been released.

[Author]

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