FIVE QUESTIONS TO… LEO MARGARIT.

While the first SDX had a more general approach, the “Origin” volume looks to the past. What is your connection to the hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late 1960s through to the 1980s?
I was born in 1981, so unfortunately there’s a lot of that era that I missed… But my parents, and more specifically my mom, was a prog rock fan and listened to a lot of Kansas and Deep Purple, so I’m pretty sure this is what got me drawn to my music tastes later in life. I also had a period where I only listened to The Beatles for a while. I always loved the organic sounds of all these records, which is something that we lost a little bit nowadays, so hopefully a sample library like this one will help recreate these amazing atmospheres!

The 33 drum room obviously sounds amazing. When recording drums, how much does the room factor into the sound, feedback and overall vibe to you as a drummer?
It’s actually hard to know exactly how the room sounds while playing the drums, without having some microphones feedback. I mean, obviously you hear the actual room while standing in it, but it doesn’t mean that a microphone will “hear” it the same way. However, for me at least, the sound I hear from the actual drum combined with the room will automatically push me to play a certain way, both in the attack and the weight I put in the instrument. It’s hard to describe and it’s mostly subconscious, but the feedback of the room will absolutely make me play one way or another!

If the first volume had some massive kits, this one has a virtual behemoth. 13 toms! While we all love drum sets, how does a drummer even manage that many toms? Have you ever played a kit as big as this in a real-life scenario?
This was absolutely amazing and almost intimidating! The 13 tom kits were way too big to play without spinning around on the drum chair, but man, I felt like being a spaceship pilot! I only got to play them while sound checking them before sampling unfortunately, but it felt incredible. Maybe I’ll give a raise to my drum tech and I’ll bring one of these on tour some day…

>When sampling, many drummers say they learn a lot about the physics of drums, their own technique and overall how much the actual hitting of the drum plays into the final sound. What is your takeaway from sampling?
I learned a lot about focus, meditation and almost being in trance while sampling. It’s all about getting the best possible sound out of a drum, which is not something many drummers think about while playing nowadays. Sometimes you have to wait for a whole minute to play the next hit, especially on a ride that rings forever, then you play again with the same attack, on the same spot and repeat that for maybe ten to 12 times until repeating the whole process, just slightly softer. And so you continue until you play the softest possible. I guess that after doing all this sampling, I got to learn even more how the drums respond to a certain way of hitting. I’m trying to actively think about it while playing and recording.

Having sampled 12 kits, countless snares, cymbals and more in completely outrageous detail, are you burnt out? Done? Never sampling a drum again?
I would say yes again in the blink of an eye! Working with Daniel and Fredrik is an incredible experience, I have been listening to both their work since I was a teenager and just the fact that they called me is extremely humbling and soul warming.

Check out the Area 33 – Origin SDX here.

LEARN THE SUPERIOR DRUMMER BASICS.

New to Superior Drummer 2 or want to learn more? Loads of tutorial content on our Superior Line page!

WRITING SONGS WITH EZKEYS: EP. 4

In the final episode in this series of four videos, we use a new instance of EZkeys combined with an EZmix 2 preset to create a lo-fi sounding intro to our song.

MEET AARON ESHUIS: SONGWRITER.

We headed out to Nashville to chat with Aaron Eshuis about Superior Drummer 2 and what getting cuts by Rascal Flatts means to an up-and-coming songwriter.

NICLAS LUNDIN & EZKEYS: PT.2

Songwriter Niclas Lundin shares some more of his tips and favorite features of EZkeys!

RIKARD FROM – IMPROVISATION.

Watch amazing piano player Rikard From in action using the EZkeys Studio Grand!

WRITE CUSTOM PIECES.

This quick video shows you how to build custom piano and drum parts using the features of EZkeys and EZdrummer 2.

EZKEYS CUSTOMER JUKEBOX, WEEK 2.

Check the second playlist of songs by you – featuring EZkeys!

BRIAN MAILLARD – PLAYTHROUGH.

Watch the amazing Brian Maillard in this guitar playthrough! Drums heard are EZdrummer 2 with the Progressive EZX.

WRITING SONGS WITH EZKEYS: EP. 3.

In the third episode, we use multiple instances of EZkeys on our chorus to add an epic feel as well as a melody line.

EZKEYS CUSTOMER JUKEBOX WEEK 1.

Check the first playlist of songs by you – featuring EZkeys!

GET IN THE GROOVE WITH EZKEYS.

Our friends over at Groove3 have just launched a massive series of videos centered around writing songs with EZkeys. Check the first two episodes free here.

WRITING SONGS WITH EZKEYS: EP. 2.

In the second episode, we add a pre-chorus and chorus to our song.

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