Results for EZX

Toontrack has announced the release of the Indie Folk EZX EZdrummer expansion library, focusing on capturing the organic, warm, intimate and ambient sound characteristic of the indie folk genre.

The EZX, aptly titled the Indie Folk EZX, was recorded at the Avast! Recording Co. in Seattle, home to bands such as Fleet Foxes, The Shins and Band Of Horses. It comes with three complete vintage kits: a 1960s Gretsch Round Badge sampled with both sticks and mallets, a Ludwig from the 1950s as well as a Slingerland Rolling Bomber kit dating back to the 1940s. Also included are two tambourines, a hi-hat mounted tambourine jingle, an extra kick and snare as well as a 28″ floor tom.

Indie Folk EZX features

• Three (3) complete kits.
• Two EZXs in one! Each kit is available in two variations: a standard multi-mic mix and a classic four-mic mix.
• Custom drums from the 1940s to the 1960s.
• Default kit sampled with both drumsticks and mallets.
• Recorded at Avast! Recording Co. in Seattle, WA.
• Included MIDI performed by sampling drummer Stephen Belans.

The EZX is available to purchase for $89 USD / 69 EUR.

Toontrack has also launched the Indie Folk MIDI, a collection of grooves and fills.

With the Indie Folk MIDI pack, Stephen Belans delivers a wide and useful range of grooves and fills for songwriters that are looking to expand their horizon, go outside their comfort zone or rethink what role the drums can play in a composition.

“Sometimes just a simple heartbeat/backbeat feel is all that’s needed. Other times, the drums find their place at far ends of the spectrum. Some grooves stick to a smooth ebb and flow with a natural evolution of intensities while other ones use more dramatic transitions that don’t rely on traditional rock defaults”, says Stephen.

The Indie Folk MIDI pack cost $29 USD / 25 EUR.

More information: Toontrack

Time+Space has announced a special offer on Toontrack EZX expansion libraries.

Superior Drummer and EZdrummer users can get kitted out for less right now with a huge 50% off a range of fifteen EZX expansion packs.

EZX packs allow users to expand their music making possibilities across a whole spectrum of genres from metal, rock and country right through to funk, jazz, electronic and everything inbetween.

Designed to be used with Toontrack’s award winning drum sampling software – EZdrummer and Superior Drummer 2.0 – all EZXs feature drum and percussion soundbanks as well as additional midi files to offer even more choice and inspiration when building tracks.

EZX libraries are 50% off at Time+Space and participating dealers until April 30th, 2013 (RRP £25.98 GBP / €31.47 EUR). The offer excludes The Blues and Rock Solid EZXs.

More information: Time+Space

Toontrack has announced the release of The Blues EZX, a sample library featuring 2 drum kits and grooves, sampled and played by Hans Lindbäck.

You can’t fool a blues lover. You know that it’s all about the craft, about the touch, the feel and the heart. We know you can spot a fake from a mile away. That’s why we’re proud to bring you the real deal – the custom, the calfskinned, the road-worn: The Blues EZX.

The Blues EZX comes with two complete kits; a 1970s Gretsch and a calfskinned Swedish Levin set from the 1940s. On top of that, it features contemporary Paiste and Sabian crashes, vintage Zildjan A and K series cymbals as well as extras such as a suitcase and a set of calfskinned tambourines. All instruments were handpicked and in many cases road-worn by the sampling drummer himself, a blues musician with more than half a decade worth of experience behind the kit playing the blues. It was recorded in an empty Swedish theater and later mixed in a high-end studio through vintage and modern outboard gear. The end result is a cross-pollination between new and old; warm and characteristic sounds that cover the whole range, from old school to modern, from dry to ambient. This is the sound of then, now and time to come.

The Blues EZX features

• Two complete kits (1970s Gretsch & 1940s Levin).
• Sabian/Paiste/Zildjian A & K cymbals.
• Calfskin drumheads on Levin kit.
• Suitcase & two vintage calfskinned Grover tambourines.
• Included custom MIDI library.

The Blues EZX is available to purchase for 69 EUR / $89 USD.

Toontrack has also introduced the Blues EZX MIDI, a large selection of drums suited for any type of blues or rock song.

This MIDI pack comes from The Blues EZX and features a large selection of drums suited for any type of blues or rock song. It was played by longtime blues drummer Hans Lindbäck, a phenomenal musician with decades worth of experience behind the blues kit and on the road.

The Blues EZX MIDI costs 25 EUR / $29 USD.

More information: Toontrack

Toontrack’s latest expansion for EZdrummer and Superior Drummer 2.0 is The Blues EZX, a sound library featuring two drum kits and MIDI grooves played by seasoned drummer Hans Lindbäck.

The Blues EZX comes with two complete kits; A 1970s Gretsch And A Calfskinned Swedish Levin set from the 1940s.

On top of that, it features contemporary Paiste and Sabian crashes, vintage Zildjan A and K series cymbals as well as extras such as a suitcase and a set of calfskinned tambourines. All instruments were handpicked and in many cases road-worn by the sampling drummer himself, a blues musician with more than half a decade worth of experience behind the kit playing the blues.

The Gretsch kit includes a nice versatile 14×20″ kick drum, a deep, fat sounding 5½x14″ Slingerland Radio King snare, and 8×12″ and 14×14″ toms. An alternative preset is available for the Gretsch kit, swapping the kick and snare with a suitcase and a 30′s 6½x14″ Premier Brass snare.

The Levin drum kit includes a deep 14×28″ kick, a 60′s Premier Wood 5½x14″ rich sounding snare, and high and low tuned 9×12″ toms. These drums all have calf skinned heads.

One hihat is included in all kits, a 14″ Zildjian New Beat/Rock Beat combo, another choice for versatility. The cymbals include vintage 60′s Zildjian A and K series rides (19″ & 20″) and crashes (10″, 12″ & 18″), as well as a 16″ Paiste crash and 16″ and 18″ Sabian hand hammered crash cymbals.

Finally, two additional Grover Tambourines round off the setup.

The Blues EZX comes with a library of MIDI grooves, 13 songs in total in shuffle, swing, straight and 12/8 categories. Song include a number of grooves with closed hihats, open hihats, cymbals, breaks, fills, intros and endings. The library spans a large variety of tempos, from 80 to 198 bpm.

Check the video below for a quick impression of the sounds and grooves.

So what do I think?

The Blues EZX drums and cymbals have been sampled with a good variety of articulations and the included kit pieces offer sounds for a range of styles, from jazz to blues to pop/rock. Hans Lindbäck provides a great set of songs with plenty of variations, interesting fills and breaks, and most important, an authentic blues vibe.

Having played guitar in a blues band for a number of years, I really enjoyed The Blues EZX. It feels very natural and I would have loved to have the sounds of these drum kits in our band back then. While to me, blues is all about playing together, this sound library is great for rehearsing, working out ideas, or doing studio work where you would normally get a session drummer.

In short, the Blues EZX is a solid, high quality set of drum kits and grooves that are great for blues music and beyond.

More information: Toontrack / Time+Space

Toontrack has updated its Beatstation virtual instrument to version 1.0.3.

This update is recommended for all users but particularly for those running the latest operating systems released by Microsoft and Apple.

At its core, Beatstation marks the next step in Toontracks evolution of creating virtual instruments that are both simple and effective to use but also very powerful sound design & music production tools.

Changes in Beatstation v1.0.3

• New Features:
  • 64-bit hosts support on Mac.
  • Support for EZX/SDX preset instruments as specified by the library configuration files.
  • A new Toggle Metronome option has been added to the Settings menu (standalone).
• Fixed in version 1.0.3:
  • The crash on Japanese systems in Sonar should no longer occur.
  • A bug in the sample recorder causing crashes on Mac has been fixed.
  • A number of memory leaks have been fixed.
  • Fix for drag and drop to the plug-in in Pro Tools 10.0 or higher on Mac.
  • MIDI and REX grooves start from the beginning when not syncing to the host timeline and are played for the first time.
  • You now always get the same MIDI loop when dragging as the one that is played – no new random flam.
  • The default layout has been changed to 6×4 in the full version (as in the demo).
  • The instruments in the Sounds tab are now alphabetically sorted (except Bass and Lead, which are always at the top).
  • Clicking below or above the scroll handle should no longer shift the contents of the browser more than a page at a time.
  • Key 120 on the lead pad, a key with no function, is now hidden.
  • The mouse wheel now works on a secondary screen to the left of the primary screen (Windows).
  • Horizontal mouse wheel scroll support on Windows – shift+vertical wheel can also be used.
  • The standalone window position is now properly saved even if the window is minimized on Windows.
  • The standalone host now constrains the window position to the current screen size at startup.
  • The ‘Set Plug-In Path’ menu entry can now be found in the Settings menu in standalone mode.
• Content update:
  • The default instrument has been improved for MIDI playback of our various drum MIDI.
  • Misc non operational changes (pad labels, etc.).

Beatstation for Windows and Mac is available to purchase for $129 USD / 89 EUR.

More information: Toontrack / Beatstation

Time+Space has announced that throughout December, Toontrack are offering multiple discounts across their range of drum software including 40% off Superior Drummer, 30% off EZdrummer and 50% off the crossgrade from EZdrummer to Superior and 50% off SDX Expansion packs.

Toontrack’s multi-award winning Superior Drummer virtual drum package is the industry standard used by a wide variety of leading producers all over the world. Its innovative set of features make it an essential tool for anybody wanting to create the most realistic drum performances possible using a computer.

Also available for Superior Drummer are six SDX Expansion packs which add additional kits to the Superior library giving more options and possibilities when using the software.

If you’re new to virtual drums, EZdrummer is a great choice – simple, affordable and compact, this plugin will give you excellent results in just a few clicks.

Maybe you’ve already got EZdrummer? Why not take advantage of these deals and crossgrade to Superior Drummer for even more control over your drumtracks? And if you own any EZX expansion packs – no worries, these will work with Superior too!

Toontrack Winter promos

• 40% off Toontrack Superior Drummer 2.2.
• 50% off the Toontrack Superior Drummer Crossgrade from EZdrummer.
• 30% off EZdrummer.
• 50% off SDX expansion packs for Superior Drummer including Custom & Vintage SDX, Lost New York Studios SDX, Music City SDX, Metal Foundry SDX, Roots – Brushes, Rods and Mallets SDX, Roots – Sticks SDX (offer excludes The Roots SDX Bundle).

More information: Toontrack at Time+Space