Music Tech Magazine
EZX Electronic - Toontrack
Not happy to rest on the laurels after a successful string of acoustic drum sound expansion packs, Toontrack’s latest release sees the company tackling new ground by sampling some of the world’s best-loved electronic drum machines. The lead designer on Electronic EZX was Richard Devine, whose work in electronic music, synth programming and sound design is revered across the globe.
You’ll need 1.2GB of hard drive space and a working copy of either EZ or Superior Drummer. Luckily, because the hits aren’t so meticulously ulti-sampled as the other expansion packs, the CPU hit is much less, with most of the kits requiring only around 100MB of samples to be loaded into memory.
The pack features 33 kits of classic and unique circuit-bent instruments plus an additional collection of meaty electronic kick sounds. In fact, the gear list involved in building this mighty library is a veritable museum of circuit-bent wonders, analogue synths and outboard processors. Although the interface may baffle on first glance, its layout becomes more logical though exploration, with kicks loaded into the middle pad, followed by snares and rims, then toms, cymbals and effects towards the outer pads.
The mixer enables you to balance the levels of each drum group, with faders for tape, attack, bias, soft tube echo and chorus
As with all Toontrack expansion packs, a collection of MIDI loops is included, this time programmed by Richard Devine. Sadly, this is the only negative part of the package. Although no one can deny the skill, creativity and detail that has gone into these grooves, they are often too busy and may be difficult to incorporate into a track.
Toontrack has crafted another high-quality product that offers a new twist on old sounds. The ease with which you can craft exquisite electronic patterns is testament to the hard work that has gone into each and every sound.
Verdict
A huge library of original glitch and electronic hits – essential for techno, minimal and electronica producers.
Ratings: 9/10
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