I find it hard to believe that Toontrack didn’t take a look at Pianoteq and Harmony Improvisator while developing EZKeys. However, I don’t see any evidence of this in the final product. Everyone can appreciate a unique idea but to ignore excellent features in other products and not incorporating similar features in order to create a better product than the competition’s seems counterproductive to me. At this price point I would expect an integrated MIDI recorder at least.

Pianoteq’s ability to record MIDI files is brilliant. If I want to sit down and write without the distraction of opening my full DAW but still capture my work as a MIDI file it’s dead simple in Pianoteq. Harmony Improvisator’s straightforward approach to auditioning chord progressions with a mouse click, presenting suggested alternates, then dragging selected chords into a staff to begin editing is equally brilliant. I do think Harmony Improvisator’s chord selection interface should be based on the circle of fifths like EZKeys is, however.

I think Toontrack has missed some important opportunities to achieve greatness with EZKeys in the same fashion as they did with EZPlayer. Maybe it was for the sake of financial expediency and getting to market quickly because both products seem unfinished or underdeveloped to me. I hate to see a company I admire and wish to succeed miss opportunities like this. The other explanation is the whole “EZ” direction they have taken; EZMusicians outnumber musicians by a vast majority and are much less demanding.